Part 2 The Clock Reflection

In Brain on Fire, the readers gained insight on different the perspectives regarding mental illness from both Susannah Cahalan and the people in her life. From the author’s view, she considered the horror of individuals being misdiagnosed, due to the lack of knowledge the disease. In chapter 29, Dalmau’s Disease, Susannah questioned, “If it took so long for one of the best hospitals in the world to get to this step, how many other people were going untreated, diagnosed with a mental illness or condemned to a life in a nursing home or a psychiatric ward?” (p.151). Susannah mentioned how money and timing being factors contributing the fate of those misdiagnosed. With the lack of affordable treatments, children are often misdiagnosed with autism, as adults with schizophrenia (p.224).

The five participants with no history of mental illness risked being labeled with characteristics of a mental health diagnosis. Two participants received misdiagnoses of a mental illness they did not embody. In the film, Vicky responded to the misdiagnosis by sharing that she felt confident in her mental health ( ). However, the misdiagnosis of an individual who does not have the same confidence as Vicky could have detrimental effects. As a future social worker, I feel it is important to recognize that Vicky’s response and feelings towards the misdiagnosis is likely unusual. Mental health professionals must exercise caution when preforming diagnosis, since it has a profound impact on an individual’s

The short documentary Crooked Beauty, directed by Ken Paul Rosenthal, narrates Jacks Ashley McNamara’s experience in a psychiatric ward and how her time in the facility shapes her new appreciation for her mental illness. One controversial issue has been trying to identify the true cause of mental illness. On the one hand, most people may think mental illness is simply a biological disorder that can be cured with a combination of medication and doctors demanding appropriate behavior until it sticks in the patient’s mind. On the other, McNamara contends that mental illness is a misconception with a patient’s oversensitivity, where it is harder for the patient to ignore certain events than “normal” people, and their doctor’s textbook knowledge. In McNamara’s mental institution, the psychiatrists simply trap her in a padded room and prescribe many different pills to suppress her mental illness instead of embracing her differences or showing her how to use those differences to her advantage. In attempt to prevent those who are mentally ill from feeling the same anger and frustration she felt, she demands a change in the line psychiatric treatment when she says:

Entering the taboo world of mental illness, stigmatized as the crazy and psychotic by decades of

Our progress in learning the causes and treatments for mental illness has been steady as we build on the medical model of mental illness, which Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman (2010) describe as a model that, “views emotional and behavioral problems as a mental illness, comparable to a physical illness (pp. 341). Only in modern times have we been able to effectively treat mental illness with behavioral therapy, social support, medicine, and other research-based programs. However, there is still much work to be done in regard to access, proper facilities, policy and a host of other challenges that affect this issue.

Evaluation and treatment of the mentally ill population has developed from confinement of the mad during colonial times, into the biomedical balancing of neurological impairment seen in these modern times. There were eras of mental health reform, medicalization, and deinstitutionalization sandwiched in between (Nies & McEwen, 2011). Regardless of the stage of understanding and development, communities have not been completely successful in dealing with and treating persons who are mentally unwell. Fortunately, treatment has become more compassionate; social and professional attitudes have morphed into more humanistic and

Furthermore, tremendous advances have been made in the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses in the recent decades. Nowadays, someone with a mental illness is treated with respect, just like every other person, because, in fact, everyone is equal. Society’s goals today are to treat and support the mentally ill individuals enough so they can live in

In the United States alone, approximately 20% of Americans experience a mental illness in a given year, and 1 in 25 Americans live with a serious mental illness that significantly impacts one or more life activities (NAMI.org, 2015). These disorders span across the lifetime, many starting by the age of 14, and mental health care is often the root of progress or hindrance for a person whose life is impacted by these unseen disorders. Though it is not always evident that an individual is experiencing mental illness, these complications influence the daily lives of millions of people worldwide, regardless of age, culture, race, religion, or other delineation. As a result, it is vital that this sector of healthcare be thoroughly examined for inefficiencies,

If we reach that far back in psychiatric history it would appear as though mainstream psychiatry has actually come a long way. To gain insight in to all disciplines of study it’s critical to venture back in time to get a glimpse of its history. It’s necessary to study the roots in an effort to accurately extrapolate where things have been, where things are, and where the vision is directed for the future. Advancements in health care have unfolded through trial and error. These progressive improvements in patient care are profoundly swayed by public attitudes and medical theories. Since we have had such difficulty in finding our way out of the stigma mental illness maintains on today’s society, it is not surprising that psychiatry continues to lag behind other fields of medicine in terms of advancements.

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

The lack of treatment for mental illnesses — due partly from the stigma with which it is associated with — comes with a number of public issues: economically,

Making it difficult for patients to receive adequate health care for their psychological issues. From a nursing standpoint, this book was interesting and informative. It demonstrated that the legal and psychological health care systems need to be fixed. At the end of the story, Pete concluded that mental illness is a disease that his son must endure for the rest of his life. However, he will be there to help his son, and will never abandon Mike (Earley page 361).

It has been reported that the number of people with mental disorder is increasing in our communities at an alarming rate. Environmental and social changes are among the most mentioned causes of the accelerating rate of mental illness in society (Häfner, 1985). Despite the prevalence, about one fifth of the adult population will battle with mental illness every year ("Facts and figures about mental illness," 2014) and the acknowledgement of authorities mental illness is still given less attention then is needed to treat the problem successfully. Health bodies need to be putting more resources into this area as

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

“I want to be able to talk to someone in a pub and say ‘I have been mentally ill’ and for them to say ‘That’s interesting, what did you experience?’”, said a survivor from the UK in 1997 (Sayce 18). Almost twenty years later and this man 's wish still has not come true. People may ask why, and the answer is because of the stigma that comes along with having a mental illness. Mental illness is something not often talked about because of the fear of being judged. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every four Americans has a mental illness, and only about 40% of them seek professional help (Hamid). People are being put into mental institutions instead of getting the help that they need to get better, because even people in the medical field are not understanding about this situation because they do not understand how it feels. The stigma and stereotypes towards mental illnesses are overwhelming, therefore people should be made aware of their impact and take steps to reduce stigma and stereotypes.