Sociological Imagination Research Paper

The Sociological Imagination

Possessing sociological imagination is having the ability to take your personal experiences and relate it to the bigger society depending on where you live, how you live, and most importantly “when” you live. In other words, it is the capacity to take your troubles and look at it from a different perspective based on society, history, and geography. Having sociological imagination is useful because it allows us to think outside the box; doing this might let us see the difference between a personal trouble and a public issue. There are major differences between these two, and understanding this can help people comprehend how to deal with these troubles or issues. In his book The Sociological Imagination, C. Wright Mills describes a trouble as a private matter, and an issue as a public matter.

When a good percentage of people are going through the same kind of trouble, that’s when it goes from being a private matter to a public issue that is probably not in the power of any individual, but in the hands of society as a whole.

It is crucial for people to be able to distinguish between these two in order for them to understand that their troubles do not reflect their faults and weaknesses. Take unemployment for example, many people who lost their jobs despite their best efforts think that not having a job is the result of their personal shortcomings, or that it is the consequence of them not working hard enough . This point of view can discourage people from persevering to find a job or better themselves because they might think that no matter what they do they aren’t going to be good enough. If they take a step back and look at the bigger picture however, they might realize that their unemployment probably has very little to nothing to do with their skills and efforts. If they take a look at the economy and the society as a whole they will realize that they’re definitely not the only ones struggling with this issue and understanding this can be very encouraging and even life changing for many people. Using my sociological imagination I have tried looking at my personal troubles from a different point of view and I can see that some of them

are definitely public issues. I suffer from an eating disorder and I have tried seeking treatment a number of times but unfortunately my insurance doesn’t cover treatment for an eating disorder from a specialist because “ It is not a physical illness” even though it has definitely taken a toll on my body over the last five years. Being a part of many online support groups for mental disorders I have heard this story time after time. It almost seems like insurance companies only worry about treating eating disorders when the sufferers are nearly dead and have to be hospitalized. According to the statistics on anad.com “Only 1 in 10 men and women with eating disorders receive treatment. Only 35% of people that receive treatment for eating disorders get treatment at a specialized facility for eating disorders” (Noordenbox qtd. in ANAD). Unfortunately I am not the 1 in 10 or the 35%, and I am definitely not alone in this. It is not easy to recover from an eating disorder without professional help and support and people of all backgrounds, genders, and races are affected by this issue.