Thomas S. Szasz argues in his article The Myth of Mental Illness that there is no such thing as mental illness. He argues this by writing that because mental illness “is not literally a thing -- or physical object--” (Szasz 1960, p. 1) that “it can only exist in the same sort of way in which other theoretical concepts exist” (Szasz 1960, p. 1). He also nargues throughout the essay that mental illness is a misleading term, could be a sign for brain disease and therefore not a mental illness, and that it actually is a way to express problems of living. He says all this but does not have much evidence to back up these claims or a suggestion for a new name. Szasz’s argument is full of weaknesses that do not support his theory of mental illness being a myth. He writes that mental symptoms can only be identified by and “refer to a patient’s communications about himself, others, and the world about him” (Szasz 1960, p. 2) . It is common knowledge that the way any doctor identifies symptoms of illness is through the words of the patient experiencing it, whether it be physical or mental. The author also writes that “the finding of mental illness is made by establishing a deviance in behavior from certain psychological, ethical, or legal norms”(Szasz …show more content…
1) is a contradiction to his field of study. Psychiatrists are people who specialize in treating people with mental illness. His paper would have been more credible to me if there had been a study conducted on the claims made in his article. The one strength that I recognize with Szasz article is that it is written very academically. The style of writing is that of a organized and that of a scholarly article, but he does not reference any studies regarding mental illness or any statistical figures to back up his claim of mental illness being a myth or being real in same way that witchcraft or witches were
In his essay, "Unreality Star", Andrew Marantz says that all mental illnesses have rules, " clinically recognized delusions
Szasz, Thomas Stephen, "The myth of mental illness; foundations of a theory of personal conduct", New York : Hoeber-Harper, 1961.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), it defines mental illness as Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. (What Is Mental Illness? (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2016, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness). Mental Disorders are a wide range of mental conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior. There are a lot of different psychological disorders here is a list of the major psychological disorders and their definitions:
Forcing someone to take medication or be hospitalized against their will seems contrary to an individual’s right to refuse medical treatment, however, the issue becomes complicated when it involves individuals suffering from a mental illness. What should be done when a person has lost their grasp on reality, or if they are at a risk of harming themselves or others? Would that justify denying individuals the right to refuse treatment and issuing involuntary treatment? Numerous books and articles have been written which debates this issue and presents the recommendations of assorted experts.
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
As science has evolved, so have treatments for mental illnesses have over time. The medical model is described as the view that psychological disorders are medical diseases with a biological origin (King, 2010, pg. 413). Abnormal behavior that categorizes some disorders can be impacted by biological factors such as genes, psychological factors such as childhood experiences, and even sociocultural factors such as gender and race (King, 2010). Treatments such as psychosurgery (lobotomy) , drug therapy (pharmaceuticals), electroconclusive therapy, and psychoanalysis are used to treat a wide range of psychological disorders. Back then, the public’s negative views on mental illnesses also went as far to associate with the people who treated it; psychiatrists. “Nunnally (1961) found that the public evaluated professionals who treated mental disorders significantly more negatively than those who treat physical disorders,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). People back then didn’t see the point in “paying to be told that they were crazy”. However, in today’s society, it is now acceptable to seek help from psychiatric professionals; we are seeing more and more people seek mental health treatment. “In terms of facility-based records of utilization (Manderscheid and Henderson 1998), the data suggest that the rate of utilization of professional mental health services has at least doubled and maybe tripled, between the 1950’s and today,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). In the 1950’s, neuroleptic drugs like Thorazine were introduced to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. These drugs block a neurotransmitter called dopamine from getting to the brain, which in turn reduce schizophrenic symptoms, however there are some side effects such as substantial twitching of the neck, arms, and legs, and even dysphoria or lack of pleasure. (King, 2010, pg.
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...
Star,S.A.(1955). The public’s ideas about mental illness. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Mental Health.
His theory was that "mental health was a myth", he argued that its defined by social criteria and not medical, he said problems of living are a more accurate concept than mental illness, Szasz argued that if an alleged mental illness came from neurological defects then its not a mental illness but a physical one.He also said that the medical model such as the DSM are unreliable as they falsely label diseases. (Banyard, 2013)
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,”).
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.
Doward, J. (2013), Medicine's big new battleground: does mental illness really exist? The Observer 12 May.
Mental Illness is defined as “Any of various conditions characterized by impairing an individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning. It can be caused by social, psychological, biochemical, or genetic factors. Infections or head trauma can also contribute.” (7)
Although all those things being said, some people still believe that mental illness should not be seen as a real illness and health insurance should not cover any of their expenses, because mental illness is something that comes with weakness. There was an article called “Mental Illness Is Not a Disease“ which was written by Martin Bobgan and Deidre Bobgan, who are authors of PsychoHeresy: The Psychological Seduction of Christianity and co-directors of PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries, an organization which believes that many concepts of psychological counseling are contrary to biblical beliefs. They claimed many opposite views. Such as; “Mental illness is a myth” “Although a brain can be diseased, the mind cannot, they contend, because the mind is not a physical organ.” How could the mental illness become a myth?
In this class I learned about a lot more of the background and complications in regard to psychiatry than I had known in the past. I already knew quite a bit about psychiatry from my psychology class a couple of semesters ago and I have always had an interest in psychology in the past and had done a lot of research about it, but had never really paid much attention to the history of it before. While I of course knew that it had a history, but had just never paid attention to it, I had never considered the philosophy of it. I had never even considered that there may be different viewpoints or that there may be differing ethical/moral concerns. It turns out that most of psychiatry is extremely controversial and very few agree on each individual viewpoint and no