Essays on Mental Health
Mental health refers to a state of social, psychological and emotional well-being of a person. It is the ability of an individual to think, act and feel normal. The state of one’s mental health affects how they relate with others, the choices they make, how they cope with the daily pressure of life and the level of satisfaction with life. Anyone may develop conditions that may lead to mental illnesses. Mental illnesses impair the normal functioning of a person resulting in behavioral and psychological irregularities. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand the causes, symptoms, effects, and control measures of mental illnesses. A lot of knowledge has been documented regarding the issues. Medical practitioners and social workers are more equipped with the requisite skills to care for mental illness patients than before. There have been efforts worldwide to create awareness of the issues to reduce social stigma and negligence on mental health disorders. Nevertheless, many patients with mental disorders do not seek medical help and continue to suffer due to some varied reasons.
Prevalence
Every person is prone to suffer some kind of mental disorder. Mental disorder is one of the leading cause of illnesses in the world. According to (Steel et al. 478), about 1 in every 5 people in the world suffer from some kind of mental disorder. Children are also victims with 10-20% of adolescent reporting to be suffering from mental disorders (Sundar, Kaur, and Dhillon 699). These numbers could be higher due to the numerous cases that are never reported. Poor people have higher chances of developing mental illnesses because of their harsh social economic environment. They also face difficulties in accessing specialized care and treatment. Mental health issues cost millions of dollars every year on a global scale. It causes other health complications that affect the quality of life of the patients. It is necessary to change the approach of combating mental health issues to ensure that more people with disorders are diagnosed and assisted.
Causes of Mental Health Problems
There are various causes of mental health problems. These are the factors that predispose someone from suffering one of the many mental illnesses. Mental illnesses can be caused by biological, environmental, or psychological factors. These causes are explained below.
Biological Causes
The biological factors that can cause mental illnesses include genetics, brain injuries, and damages during a child’s development.
Genetics: There is a close link between mental disorders and genetics. Some mental disorders may be contained in the genes of a person. Studies have revealed that disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism may be genetic (Kavanagh 72). Patients that develop these disorders often have some genes in common. This implies that the disorders are as a result of those genes. Sometimes, mental illnesses are common in a family reinforcing the fact that it is genetic. The disorders, however, manifest differently in different people even though they have the same genes that cause the disorders. This is because the interactions between the genetic factors and environmental factors affect how the illnesses manifest themselves.
Brain Injuries: There is a strong link between brain injuries and mental illnesses. In cases where the injury is open and the brain is affected, there are high chances of developing a mental disorder. This is because the brain plays a central role in the regulation of all body activities and damage would hinder that role. Exerting large force to the skull may cause internal damage to the brain. Concussions arise because of a blow to the head causing temporary disorders such as confusion, loss of memory and unconsciousness. They affect athlete in contact sports such as rugby. Continuous blows to the head may result in long-term problems such as dementia (Sundman, Hall, and Chen 10).
Damages during a Child’s Development: Any issues that affect the neural system and the health of a baby before, during, and immediately after birth has the potential to cause mental illnesses. Conditions such as autism develop when the development of a fetus or a child is compromised. This may be because of the mother using drugs during pregnancy, infections, or complications during birth.
Introduction There has always been a notion that there has to be a connection between creativity and the predisposition to mental illness. This article in particular Daniel Nettle categorises the element of mental illness into numerous schizotypal traits of people who suffer from serious psychopathology, …
Introduction This essay will discuss the development of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and its role in mental health nursing. A brief definition of CBT will be given, and treatment modalities used before the advent of CBT for the treatment of anxiety will be explored. The …
Introduction The Rethink.org website states, “Recovery can be defined as a personal process of tackling the adverse impact of experiencing mental health problems, despite their continuing or long-term presence. Used in this sense, recovery does not mean “cure”. Recovery is about people seeing themselves as …
Introduction This assignment is based on a patient journey encountered in my work experience as a mental health nurse, in a low secure rehabilitation unit for men suffering from a range of mental health and personality disorders, liable for detention under current mental health legislation’s. …
Introduction Madness and lunacy are both words that have been loosely used throughout history. Although modern research allows us to discover and treat madness and lunacy more accurately this was not always the case. It is interesting to look at what people actually mean when …
Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate an understanding on the nature of risk and risk assessment in relation to suicide. There are a number of risk assessments used within the field of mental health, but for this assignment we will focus specifically …
Introduction Continuing divisions between black and minority ethnic (BME) groups still remain a significant social concern, with themes such as the higher likelihood of socio economic deprivation, lower levels of education and increase contact with the criminal justice system than their white counterparts still being …
Introduction Mental health is a vital part of the well being of a person. The following definition of health by the World Health Organization (WHO) stresses mental health as an integral aspect of health- “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being …
Abstract The essay will explore the NHS guidelines to depression and critically discuss treatment approaches that can be used to alleviate the risk of suicide and help with depression. This will be done using evidence-based practice, for a thirty year old patient (Michael). The patient, …
Introduction This essay will critically analyse the article “out of area treatments in mental health”. Critical analysis is a method used to ascertain if the argument presented is credible. I t also ensures that the ideas are carefully evaluated rather than just mere acceptance based …
Literature Review The UK is highly culturally diverse, with 4.6 million people living in the UK being from an ethnic minority background, making up 7.9% of the population (Census April, 2001, Office for National Statistics). However, over the last few decades, an increasing body of …
Research Question To what extent do human rights play a role in the application of the provisions of the Mental Health Care Act 1983 to children aged 16 – 17 years, should parental rights be afforded greater importance or are the provisions of legislation aligned …
Abstract This essay looks at whether people can be seen as a key source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations. Both positives and negatives about the idea that staff offer ongoing competitive advantage are discussed. The discussion is framed in terms of human resource management …
Introduction How decisions are made within the treatment of psychological problems requires considerable thought and consideration. The purpose of this analysis is to look at the advantages of evidence based practice and how this can operate from a practical point of view and whether indeed …
our site – CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING – DISSERTATION EXAMPLES Abstract CAMHS Emergency/Paediatric Liaison plays a vital role in the mental and physical health of children and adults, and has numerous benefits, both for the practitioners and for the patients. This report presents a systematic review …