Does Society Actually Need Mental Institutions?
Since the 1800s mental institutions have always been thought of as necessary to society, but is this true? They are known for being corrupt places, where nothing they do to the patients matters meaning things like rape and abuse are prevalent. There are also positive aspects, for example, getting dangerous people "off the streets", or providing medicines that are needed for patients who are unstable.
The prescription of antipsychotic drugs has increased greatly in the last few years, which can lead to helpful or harmful results. Psychiatrists of today are over diagnosing mental disorders, meaning people who do not have severe mental issues are being prescribed drugs that they do not actually …show more content…
Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz believes everything about mental health, including the DSM (the book that helps to diagnose mental illnesses) to be a myth. He believes that people were sometimes different and “normal people” struggle to accept that anyone can be different so the “normal people” put them in places where they no longer had to worry about different people walking around attempting to interact as normal as possible (Poulsen). Even scientists who disagree with modern diagnostics along with Szasz thought he took things too far (Poulsen). The American Medical Association and other associations thought so poorly of his ideas that they were rejected almost immediately (Poulsen). This caused almost every person who had an opinion to come out and critique his findings and beliefs. Psychiatrists who agree with mental institutions and modern diagnostics are generally still using the older version of the DSM, which gives more specific examples of mental disorder symptoms. The new DSM greatly broadens symptoms of certain mental illnesses, like chronic depression (the common cold of mental illnesses), which leads to more people being admitted into mental hospitals causing over crowding, and the over diagnosis of drugs prescribed by
Since the 1800s mental institutions have always been thought of as necessary to society, but is this true? They are known for being corrupt places, where nothing they do to the patients matters meaning things like rape and abuse are prevalent. There are also positive aspects, for example, getting dangerous people "off the streets", or providing medicines that are needed for patients who are unstable.
The prescription of antipsychotic drugs has increased greatly in the last few years, which can lead to helpful or harmful results. Psychiatrists of today are over diagnosing mental disorders, meaning people who do not have severe mental issues are being prescribed drugs that they do not actually …show more content…
Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz believes everything about mental health, including the DSM (the book that helps to diagnose mental illnesses) to be a myth. He believes that people were sometimes different and “normal people” struggle to accept that anyone can be different so the “normal people” put them in places where they no longer had to worry about different people walking around attempting to interact as normal as possible (Poulsen). Even scientists who disagree with modern diagnostics along with Szasz thought he took things too far (Poulsen). The American Medical Association and other associations thought so poorly of his ideas that they were rejected almost immediately (Poulsen). This caused almost every person who had an opinion to come out and critique his findings and beliefs. Psychiatrists who agree with mental institutions and modern diagnostics are generally still using the older version of the DSM, which gives more specific examples of mental disorder symptoms. The new DSM greatly broadens symptoms of certain mental illnesses, like chronic depression (the common cold of mental illnesses), which leads to more people being admitted into mental hospitals causing over crowding, and the over diagnosis of drugs prescribed by