The Importance Of Mental Health

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

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

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