The Problem Of Mental Illness

Known as an American philanthropist and reformer, Dorothea Dix transformed living conditions in prisons and established institutions for the mentally insane in 20 states, as well as Canada (“DIX”). Through her crusade for fair treatment of the mentally insane, Dorothea Dix exemplifies the ideals of her time – to protect the rights of all human beings, no matter their age, race, or mental capacity.

The 1800’s were a terrible time for people suffering from mental illnesses. They were treated like monsters and criminals. Most families could not financially support to watch over their afflicted family members. By the 1840s a teacher and writer by the name of Dorothea Dix began to fight for the reform of mental health. She believed that the mentally ill deserved better treatment than what they were receiving. She documented the atrocities she

Before the 19th century in the American society, criminals were executed, whipped, and held in dark cells with little food and water. The insane wandered around asylums or were kept in tiny cells and were not treated properly. In incarcerations prisoners were worked without stopping and treated inhumanly. Reformers wanted to establish an official institution for the insane and the criminals that was humane. They believed that reform and rehabilitation was possible in a controlled environment. As part of the humanitarian reforms sweeping through America, asylums and prisons were created for criminals and the mentally ill. The importance of human perfectibility led some reformers to care for the physically and mentally ill. Many people lead this movement, including Dorothea Dix. She traveled the country visiting a large amount of asylums and prisons. Through Dix’s work and others’ the treatment of patients improved vastly.

To begin, Dorothea Dix was a key player in bettering the treatment for mentally ill patients.  In the mid-1800’s, many mentally inept people dwelled in prisons.  This was because the people of the time didn’t exactly know how to properly treat or deal with these mentally ill people.  Initially, Dix worked as a nurse and teacher for prisoners, where their living conditions were less than adequate (History.com Staff).  Altogether, seeing what was happening to these abused people made her feel as though she had to do something to help.  While working at the prison, she saw firsthand what these people had to face.  One of Dorothea Dix’s reports accounted that, “prisoners [were] flogged, starved, chained, physically and sexually abused

The mentally ill were cared for at home by their families until the state recognized that it was a problem that was not going to go away. In response, the state built asylums. These asylums were horrendous; people were chained in basements and treated with cruelty. Though it was the asylums that were to blame for the inhumane treatment of the patients, it was perceived that the mentally ill were untamed crazy beasts that needed to be isolated and dealt with accordingly. In the opinion of the average citizen, the mentally ill only had themselves to blame (Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, 1999). Unfortunately, that view has haunted society and left a lasting impression on the minds of Americans. In the era of "moral treatment", that view was repetitively attempted to be altered. Asylums became "mental hospitals" in hope of driving away the stigma yet nothing really changed. They still were built for the untreatable chronic patients and due to the extensive stay and seemingly failed treatments of many of the patients, the rest of the society believed that once you went away, you were gone for good. Then the era of "mental hygiene" began late in the nineteenth century. This combined new concepts of public health, scientific medicine, and social awareness. Yet despite these advancements, another change had to be made. The era was called "community mental health" and

Due to understaffed and underfunded in the psychiatric hospitals, harsh criticism toward the institutionalized care increased. It was also because of changes in the attitudes of staff and abusive practices in the hospital (Leff, 2001, p. 25). The movement of deinstitutionalization reforms from the asylum-based to community-oriented care. Mentally ill people moved from psychiatric institutions to community mental health centers. Even though there were positive reports about the outcome of community-based mental health programs, other reports found opposite. “Many experts hope that by improving community-based programs and expanding inpatient care to fulfill the needs of severely mentally ill patients, the United States will achieve improved treatment outcomes, increased access to mental health care, and better quality of life for the mentally ill” ("Early History," 2000-2013, p. 2).

In 1804 a United States reformer by the name of Dorothea Dix observed mentally ill patients who resisded in Massachusetts. In her observations she saw women and men who suffered from mental illness be incarcerated with criminals.Patients were found naked in dark rooms with little or no heat. She believed that it was unfair to place the mentally ill in the same facility as high risk criminals. Dix later went on to create 32 state hospitals for patients to reside in. she also convinced the pope at that time- Pope Pius IX to examine how poorly the patients were

When discussing the criminalization of mentally ill persons within the prison system, it is important to know the history of mental illness in the prison system. In1841, Dorothea Dix began her Asylum Movement. She saw how deplorable the conditions were for mentally ill inmates in the prison system and insisted on change. The mental ill inmates were treated very poorly, being beaten, starved, and sexually abused. Dix brought her findings to the legislature of Massachusetts and funds were then set aside to expand the mental hospital in Worcester. This was then duplicated across the country and many of the mentally ill were taken out of the prison setting and moved to get appropriate care (history.com staff, 2009). This was in the 1840’s. Dix’s efforts helped to decrease the amount of mentally ill in jails without appropriate care. Her efforts resulted in prisons containing only 0.7 per cent of mentally ill inmates (Chaimowitz, 2012, p 1).

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.

Historically, western society has segregated the mentally ill in hospitals and institutions, resulting in society’s negative association with mental illness. This stigma creates a negative feedback loop in how society views people with psychiatric disabilities. Media portrays people with mental illness as scary, bad, dangerous, unpredictable, and un-educated. These views cause people to shy away and fear the mentally ill. This stigma also affects a person’s willingness to seek help when they are experiencing a mental illness. Some cultures, such as Hispanic Catholics, may not recognize mental illness as a health problem, but instead see it as a religious issue, further reducing the chances of a person seeking proper medical care.

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,

Deviance usually goes hand in hand with mental illness, as people who are considered mentally ill will then be considered as deviant, since it is contemplated not a norm. Sociologists have paid close attention to different concepts of mental illness and how it fits in with sociology. The focus on women and the idea of mental illness is a fairly new phenomenon and a lot of research and models have taken place by sociologists throughout time to find out why women experience mental illness more than men. Social causes have been connected with women and mental illness, which has given sociologists such as Durkheim, Foucault and Parsons, are starting point of the research area. They all have contributed to the field of mental illness in their own way and all have presented different understandings and theories to why women suffer with mental illness more than men.

One of the major problems of mental health institutions is the abuse that many patients endured due to the historical problem of mental illness as a threat to society. In the case of mental institutions of Europe throughout the Middle Ages to the 18th century, these institutions were meant to house “disruptive individuals” that were

I hail from a country where practicing the mental health profession was subject to grave stigmatization, partly due to a lack of insight into mental illness and less effort made to probe mental health disorders. I credit my early interest in psychiatry to my sister who unknowingly played a vital role. She was going through a tough phase where she couldn't take the burden of keeping pace with her peers in academics, and she attempted suicide; but, she didn't succeed. My parents took her to a psychiatrist after which we saw tremendous improvement when she overcame her depression. The therapy helped my sister immensely as the psychiatrist listened to her problems attentively, understood them to the core, after which he counseled her about building

This essay will analyse the statement “Mental illness is a social problem”. This essay will discuss the sociological perspective of mental health within the chosen concept of gender. The main aim of this essay is to discuss and debate ‘for’ mental illness is a social problem within the different gender roles. Gender is not only male and female, it also includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexual. In Australia there is a very large community of LGBTI. This concept will be analysed by using theoretical and sociological perspectives along with the structure-agency debate. Also the biomedical and social model 's role in relation to the issue. This will help support the statement that ‘mental illness is a social problem’. It is not logical to solely to blame society for all mental illness’ however, it is a strong contributor. This essay will also explore the social contributor to the high rate of mental illness sufferers in Australia. Also, the general consensus and attitude toward individuals with mental health and the ways that mental illnesses are stitgmatised in Australia and each of its states and territories.