Mental illness is extremely prevalent in society today. A mental illness is defined as a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood (“Mental Health Conditions”). It may affect people’s ability to relate to others and as well as their ability to function on a daily basis (“Mental Health Conditions”). About forty million adults in the U.S., ages 18 and above, suffer from a mental illness (“Facts & Statistics”) and about one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year (NAMI). According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, also known as the ADAA, anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental illnesses in America.
Not only do those suffering have to deal with the mental illness itself, but they …show more content…
The so-called Humanitarian Movement focused on treating patients with “kindness and consideration” as well as “respect and compassion” (“A Beautiful Mind”). Scholars such as Sigmund Freud began to focus on protecting mental patients from harm and to improve their lives (“A Beautiful Mind”). This came with the creation of psychiatric hospitals and laws to protect patients. It was also followed by the treatment of psychoanalysis, which sought to cure delusions and irrationalities with distraction as well as through hypnosis and dream analysis (“A Beautiful Mind”). Later, somatic treatment was developed, which included “psycho-pharmacology, psychosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy, and electric shock therapy” (“A Beautiful Mind”). The use of pharmacological treatments changed from sedatives that made symptoms less obvious to medicines that actually eliminated the symptoms (“A Beautiful …show more content…
The worst part about the stigma that comes with mental illness is the effect it has on the likelihood of people to get treatment. Individuals who are suffering with a mental illness may end up not getting the treatment they need because of the negative stigma. If a high stigma for treatment-seeking is perceived by someone with a mental illness, they are more likely to prefer to treat it on their own, rather than seeking help from a medical professional (Jennings
Not only do those suffering have to deal with the mental illness itself, but they …show more content…
The so-called Humanitarian Movement focused on treating patients with “kindness and consideration” as well as “respect and compassion” (“A Beautiful Mind”). Scholars such as Sigmund Freud began to focus on protecting mental patients from harm and to improve their lives (“A Beautiful Mind”). This came with the creation of psychiatric hospitals and laws to protect patients. It was also followed by the treatment of psychoanalysis, which sought to cure delusions and irrationalities with distraction as well as through hypnosis and dream analysis (“A Beautiful Mind”). Later, somatic treatment was developed, which included “psycho-pharmacology, psychosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy, and electric shock therapy” (“A Beautiful Mind”). The use of pharmacological treatments changed from sedatives that made symptoms less obvious to medicines that actually eliminated the symptoms (“A Beautiful …show more content…
The worst part about the stigma that comes with mental illness is the effect it has on the likelihood of people to get treatment. Individuals who are suffering with a mental illness may end up not getting the treatment they need because of the negative stigma. If a high stigma for treatment-seeking is perceived by someone with a mental illness, they are more likely to prefer to treat it on their own, rather than seeking help from a medical professional (Jennings