There are many negative stigmas in regards to seeking treatment for mental illness. Is it possible that people around the world choose to not seek treatment due to these stigmas? Or does one’s cultural beliefs keep them from seeking treatment as well? Negative attitudes and beliefs toward people who have a mental health condition is common in America and countries around the globe. The stigma does not only pertain to the people who suffer from the mental illness but those who provide the treatment as well. Psychiatry is criticized for it’s a medicalization of normal behavior. As well as its lack of cultural competency ultimately leading to misdiagnosis of minority patients. With the recent change in global demographics,
Mental illnesses have a high prevalence amongst the United States population. Each year, tens of millions of individuals suffer and are affected by mental illnesses (National Institute of Mental Health, 1). These illnesses range from anxiety disorder, eating disorders, major depression, personality disorder, and many more. Yet, with the existing knowledge, mental providers and professionals, and the DSM-5, mental illness remains a growing mystery to the public. Literature has played a significant role in how mental illnesses are defined, their characteristics, and the portrayal of those who are mentally ill to the public eye. From memoirs on mental illness such as Susanna Kaysen 's Girl, Interrupted to Daphne 's Scholinksi 's The Last Time I
The term “Mental Illness” can have a wide variety of what illness a person actually has, a mental illness can be depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, etc. Mental illness is a wide range of conditions that will affect one’s ability to think, their behavior, and their mood, yet there is no cure for one’s mental illness. With the help of hospitals, the right therapy, and of course, medicine mental illness can surely be treated. In society today, people view mental illness as having something wrong with someone, that they are psychotic and should be locked in a mental facility for the rest of their lives. We as humans view this due to the fact of everything we see on television and hear around our surroundings. The media has programmed our minds to believe untrue “facts” of what we believe is someone who is mentally ill. When in reality, the mentally ill people cannot help that they are the way they are because it is a silent disease that they struggle with every day. Due to their struggle and resentment of wanting to believe they are ill, they won’t ask for help when in reality they need it. They will keep quiet in fear of judgement, isolation, and discrimination, so every day they put on their mask and go out into the world pretending they are just fine.
Edgar Allan Poe, a man who has changed literature through his numerous pieces of writing, such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher. In Edgar Allan Poe’s famous work, The Raven, the main character is confronted with a raven. The character speaks to the raven, thinking it couldn’t respond, but the raven did respond, but only speaking one word, “Nevermore” (Poe 331). In some cases of mental illnesses, one can experience hallucinations, hearing voices, paranoia, and even persecutory delusion. Is it possible that the Raven could have symbolized something other than a bird.
In the book Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen, one of the biggest focal points is mental illness. Mental illness can be tough to talk about, simply because the phrase “mental illness” encompasses such a wide range of conditions and conjures up images of deranged people, but it is very important, especially in this book. There is a certain stigma that people who are put into mental hospitals because they have medical problems or are insane and a possible danger to society. While this is sometimes true, it is far more common for patients to need help for a disorder, but just don’t know where to go or what to do, and can end up putting themselves or someone else in danger.
Mental Health is a tough topic to talk about but for the African American Community; the concept of mental illness or overall mental health is swept up under the rug. The African American community is not informed and misunderstands mental health and illnesses, but why? In other communities of people mental health and all of its aspects are accepted but for my community of people it's something that is not openly discussed and looked down upon.
The first attempt and success to climb Mt. Everest occured in 1953. Since then, almost 4,000 people have been able to scale the mountain, but over 230 people have not been able to climb it successfully. There is a chance of accident or death when climbing this mountain or any dangerous activity. All people should should have the right to rescue services even if they knowingly put themselves at risk because there is always a chance of an accident happening, rangers are there to save people in danger, and there are rescue vehicles being produced to be used in case of an emergency.
The solution I have found is that the government could tax people a little bit more than they are normally taxed and in return the government can use that money to inform people about people with mental illnesses and the government can also about up healthcare buildings so people can go get the health care that they need and deserve. In Of Mice And Men, Lennie is treated different because people don’t understand anything about the problem that he is suffering with. “The boss said
Mental health issues are on the rise, especially among the youth, 6 out of 10 young people do not receive mental health treatment for major depression. Currently over 40 million Americans are currently dealing with a mental health issue and 56 percent are not receiving proper treatment. (Mental Health America). The health care reform has reduced insurance premiums for adults who have a mental health condition, however premiums and copayments are still not affordable for everyone. With the rise of mental health issues, the funding for mental illness should also increase to meet the need. If additional funds were put into mental health care, no or low cost mental health care treatment and early detection could be offered to those who have a mental health condition; making sure those with a mental health condition can obtain proper treatment would lower the costs that Americans will pay in the long run, it would lower the incarceration rates and the number of families who are affected by mental illness would decrease.
A staggering number of children are being diagnosed with severe mental health disorders each year. From 2012 to 2015 “Rates of youth with severe depression increased from 5.9% ...to 8.2%... 76% of youth are left with no or insufficient treatment” (MHA). Mental illness is becoming much more common; people should start recognizing it and
Homeless in young Australians is a major issue within the homeless population. As statics shows that 18% of young Australians do not have money to survive on, 15% live jobless household, 5% deprived somewhere safe to live and survive on. This circumstance I young Australians occur young people in Australia occurs due to housing crisis, domestic violence, family violence and relationship/family breakdowns (brochure). The sources that I am using throughout this response include websites: Mission Australia, Youth homelessness and leaving home. Also brochure which is the main source for this response known as Homelessness and Young People.
Intro-hook: Imagine your loved one unexpectedly commits suicide. Your mother, your father, your sister, or your brother. A mental illness such as depression can lead to someone taking their life. The scariest part is that whole time you didn't realize they had those thoughts. But the problem is this happens every 40 seconds around the world and we don't realize it. These problems could be avoided if we learned how to take action in this type of situation.
Mental illness is an important topic that is rarely spoken or taught in today’s society. About half of people in the world have a mental health disorder, yet most people don’t know what it really means to have a serious health problem. There are numerous theories on why these disorders happen; additionally, some disorders in the world are still a mystery to the science community and also millions of people share these personal experiences through writing.
We should be open about mental health, so that people are able to speak up and get help, but not to the point that mental illnesses are normalized, romanticized, and trivialized. So, stop glorifying them. Stop acting like it’s a choice. Stop acting like they are entertainment. Stop using them as an adjective. To all of you fighting through your mental illness, I am here for you. I love you, I value you, I care about you, I am proud of you. You are so much more than your mental illness. You are a beautiful person, and you deserve to love
While the topic of mental health awareness has recently been introduced, the roots of mental illnesses run deep into history. Mental illnesses, also called mental disorders, are a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior. Many people with mental illnesses are now fighting to increase awareness of disorders like depression and anxiety, and some argue that the best way to educate about mental illnesses is to teach about it in school. By educating about mental illnesses in schools, activists are hoping to increase understanding about the topic and prevent teenagers who have mental illnesses from feeling alone.