Psy 270 Week 9 Final Paper

On November 9th, I attended an event in the glass lounge that was ran by campus ministry, involving homelessness and hunger. This event correlates with Gwynedd Mercy University’s theme of #MakeMercyReal because it allows us to show mercy and help those who are in need. This event has changed my outlook on a great deal of issues that I did not know were prevalent at our school and has made me want to make a difference.

The classification of mental disorders is a key aspect of psychiatry and other mental health professions and an important issue for people who may be diagnosed.

There is also the possibility that the psychiatrist is biased and does a poor job of diagnosing you to make their life easier.

Schizophrenia is one of the most recognizable mental illnesses that the world knows, this comes with benefits as it does with consequences. The benefit being that many people have heard of the term, but a minute group truly know about it. This has led to a society where it is commonplace to ostracize those with the illness, which subsequently leads to negative effects on those diagnosed. It is as if society still has not developed a sufficient system in which Schizophrenia fits in. People with heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, all receive sympathy and yet people will Schizophrenia seldom receive the same. This societal separation and fear has progressively led to the development of the current stigma surrounding the illness. The general

Untreated mental illness is dangerous and over time we have learned that locking people with a mental illness is not the solution but makes it worse. People with untreated mental illness face many consequences. “People with untreated psychiatric illnesses comprise 250,000 people, of the total homeless population” (mentalillnesspolicy.org). The quality of life for these individuals is extremely heart breaking, and many are victimized regularly.

The dispute between psychotherapy and medication has been on the rise and was debated for decades. Many people with mental illnesses may turn to psychiatric drugs instead of psychotherapy, because they are uneducated and unaware of the effectiveness of therapy and its benefits. Psychotherapy is an alternative way to treat mental illnesses rather than to use harsh medication that may potentially cause more harm than good in the long run. Medication on the other hand are just prescribed pills that just temporarily bandage the problem rather than heal it There are many cases in which proves that therapy is more effective opposed to medication in helping patients with mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and phobias.

This clinical experience has really helped me to sharpen my communication skills and realize just how important it is to understand mental health. We are told multiple times in class that mental health issues can be seen on any floor and that is the truth. I’ve seen patients in my older adult clinical on the pulmonary floor suffer from issues that range from anxiety to bipolar disorder and depression. Being able to understand how to approach people that suffer from these types of illnesses, allows us, the nurses, to give the patient the best care that we can. It helps to build a trusting relationship and get to know them on a personal level. Patients with mental health illnesses are many times defined because of their diagnosis and that is

I am the type of person who gets anxious making a phone call, but has the ability to feel completely at ease wandering around an unfamiliar city with only the slightest knowledge of how to get wherever it is I am going.

The treatment of the mentally ill is a problem. Most people who are mentally ill are being mistreated and not receiving proper treatment, whether it be in mental institutions, prisons, and even in general society. There is no excuse for this mistreatment of the mentally ill, but there might be an explanation. The explanation is that many people do not understand the mentality of those who are not sound of mind. People do not see them as actually ill, as they would someone who has a physical disease. This perception of the mentally ill needs to change in order for there to be a change in their treatment.

The lack of acceptance towards mental illnesses being considered actual illnesses has left many people with a fractured truth about mental illnesses as a whole. Although society is getting better at dealing with mental illnesses, there is still the perception that mental illnesses do not need to be treated because they are not visible wounds, which is completely untrue. Both John and Kathy think like this. "... Kathy did not insist that he see a psychiatrist ad that John did not feel the need to seek help." (O'Brien 75) This validates the fact that the reason why John did not get help was because of this "truth". The fact is that a person who is mentally ill needs treatment to get better. Another common misconception is that mental illnesses

A few weeks ago on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver there was a piece covering mental health. It highlighted the lack of transparency in dealing with mental illness in the United States and the overall negative connotation mental diseases have.

Mental illness stigmatization has a crucial impact on the wellbeing of individual with mental illness by creating self stigma, preventing them from reaching their goal and inhibiting use of available services due to fear of labels. Due to these associated obstacles, stigma requires attention and reframing. This brings up the question as to if mental illness stigmatization is a problem based in public health policies or a social injustice. Corrigan, Watson, Byrne, and Davis (2005) argue that viewing mental illness from a public health perspective alone, while may provide some benefits, also produces negative byproducts, and a social justice perspective may be more apt as changing stigma.

When society hears the words mental disorder, the first thing that pops into their minds is Schizophrenia or Bipolar. One disorder that you may not have heard about is Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania, defined by Dorland 's Illustrated Medical Dictionary is “ A morbid impulse to pull out one’s own hair; trichologia”, (Saunders, W.B, pg 1395). This is a long-term disorder that affects young and old, however, in adults it tends to affect more women than men. With proper care and treatments this disorder can be minimized but will never be cured.

According to statistics released by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration in 2014, 42.5 million American adults, which is 18.2% of the total adult population in the United States, suffers from a mental illness (5,6). Mental illnesses includes a wide range of diseases that affects the brain and displays changes in mood, thoughts, and behavior. People suffering with mental illnesses are not only challenged by the side effects resulting from the disease, but also they are challenged by prejudices and stereotypes based on misconceptions of these mental illnesses. Because of these misconceptions, people are robbed from opportunities to get efficient jobs, satisfactory housing, beneficial health care, or even any affiliations

It is not just everyday people on the street who overlook mental illness. Doctors are guilty of doing it too. Health Affairs Journal claims doctors do not take mental health as seriously as physical injuries. The 2016 study from Health Affairs Journal concluded that medical professionals are less likely to help or follow up with patients with depression than they are with a chronic physical illness, like diabetes or congestive heart failure. This creates a negative bias in the medical field, which is where the mentally ill need help from the most. If mental illness isn’t taken seriously by doctors, how are family members or friends supposed to? Who are suffering teens supposed to receive support from? A study done by Health affairs (2016 Alan