Concepts of Causes and Cures
Scientifically, there is not a concrete explanation of what causes mental disorder, what it means to have it, and how to cure it. We only know how to minimize some of the symptoms. There are three well known models that help to deal with mental disorders and those are: the medical, the psychoanalytic, and behavior modification model. The medical model is the most useful and powerful.
Under the medical model, there is drug therapy, electroshock therapy, and brain surgery. Treating mental disorders with psychoactive drugs is the most common one because of its effectiveness. The fact that they are effective does not mean that physicians know how they work. What they do know is that the action of neurotransmitters is very important in mental disorder. According to Cockerham, "An excessive amount of dopamine in brain reception sites may also be involved in mania, and a deficiency in norepinephrine, another neurotransmitter, might produce depression" (83). Drugs do not cure mental disorder, they only reduce the symptoms, which helps those with a mental disorder stabilize their …show more content…
One of the side effects can be brain damage causing memory loss (Cockerham, 87-88). These effects only last a few days, but still a huge risk. Even though, this method is very risky for patients it is used as an emergency technique when other methods do not work properly. Those patients who have a compulsive disorder can benefit from the psychosurgery, the surgical mutilation of the frontal lobe (Cockerham, 88). The results of the surgery are permanent, which can be very risky as well. However, mental disorders such as schizophrenia, and depression can be inherited from family members, especially from parents. There is evidence that the environment can trigger the predisposition of mental disorder (Cockerham,
Scientifically, there is not a concrete explanation of what causes mental disorder, what it means to have it, and how to cure it. We only know how to minimize some of the symptoms. There are three well known models that help to deal with mental disorders and those are: the medical, the psychoanalytic, and behavior modification model. The medical model is the most useful and powerful.
Under the medical model, there is drug therapy, electroshock therapy, and brain surgery. Treating mental disorders with psychoactive drugs is the most common one because of its effectiveness. The fact that they are effective does not mean that physicians know how they work. What they do know is that the action of neurotransmitters is very important in mental disorder. According to Cockerham, "An excessive amount of dopamine in brain reception sites may also be involved in mania, and a deficiency in norepinephrine, another neurotransmitter, might produce depression" (83). Drugs do not cure mental disorder, they only reduce the symptoms, which helps those with a mental disorder stabilize their …show more content…
One of the side effects can be brain damage causing memory loss (Cockerham, 87-88). These effects only last a few days, but still a huge risk. Even though, this method is very risky for patients it is used as an emergency technique when other methods do not work properly. Those patients who have a compulsive disorder can benefit from the psychosurgery, the surgical mutilation of the frontal lobe (Cockerham, 88). The results of the surgery are permanent, which can be very risky as well. However, mental disorders such as schizophrenia, and depression can be inherited from family members, especially from parents. There is evidence that the environment can trigger the predisposition of mental disorder (Cockerham,