The Importance Of Mental Health

1773 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on stigmatization

When I was a high school student I was deciding on potential career paths, there were three areas that sparked interest to me. Them being psychology, social work, and nursing. The results on many career aptitude tests suggested similar fields as well. Upon discussion about career choices in a class, a few of my colleagues, and teachers had discouraged me from entering the field of psychology as they stated that it was frightening to interact with individuals who were suffering, and that consequently I would develop a mental illness as well. The beliefs and attitudes surrounding mental health are very stigmatizing for individuals who have mental health disorders, this effects their accessibility and quality to receive help. The purpose of …show more content…

However the eastern culture has a tendency to ignores the aspect of mental health, which may be one of the reasons why a great amount of the population are unaware of the mental health disorders. Deeming mental health illnesses as an unknown aspect of health contributes to the stigma that is evident in societies. By taking community health nursing, and psychological disorders in the same semester, I was able to relate the stigma associated with mental health with social determinants of health such as income, employment, social exclusion, and housing. Social determinants of health are factors that can act as barriers to improving health, or factors that support health. For instance, if an individual is severely depressed and is unable to get out of bed to go to work, the individual will lose his/her job. Upon losing one 's job, the individual may not have a source of income, and may not have the means to have housing and is then evicted. This individual may or may not have the social support to receive assistance in this crisis, which can lead to homelessness or substandard housing. This is the unfortunate reality of what individuals with mental health illnesses, as well as physiological disorders may …show more content…

While observing a grade one class, I have noticed that bullying is occurring at a very young age which was alarming to me. A few students were discussing how they did not want to interact with a certain student because he was "icky" and "weird". The social determinant of health that is applicable to this situation is social isolation, as the victim of bullying is being excluded and has a lack of social support among his peers. This may lead to the education determinant of health as the student may avoid coming to school because of his experiences he has with his peers, and he considers his environment as unsafe at school. If these incidences continue throughout his life there is a possibility the child may become depressed which may lead to suicide, as this is an occurring phenomena among students who are bullied. An example of this case would be of Amanda Todd, a female who has taken her life because she felt that she had no social support. As a future health care provider, I am going to make certain that I treat individuals with mental health disorders with respect, and empathy by educating myself on the issues surrounding delivery of care for mental health, raising awareness among other health care providers and students through

Show More
Related

  • The Concept Of Mental Health

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    Race, by definition, refers to biological characteristics of individuals as reflected in their physical appearance (Lyndonna Marrast, David U. Himmelstein, and Steffie Woolhandler, 2016) Contrary to popular race, the concept of race is not something that is intrinsic to human nature; in other words, it is an aspect of society that has been socially constructed with the intention of separation and segregation. Usually, those that are placed into racial categories are associated with certain prejudices and biases that are the result of multiple stereotypes that are perpetuated in our society; for example, there are multiple stigmas of African Americans in today’s society. As a result, this has allowed for the development of a specific way of

    Read More

  • Youth Suicide

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...h make take their life. Bullying of any sort erodes one’s self-confidence and an individual may become depressed as a result. This depression may then affect their relationships and academics, furthering the problem as the demands of society weigh hard on children and teenagers. As a result, safe havens for at-risk children would be one of the best ways to rebuild their self-confidence and let them know that there are other people out there being bullied and understand what they are going through. The success with similar programs for youths who have been sexually abused, shows that there are group programs out there that have been able to help those who are most at-risk. Through the understanding of Merton’s strain theory, focusing the attention on the feelings of the children affected and by comforting them, the risk of youth suicide in North America will decrease.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Mental Health Community

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    The societal issue that I have selected is that of community inclusion for those people suffering with mental health issue and their ability to successfully integrate into the community, after years of institutional living. Two cornerstone of community building is movement beyond problem solving toward changing conditions, and the people affected should play a major part in improving the conditions (Homan, 2011). For those who are affected by mental illness, it is key that they are given resources necessary to live and thrive in their new environment.

    Read More

  • Mental Health Importance

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mental Health is a controversial topic among many ethnic and cultural groups all over the world. Some choose to ignore it altogether, leave it alone or consider it taboo, whereas others choose to make it important to focus on in their communities or families, since it is very important towards the growth of the body and self. It is up to the individual, regardless, to get help and assistance for any of their problems if they prevail and affect your everyday life. Self-esteem, anger, depression and stress are all very real things that we experience every day within our lives, or that we have all experienced ourselves at one point of time. To those who do not have any mental health problems or choose to ignore

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Mental Health Care

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    When contemplating the vastness of social policies that could benefit from advocacy for policy change and a thoughtful, responsive audience, there is one topic that situates itself to the forefront of the list of policies needing major reform. This topic is that of health care resources available to those coping with mental health concerns. Though this population faces a variety of challenges such as housing/ homelessness, employment/ training opportunities and educational attainment to suggest a few, each challenge cycles into the next, effecting one another, disturbing how an individual can cope medically. Health care rights for those with mental health concerns bubbled to the public consciousness around with the acknowledgement of “serious

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Mental Health

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mental health is a crucial part of our being and has a profound effect on how we live our lives. It determines how we socialize, how we reason, how we deal with our emotions, and how we handle stress; and when impaired and/or neglected, it can have crippling effects on the way in which we function on a cognitive or even physical level. Anyone can become susceptible to mental illness or compromised mental well-being. However, throughout history mental health has often been overlooked by society and mental illness, in particular, has been long stigmatized. This has left many of those affected untreated, poorly treated, destitute, and even outcast from society. Through education and the changing attitudes of society, mental health treatment has

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Mental Health Care

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Russell, L., (2010), provides these statistics on mental health disorders; he stated that these are common occurrence in the United States, affecting some 44 million adults and 13.7 million children each year. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and 80 percent to 90 percent of people who die by suicide suffered from a mental illness. While most mental health disorders are treatable with medication and other therapies, yet fewer than half of adults and only one-third of children with a diagnosable mental disorder receive treatment. Russell, L., (2010), noted that, under the Affordable Care Act and other recent legislation such as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, mental health disorders are covered but

    Read More

  • Mental Wellness And The Issue Of Mental Health

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mental health issues affect people of every age all over the world, and there are so many complex disorders that people cope with. These issues and disorders include depression, anxiety disorders, and OCD (Fundamental facts about health, 2015). While many people suffer from mental illness, there is still a strong stigma surrounding the topic of mental health which makes it incredibly difficult for people, especially children and young adults, to talk about what they experience and to receive help. Many young people choose to suffer in silence than to be open about their challenges, however the statistics below confirm the issue of mental wellness is more common than people think.

    Read More

  • Mental Health: The Negative Effects Of Mental Health

    1858 Words  | 4 Pages

    Surprisingly people in the mental health field, including but not limited: to doctors, specifically psychiatrists, nurses, therapists, and counselors, also contribute to the stigmatization of mental illness. “Since health professionals are part of the general public, their attitudes may in part reflect social stigma; however, their unique roles and responsibility to ‘help’ may create a specific barrier” (Ahmedani 4). Many patients report feeling marginalized by their health care professionals and that their own personal thoughts, feelings, and ideals are not being accounted for. On the surface many mental illnesses might seem very similar, but in actuality they are all very different and have to be handled different ways, just like every patient is different and will not always respond in a predictable way. It takes a long time to properly manage a person’s mental illness because no one management or treatment works for everyone. “Overall, health professionals may not provide adequate intervention, early detection, or community referral options for individuals with mental or behavioral disorders” (Ahmedani 7). It is easier for health professionals to accept the stereotypes and give the majority of their patients a mediocre treatment that can be applies to many illnesses than to give each patient an adequate treatment plan that is specifically designed for him or her. In creating a customized treatment plan for a patients “Clinicians should ask about the nature of adverse experiences, discrimination, the extent of social networks, self-image, etc., and incorporate these issues into the treatment plan” (Byrne 69). It will be a slower and more difficult process than giving them a baseline treatment, but personalizing treatments for each patient ensures that they are getting the best help for their specific

    Read More

  • Stigmas Of Mental Health

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    School boards need to teach the subject, the dark perception of mental disorders needs to be lifted, and judgements need to be removed. In order for people to understand the issue, affected individuals need to be able to feel safe to speak out. Friends and families need to make an effort to understand mental disorders to provide support instead of derogatory labels. Teachers should provide extra time and accommodated assignments to reduce intensity of mental health issues within students. Mental illnesses are not the same as physical illnesses, therefore they should not be treated the same. Mental disorders are serious illnesses but they cannot be solved by natural sciences and medication. Increase of education and support is the solution to mental health issues and stigmas, because they will create an understanding within society. Only understanding the situation will spark support for research and treatments. The most prominent issue which stresses mental disorders is the lack of understanding which leaves affected individuals isolated. There has been more awareness of mental health through prominent figures speaking out, the creation of organizations such as DART, NIMH, and SPEAK at Central Academy, and increased funds such as the National Mental Health Fund. Progress still needs to be continuously made to resolve mental health stigmas and

    Read More

  • The Stigma Of Mental Health

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    The biggest obstacle in the goal to eradicate mental health stigma is that many people aren’t aware of what a mental disorders are, and how commonly they occur. Many people associate people with mental illness (also called psychological disorders) as “crazy” or “insane”. However, these disorders can be as simple as attention and hyperactivity problems (ADHD), stress disorders, and depression. There are of course more serious issues like bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, but even those can be handled with proper methods of medication and therapeutic assistance. These disorders can also vary in intensity, doctors will often use words like extreme, or mild to identify the effect of the disorder on the person. Also, more often than not, people’s experiences with these disorders vary.

    Read More

  • Mental Health: The Quality Of Life

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mental health in society today is still associated with a stigma that which people are made to feel afraid or embarrassed to tell a health care professional what they are feeling or thinking. Mental Health includes emotional psychological and social wellbeing. Although the fear of most people is not to speak about or act on the issues they may have, some people need too, there are many factors that play a part in mental health from biological factors, life experiences or even family history. Research studies show that,” a desire to avoid stigma may play a role in the under-coding of behavioral health issues, such as substance dependence or suicide attempts. As a further complication, the diagnostic criteria for some of

    Read More

  • Essay On The Importance Of Mental Health

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the years of 2014-2015 when I was a senior in high school, I had one of the lowest and highest points in my life that I can vividly remember. The lowest point began when I got my class rank, and I realized that it was not high enough for me to get into my dream school UT. I have always had low self-esteem but after that, it plummeted even further. However, that fall I kept hope and still applied. Around February I had found out that I was not accepted and I was shattered. During this time, it was hard for me to find motivation to do anything. All I wanted to do was sleep regardless of the time, which to me was a strong indication that something was wrong. This continued until about May when I

    Read More

  • Mental Health: As Important as Physical Health

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our society today does not value our mental health like it should. If society would only pay as much attention to mental health, they would be better off in the long run. Think about an athlete playing a sport, they certainly understand how important physical health is. When a baseball player injures his knee, he is out and waits until it heals. But like many people, mental health is overlooked. Most teenagers do not realize that the many things like stress or eating disorders are coming from a poor mental state. They think that if they just ignore it they will snap out of it, this is not true and many times this kind of thinking will only make it worse (Change Your Mind). Mental health is not seen as important as physical health due to misconceptions and stigma behind mental health patients. By increasing the importance of personal mental health, people can reduce issues associated with mental health problems and raise awareness for people who suffer from mental health issues.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Mental Health

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    This idea is supported by the results of one survey, in which “respondents cited television and television news programs as a source of information about mental illness in 87% of the sample” (Diefenbach 183). If society is obtaining a large portion of their information on this topic from biased television programs, one solution is certainly to increase the level of accurate information being provided. While Matteo argues that college “psychology programs ought to explore stigma-reducing pedagogies as part of their curricula,” as this will reduce stigma in both those pursuing a career in mental health services and those attending the many schools which “require nonmajors to take introductory psychology” (121), this should be taken a step further; information regarding mental illness should be incorporated into various classes, such as general health, beginning in educational settings prior to college, in order to reach as many people as possible. Preferably, information should start being taught during childhood, as this is the time in which humans are most “impressionable and susceptible to influence” (Diefenbach 183). If accurate information is readily available to society, their dependence on forms of media, such as television, for information on this

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Mental Health

Open Document