Normalize Mental Illness

The disparity in treatment has been attempted to be remedied over the eras. Bills and Acts put into place in the 20th and 21st centuries have seeked to improve care and reduce stigma around those with mental illness. This began in 1942, when Harry Truman signed the National Mental Health Act, which requested the formation of a National Institute of Mental Health. Shortly after this, in 1949, the National Institute of Mental Health was established (“National Institute of Mental Health”). During the company’s 60 year lifespan they have focused on research about mental illness, educating the public, and improving the lives of the mentally ill by working to pass laws. One law that seeks to reduce the stigma of mental illness is the Mental Healths Service Act of California. "California 's Historic Effort To Reduce The Stigma Of Mental Illness: The Mental Health Services Act" from the American Journal Of Public Health illustrates how the Act will make improvements. Families and individuals who have experienced stigma had a big role in the process, specifically with developing a 10 year plan, the California Strategic Plan on Reducing Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination. One component of the Act discussed is the work plan developed by California Mental Health Services Authority, which has three components: stigma and discrimination reduction, student mental health, and suicide prevention. Organizations such as the NIMH have made efforts resulting in the evolution of mental

When the phrase “mental illness” is spoken, the immediate thought that pops into the individual’s mind is the extremes such as Schizophrenia, or Bipolar Disorder. However, the majority of mental disorders fall into the spectrum of quite common disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Why should the first thing that people think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, the attitudes of individuals, and skepticism, and the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, makes a connection to these views of the world.

The Deviance Model places certain individuals who portray qualities of what we may consider as people with mental illness, where their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors violate own or others expectations (the violation of social norms). This sociological approach is frequently debated where the individual is being conceptualized as either sick or deviant which then reflects on their deviant behavior. Deviant behaviors should not determine whether someone is mentally ill or not. There are individuals who are mentally sick, such as pedophiles, in which most would agree to have mental illness though there are no biological factors to support that. In Thoits reading, Sociological Approaches to Mental Illness, the name in itself “Social Reaction Theory” underlies the basis of the theory, that the labeling theory as deviance is produced by social means. He argues that people who are labeled/treated as deviant become deviant. This is a ripple effect in where that individual begins to suffer due to social concepts, i.e., pedophiles are usually a result of early traumatic child sexual abuse. Becker explains that there is “No such thing as an inherently or naturally deviant act- deviance only occurs (or not) after the fact” (Thoits). This clearly demonstrates that society plays an important role in people’s lives which indeterminately affect those who don’t accept the social norms and are soon labeled as mentally ill in most cases. In my opinion, the model underlies mental illness

Suicide rates have skyrocketed in the last few years due in part to the lack of access to mental healthcare caused by the stigma that surrounds seeking treatment. An estimated 15% of people diagnosed with depression and approximately 20% of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder take their own life according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHA) fact sheet. While these numbers are shocking, the statistics do not include the many suicide attempts among those with a mental illness or those that go unreported. SAMHA also claims that one-third of the 15.7 million adults who reported having a major depressive episode in the

In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide, 13.6% made a suicide plan, 8.0% attempted suicide, and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way mental illness is handled in today’s society. Also, approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009).

Mental illness in America has become an increasingly popular topic of discussion. Rather than being placed in hospitals for treatment, mentally ill individuals are being placed into correctional facilities for their actions. Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) such as bi-polar disorder, severe depression, schizophrenia and etc. have trouble within society. Many lack income and stable living arrangements to be able to succeed in the community. Side effects of their illness can enable them to become a part of the criminal justice system.

Consequently, this stigma has become one of the major contributing factors that stop individuals from reaching out and seeking treatment. As mentioned by Henderson (2013), more than 70% of individuals worldwide do not receive treatment for their mental illness. The high rate of unreported mental illnesses therefore leads to an inaccurate representation of mental illness prevalent within society. Individuals are afraid to speak out and seek help for their illness due to the fear of being rejected and labeled by others. The stereotypes of a diagnosed individual represent the collectively agreed upon notions that the mentally ill can never return to a once regular lifestyle (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). With the avoidance of individuals accepting

In 1961 Thomas Szasz penned a book by the title The Myth of Mental Illness that would go on to cause quite the stir in the world of psychiatry. In the book, Szasz stated his belief that what most psychiatrists would label as mental illnesses are in fact not illnesses at all, but instead what he would go on to call “problems in living.” This article will take a critical approach at Szasz reasons for his belief in these “problems in living” including an objective outline of his argument, a discussion on the validity of the argument and its’ premises, and finally the strongest objections to the argument. Szasz is an important figure in modern psychiatry and his opinions are very divisive but certainly worth discussing.

It is easy for an audience to be manipulated by the media. The portrayal of an issue like mental illness is totally vulnerable to misrepresentation. Depending on who is writing and their viewpoint, it does not take much to make this issue sympathetic or demonized. If the author of a given piece wants his or her audience to demonize something, the author might use the word "isolation”. If that same author wants a sympathetic response he might use the word "loneliness”. As far as the New York Times is concerned, they opted for a stereotypical portrayal. It is true that Lanza is indeed a mass murdered, but must the story fit the profile now that the deed is done? Apparently, for the New York Times, it must.Accoring to Margaret Price, she is making the same point of how the media represent disabilities. She says the accounts that the media "inflect public myths about mental disability, race, class, nationality and gender ..."

American culture pays particular attention to drug use. As seen on the news, offenders of major crimes suffer from some sort of mental illness; society believes that victims of mental illness are/need to be/should be on medication. The stigma is fueled when statistics are presented with the reduction in crime with medicated patients (Healy, 2014). Although being medicated is thought to pose less of a threat to society, studies have also shown that the rate of crime may increase with administered medication; such as the research shown on antidepressants (Villines, 2015).

Studies show that one in four people in the world have been or will be affected with some type of mental illness within their lifespan. Within this paper I plan to discuss what mental illness is, how mental illness affects individuals, and the stereotypes that come along with mental illnesses. The question I plan to answer would be “How has mental illness been perceived and treated throughout history?”

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

Public opinions about mental illnesses can be strongly influenced by media and film. Films about mental illness are often controversial as each illness is complex in its own right. Pat Jr’s portrayal of bipolar disorder is no different. Films can offer insight into mental illness but can also stigmatise them. This could potentially stop individuals whom are suffering from a mental illness from seeking help (Pirkis & Francis, 2001). In this film bipolar manic episodes is depicted reasonably effectively, however inconstancies are existent. Positive and negative messages about those who are affected by the illness (including medical professionals) can be observed through-out the film.

Mental illness is a very common part of society today yet, we brush it under the rug and avoid facing the reality of it. This topic relates to society because those who do not not have mental illness are also affected by the stigma of mental illnesses. All the different parts of society all view mental illness slightly differently but it's almost always negative. The mental illness i'm using for this essay would be the “common” disorders. This includes depression, anxiety, adhd, bipolar, and schizophrenia which are the most common. About 1 in 5 adults in the US has in someone been affected by mental illness at one point in their life.

The social problem I have chosen to write about is mental illness. This problem is important to talk about “because of the number of people it affects, the difficulty of defining and identifying mental disorders, and the ways in which mental illness is treated” (Kendall, 2013, p. 227). “About 57.7 million people, or one in four adults, in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). “Many of these illnesses begin in childhood or adolescence, with the most common problems being anxiety disorder, mood disorders, impulse-control disorders, and substance abuse disorders” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about how mental illness is a social problem and I have been interested in learning more about mental illnesses and how to help people with mental disorders.