The Medical Model of Mental Illness, Essay Example

There is often a large stigma within our “enlightened” society against individuals that have been diagnosed as mentally ill.  This is caused for a number of reasons.  Namely, mental patients do not fall under the umbrella of social normalcy.  Mentally ill individuals have behavioral trends that can be very disruptive to our way of life, or disruptive to our perceived perfect existence that we should all aspire to.  Individuals that do not fit into this perception and have been diagnosed as mentally ill are cast aside.  They become homeless and disease-ridden because society will no longer help these individuals become active members of society.

Mental patients need the help of community-based care to ensure that they can receive much needed support when released from treatment.  Too many times, individuals are released and then re-enter the hospital for further treatment because there is no care or support for them within their communities.  Evidence also shows that people can be involuntarily confined to a mental hospital by members of the family, a judge, or the police force.  These individuals, including some doctors that examine the patients, are rarely trained to treat or analyze mental illness.  Therefore, these individuals declare that people are mentally ill based on what society suggests is normal.  This can be a very opinion-based and biased process.  In order for these problems to change and the views of society to change, the culture needs to become more understanding to the causes and problems associated with mental illness.  Properly trained medical professionals need to diagnose mental illnesses and public programs should be provided to help recently released patients to stay in society and receive the care and support they need.

The medical model of mental illness states that the mind can become susceptible to disease and disorders just like the body.  Therefore, the goal of mental illness should be to treat the disease and cure the mental illness.  Many social causes are associated with developing mental illness, including include class, racism and sexism.  When an individual is experiencing a period of economic disadvantage, they are more likely to be mentally troubled, stressed, and overloaded by the duress of circumstances.  Some of the highest rates of hospitalization for mental illness are attributed to living in an unstable, low-income area.  Race and sex can also be factors associated with mental illness.  As a person experiences multiple instances of racism and oppression, they can develop unusually low opinions of themselves or develop disorders that help them explain the irrational external environment.  African Americans, Hispanics and women have been common victims of oppression.  They have been oppressed economically and their ability to achieve a high class level in society has been reduced substantially.  Women are often labeled as underappreciated and depressed.

Seasonal affective disorder is a specific amount of depression that evolves around the beginning of fall through the end of the spring.  Bi-polar disorders are also mental illnesses where there are sudden and severe changes in a person’s mood.  The person can go from being very happy to entering a state of mild to extreme depression in a matter of moments.  A third mental disorder is called schizophrenia where people may be extremely withdrawn from their surroundings or they may even act like they are living in a completely different world.  A person’s emotions can be very bizarre and inappropriate for the situation that the person is in, while their behaviors can be sporadic and very unusual.  People with a chronic illness may be viewed as heroic or brave for dealing with their diseases while mental patients are cast aside.  Many people believe that anyone can develop a chronic disease, but mental illnesses are only associated with the poor or underprivileged lowest members of society.  Support is given to chronic disease patients, while mental patients are forgotten and viewed as a burden on society.