preview

Mental Health : Involuntary Patient Treatment

Better Essays

Mental Health: Involuntary Patient Treatment By Jessie Sherlock The issue of humanity’s mental health is something our species has dealt with since the beginning of our existence – even if it wasn’t publically acknowledged. Mental health is generally defined as a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being: a disorder of thought or mood which significantly impairs the judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life resulting in possible harm to themselves or others. The World Health Organization, also known as WHO, has defined mental health as “a state of well-being that enables a person to cope with the normal stresses of his or her life, do productive work, contribute to the community, and otherwise realize his or her potential” (WHO, 2014). What we as humans face, is the overwhelming struggle to attain a proper state of psychological and emotional well-being – which can be more difficult than commonly thought in today’s society all around the world. A mental illness is any condition which disrupts a person’s mental health. A mental illness or disorder can stem from physical causes such as disease, or any combination of environmental, psychological, and genetic factors. The most commonly recognized mental illnesses include: depression, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Gale, 2015). In the United States, the legal

Get Access