The Psychology Of Mental Illness

This article begins by discussing the history of mental illness, going as far back as the 1700s. It goes over professionals in the field, the incidence rate, and treatments, all of this from the different time periods throughout the United States. The author also makes a point to acknowledge the different perceptions there were in the past of mental

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.

Mental illness refers to many disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behaviour. There are many different types of mental illnesses with different severities such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviour. Having a mental illness is so common in Canada, 1 in 5 people encounter some degree of it. Many of your friends and family may be suffering from some form of mental illness without you knowing it. This can be because it is at a very early and week stage, they are on their medication, or they are doing a good job at hiding it from you. People often hide their illness to prevent being judged and treated differently from their loved ones. This can be a problem as their illness could worsen and cause long term irreversible damages. Some of our society doesn’t respect people with mental illnesses as before, people with this illness were called crazy and they were told they had a disease. This may be a reason people still don’t feel comfortable telling people close to them.

“Psychiatry.” Issues & Controversies, 08 Aug. 2008. FACTS.com. Facts on File News Services. NEMCC Lib., Booneville, MS. 29 Sept. 2008 <http://www2.nemcc.edu/library/

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.

Allen Frances was on the task force that led to the development of the DSM-IV, served as the Department Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Duke, and a notary author of numerous books and research. His experiences and education allowed him to observe and draw a conclusion that society was creating an inflation of mental health disorders that could be evaluated as normal. After his early retirement, he decided to write about those experiences, in a book called, Saving normal: An insider 's revolt against out-of-control psychiatric diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the medicalization of ordinary life, and bring awareness to the Diagnostic Statistical Manuel’s (2015) inflation of mental health disorders. The book focuses on the history of mental health and Frances’s perspective on what is normal and abnormal mental health disorders.

The Deviance Model places certain individuals who portray qualities of what we may consider as people with mental illness, where their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors violate own or others expectations (the violation of social norms). This sociological approach is frequently debated where the individual is being conceptualized as either sick or deviant which then reflects on their deviant behavior. Deviant behaviors should not determine whether someone is mentally ill or not. There are individuals who are mentally sick, such as pedophiles, in which most would agree to have mental illness though there are no biological factors to support that. In Thoits reading, Sociological Approaches to Mental Illness, the name in itself “Social Reaction Theory” underlies the basis of the theory, that the labeling theory as deviance is produced by social means. He argues that people who are labeled/treated as deviant become deviant. This is a ripple effect in where that individual begins to suffer due to social concepts, i.e., pedophiles are usually a result of early traumatic child sexual abuse. Becker explains that there is “No such thing as an inherently or naturally deviant act- deviance only occurs (or not) after the fact” (Thoits). This clearly demonstrates that society plays an important role in people’s lives which indeterminately affect those who don’t accept the social norms and are soon labeled as mentally ill in most cases. In my opinion, the model underlies mental illness

The Great Depression was a time of uncertainty for everyone: rich or poor, male or female, black or white, however nobody’s world was less stable than the mentally ill. The early years of the 20th century saw a major revolution regarding the understanding and treatment of mental disorders. Simpler cures of psychoanalysis such as mesmerism and hypnotism disappeared, and were replaced by more radical and demanding scientific psychiatric treatments including forced infection with diseases or purposefully causing a person to seize. The mental illness community was both astonished and terrified by the potential prospect of this new branch of psychiatry; frightened at the idea of being subjected to these new and risky treatments, however amazed by the cures for previously untreatable illnesses. From examination of the perpetually changing world of mental illness during the 1930s, through the new comprehension of mental disease, preventive psychiatry, and the unorthodox treatments that arose from it, shock therapy and lobotomies, readers take away a heightened appreciation for the unique and symbolic bond between George and Lenny in John Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men.

Mental illness has been around since the beginning of recorded history. Mental illness was not recognized and those suffering were labeled as retarded. “Terms

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,

Throughout the ages the view upon mental health has changed along with how we deal with those who possess mental illness. Many different names and labels have been placed on the mentally ill. Whether the label is simply ‘crazy’ or a fancy name for a specific type of disorder, they are looked upon with the same attitude: they are different.

The current proposed research aims to provide an examination of attitudes, beliefs, and understanding of mental illness and treatment seeking behaviours by British individuals of West African descent.

The only thing worse than an undiagnosed case of any form of mental illness is being turned away after a diagnosis. My brother, Timothy Charles Hobson Jr., a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, succumbed to his final attempt that began on his birthday, August 16, 2014 and ended three days later.

What is it like to live with a mental illness? A mental illness can be caused by a substance abuse, a hereditary problem, and injuries or defects related to the brain. Having a mental illness gives sensations and thoughts as if one were insane and in need of an asylum. Living with a mental illness is difficult because people tend to feel alone in the world. It truly is a sad and desperate feeling. Sometimes, it even seems to be the worst feeling in the world. Anxious feelings, or anxiety disorders, are a type of mental illnesses amongst others. Millions of people all around the world suffer from anxiety disorders. This disorder is an extremely common mental illnesses. These disorders create terrifying feelings in a person. They “cause

If we reach that far back in psychiatric history it would appear as though mainstream psychiatry has actually come a long way. To gain insight in to all disciplines of study it’s critical to venture back in time to get a glimpse of its history. It’s necessary to study the roots in an effort to accurately extrapolate where things have been, where things are, and where the vision is directed for the future. Advancements in health care have unfolded through trial and error. These progressive improvements in patient care are profoundly swayed by public attitudes and medical theories. Since we have had such difficulty in finding our way out of the stigma mental illness maintains on today’s society, it is not surprising that psychiatry continues to lag behind other fields of medicine in terms of advancements.