One of my first jobs when I was younger was working for NSSRA, which is an organization that works with individuals with special needs in a recreation setting. As the years passed, you could easily find me spending my free time working with individuals with disabilities and/or mental illnesses in hopes of me being able to assist them in activities and/or helping them come up with solutions that will allow them to be able to live as independently as possible. During the summer and throughout the school year, I have been known to volunteer, rather than seek employment, in places that allow me to work with individuals with disabilities or mental illnesses. Although I have started a new school year, the past few weeks I have been working with individuals with …show more content…
Sometimes as simple as being able to go to the bathroom or get dressed on their own, preparing simple meals, or holding simple face-to-face conversations can be difficult. If these individuals can’t do these things on their own and are constantly getting help from others, they may feel that they are losing a part of themselves or that they aren’t worthy of being alive. That may seem like an extreme but, trust me, it isn’t. The simple tasks that we take for granted are things that some individuals would kill to be able to do on their own. They are things that, especially if their mentally competent, may know that they should be able to do at their age but can’t. these things can be extremely frustrating. That’s why it’s important to know that when you cross someone that is having a difficult time doing anything, whether it’s complicated or simple, remember that they have their own sense of dignity and it can easily be
All people in life have some sort of basic function. Weather it be a parapaliegic who lives alone, goes to work, has some sort of social life, and is a member of a wheelchair basket ball team or a quadrapaliegic who is incapable of doing much but still communicate with friends and family members. Joe is in a terribly worse situation then any of them. Joe spends his days in a hospital bed. He is incapable of any sort of fuction other than moving his head up and down. He can not speak nor can he eat for he has no mouth nor a face. He must be assisted for thing's that a 3 year old child could probably do on their own like changing close or going to the washroom. This predicament, which Joe finds himself in, causes Joe tremendous mental anguish. "Please I can't. Please no. Somebody come. Help me. I can't lie here forever like this until maybe years from now I die. 1 can't. Nobody can. It isn't possible." (Trumbo 3.64)
On May 25th 2016 I officially started an internship with Montgomery County’s Department of Mental Hygiene. The department consists of one hard working woman named Sara Borenko who was my supervisor and boss throughout this internship. One of the main duties of Sara’s job is the funding of community programs that are aimed towards helping the mental health community. In fall 2015 I took a class called Community Psychology and while working at this internship; I applied what I had learned from that class and used it to my advantage. Some of the lessons I applied included social oppression, community organizing, stress and coping, and emotional support. Before taking this internship, I didn’t realize how much my county had to offer as for services. I’m inspired by the community and its strides towards helping the mentally ill. I’ve learned a lot during this internship. I’ve gained experience in the field, I’ve grown a broader
There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
Nursing assessment of mental illness is a complex task – especially in the community health clinics that serve persons of minority groups, the indigent, and uninsured. According to the National Institute of Mental health (2007), and the Surgeon General (2001), approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population suffer from mental illness each year (as cited in Hunt, 2009). According to Genrich and McGuire (2009), the use of evidence-based screening for mental illness has been generally accepted in the clinical setting and is modifiable in different primary care settings (as cited in Russell, 2010). However, despite a general acceptance of mental health screening in primary care, less than 33 percent of primary care providers regularly screen their patients for mental illness (Russell, 2010). This is why community health nurses are tasked to assess patients in diverse environments and “need to accurately assess and identify factors in the psychological, social, and physical environment that may contribute to mental illness” (Hunt, 2009, p. 424).
As a child, I have always sought to help others either by helping the elderly, listening to a friend in need or simple giving advice based on my own experiences. But, although this is a passion of mine, I do not currently possess the educational experience nor the tools necessary to be an effective counselor. During my high school years, I lived in a predominantly white neighborhood in Belleville, Illinois and with that came many challenges as well as stereotypes that affected not only myself but other students. Many of the people as well as the police were very prejudice toward minorities within the community. I witnessed burning crosses, often stopped by police or other authorities for simply
Mental Health is an issue that millions of individuals are facing here in the United States. Illnesses such as anxiety and panic attacks, borderline personality disorder, drug and alcohol addiction, and depression affect the lives of so many.
Health is a complex concept, and when we talk about health we refer to body health and to the health of the mind, the health of relationships between us and those around us, the spiritual health. Looking online on one of the additional resources recommended, www.nimh.nih.gov, I have noticed that one of the symptoms of most diseases that affect a person's mental health is lack of sleep. Lack of sleep not only worsens man's mental health, but also causes serious imbalances in metabolism, immunity, general mood, and last but not least, affects the ability of learning and memorizing among students. The sleep fulfills a number of vital functions for both our mind and body. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, which is a valuable and useful
The mental health assessment is a crucial part in everyday nursing care as it evaluates an individual’s mental condition to assess for risk factors of mental illnesses and provide optimal care and treatment. Mental health is described as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (CDC) If the patient not mentally healthy, they can develop mentally illnesses, which can affect treatment and the disease process of physical ailments because without mental health a person cannot be completely healthy. “Suicide Risk Assessment in High Risk Adolescents” is a nursing article that outlines suicide risk factors and prevention strategies for assist nurses in performing mental health assessments. Suicide, the act of
While volunteering there, I was placed in a local long-term care home for the elderly. This experience was highly beneficial. Working along side, nurses, care aids and other health care professionals was my first view inside the “system”. Volunteering at the Care Home, did not necessarily make up my mind on the field of social work but solidified my desire to work in the field of human services. I learnt from this experience at the hospital how profound my compassion for others truly was. It was not until my first year of college, that I started to volunteer with an organization that I am still with today and absolutely adore volunteering with. That organization is the Vernon Women’s Transition House in Vernon BC. I started off by filling in for employees who met in weekly meetings. While on the floor, I met many women who were in a place of ‘in-between’ and safety. This experience was eye opening. After a brief stay out-of-town, I returned to Vernon and again volunteered with the transition house – this time in another program: Support to Young Parents. This is an incredible housing program where young mothers who have fled abuse (potentially without the resources or parenting skills they truly need) can live long term. This apartment consists of 6 units, with the 7th unit converted into a resource and common space. The program
The problem is having people that are not qualified in positions that require qualified personnel and this is unacceptable because of the issues of psychosocial services that residents are not receiving and are needed because 70 to 90 percent of residents in nursing homes have cognitive problems or mental health issues. The care of psychosocial services is less important and this has resulted in weak or non-enforcement of the laws and regulations, inadequate funding to hire trained personnel, and residents receiving the minimum of care that is required which is doing harm. “A logical place to begin to enhance mental health and psychosocial services is with trained and educated social workers. There is no other profession whose members are trained to handle the functions required by HCFA’s OBRA mandate: to assess and treat mental health needs and to enhance quality of life. The education of professional social workers seeks to prepare them to carry out these functions, including providing psychosocial services and counseling to patients and their families and to afford residents dignity when they are dying” (O’Neill & Rosen, 1998).
Since the 1800s, treatment methods for mental illness have developed significantly worldwide. From electrotherapy to modern practices like psychotherapy, treatment for mental disorders has greatly progressed as scientists and psychologists learn more information on the causes of mental illness and the best therapy for each particular disease. The past 200 years mark the most defined era since the beginning of humans for the progression of treatment for mental illness. Not only has treatment improved for the mentally ill, but also the perception of mental illness has greatly changed and will continue to do so as more is learned about the human mind.
When I was volunteering at Jefferson Area Board for Aging or JABA in Charlottesville, one of my supervisors who we’ll call Kimberly, was very passionate about working with the elderly. She had a very close relationship with her grandparents who had a huge impact on her life. JABA worked primarily with the elderly, so she would volunteer in the Adult Care Center which caters to the elderly who cannot be home alone anymore, and the mentally disable, on some of her days off. She would sit with them, or help serve lunch for them, and she would help run activities for them. Not a lot of people feel really comfortable with working the elderly or mentally disabled myself including,
A mental health counselor develops a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families and groups to accomplish mental health and career goals. Helping others to accomplish their goals and listening to various stories of hardship have always played a part in my life. Stories of others have helped me get through rough times, and so did my own personal stories do the same for others. My story may help save a life tomorrow. It is a rewarding career path that one may enjoy which requires excellent communication skills and a commit between each other.
In today’s world, mental illness is still looked upon as a very bad thing and the negative views of mental illness are common within the employees. Most of the time, people assume that employees who suffer from mental illness are often seen as weird, defensive, and hard to talk to. Generally, concepts about mental illness tend to be subjective, leading to difficulties in defining mental illness. One article has described mental illness as, “ mentally distorted, mad, or crazy” and the degree of mental illness varies depending from person to person (Corrigan et al. 2010, p. 909). The following essay is based on the topic ‘Mental Illness as an Emerging Discourse’ and the article ‘Employee Mental Illness: Managing the Hidden Epidemic’ was the main article that was analysed and used in the essay to discuss the topic. The analysis has been divided into two parts which are covered equally by the study group members.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several