In Ben behind his Voices, the author tells the story of his son, Ben, a twenty-eight-year-old with Schizophrenia: one of the major disorders that are questioned because of the idea of talking to spirits. These deficits, such as Schizophrenia, are placed on a platform of negative stigmas; many aspects of mental disorders are misunderstood to the point where there are doubts and fear. Often times, we tend to prejudge and label them as 'abnormal' for their skeptical behavior, but making these allegations about mental illnesses with little-to-no basic knowledge is ignorant. Additionally, many people who fetishize mental disorders also do not comprehend the importance of setting boundaries—especially socially. For example, I, as a person who is …show more content…
not is not educated about any mental illnesses, cannot label a person with Schizophrenia because that person seems to 'talk to spirits.' Those who fetishize this idea do not realize that 'talking to spirits' is not the only symptom and fabricate the general idea of neurological impairments and truth behind dysfunctions. However, even for educated psychologists and psychiatrists, it is very difficult to correctly diagnose a person with a mental illness because many symptoms overlap each other, "especially during non-acute stages of onset (prodromal) and residual, where some symptoms linger." Ben was thought to have ADHD/ADD, depression, and Schizophrenia was one of the last to be diagnosed (134). As I was reading the story of Kaye's life, I suddenly became agitated with Ben, almost as if he was my son.
Randye Kaye had trouble 'fixing' her son because of incorrect diagnoses and inefficient procedures. Along with his mother, sister, and friends, I became disappointed how unsuccessful his treatments were, and I also became eager for Ben's mother to find something that actually worked. I thought to myself: "why can't you just get better?" This became an engraved thought in my head as Kaye began to deny and question Ben’s mental health. I noticed that when Kay refused to accept Ben’s Schizophrenia, and continued to search for counter-solutions, became an Achilles heel to the …show more content…
family. Consequently, I realized how ignorant I became the more I read. I became certain that those who show extreme symptoms are only sick. However, my favorite section—when Ben's mother punched him in the face—made me wonder if everyone may not be mentally stable; Perhaps, I, could be also mentally unstable to a certain degree. I may not show extreme symptoms, but I show some symptoms of anxiety. As I started to reflect on this, I thought if it was okay to label yourself? Respectively, I stated that: "I, a person who is not is not educated about any mental illnesses, cannot label a person." However, I now believe that it may be acceptable or even healthy to consider questioning ones’ mental illnesses, only if it becomes hazardous to you and your loved ones. I also believe it is neglectful if you are apathetic of someone’s mental health. Figuratively, if you leave a wound untreated, it is bound to get worse; this is exactly the case with mental disorders. Kaye noticed something was wrong with Ben, but she left his wound untreated for too long. In a more personal level, I have a very close friend with a few mental disorders: anxiety and panic disorders, depersonalization disorder, and bipolar disorder.
I have only seen two anxiety attacks and a few incidents of her bi-polar symptoms, and at that time I did not understand her behavior, but I understood something was wrong. I thought to myself that she may be having a rough day, or that she is physically sick, but the idea of a mental sickness never occurred to me. Confusion and frustration took over me; accepting a mentally-ill loved one is extremely challenging, even as a friend. Sometimes, I thought that she may be faking it, or she just said she had these mental disorders for
attention. Overall, this novella gave me a chance to become open-minded about the daily challenges that many families have to face with mental disorders. Appreciating and acknowledging the privileges I have mentally allowed me gain humility, I understand the sacrifices that had to be made in order for people like Ben to live normal lives, and I desperately desire to grow more knowledgeable in this field of psychology.
Pete Earley, a seasoned investigative reporter for the Washington Post, wrote about criminal justice system for a living. However, it wasn’t until his son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and experienced a manic episode, that he began investigating Americas mental health system. Earley’s book, Crazy, walks us through his investigation of the mental health system and his own personal story of living and overcoming the mental illness his son lives with. Earley talks about how Mike, his son, had his first psychotic break when he was a senior in college. On a particularly bad night, Mike’s older brother called Earley saying that Mike was getting bad again, and that Earley should come see him. When Earley arrived in
Emotionally and Physically Crippled Characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Works Cited Missing "Of Mice and Men is a novel in which the majority of the characters are crippled, whether physically, socially or emotionally" is a very astute statement. Many of the characters in the novel suffer due to the time period the novel was set in. The 1930's were a terribly lonely time for the itinerant, ranch workers, ranch wives and Afro-Americans. Their lonely lives left them emotionally crippled, for they didn't have much company. This was because they had been alone for so long that they had chose to live isolated from other people.
Although Susanna Kaysen’s rebellious and self-harming actions of coping with her psychosis are viewed by some critics as pushing the boundary of sanity, many people have a form of a “borderline personality” that they must accept and individually work towards understanding in order to release themselves from the confines of their disorder. Kaysen commits to a journey of self-discovery, which ultimately allows her to accept and understand herself and her psychosis.
5). While Schizophrenia has been most commonly treated with the use of anti-psychotic medications for decades, cognitive therapy provides an alternative and cognitive psychologist would undoubtedly disagree with Elizabeth’s mother’s decision to medicate her. The way a cognitive psychologist would treat Elizabeth is by the use of therapy and encouraging her to talk about her behaviors and problems as they do not believe that Schizophrenia “is a biological illness that one either has or does not have” (Freeman, 2014, para. 7) and instead the symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions simply represent the patient’s thoughts and feelings (Freeman, 2014). For example, “an individual troubled by hearing voices will be helped to understand what’s triggering these voices, and to develop a more confident, empowering relationship with them” (Freeman, 2014, para.
In the book, “The Catcher in The Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the main character is very strange in numerous ways. His name is Holden Caulfield and boy has he got something wrong with him. He rambles on and on about nonsense for the first 20-something chapters of the book. He only likes 3-4 people in the book. He smokes and drinks heavily at the ripe age of seventeen. He has been expelled out of numerous prep schools, and feels abandoned and not wanted. He has some sort of mental illness and I think I know what it is. I believe that Holden Caulfield has a mental illness known as Borderline Personality Disorder, also known as BPD. The reasoning for my thinking is that Holden’s actions match up with the symptoms of this illness and the isolation he
To me, Schizophrenia is by far the most frightening disorders in the DSM. Snyder’s account of how he truly believed his delusions, specifically those surrounding the debilitating fear for his life, are hard to image. This presents a challenge for me as a counselor in empathizing with clients who are experiencing this. In reflecting on this dilemma, I came to realize that while I may not be able to understand the fear of my life being in danger, I can relate to the emotion of fear; this can be the connecting point for me to the client. Expressing sympathy is also another tool I have when I am unable to empathize with a client’s thoughts and emotions. Furthermore, Snyder’s narrative reinforced my notion of how insidious Schizophrenia can be. That is to say, that while in many cases this disorder may live traces of itself in childhood and adolescents, in some cases it occurs unexpectedly. Snyder details his normal childhood, including supportive parents, with little to no evidence of any sort of trauma or odd behavior; and yet he was still blindsided with the disease. I began to reflect particularly on how difficult this would be for clients experiencing these same circumstances. It will be essential for me as a counselor to recognize that
There is an umbrella of different mental disabilities that are not shown on television. Common disorders are usually depression, anxiety, and less often, bipolar disorder (Bastién 12). Even more common, when disorders such as schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and antisocial personality disorder are portrayed on television, they tend to give off a negative connotation on mental disorders. Not all people with mental disorders are “idiosyncratic serial killers” like Hannibal or “grotesquely destructive characters” like Elliot on Mr. Robot (Bastién 13). If society is not developing a stigma of those with mental
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.
While reading Of Mice And Men it is clear that the character Lennie has an unmentioned disability. Lennie suffers through many external and internal conflicts throughout the story, one of these conflicts being a severe mental illness. The reader is not aware of what this mental illness could be, but throughout the story it is clear that Lennie has common signs of autism. Autism is a mental disability often developed
The Day the Voices Stopped is a “Memoir of Madness and Hope,” written by Ken Steele (Steele & Berman, 2001, p. 1). As a reader, my experience of this book was like a rollercoaster and I found myself very emotionally invested. When terrible things happened to Ken, I truly felt sick to my stomach while reading them; but when good things happened, I also felt like there was still hope left. Ken Steele’s memoir described how stigma is extremely prevalent in mental illness and individuals are forced to overcome massive obstacles in their lives.
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 Shusterman’s book, Challenger Deep, the author introduces an insight and taps into the core of what it’s like to struggle with a mental illness. After going through the results of being a father of a child with schizophrenia, Neal Shusterman established Challenger Deep, in attempt to honor his son and provide a vision of life with schizophrenia to his readers. When Shusterman’s son was in high school he began showing signs of mental illness, when his son was in a better place Neal was determined to turn his son’s dark time in life into something positive in venture to help others. Shusterman strived to help his son and “involve him in any way” that he could in the book (hbook.com). In honor of his son, Shusterman wrote the story dedicated
“A disorder in which people may hear voices other people don’t hear. They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This can terrify people with the illness and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated. People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk. They may sit for hours without moving or talking. Sometimes people with Schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking” (p.1).
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