The Problem Of Mental Illness

The social problem I have chosen to write about is mental illness. This problem is important to talk about “because of the number of people it affects, the difficulty of defining and identifying mental disorders, and the ways in which mental illness is treated” (Kendall, 2013, p. 227). “About 57.7 million people, or one in four adults, in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). “Many of these illnesses begin in childhood or adolescence, with the most common problems being anxiety disorder, mood disorders, impulse-control disorders, and substance abuse disorders” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about how mental illness is a social problem and I have been interested in learning more about mental illnesses and how to help people with mental disorders.

Forget all the stereotypes of mental illness. It has no face. It has no particular victim. Mental illness can affect an individual from any background and the black community is no exception. African Americans sometimes experience even more severe forms of mental health conditions because of unmet needs and barriers to treatment. According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. That’s why UGA third year Majenneh Sengbe is taking action as the co-founder of her upcoming organization Black Minds Daily.

Through the course of time, mental illnesses have always been in existence due to varying factors and causes. However, as time has passed, the perceptions and available treatments for mental illnesses have also changed as new technology was developed. By looking at the treatments and perceptions of mental illnesses in the early 20th century, we can learn how to properly treat and diagnose not only mental disorders but also other conditions as well as show us the importance of review boards and controlled clinical trials.

The book January First is about a father describing his life with his family and his daughter who has schizophrenia. Her disability is confirmed as the mental illness schizophrenia after the age of 6 years old. The medical model is most used in the case of January and her diagnosis. From a young age, her parents are trying so hard to find out what is going on in her mind. She had seen multiple doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and had been institutionalized in mental hospital multiple times. No doctor could “fix” her like the medical model suggests.

In 1961 Thomas Szasz penned a book by the title The Myth of Mental Illness that would go on to cause quite the stir in the world of psychiatry. In the book, Szasz stated his belief that what most psychiatrists would label as mental illnesses are in fact not illnesses at all, but instead what he would go on to call “problems in living.” This article will take a critical approach at Szasz reasons for his belief in these “problems in living” including an objective outline of his argument, a discussion on the validity of the argument and its’ premises, and finally the strongest objections to the argument. Szasz is an important figure in modern psychiatry and his opinions are very divisive but certainly worth discussing.

In today’s society mental health has become something that is much more known to individuals and their families. Mental health is something that is as serious as a physical illness but it is still feared and misunderstood by many people including those who are diagnosed with mental illness (Stuart, 2012). Though you cannot see mental illness physically it inside the body and mind and can do just as much damage, if not more. There are many forms of mental illness that include; anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias and panic disorders. Many individuals with mental health seek help from doctors, nurses and therapist to help overcome the challenges of mental illness (Stuart, 2013). Dealing with a mental health issue is hard enough as it is because many people misunderstand them and they carry a stigma with the mental illness that needs to be overcome by the individual. For those newly diagnosed medications are given to help improve the psychosis, hallucinations and major depressive disorder with great success, but for many the medication that is given has a side effect that makes the patient gain large amounts of weight throughout treatment (Kabinoff, Toalson,Masure,Healey,Mcquire & Hay., 2003). Not only are you dealing with stress from being diagnosed with a mental illness and learning to cope but now you are also given the stress of caring extra weight around and having people judge you because of

The article addresses multiple interpretations of the mental disorder: schizophrenia. One of which, characterizes the mental disorder as a disorder that impairs an individual’s perception of reality; leading to significant cognitive and social impairment. Other opinions argue that the disorder should be separated into several different ones; stating that it’s a very serious group of disorders that make the patient experience vivid delusions, hallucinations and on top of other types, states of psychosis. Additionally, schizophrenic patients suffer ongoing side effects such as absence of movement,

I enjoyed every bit of this Introduction to Psychology class. I put together many things about myself and my own life that I didn’t notice before. Now that I have been introduced to the realm of psychology I have a much better understanding of the reasons of behavior that is around me every day.

Deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill was, and continues to be, an ill-conceived concept. Mental illness is not theoretical, it is a very real and debilitating condition for the individual who suffers from such an illness. Mental illness is a disability which makes an individual unable to attend school, pursue a career, maintain a job or care for a family. Mental illness has ruined not only the lives of the people it has affected, but those who care for the victims of this disease. Mental illness is treatable with medication and the services of mental health workers, such as therapists. Mental illness affects not only adults but children. For example, thirty-one percent (31%) of homeless adults have a combination of mental illness. Approximately, one in five adults in the U.S. or 18.5% of the adult population experiences mental illness in a given year. Approximately one in 25 adults in the U.S. or 4.2% of the adult population experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 or 21.4% of youth experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13% of this age group. 1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia. 2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder. 6.9% of adults in the U.S., had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. 18.1% of

On August 29, 2016, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton released an ambitious plan for addressing the issue of mental health care in the United States1. This plan echoes numerous bipartisan bills that have been produced in Congress over the past several years and seems to be one of the few issues that both sides of the aisle can agree on.2 Earlier this year, a bill providing additional support to mental health care was passed in the House with a 422-22 vote3, so it is now up to the Senate to pass its own reform. If lawmakers fail to send a bill to President Obama before leaves office, which is likely, the onus will fall on the next president to leave their mark. If this turns out to be Ms. Clinton, her stance is obvious. She and the lawmakers working on these issues seem to agree on many important aspects; first and foremost that treatment of mental and physical health should be given the same priority. Other aspects of Clinton’s plan focus on early diagnosis and intervention, federal support for suicide prevention, improved outcomes in the criminal justice system, and integrating the mental and physical health care systems. Ms. Clinton also proposed $5 billion for community health centers to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment in addition to traditional medical care and advocated for the use of telemedicine to help address the shortage of mental health professionals. While the idea of these reforms has widespread support, one of the most likely obstacles

The medical model is every point of contact geared towards normal inmates. The approach is to reform offenders. “Steeped in 19th century positivism and progressivism, treatment equated crime with illness, and rehabilitation with cure (Mays and Winfree, 2009). The model was to direct prisoner management; however, it does not accommodate every inmate. The medical model was created to reduce normal inmate’s behavior, but what about the mentally ill.

Today, mental illness is still a recurring sickness that can have positive and negative effects on mankind. William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, takes place in Scotland and features famous characters like Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo. Macbeth, the tragic hero, is a power hungry Thane whom seeks kingship. However, he lacks ambition and his wife attempts to urge him towards this edge. As Macbeth is urged toward ambitious ways, he commits the murder of Duncan, the king. From this point on, the reader notices Macbeth’s mind starts to deteriorate. As the tragedy continues, the reader also notices Macbeth is not the only one who suffers from an unstable mind,

According to Scientific American Mind, mental illnesses are so common that almost everyone will develop at least one diagnosable mental disorder at some point in their life; most of these people will never receive treatment, and their relationships, job performance and life satisfaction will likely suffer (Reuben and Schaefer, 2017). Mental health is different from the absence of mental illness, and is integral to our overall health. Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual “realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his own community” (World Health Organization, 2007). The stigmatization against mental illness often results in the ostracizing and demonizing of sufferers. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome when seeking help is that society still doesn’t think about it as an equal priority with physical health. Addressing mental health is needed because the stigmatization and discrimination contribute to higher risks of mental illness.

When it comes to mental illness, I have the point of view of someone who is training to be a health care professional. During my past clinical experience as a nursing student at the Alberta Hospital Edmonton, I was immersed in an environment filled with individuals who were acutely mentally ill, and two of these individuals were my patients. While “The Sociology of Mental Illness” is an excellent source of information about mental illness in the context of sociology, based on my experience at Alberta Hospital and on the nursing theory that I have learned, I disagree with the fact that Weitz groups all clinicians together in basing their practice solely on the medical model of mental illness.

A Critical Review of Young, T., Fuller, J., Riley B. (2008), One-scene Mental Health Training Provided through Police Departments, Journal of Mental Health Counseling Volume 30/Number 4/Pages 345–361