The Sociology Of Health And Mental Illness

When people think of an “illness” they typically don’t automatically think of mental illness. They think about HIV, cancer, or even a cold or flu. However when it comes to mental illness it is a whole different idea. But is mental illness even real? Addressed in the book, The Myth of Mental Illness (1961), a psychiatrist Thomas Szasz argues that the idea of classifying psychological and emotional difficulties as “illnesses” takes away sense of control. Instead of holding people personally and morally responsible for their actions, he states, doctors attempt to “treat” the person, often with medications. Diagnosing mental illness, on the other hand, argue that mental disorders are as real as physical diseases and diagnosing them allows people

this thinking has been perverted by the propagation of ideas about contagion, dangerous, unpredictability, and lack of willpower, which are at the core of today’s prejudices against mental patients. (Guiman, pp. 21-22)

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.

Illness is one of the few experiences that all humans have in common and generally is met with empathy. However, people who suffer from mental illness are not privy to this treatment. For centuries, mental disorders have been demonized and stigmatized even in the modern era where humans have a much better understand of the mechanisms of the mind. Before the advent of psychiatry in the eighteenth-century people believed that mental illness was actually demonic possession resulting in the ostracization and murder of the mentally ill in the name of God. The Victorian era was met with a different view of mental illness, in that it was understood that it was a malady of the mind and people needed constant medical treatment, thus federally mandated asylums were created. Since mental illness was not understood there was a lot of misconceptions and fear surrounding the field. It is no surprise that the master of macabre and the creator of Horror, Edgar Allen Poe, decided to explore themes of mental illness in his stories. Poe’s most famous story about mental illness was The Fall of the House of Usher, where the main characters are plagued with an undisclosed mental malady. Through Poe’s use of point of view, style, tone, and tropes, he painted a perfect picture of the Victorian view of the mentally ill and the mind of the artist which was believed to be different faces of the same coin.

Thomas Szasz was one of the first psychiatrist to criticise psychiatry and argue about the concept of mental illness. His book “The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct” highlights the fundamental flaws in the administration of psychiatry, with the aim of challenging the medical characteristics of the concept of mental illness and the wrongful treatment of patients without their consent.

People with mental health issues have been viewed and treated in a variety of ways within western society throughout time. Historically if an individual displayed behaviours which disrupted their function in society and defied social norms they were viewed as lunatics, insane or even cursed (Cowan, 2008; Elder & Evans & Nizette, 2009). It is from these past issues that many people still have unreasonable thoughts about mental illness; their misconceptions have created unreasonable fears and negative attitudes toward those who experience it. This negativity brings for many the barriers of not only

Laing, who examined the existential aspect of symptom’s characteristic; and Michel Foucault, who explored the social and political factors of the institutionalization of those with mental illness. Mental illness, to these academics, was “a social construction used to label socially intolerable behavior” thereby branding it as individual flaws. Such claims from academic figures such as Szasz, Laing, and Foucault led to an anti-psychiatry movement that was highly critical of the psychiatric authority. Psychiatry and psychology at the time was argued to “enforce power relations rather than [treat] actual clinical conditions” which mirrored Szasz’s ideas on the political agenda behind psychology and

Entering the taboo world of mental illness, stigmatized as the crazy and psychotic by decades of

In Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the film Girl, Interrupted directed by James Mangold, the authors look at American psychiatric institutions of the 1960s and explore the idea that hospitals act as a microcosm for society, where characters are used as symbols to represent aspects of society. The settings represent conformity and rebellion, prejudice against minorities and authority figures ruling absolutely. Both authors use stylistic features to position the audience to respond to ideas common in both texts.

Emotional sickness has been a mind boggling point since the development of its known presence. While the meaning of dysfunctional behavior has developed, and been re-imagined for quite a long time, it can be best marked as a mutable, or a regularly changing thought that for all intents and purposes changes the result for treatment. (DeYoung 259) In early developments, up until about the nineteenth century, having an emotional instability was rejected as a man being under an obscure stupor which could bring about those being secured away mental homes forever. The other more radical conclusion had a tendency to be individuals who were rationally unwell were controlled by some kind of wicked compel and the best way to evacuate this underhanded drive was by expulsion or conceivable murder. While human blunder and

Mental illnesses were diagnosed much more frequently during the middle of the twentieth century than they are today. During the time period in which One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, took place, mental illnesses were taken much more seriously, and people admitted themselves to institutions if they felt incapable of functioning sufficiently in their everyday lives. Today, people in similar situations who have great difficulty living normal lives are told that there is nothing wrong with them. The population of mental institutions today is about one tenth of the population of mental institutions in 1955 (Kozlowska). McMurphy and modern day leftists do not

A sociological theory is defined as a set of ideas that provide explanations about society and its structures. Functionalism and weberianism are most influential sociological theories about health and illness. With some similarities these theories have different ways to explain health and wellness. The essay will compare and contrast the two theories in terms of health and illness and shed light on the way these theories enhance the knowledge of health professionals.

Dramatic stories of people with mental health conditions appear pervasively in almost every media outlet, beginning generations ago, and continuing steadily in modern society. These themes--of violent madmen, hysterical witches, insane criminals, and every other generalization of the mentally ill--perpetuate the harmful misrepresentation and stigmatization of mental illness, which is a common element in modern everyday life. One of the greatest factors contributing to this situation today is the presence of said misconceptions in printed media--not just modern works, but also the appraised classics, such as William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth and Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein. Even as centuries pass and contemporary society advances, it is evident that ultimately, as the reader analyzes both Macbeth and Frankenstein, definitive British literature strengthens the negative stigma surrounding mental health, as it similarly misrepresents the legitimate issues regarding mental illness.

When the discourse of psychosomatic illness is that of blame, deviancy, and dismissal, and the medical industry is charged with policing said deviancy, it cannot possibly heal psychosomatic illness effectively. Adopting the perspective that psychosomatic illness has underlying implications of social and political oppression, would illuminate the individual's responsibility of their illness, thus eradicating their deviancy and ultimately the need to police.

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.