Mental Illness - Essay Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Mental health is the condition of having a properly functioning state of mind. The cognitive ability of a mentally healthy person allows him/her to undertake the day to day tasks in the right way (Corey, 2002). Scott (2002) supports this definition by stating that it is the manner in which people think and their awareness of the surrounding, as well as all their involvements in coping with life encounters. Mental illness on the other hand is an occurrence that lowers the cognitive ability and changes the behavior of an individual, leading to a deviation from the normal mental functions (Hattie et al. 2004). (Richards, & Bergin, 2000) argues that mental illness is a psychological disorder that causes suffering due to inability to use the mind to manage one’s day to day life. According to (William, 2002), a distinction between mental health and illness can be made by considering the length of the deviation from the normal mental functions as well as how severe the signs of deviation are. This means that a mentally healthy person may have short lived deviations such as depression, but for a mentally ill person, the depression may take long, and may be severe, for example to the extent of crying or sleeping for a period of 3 weeks. Good and Bad Mental Health The day to day lives of people involve engagement in social activities where an individual interacts with other people to accomplish social satisfaction. A person needs to feel wanted in the society to be satisfied. Katherine (2000) argued that a person with good mental health is capable of balancing the social and psychological engagements and is emotionally satisfied. For example, when a person is happy with the manner that other people take him/her to be, or when he/she accomplishes success in identifying a solution to a problem, such a person is able to balance the social and psychological aspects of the day to day life. More over, a person who is capable of overcoming traumatizing occurrences is able to accomplish emotional well being and is in good mental health. Bad mental health on the other hand occurs when a person is unable to accomplish a balance in the social and psychological aspects of life (Corey, 2002). For example, although an individual may not be mentally ill, he/she might be suppressing emotions as a way of coping with stress. However, such emotions may continue affecting the individual even when they are not explicit. When a person is unable to find a solution to a particular problem in life, for example failure to get employment to solve family problems, such an individual has bad mental health because he/she has been unable to accomplish a balance in the social and psychological aspects of life. When people live in isolation, they lack the social contact although they may be emotionally satisfied (Dalton et al. 2007). Effects of Mental Health on Individuals Bad mental health may facilitate the death of an individual, especially if the emotional stress is concealed for too long. Individuals suffering from mental health may also face social exclusion and rejection in the society due to the reduced ability to actively contribute in social matters. They may not be in a capacity to participate in decision making and therefore their desires might not be given consideration (Hattie et al. 2004). On the other hand, a person looses the ability to accomplish the day to day tasks in the workplace and may be terminated especially in activities that require high levels of concentration. Spouses may also not be able to cope with the marriage if the person suffering from mental health problems is not understood. He/she may be incapable of performing marital roles, which may result in divorce. Views regarding Mental Health in different Cultures Various cultures globally have various opinions regarding mental health. For example in the African culture, mental illness is associated with bad omen, and the individual may be subjected to stereotyping and social exclusion. In many cultures, Fernando, & Campling, (2002) observe that people tend to remain as individuals and therefore people with mental health problems are unlikely to be included in the mainstream. In the UK for example, the mentally ill people are mainly treated through drugs while in other cultures such as in the African-Caribbean, the mentally ill people are treated caringly other than medication. In other communities such as Sri Lanka, people with mental health problems are taken as part of the family and can not be sidelined (Dalton et al. 2007). Normal and Abnormal An abnormal person exhibits particular characteristics that can be used to distinguish what is normal from what is abnormal. For example, it is normal for a person to wash hands before eating, which is an action that takes approximately one minute. But when an individual consistently washes his/her hands for 10 minutes, each time before meals, it might be considered to be abnormal (Rogers & Pilgrim, 2005). Other behaviors such as unusual feelings of noises in the head, gazing at one point for too long, hysterics and illusions that an individual believes are real among other unusual behaviors that are usually wrong in regard to how a person is expected to behave signify an abnormal state of mind (Katherine, 2000). An abnormality can also be based on how an individual behaves towards other people. For example, violent behavior against others may be considered to be abnormal. A person may also identify an abnormal behavior depending on his own perception regarding how he used to feel before some changes occurred in his/her mind, for example, a consistent change from a jovial mood to persistent depression (Hhorwitz & Scheid, 2009). Perspectives on Mental Health and Illness The Bioscience perspective focuses on biological aspects of mental health. A person is mentally healthy when the nerve cells and chemicals such as the neural transmitters in the brain are functioning properly. When the nerve cells fail to communicate with each other in the right way, mental illness occurs. Illness may also result from brain injury, heredity, drug and substance use and injury during birth among other biological causes (Richards & Bergin, 2000). The psychosocial perspective focuses on the social aspects that affect the psychological behavior of an individual. For example, severe problems due to lack of basic necessities may affect an individual psychologically leading to mental illness. Psychological factors might involve traumatic incidents; sorrowful experiences such as death of a loved one or desertion among others (Hattie et al. 2004). The mental continuum theory focuses on mental well-being as a continuum. In this case, there are different levels of mental health that an individual can attain the desired capabilities of coping with the day to day engagements and challenges. The levels are not constant as long as a person is active in life. At a particular time a person may be sorrowful but this condition may change for the better even without taking medication. Such a condition can be considered as a common health issue (Corey, 2002). Conclusion Mental health is important in the normal day to day undertakings of an individual, and involves proper functions of the day to day operations. Mental illness is a defect that hinders the normal mental functions. A person may be in a good mental health when he/she is able to balance the social and psychological engagements and is emotionally satisfied or bad mental health when this balance is not accomplished. Mental health can affect individuals in terms of employment, marriage, social exclusion and death among other impacts. Mental health is viewed differently in different cultures. The behavior of an individual is important in determining what is normal or abnormal in regard to mental health, which is viewed in various perspectives including the bioscience, psychosocial, psychological and the mental continuum theory. Reference Corey, K. (2002). “The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life". Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 43: 207-222. Dalton, J. H, & Elias, M. J., Wandersman, A. (2007). Community psychology: linking individuals and communities. 2nd edition. Belmont, Calif.: Thomson Wadsworth. Fernando, S. & Campling, J. (2002). Mental Health, Race and Culture, New York: Palgrave Hattie, J.A.; Myers, J.E.; Sweeney, T.J. (2004). "A factor structure of wellness: Theory, assessment, analysis and practice". Journal of Counseling and Development 82: 354–364. Hhorwitz V., & Scheid T. L. (2009). A Handbook of Study of Mental Health. Social Context, Theories and Systems, Cambridge University Press.  Katherine, W. (2000). Promoting mental, emotional and social health: A whole school approach. London: Routledge. Richards, P.S.; Bergin, A. E. (2000). Handbook of Psychotherapy and Religious Diversity. Washington D. C: American Psychological Association. Look Inside This Book Rogers A. and Pilgrim D. (2005). A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness, McGraw-Hill Scott, S. (2002). Handbook of Complementary and Alternative Therapies in mental health, San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press. William W. J. (2002). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, New York: Springer Publishers. Read More