Lara Carolina Da Silva Final Essay 1 Chapter Nine: Mental Health Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in North America and Europe in every community costing the U.S. over half a trillion dollars per year. Mental health is defined as the emotional and social wellbeing and psychological resources for dealing with the day-to-day problems of life. Mental illness is the term describing all mental disorders. Mental disorders are health conditions that are identified by changes in thinking and behavior. Mental disorders as well as mental impairment can occur from postnatal exposure to physical, chemical, and biological agents, like secondhand cigarette smoke. Brain function impairment can be caused by trauma, such as a car crash or bullet wound, or by disease, such as syphilis, cancer, or stroke. Maladaptive family functioning (such as having a parent with mental illness, or substance abuse problem) poverty, experiencing violence, physical or sexual abuse, or neglect can also lead to mental illness. Growing up in neighborhoods marked by social division leads to discrimination, and social hardship adds to the risk. Families of the mental usually did the treatment for mental disorders in Colonial America, ill or by private caretakers. Institutionalization began during the eighteenth century; people with mental disorders were placed in undifferentiated poorhouses or almshouses which were locally run public institutions for the mentally ill or crippled. Towards the second half of the 20th century this kind of treatment was replaced by moral treatment which was treatment based on the theory that environmental changes could affect an individual’s mind and consequently altering their behavior. Mentally ill persons w... ... middle of paper ... ...ogram that gives legal resources, lawyer referrals, help with special needs estate and lifetime planning as well as help navigating the justice system which is something that greatly helps those with mental illness who sometimes aren’t aware of their benefits and help dealing with legal issues. Another program NAMI provides is the Veterans and Military Resource Center which is a center that provides resources, support, education on mental health to; active duty military personnel, veterans with mental illness and their family members. They cover many mental illnesses and issues that relate to veterans and are common issues amongst veterans; they provide information about the diseases, treatment, screenings, data research and more. This is very much needed as many of our veterans suffer from illnesses like PTSD, depression, and other mental or brain injuries.
Mental illness plagues one out of four American citizens. Mental illness varies greatly from person to person. The spectrum of mental illness includes many illnesses including, depression and anxiety as well as some more serious illnesses such as Down syndrome. All mental illness plays a role in how this person is going to function in society. These individuals have unique needs and individual strengths that need evaluated for proper care.
In the 1800’s people with mental illnesses were frowned upon and weren't treated like human beings. Mental illnesses were claimed to be “demonic possessions” people with mental illnesses were thrown into jail cells, chained to their beds,used for entertainment and even killed. Some were even slaves, they were starved and forced to work in cold or extremely hot weather with chains on their feet. Until 1851, the first state mental hospital was built and there was only one physician on staff responsible for the medical, moral and physical treatment of each inmate. Who had said "Violent hands shall never be laid on a patient, under any provocation.
Mental health patients were considered innately inferior and treated as the weaker portion of the human race due to the prevailing dominant theory of Social Darwinism in the 1800s. They were put in mental asylums, where conditions had deteriorated substantially from earlier in the century. (Floyd) The public’s interest about the unsatisfactory care of the mentally ill, championed by Dorothea Dix, led to some reforms, such as higher medical standards, more oversight into asylum practices, and more research into mental health. (Floyd) Nevertheless, the status of the mentally ill did not elevate much higher, and by the 1890s the repeated failure of asylum therapy convinced most that insanity and mental illness was incorrigible. Finding no alternatives, however, patients continued to be sent to asylums to attempt to cure them as much as to isolate them from the rest of society. (Roberts) Unfortunately, people also began to fear the proliferation of the mentally ill. When sterilization became considered, unrealistic, more, cheaper asylums were built as a means of segregated them and preventing an increase in their numbers. (Roberts)
Mental illness can be a mixture of different factors. You can get mental illness through genetics meaning that it is passed down within the family. That can only happen if the mental illness is heredity. Another factor of mental illness is psychological trauma. Psychological trauma like abuse, or loss can cause some mental illnesses. When mental illness is untreated it makes it difficult for the person to function in society and deal with everyday life. The different types of mental illnesses range from anxiety disorders to personality disorders. Other mental illnesses are mood disorders, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and impulse control and addiction disorders. An example psychotic disorder schizophrenia. Examples of eating disorders are bulimia and anorexia. According to MedicineNet.com “Most mental illnesses are caused by a combination of factors and cannot be prevented”. Mental illness is something that should not be avoided. The biggest issue when it comes to mental illness that is noticeable is when someone who has a mental il...
Mental illness is something that people do not like to talk about because of the stigma associated with it. Mental illness is a common, yet misunderstood medical condition that changes cognitive, mental, and social skills. Some common mental illnesses include depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. These diseases and disorders can affect multiple parts of a person’s personality and change a person’s mental capacity. Some of the main causes of mental illness are genetic, traumatic, and environmental. Genetic mental illness is contained in a person’s genetics and travels through genes. This mental illness travels from parents to children. Traumatic mental illness, like PTSD, affects many people but is common in military service men and women. Traumatic events can alter the way that the brain functions. Anxiety, sleeplessness, and rage are common symptoms of this trauma. These changes to the brain are not permanent, and with therapy and treatment, the damage is reversible. Environmental mental illness is a very common mental illness with links to environmental factors like drugs...
Two hundred years ago, Pennsylvania revolutionized the mental health care movement. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia doctor made a suggestion to his fellow colleagues about individuals suffering from mental disorders. Instead of treating individuals with mental disorders as a sign of demon possession or confused soul, treat their disorder as an illness. In the late 1800's, another Philadelphia doctor caught wind of Rush's idea to treat mental illness. Thomas Kirkbride believed the insane, as they were called in nineteeth century, deserved humane treatment. After this realization, the asylum movement took place in Pennsylvania. Individuals suffering from mental disorders were taken out of their inhumane circumstances an...
Nursing assessment of mental illness is a complex task – especially in the community health clinics that serve persons of minority groups, the indigent, and uninsured. According to the National Institute of Mental health (2007), and the Surgeon General (2001), approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population suffer from mental illness each year (as cited in Hunt, 2009). According to Genrich and McGuire (2009), the use of evidence-based screening for mental illness has been generally accepted in the clinical setting and is modifiable in different primary care settings (as cited in Russell, 2010). However, despite a general acceptance of mental health screening in primary care, less than 33 percent of primary care providers regularly screen their patients for mental illness (Russell, 2010). This is why community health nurses are tasked to assess patients in diverse environments and “need to accurately assess and identify factors in the psychological, social, and physical environment that may contribute to mental illness” (Hunt, 2009, p. 424).
Are mental health services underfunded in Australia? In fact, the whole mental health services are underfunded. People experiencing mental health problems and sicknesses aren't getting a fair deal. They have to face money/giving money shortages, limited access to services, unfair treatment based on skin colour, age, etc. and the services that still do exist are finding it impossible to successfully deal with demand. Every single day, Two hundred Australians attempt to take their own lives, but around seven Australians succeed. This is more than 2,500 people lost to suicide each year. Western Australia shows that many suicidal people are suffering. The crowded and blocked public hospitals are often forced to release mental health patients too early, and sometimes people are being refused care. According to the Age Newspaper some young people have committed suicide after being refused help. Western Australia is not the only state where people are losing their lives due to the underfunding of mental
Health is a complex concept, and when we talk about health we refer to body health and to the health of the mind, the health of relationships between us and those around us, the spiritual health. Looking online on one of the additional resources recommended, www.nimh.nih.gov, I have noticed that one of the symptoms of most diseases that affect a person's mental health is lack of sleep. Lack of sleep not only worsens man's mental health, but also causes serious imbalances in metabolism, immunity, general mood, and last but not least, affects the ability of learning and memorizing among students. The sleep fulfills a number of vital functions for both our mind and body. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, which is a valuable and useful
Mental illnesses have developed since the 16th century in Europe, and transitioned to America later during the 1800’s. Faced with bias and harsh treatment, many patients endured the cruel life of uncivilized institutions. Through reforms, revolutionaries, such as Dorothea Dix, Sigmund Freud, and Pinel and Tuke, changed the ways in which psychiatric institutions were ran. How did psychiatric institutions affect America?
Mental health is just as important as physical health in a person’s life. Mental health is critical to a person’s well-being, their ability to live a productive life and to keep a healthy family and interpersonal relationships. Mental health does not just affect the mind it also affects people’s physical health. Some physical health diseases can cause a mental health disorder and vice versa. Mental health disorders are associated with the occurrence, development, and outcome of some of the today’s most chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. When people go untreated from a mental health disorder are at a higher risk for many unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, violent behavior, and suicide.
Mental illness is the condition that significantly impede with an individual’s emotional, cognitive or social abilities (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). According to (Savy and Sawyer, 2009) neurological, metabolic, genetic and psychological causes are contributing factors for various types of mental illness like depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse and progression of condition. An elaborate system known as DSM-IV-TR gives a classification system that acts to separate mental illness into diagnostic categories based on the description of symptoms of illness (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). The exact primarily causes of mental illness are complicated, however, it seems to occur in a psychologically and biologically prone individual, in the trigger of environmental and social stress (Elder, Evans and Nizette, 2007).
The topic that I choose is mental health education for teenagers in school. Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. In schools we have classes focusing upon the physical and educational well-being of students but has ignored the mental well-being. The lack of mental health education results in people not knowing how to properly interact with mental illness both in others and with themselves. Not only is the knowledge of how to deal with mental illness an issue but the stigmatization that has derived from the lack of understanding creates a negative environment in confronting these illnesses.
The silent killer that takes lives without warning, punishment, or any sympathy; depression is truly one of the most prominent mental illnesses in the world. Depression is defined as a mental illness inducing a severe and staunch feeling of sadness. The term depressed is coined in English as a temporary sadness that everyone experiences in their life. Despite that depression is more active in women, it is still one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. It affects anybody, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic standing. Regardless of all these facts, surprisingly little is known about depression, however, scientists have been able to hypothesize major causes, effects, and treatments for the disability affecting over
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several