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Essay on mental disorders
Essay on mental disorders
Essay on mental disorders
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Demon Possession and Mental Illness
For centuries, society has placed sigma on people with mental illness, even today with all the medical knowledge we have, there’s still no clear understanding of what causes or how to prevent mental illness. But after reading the quote “The mind is its own place, and in itself. Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n” (Beelzebub, in Book 1, lines 254-255). Immediately, the thought of mental illness came to mind. Mental illness affects the lives and well-being of numerous people throughout the world.
I grew up in the household with a parent who was mentally ill. In fact, all of the women in my family have inherited some form of mental illness. The other thing that was pertinent in my family was church. We grew up with the religion, roman catholic being essential part of our life’s, so when I read the passage “The mind is its own place, and in itself. Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n” (Beelzebub, in Book 1, lines 254-255).it brought me back to my childhood. Mental illnesses a stigma and misunderstood for centuries. In the 15th century mental illness or the symptoms “abnormal behavior” was seen as a form of witchcraft. The roman church that’s all mental illness as god’s punishment and witches giving their soul are making deals with the devil. Probably in the Eastern Europe and mostly women were looked at as witches, women were seen as weaker and strong influence is on men. So at that time if a man displayed symptoms of mental illness, it was thought that his wife put a spell on him. Therefore, at that time, were put to death by hanging and “witches were burned in Salem in the 17th century” (1692-1693) Hysteria and schizophrenia were the two most common m...
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... women in my family, I inherited a slight case of mental illness.
In conclusion, taking into consideration the way that people were viewed throughout history and the things I was told growing up, the thought of developing any type of mental illness to genetics was very scary. That is why when I read the quote “The mind is its own place, and in itself. Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n” (Beelzebub, in Book 1, lines 254-255). He reminded me of the torment and suffering a person can have in their mind with disease. Having no control of your thoughts, emotions and medical well-being, because of a malfunction or chemical problem in your brain. I know firsthand how this can make you feel you’re in a hellish, and evil place in your mind. Your mind is such a powerful organ and really is its own place that he could make you think you’re in hell or in heaven.
Before Kirkbride's standardized methods for mental hospitals, those with mental illness suffered crude and inhuman treatment. Beginning in Colonial America society, people suffering from mental illness were referred to as lunatics. Colonists viewed lunatics as being possessed by the devil, and usually were removed from societ...
In the 1800’s people with mental illnesses were frowned upon and weren't treated like human beings. Mental illnesses were claimed to be “demonic possessions” people with mental illnesses were thrown into jail cells, chained to their beds,used for entertainment and even killed. Some were even slaves, they were starved and forced to work in cold or extremely hot weather with chains on their feet.
Mental illness has been around as long as people have been. However, the movement really started in the 19th century during industrialization. The Western countries saw an immense increase in the number and size of insane asylums, during what was known as “the great confinement” or the “asylum era” (Torrey, Stieber, Ezekiel, Wolfe, Sharfstein, Noble, Flynn Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill). Laws were starting to be made to pressure authorities to face the people who were deemed insane by family members and hospital administrators. Because of the overpopulation in the institutions, treatment became more impersonal and had a complex mix of mental and social-economic problems. During this time the term “psychiatry” was identified as the medical specialty for the people who had the job as asylum superintendents. These superintendents assumed managerial roles in asylums for people who were considered “alienated” from society; people with less serious conditions wer...
Mental illness is more common than one would like to believe. In reality, one in five Americans will suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. Though that ratio is about equivalent to more than fifty-four million people, mental illness still remains a shameful and stigmatized topic (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The taboo of mental illness has an extensive and exhausting history, dating back to the beginning of American colonization. It has not been an easy road, to say the least.
The human brain is a vast, unexplainable, and unpredictable organ. This is the way that many modern physicians view the mind. Imagine what physicians three hundred years ago understood about the way their patients thought. The treatment of the mentally ill in the eighteenth century was appalling. The understanding of mental illness was very small, but the animalistic treatment of patients was disgusting. William Hogarth depicts Bethlam, the largest mental illness hospital in Britain, in his 1733 painting The Madhouse1. The public’s view of mental illness was very poor and many people underestimated how mentally ill some patients were. The public and the doctors’ view on insanity was changing constantly, making it difficult to treat those who were hospitalized2. “Madhouses” became a dumping ground for people in society that could not be handled by the criminal justice system. People who refused to work, single mothers, and children who refused to follow orders were being sent to mental illness hospitals3. A lack of understanding was the main reason for the ineptness of the health system to deal with the mentally ill, but the treatment of the patients was cruel and inhumane. The British’s handling of mentally ill patients was in disarray.
Once science took place and changed people 's view of God, they realized that mental illness were not punishments, but this didn 't stop people from treating them in a hateful way. According to Kyziridis, people who weren 't considered normal, because of mental illness were treated as if they were caused by evil possession of the body, and the appropriate treatment was then exorcising these demons, through various ways, from harmless treatments to dangerous and barbaric (Kyziridis). Some example would be listening to music or dancing that will calm a patient down. Others would be through strapping them down and create pain. "The term 'schizophrenia ' was coined on April 24, 1908, when Professor Bleuler argued that dementia praecox was associated with neither dementia nor precociousness, and emphasized that splitting of psychic functioning is an essential feature of schizophrenia" (Ashok). He observed the patients and lived between them to see how they reacted to things. People with schizophrenia were constantly battling within the voices inside their heads, unfortunately treatments for it were
Schizophrenia has always been a disorder associated with madness (Reed, 2004). In every century, people with this disorder have been persecuted or pushed aside by society. Throughout history, it was believed an evil demon or god caused Schizophrenia (Reed, 2004). The only way to fix the strange behavior was to pray to the good god because only they could fix the problem. A perfect example of this is the Middle Ages, where there was a return to religious explanations that explained mental disorders to be caused by the devil and the only way to help the individual was by the Church. The Churches method of treatment included exorcism and even more harsh tortures if the exorcism did not work. Many people, especially women, with schizophrenia perished during these times of accusation.
The treatment of the mentally ill started back in the far past. In 400 BC, Hippocrates, who was a Greek physician, treated mental illness as diseases of disturbed physiology, and not displeasure of the Gods or demonic possession ("Timeline: Treatments for," ). Greek medical writers found treatments such as quiet, occupation, and the use of a drug called purgative hellebore ("Timeline: Treatments for,”). During these times, family members took care of the mentally ill ("Timeline: Treatments for,”). In the middle Ages, the Europeans let the mentally ill have their freedom, as long as they were not dangerous ("Timeline: Treatments for,”). The mentally ill were also seen as witches who were possessed by demons ("Timeline: Treatments for,”). In 1407, the first mental illness establishment was made in Valencia, Spain ("Timeline: Treatments for,”).
In prehistory, the idea of a mental illness was challenging to comprehend. The people of these ancient times thought it was magical spirits o...
Schoeneman, Thomas J.. "The role of mental illness in the European witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: An assessment." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. Wiley Online Library: Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 2006. 337–351. Print.
Once upon a time, long ago in the mists of time, sprawling brick structures housed countless individuals with mental disturbances. These massive structures were known to the world as mental asylums for the insane. In reality, the majorities of these individuals were not insane, but in contrast were suffering from mild mental problems such as depression or anxiety. These people were looked down upon in society and were labeled as "freaks" or "batty" because of their mental disorder. In the early twentieth century, mental issues were considered taboo. If a family had a sibling or relative who was suffering from a mental disorder, they were swept under a rug; to be taken care of at another time. These days, these immense structures are an object of the past, a bygone era. Many asylums still stand tall as monuments to the world of health care, while many do not stand at all.
Continuing budget cuts on mental health care create negative and detrimental impacts on society due to increased improper care for mentally ill, public violence, and overcrowding in jails and emergency rooms. Origins, of mental health as people know it today, began in 1908. The movement initiated was known as “mental hygiene”, which was defined as referring to all things preserving mental health, including maintaining harmonious relation with others, and to participate in constructive changes in one’s social and physical environment (Bertolote 1). As a result of the current spending cuts approaching mental health care, proper treatment has declined drastically. The expanse of improper care to mentally ill peoples has elevated harmful threats of heightened public violence to society.
Lysette Anthony once said “Mental Illness leaves a huge legacy, not just for the person suffering from it but for those around them”. Mental Illness affects our society in many different ways from our families all the way to our work environments. Mental Illness can affect our society mainly through medical cost, injuries, and even disability. Some people well, most people think that mental illness is just an health condition that changes people’s mood or feeling which it is but, it’s also a condition that may affect someone’s ability to function and when it affects someone’s ability to function then it’s affecting a lot of people in the world.
Why is there a cloud of judgment and misunderstanding still surrounding the subject? People with a mental disorder or with a history of mental health issues are continually ostracized by society. This results in it being more difficult than it already is for the mentally ill to admit their symptoms to others and to seek treatment. To towards understanding mental illness is to finally lift the stigma, and to finally let sufferers feel safe and accepted within today’s society. There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed.
Mental disorders are rapidly becoming more common with each new generation born in the world. Currently, nearly one in two people suffer from some form of depression, anxiety, or other mental health problem at some point in their lives (Editor). With so many people suffering from their mental illnesses, steps have been taken in order to get help needed for these people but progress has been slow. In the medical world, hospitals are treating those with physical problems with more care than those with mental problems. Prescription drugs can only do so much helping the mentally ill go through their daily lives and more should be done to help those who need more than medicine to cope with their illness. Mental health should be considered just as important as physical health because of how advanced physical healing is, how the public reacts to those with mental illness, and due to the consequences that could happen if the illness is not correctly helped.