Introduction
Mental illness is a disorder that causes a deregulation of thoughts and moods causing the patient to portray unorthodox behaviors. Essentially, mental illness and the stigma that is associated with the condition date back as early as the biblical times. Earlier than that, actually as evidenced in the Bible, mental illness was not viewed as a health issue but as an attack from demonic spirits. Earlier sources, for instance, the Ancient Greeks, saw mental disorder as a result of an imbalance of “humours” or, in other words, a physical problem. On the contrary, modern research recognizes mental illness as a biomedical problem requiring a combination of factors in treating the condition. Evidence indicates that, while research has …show more content…
Arguably, the determination of what is normal and what is abnormal, or what is rational and what is irrational makes the handling of mental illness difficult. As a result, the society has continuously grappled with accepting and coexisting with the mentally challenged due to myths and stereotypes that have stayed on for centuries. For instance, the reference to mental illness as madness in the past was a seen as highly prejudicial, the term is, however, still commonly used about the mentally challenged. In fact, acts of the physical harm inflicted on the mentally challenged in efforts to hide them from the society are substantially common (Watson & Corrigan, 2002). For this reason, this paper attempts to evaluate the history of the negative connotation with which mental health continues to be viewed, and why the stigma is still notable in …show more content…
The accounts from the early years in Egypt and Greece to the modern day America are reflective of a condition that has not gained acceptance as a biomedical aspect. The Prehistoric Egyptian culture presents a case of supernatural causes in respect to mental conditions (Tasca, 2012). The belief in the supernatural as it would come to be known made representations of mental illness because of demonic possession and evil spirits. The reasoning would dominate much of the Catholicism era with religion insisting on spiritual bondage in respect to the mental condition. Ideally, the reasoning was that the mentally challenged had generational curses or had sinned against a deity. For this reason, the moment a person exhibited the slightest signs of mental imbalances the community would devise immediate measures to ensure the person was
Mental illness is a disorder that causes a deregulation of thoughts and moods causing the patient to portray unorthodox behaviors. Essentially, mental illness and the stigma that is associated with the condition date back as early as the biblical times. Earlier than that, actually as evidenced in the Bible, mental illness was not viewed as a health issue but as an attack from demonic spirits. Earlier sources, for instance, the Ancient Greeks, saw mental disorder as a result of an imbalance of “humours” or, in other words, a physical problem. On the contrary, modern research recognizes mental illness as a biomedical problem requiring a combination of factors in treating the condition. Evidence indicates that, while research has …show more content…
Arguably, the determination of what is normal and what is abnormal, or what is rational and what is irrational makes the handling of mental illness difficult. As a result, the society has continuously grappled with accepting and coexisting with the mentally challenged due to myths and stereotypes that have stayed on for centuries. For instance, the reference to mental illness as madness in the past was a seen as highly prejudicial, the term is, however, still commonly used about the mentally challenged. In fact, acts of the physical harm inflicted on the mentally challenged in efforts to hide them from the society are substantially common (Watson & Corrigan, 2002). For this reason, this paper attempts to evaluate the history of the negative connotation with which mental health continues to be viewed, and why the stigma is still notable in …show more content…
The accounts from the early years in Egypt and Greece to the modern day America are reflective of a condition that has not gained acceptance as a biomedical aspect. The Prehistoric Egyptian culture presents a case of supernatural causes in respect to mental conditions (Tasca, 2012). The belief in the supernatural as it would come to be known made representations of mental illness because of demonic possession and evil spirits. The reasoning would dominate much of the Catholicism era with religion insisting on spiritual bondage in respect to the mental condition. Ideally, the reasoning was that the mentally challenged had generational curses or had sinned against a deity. For this reason, the moment a person exhibited the slightest signs of mental imbalances the community would devise immediate measures to ensure the person was