The Stereotypes Of Mental Illness

When the phrase “mental illness” is spoken, the immediate thought that pops into the individual’s mind is the extremes such as Schizophrenia, or Bipolar Disorder. However, the majority of mental disorders fall into the spectrum of quite common disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Why should the first thing that people think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, the attitudes of individuals, and skepticism, and the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, makes a connection to these views of the world.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that usually shows up in adolescence or young adulthood but can be seen in children as young as eight years old. It is a long term mental disorder characterized by a faulty perception of reality, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. It typically involves the breakdown of a person’s relationship between thought, emotion, and behavior. Currently, there are five subtypes of schizophrenia included in the DSM-5; paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Each subtype is characterized by their most prominent symptom. For instance, paranoid schizophrenia is a subtype in which a person experiences

Walking into “Briarcliff Manor”, the psychiatric hospital in American Horror Story: Asylum, immediately you hear patients screaming in your ear, the smell of rust from the chains staff use to restrain them, you can feel the tension between the staff and the patients and if you go into the day room you see people banging their heads on the wall, staring into space, fidgeting endlessly, or talking to someone who isn’t there. Patients are held in cell-like rooms with only a little-barred window and a small opening that staff can slide their food through. The show goes as far as to show a doctor using the patients to “experiment” during which he created “Raspers” which were mutated versions of the patients and were fed deceased patients. Psychiatric hospitals have always been portrayed as a horrifying place to go, American Horror Story hasn't helped that stereotype. It is true that psychiatric hospitals have treated their patients terribly, that was almost seventy years ago. Since then long-stay psychiatric hospitals have been closed with more services to truly help these patients, along with the hospitals have gained laws that need to be followed, there are no hospitals that treat people as inhumanely as hospitals have in the past. These stereotypes scare people from going into a psychiatric hospital to receive the help they truly need because of shows portraying the mentally ill in such a negative way. The mentally

My stereotypes and perceptions of the mentally ill have changed over the years. Some of these were because I lacked knowledge mental health and the other was just being ignorant. Public stigma gave me many preconceptions of the mentally ill. Media was probably the worst with its nightly news reporting, on reasons why a person had disruptive or violent behaviors. Reporter’s always tried to link the mental state of the person to the crime or incident. It was always interesting how everyone in my family sat around the TV making comments. I was young at the at time and listened to how they called confirmed people with a history of mental illness “nuts” or they most have “lost their marbles”. Growing up I remember if anyone did not act normal or

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

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.

There are roughly around 400 million individuals, nationwide that suffer from a mental illness. Within the group of mentally ill individuals, there are several of them that are not being treated. One reason that effects individuals for seeking treatment is the stereotypes about mental ill which governs mentally healthy people’s judgement. Thus, harsh judgement from “normal” individuals affect the outcome for mentally ill seeking treatment. Not just mentally healthy individuals hold stereotypes, but mental health nurses tend to carry the same stereotypes that steer their perspective on mental patients. In the mental facilities, there are low rate of staff that have the appropriate requirement for taking care of mental patients. Several

While mental health is a global issue with varying stereotypes and prejudice surrounding it, there seems to be a shared general opinion that our society has regarding the mentally ill. However, because being mentally ill generally means something different depending on who or where you may be asking, as some cultures view mental illness in completely different ways than others, the focus of this paper will be in regards to the shared general opinion and view that Americans have of the mentally ill, as well as the stereotypes, prejudice and the stigma that they associate with those who are suffering from mental health issues. In the United States, as Mooney states, “Mental health is defined as the successful performance of mental function, resulting

A common theme in today’s world is ensuring everyone has equality and is treated with dignity and respect. By taking the perspective of a person with a mental illness, society can create better treatment opportunities. This can come in the form of better healthcare or spreading awareness of different treatment options. In addition, society can begin to sympathize with individuals affected by mental illnesses. Rather than ostracizing them, society can help these individuals lead a normal life and be assimilated into the normal world.

Including medical staffs tends to discriminate against mentally ill patients when it comes to care. In other words, mentally ill patients do not receive the proper care due to stereotypes which affect patient and nurses bond. For instance, a study has shown that nurses that work in the mental health care would have a negative attitude on patients that would say they had a mental disorder (Ross & Goldner 2009). The factor being, the stereotypes that the nurses carry shape their perspective on mental ill patients, like the mentally healthy individuals that are not working in the field. There should be aim for a proper care for the individuals that are seeking treatment for the mental patients. As Ross and Goldner claim that the negative

I have a mental illness. Think about that for a minute. Now what kind of assumptions did you make about me? What kind of stereotypes? Did you assume that I must be really demented, and can’t function properly? Or how about I have no motivation and am indolent? Maybe even I just invented the idea for a little extra attention. There are people that believe mental illnesses are fake. I believe that is because they don’t know enough about this topic that is almost considered a taboo. Society should be more aware of mental illnesses and shouldn’t discriminate against those struggling with them.

Several months ago, I assisted in the care of a psychiatric patient who harbored ill-will towards Hispanics. While helping care for him the patient uttered belittling remarks about me and at one point stated that he wished to "kill Hispanics". I was offered early in his visit to be unassigned from his care team. I refused. In medicine one must be able to be courteous, professional and objective at all times, and I refused to let his comments deter me from helping him get the best care

Mental Health is a topic that should be taken more seriously and should really be talked about more. There are so many people in the world that have a Mental Illness but are too afraid to talk about it because of the backlash or the weird looks. Nobody should feel that they are alone when dealing with any kind of illness. Having a support system is a big part of being able to fight that mental illness and will give you the strength to get through it. If you are to afraid to tell a love one, there are always counselors that are willing to help you through the process. It amazing to read the different ways each country portrays mental illness and to see most countries start

I have heard several misconceptions about stereotyping individuals with some sort of mental illness. I have heard people tell individuals who have anxiety issues that it's all in your head. There is no need to have anxiety you can simply change who you are. I do believe that it's possible to a certain extent, but what if they have a chemical imbalance in their head which is causing them to have anxiety. I have had friends that were dealing with anxiety issues. The struggle is real against themselves. People are quick to label you as being "crazy" like someone dealing with generalized anxiety disorder and that takes medication to cope. The people that judge and make assumptions don't even know the whole story. It's a easy way of labeling someone

Just like everyone know what cancer is and how to help, mental health should be treated the same way. People going through mental health need to know that they have people to rely on and people who are willing to be there for them in times of need. They should be accepted instead of ignored. John Green once said, “ There is hope, even if getting good treatment is difficult, especially in a health-care system that too often fails to acknowledge the seriousness of mental illness...you live with it. You get better. You get worse. You get better again. Sometimes you're driving the bus and sometimes you aren't, but the bus rumbles along regardless. You