Mental Illness In African American

What is a mental illness? Mental illnesses are disturbed thoughts, feelings, and moods that affect people’s daily functioning. Being hospitalized for having a mental illness is categorized as voluntary or involuntary where voluntary hospitalization is agreeing to be admitted to the hospital for treatment; while involuntary hospitalization is against a person’s will when he or she is harmful to him or her-self or others (NAMI). The issue with involuntary hospitalization is that is it permissible to admit someone to the hospital against his or her will. For instance, in a suicide case, those who agree to involuntary hospitalization would argue that it is a “way to uphold the right to self-determination” and an action to prevent other

And when the brain gets sick it is necessary to see a doctor that specializes in the health of the brain, usually a psychologist or psychiatrist. With that another issue arises, many medical and psychiatric professionals have issues diagnosing people of color and especially black people. There is a perception by the general public that black people don't get depressed or experience anxiety there is also a stigma amongst health care providers. They are unable to recognize the signs of mental illness in african americans because they have a tendency to normalize black strife and

A multicultural competent counselor refers to, someone who’s able to work efficiently with groups of students from culturally distinct groups (Thomas & Vines, 2008). Furthermore, culture competency plays a key role in how counselors diagnose and treat their patients from any background or culture. Surgeon General (2001) largely defines culture as a common heritage or set beliefs, norms and values. Culture can be applied to all groups of people but unfortunately; there are major mental health disparities amongst minority individuals compared to white individuals. According to the Surgeon General (2001), ethnic minorities have less access to mental health services than their white counterparts. Additionally, minorities

What is mental illness? It is a term that is used by professionals to diagnose an individual with a mental condition ranging from minor to severe. Having a mental illness delays a person ability to function properly. In some cases when an individual has a mental illness and commits a crime it could possibly clear them from criminal responsibility, but this is a rare occasion. It is important to note, “even a seriously disordered individual has some decision-making ability” (Bartol and Bartol, 2014, p. 212). Another vital factor to take into consideration is although “mental illness is still used in the psychological, psychiatric, and legal literature, as well as in both

Even though the client in the clinical case is not a minority, this article possess relevant information to patients that is pertinent to this special population. Katie like Kilbourne, Bauer, Pincus, Wiliford, Kirk & Beresford (2005) states is at an increased risk of unfavorable outcomes due to her diagnosis of Bipolar II. Patients with bipolar disorder are at a disadvantage because of their periods of mania, depression and psychotic episodes combined with their substance use and unstable living environments (Kilbourne, et al., 2005). Nevertheless, while all patients with bipolar disorder may be at risk for homeless, involuntarily committed and receive shorter treatment with their psychiatrist, the percentage for minorities increases dramatically (Kilbourne, et al., 2005). Trying to manage a disorder with recurrent and chronic mental illness is difficult for one to manage, but it also includes substantial morbidity, mortality, and health care costs, which may be an increased shortcoming for minorities who may not have adequate resources (Kilbourne, et al., 2005). Kilbourne, et al. (2005), agrees as they mention that the management of bipolar disorder appropriately heavily relies on accurate assessment and effective treatment. The minorities discussed in this article consisted of females, veterans, races (Black, Hispanic, Aain/Pacific Islander, American Indian, and other), seniors greater than 65 years old, and participants with an educational

I agree with the idea that psychological disorders should be viewed as an illness. A psychological disorder involves someone not being able to function well in society. The problem can be highly distressing to the person and it needs to be paid attention to. I remember before the 1500s, people that behaved odd were not treated well. The people that were odd, were usually hanged, put in chains, and tortured. In addition, some people were accused of doing witchcraft because they were mentally ill. As time passed by, people became to see it as an illness that was not the cause of any evil spirits possessing the body of a person or witchcraft.

A mental illness is when an individual suffers various disorders in which it affects a person’s thoughts, emotions, and behavior causing him/her or others to suffer. Going back to as early as 5000 BCE it was evidenced that even since then mentally ill people were mistreated. Many thought that this illness was a result of a supernatural phenomenon, or in other words a demonic possession causing them to do many cruel things in order to “cure” the mentally ill individual. It has been proven that they would drill into their skulls hoping that whatever “angry deity” was in there would come out. This is just one of many of the brutal things they would perform on the mentally ill. Moreover, custody of the mentally ill was left to the family; as a result the family was embarrassed and ashamed of having such an individual be part of their family. Due to all this shame, they would brutally beat the person or lock them in pigpens letting them rot to death. Furthermore, people also started asylums for the mentally ill which included chaining them to walls, rarely feeding them, and neglecting them. Not only then, but now they still continue to torture mentally ill people as if their psychological thoughts were

Issues regarding mental health dramatically affect our society. Unfortunately, marginalized social groups often fall prey to a deficit in treatment options. Ethnic minority groups are dramatically distressed with various social and socioeconomic factors to increase the presence of mental illness. Minority adults are significantly less likely to seek mental health care than adults identifying as two or more races and Whites (Morris, 2015). Different theories touch on different perspective views of mental illness and minorities.

When most people think of the words “mentally ill” people they thought of the terms “Crazy, Sick, and confused.” A mental illness can be a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior. When I asked Clayton what he thought of when he heard the words “Mentally ill” he hesitated and said “I don’t know” then I explained to him the first three terms he thought of he responded “Psychotic, crazy, and Insane asylum.” This is no surprise to me because when people usually think of the mentally ill they think of the mentally ill that are in movies and are blown completely out of proportion. The second person I asked was my thirteen-year old sister, Mariah, her first three words were “Mental Disorder, Insane, and personality disorder.” This was kind of surprising because her answers sounded more educated than others.

The population discussed in this study are all adult African American men and women residing in the United States, from lower class to upper class, who suffer from mental illness.

Oxford dictionary defines mental health as “a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being”, (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). In order for someone to have a good overall mental health, they need to have some sort of balance between mental, physical, social and emotional aspects of their lives. Historically, mental institutions used to be for “lunatics” who got cramped in cells while sleeping on straw in a dungeon, (Regehr & Glancy, 2014). Today, mental institutions are referred to as Psychiatric Hospitals and tend to have a more homey and modern comfortable feel to them. Mental illnesses can range from minor to severe. Illnesses that fall under the severe category include: anxiety disorders, dementias, eating disorders,

Mental illness according to Webster dictionary is “any of a broad range of medical conditions that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning”. How do you diagnose mental illness? Well therein lies the problem. The line between mental illness and insanity and sanity is very thin. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey depicts the complex line between insanity in a world that oppresses the mentally ill through the use of characterization, literary devices, themes and motifs.

A mental illness is commonly known as any disorder that affects the mood, behavior, and overall mindset of an individual. Often, these effects can be almost invisible to the person, or they can take up the person’s whole life. Distractions, compulsions, fears, and whatever else keeps the individual’s mind racing can take up to a lifetime to cope with, and may not ever heal with treatment (as mental illness cannot be cured). Mental illness can also be a distortion to the mind, making the mind believe something, or someone that is not real is present to the person with the distortion. This leads to the other side of mental illness that entertainment portrays- yellow padded rooms, belted straitjackets and muzzles, and numerous amounts of screaming. Mental illnesses are not all like these portrayals, but there are indeed mental institutions in the United Stated and around the world that remain very active. Psychiatric hospitals are a brighter, more common term for these places. Their main purpose of them is to house people who have been diagnosed with mental illness and are not fit at that moment to be left by themselves or with others around them. They would stay there, see their own counselors, and receive plans based on their inpatient behavior. Usually, many are released after a month or two, and seldom stay forever. However, it is after their discharge when they are in trouble. They are back in the world, but there is one problem: everyone surrounding them in their lives

Mental Illness has a broad spectrum in the definition of mental illness; any of various psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors. Also called mental disease, mental disorder. The broad definition also includes that a mental illness is dependent upon a society’s norm and whether corresponding behaviors go against these norms and whether corresponding behaviors considered ad either deviance or even as a mental illness. Mental illness is a disease in the mind and should be consider and treated as such. In the same manner that a physical illness it treated.

Someone suffering from a mental illness may be mildly inconvenienced by their symptoms in their daily lives and yet others can be severely debilitated to the extent that they are unable to care for themselves or integrate into society at any level.