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Stigma of mental illness summary
Stigma of mental illness summary
Does mental illness affect children and young adults essay
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Mental Illness Stigma The taboo subject of mental illness is something that is often silenced, or even made fun of by many, even though 18.5% of the human population is directly impacted. People staying quiet about it is a huge reason why so many people hesitate to come forward with what they are going through. Many people are too scared to seek help because they think they will be seen differently, and failing to get the help they need can lead to many devastating consequences. Mental disorders and illnesses are highly stigmatized, and this is causing people to hide away in silence. Milena Bimpong addresses that “In the United States, about 43.8 billion adults have a mental illness – this is equal to one in five adults. And among these adults, …show more content…
It isn’t possible for someone to have their bottle of pills listen to their personal problems and give constructive feedback. It’s extremely rare for a little exercise and diet change to completely eliminate someone’s depression, even if it may help some people relieve their symptoms. Paradigm Malibu wants people to be aware that “medication can balance the mood swings in bipolar disorder, lessen their anxiety, and prevent periods of depression. However, underneath those symptoms there may be underlying issues that led to the anxiety, depression, or mood swings in the first place. A teen might also have needs for better coping with their illness, an emotional outlet for expressing their frustrations, and types of support that medication cannot …show more content…
The solution to any problem is to attack it at the source. The source of the illness is very likely to be from childhood, as that it the period of time when they are prone to developing them, whether the causes may be obvious or not. Especially during adolescence, chemicals in the brain are increasing, decreasing, disappearing, or even developing. With all of the great internal changes in the body, it is very likely that chemicals may come to a point of imbalance. Especially with endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, the proportions may not end up being sufficient enough for the brain, which then may result in disorders like depression. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “parent-reported information from the 2011-12 National Survey of Children’s Health showed that one out of seven U.S. children aged two to eight years had a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder (MBDD).” Furthermore, the National Center for Children in Poverty have observed that around 20% of adolescents are afflicted, and between 50% and 75% of those adolescents with anxiety disorders develop the effects during puberty. The stress of school can significantly increase the chances of mental illness, so if teachers are going to bombard their students with work, they might as well give them some lessons on managing stress and elevating
I think we should really value the mental health of our children in the society if we want to develop this great Nation. The psychological well-being of our children affects us both directly and indirectly whether we accept this fact or not. It is very important that we ensure that our beloved children have the capabilities to adapt to the stresses, working productively both in school and also contribute to the developments in the community. Problems associated with mental illness or health are very common in this society especially in the institutions of learning be it high schools, colleges or even universities. Some health problems associated with mental health include depressions, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders and at time schizophrenia. It is therefore of vital importance to encourage and promote the improvement of mental health among our children.
The stigma and negative associations that go with mental illness have been around as long as mental illness itself has been recognized. As society has advanced, little changes have been made to the deep-rooted ideas that go along with psychological disorders. It is clearly seen throughout history that people with mental illness are discriminated against, cast out of society, and deemed “damaged”. They are unable to escape the stigma that goes along with their illness, and are often left to defend themselves in a world that is not accepting of differences in people. Society needs to realize what it is doing, and how it is affecting these people who are affected with mental illness. If we continue to not help them, and to foster their illness, it will only get worse.
In the United States alone, 57.7 million individuals suffer from mental illness. These illnesses range anywhere from mood disorders to anxiety disorders or to personality disorders and so on (The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America). 18 to 25 year olds make up about 30% of these individuals alone (Survey Finds Many Living with Mental Illness Go Without Treatment). These individuals require care from medication to psychiatry or even to confinement. However, of these 57.7 million individuals with mental illness, studies have found that less than one in three of these individuals receive proper treatment (Studies Say Mental Illness Too Often Goes Untreated).
Mental illness is more common than one would like to believe. In reality, one in five Americans will suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. Though that ratio is about equivalent to more than fifty-four million people, mental illness still remains a shameful and stigmatized topic (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The taboo of mental illness has an extensive and exhausting history, dating back to the beginning of American colonization. It has not been an easy road, to say the least.
Therefore, the pressure mental illness does in a school environment. Many kids who develop a mental illness are misunderstood. The particular student who always turns in their homework on time begins to stop; according to one student, “my parents asked me why I had failed to produce any homework despite having sat at my desk for several hours” (Shields 43). This information indicates the student seems lazy or does not understand the work given, however the problem with the student is the emotions did not match up to a state to concentrate enough to finish a task. The other issue is that the student may not understand the problem of the mental illness. Grades begin to alternate in two different directions. The student who brought back great grades in their report card has begun to show results out of the ordinary, which is the sense of failing classes, “a first semester of As and one B and then Cs and one D for the second semester that person would probably say they were two different people” (47). A student who falls back on their studies may experience a heavy change in behavior, which if not taken care of; the student will not graduate high school and start to fall back on school life. Interacting with peers begins to be a difficult task. Social communication is a necessity in daily life, without it a person will face trouble when talking in the future. According to a psychologist students with a mental illness develop problems when, “talking to other students, get notes or discuss assignments, participate in class, meet students outside of class, chat with other students at class breaks, and make friends” (Mueser).
The discussion of mental health is slowly being brought to the social surface to create a more inclusive society for those dealing with a mental illness. However, those with a mental illness are continuously being affected by stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by those who simply don’t comprehend the complexity of the human brain (Glaser, G.2017). As more people become mental health activist, they are exposing the plethora of issues surrounding the overall mental and physical stability of those who are negatively affected by the social construct of what it means to be normal.
In today’s society, the stigma around mental health has caused many people to fear seeking medical treatment for problems they are dealing with. With an abundance of hateful outlooks and stereotypical labels such as: crazy, psycho, and dangerous, it is clear that people with a mental illness have a genuine reason to avoid pursuing medical treatments. Along with mental health stigma, psychiatric facilities that patients with a mental health issue attend in order to receive treatment obtain an excessive amount of unfavorable stereotypes.
There is a stigma surrounding seeking help for mental illness that needs to be broken. Mental illness is not to be taken lightly, it is a serious matter. These people need genuine help; help that they should be able to seek without having to worry about repercussions.
This is widely due to mass media creating a stigma for the mentally ill people that most of the general population tend to believe in the United States. I will begin with what I remember of my experience of learning I have mental health illness. I remember suffering heavily through my early teens to my twenties with depression. I had tried at that time just about every type of depression medication available and none of them worked for me. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that my depression just kind of went away.
Janice Lloyd, health reporter for USA Today, states that of the 45.9 million people who reported having a mental illness, only 39.2 percent of those people said they received treatment. With those statistics, it calculates out to be that 27,907,200 people did not receive the proper care that they need. There could be a wide range of reasons why people did not receive treatment, but a large reason is the stigma behind mental illness. It causes the people struggling with a mental illness to be embarrassed of their disorder; sadly, I was one of them. I felt ashamed to admit to my friends and family about my depression because I was deeply afraid of how they might view me differently. After experiencing those type of feelings, it made me realize
Once the teenager has had depression for a long period of time, they develop coping mechanisms that will more damage than helping them. Some of these coping mechanisms may include doing activities that the teenager decides they are comfortable with or creating bonds with teachers and friends they are 100% comfortable with. After this has gone on for a long time, depression becomes harder to treat (Steingard). One type of treatment that can be used is cognitive behavioral therapy (Steingard). Most teens with depression think of everything in a negative way, and usually in the most negative way possible. When using cognitive behavioral therapy, the therapist teaches the child to think outside of those negative thoughts (Steingard). Sometimes, depending on the level of depression, a medication called an antidepressant can be used to combat the effects of depression. Usually, they are taken while going to therapy (Steingard). Use of cognitive behavior therapy and a certain form of medication can help children and teens with depression (Bilsker, Gilbert, and Samra). The most commonly prescribed antidepressant are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. (These are also known as SSRIs.) This medication tends to have fewer side side effects than others, so they are a preferred treatment (Krans). SSRIs affect the neurotransmitter called serotonin by preventing the body from absorbing it so that is can be used more effectively
At least one in four people will experience a mental health problem every year, including teenagers and young adults; however, ninety per cent of people who have a mental illness will not speak about it. Why? Because we don’t.
Why is there a cloud of judgment and misunderstanding still surrounding the subject? People with a mental disorder or with a history of mental health issues are continually ostracized by society. This results in it being more difficult than it already is for the mentally ill to admit their symptoms to others and to seek treatment. To towards understanding mental illness is to finally lift the stigma, and to finally let sufferers feel safe and accepted within today’s society. There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed.
People with a mental illness are often feared and rejected by society. This occurs because of the stigma of mental illness. The stigma of mental illness causes the perception of individuals with mental illnesses to be viewed as being dangerous and insane. They are viewed and treated in a negative way. They are almost seen as being less of a human. The stigma affects the individual with a mental illness in such a cruel way. The individual cannot even seek help without the fear of being stigmatized by their loved ones or the general public. The stigma even leads to some individuals developing self-stigma. This means having a negative perception of one’s self, such as viewing one’s self as being dangerous. The worst part is that the effects of
Mass media “references to people with mental health problems found more than four in ten articles in the press used derogatory terms about mental health and nearly half of press coverage related mental illness to violence and crime” (Esseler, 244). This is causing for people to look down upon the mention of mental illnesses and many times ignore the importance of confronting this issue. Therefore the importance of removing this stigmatization is crucial. Education allows to make more informed decisions and then changing the perception of mental illness can lead towards policy changes toward the improvement of mental health (Sakellari,