Mental Health and Disorders - Research Paper Example

? Mental Disorders Mental disorders are common everywhere around the world and an estimated 26.2% of Americans aged 18 and above suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder annually. Mental disorders have no clear definitions and symptoms and experts’ unstinting intentions of coming up with clear meaning and definitions of mental disorder has not been flourishing. Most of the changes in moods and behaviors in our daily life situations can at some point assumed mental problems (Busfield, 2011). Most of the remedies available to the mentally ill people are perfect but just a matter of tryout and boo-boo. Different doctors may diagnose a mentally sick person and come up with different causes yet they attended the same medical class. This may not be the medical practitioner’s fault since the patient may behave differently to different people or situations. According to National Institute of Mental Health (2013), mental disorders are the major cause of disability in America and many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a time. There many mental disorders including mood disorders that affects almost 20.9 million American adults, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and personality disorders. Mood disorders include major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, bipolar disorder, and suicide. Moreover, there are other classifications of anxiety disorders including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia (Bolton, 2008). Personality disorders on the other hand are classified into antisocial personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder and the borderline personality disorder. Absolutely everyone suffers from emotional distress and at some point in life but some distress may actually last long thus impairing our mental function (Busfield, 2011). Traditionally, mental illness was initially dealt with by eliminating the signs before neurochemistry is changed to eradicate the ailment. Nonetheless, this kind of approach does not seem satisfactory; it does not deal with various matters related to mental illness. In that case, Jung (2005), decided to give it another approach by arguing that mental disorder is eminent when the psyche is trying to solve or work through a certain issue. He therefore does not support the issue of eliminating signs and symptoms as these results into eradication of reasons behind the illness. According to Jung (2005), who is a popular Swiss psychiatrist, riddance of the symptoms is improper because mental illness is purposive, functional and work oriented hence the mind and body is just attempting to heal itself. Because everyone is affected either directly or indirectly by mental disorder, it remains a crucial issue to address. Jung (2005) used depth psychology as a technique that depends on ascertaining the reasons behind mental challenges as the best way of treating mental illness. In this case, a therapist would always work towards revealing the source of a mental illness rather than considering the symptoms related to the condition (Jungian Center for the Spiritual Sciences, 2013). Jung (2005) believes that after the diagnosis and full identification of causes behind the disorder, the maladaptive objects would be changed thus resulting into positive and healthy conditions. Busfield (2011), further used collective unconscious in his argument by asserting that it holds mental images, which are not easy to explain historically or via experience although it exists as an evolutionary by-product. Features of outer life such as sadness, reduced functioning, loss of interest or pleasure, sleep or psychomotor functioning are considered external qualities popularly referred to as symptoms of mental disorder. Actually, it is out of these external qualities that are used in diagnosing mental disorders. Symptoms of a disorder are the most important thing prioritized by the medical practitioners. There are cases where a mental disorder patient cannot even talk and reason logically. In this case, the outer symptoms may be enough in determining the treatment of the patient (Busfield, 2011). Proper diagnosis is a universal requirement to the medical practitioners. Unless a doctor or a psychiatrist does a proper diagnosis, the patient may feel that the diagnosis was unsatisfactory. However, diagnosis must always begin from the physical appearances and actions of a mental disorder patient (Bolton, 2008). Although the process of diagnosis for mental illness may not be easy since it is not achieved via simple mental blood test or just brain scan, it enables a practitioner to eradicate some causes such as stroke or thyroid (Jung, 2005). Cause and diagnosis of psychosis for mental illness using symptoms may help ruling out other medical causes. Mental illness may greatly interfere with an individual’s thinking and reasoning ability of an individual, which may reduce chances of talking to a patient. This may really hinder chances of getting the exact causes of a disorder. By considering the way psychiatrist handle mental illness, there are key features of the system that is highly valued by the practitioners. It is undeniable that most practitioners always look upon reimbursement and the general financial incentive. Because the current healthcare system is run by insurance, companies that reimburse doctors based on their diagnosis and perhaps the rate in which the condition is treated. This actually turns the doctor’s perception and perspective towards healthcare provision. It is certain that focuses has been turned to the amount of money someone earns or may get from the diagnosis done (Jungian Center for the Spiritual Sciences, 2013). Insurance companies are certainly interested in money that is how much can they save from their policies. The companies are not interested on the patient’s quality of health or individual patient’s requirements but rather on reduction of their overhead costs and boosting their efficiency. It is therefore important to note that medical practitioners will only attempt to consider diagnosing patients based on their symptoms in order to do it quick and earn a lot of money (Jung, 2005). Actually, money is a motivator and therefore you cannot blame a psychiatrist for working towards increasing their earnings. Perhaps the policy of the insurance companies is changed. Mental health is a broad topic whose diagnosis involves several steps starting with an evaluation by psychiatrists. External symptoms are some of the significant things considered by medical practitioners and they represent the base of starting any form of medication. Despite lack of proper simple diagnosis tool used by healthcare providers, there are always alternative tests to reduce the causes of symptoms. Symptoms are widely used by psychiatrists and psychologists to diagnose patients based on their report symptoms, which may include social or challenges caused by the patient or the observable features of the patient. References Bolton, D. (2008). What Is Mental Disorder? An Essay in Philosophy, Science, And Values. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Busfield, J. (2011). Mental Illness. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Jung, Carl Gustav. (2005). Infoplease. Pearson Education. Retrieved From Http://Www.Infoplease.Com/Ce6/People/A0826767.Html  Jungian Center For The Spiritual Sciences. (2013).Whole Person Learning in a Jungian Context. Retrieved From Http://Jungiancenter.Org/Essay/Example-How-Jung-Handled-Mental-Health-Problem  National Institute of Mental Health. (2013). The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders In America. Retrieved From Http://Www.Nimh.Nih.Gov/Health/Publications/The-Numbers-Count-Mental-Disorders-In-America/Index.Shtml Read More