Schizophrenia Is an Illness Which Is Shaped by Political Economy - Essay Example

?  “Schizophrenia is an illness which is shaped, to a large extent, by political economy” It is considered that the foundation of wellbeing is money, and without which wellbeing cannot exist. And one earns money through work which is both directly and indirectly related to an individual’s well-being. Work plays a great role in an individual’s life, because it not only has economical impacts but social as well. Respondents in numerous countries agree that money provides a gateway to reach other factors that positively influence our well-being. Because money is important in accordance to attaining the state of well-being, cause if we have no money we can’t have a family, house, can’t engage in cultural activities, buy things for leisure or practice hobbies. It is said that money can’t buy happiness, but it can provide sources to find it. Meaning, we can’t even talk about well-being in the state of poverty, because money and well-being are very closely linked. The amount of money one has is measured by his possessions like properties and jewels etc. because in the present world they play as the key contributor in an individual’s well-being. But not all people believe in these theories, some believe that one’s well-being or social status is not so much influenced by money instead it is a complicated mix of material, cultural and social factors, for example people like intellects, artists and journalists. Work provides financial security, because according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) analyzed data from over 2000 people to measure the nation’s well-being. 80% of the people rated that having a job is more important than how much it pays. Because the results proved that job security, personal health and relationship with the families were at the top of most people priorities. Work is about a human’s life and not only about the income. That is why if a person has no work, his/her whole life falls apart. They are much more likely to be stressed and depressed which leads to bad health problems. Unemployment is a major threat to the society; it has a major negative impact on it because it leads people to adopt criminal behavior and the crime rates go high. It increases the uncertainty in the society it also contributes to high poverty population. Because having no work deprives us from fulfilling our basic needs and when they are not met the people depending on them also suffer. The challenges of unemployment not only cause recession but it does more than that for example: ECONOMIC: Unemployment hurts the chain of capitalism, when people are unemployed they lose the power to purchase goods and services, and simultaneously the people who produce goods and services. And then in this case people stop investing their money in production because when production and consumption is down there is no way to earn back the amount that has been invested. All these effects cause clinical depressions, disorders and health problems which results in expenditure of non-existing money which results in losing our assets. States who depend on sales tax to fun government programs also suffer because unemployment causes individuals to spend less and makes them incapable of paying taxes. PERSONAL: The effects of no work not only results in economic problems but it also negatively affects the society. It does more than just making a person unemployed, instead it makes him/her spend their days scouring through the newspapers looking for jobs. According to the European Network of Economic Policy Research Institute states that loosing job is one of the most tragic and damaging experience an individual can face. Lack of money is the most tangible effect of unemployment. Researches state that a people can lose their career identity, which may lead to life dissatisfaction. A person under depression may be less motivated to find another work. The main challenge that unemployment pose is that it can cause that jobs that are usually given to people who are less-educated and less-competent to people who are more experienced and to people who are highly educated. And these people they compromise because of the urge of finding a stable source of income. Having no work also affects an individual’s family in regards to the mood swings, depression and adjusting to the new lifestyle and budget. Unemployment brings feelings of insecurities and fear due to the lack of resources. SOCIAL: People who have no work and are in search and have families that need support apply for government help. The longer they rely on government assistance and welfare programs until they are capable enough to find a permanent job and become stable, the longer the help extends. These situations cause stress on tax payers and social workers because this assistance causes economic stress on social programs. Families face even greater trouble because when head of the family is unemployed, children don’t often understand the sudden shift in their condition and they struggle harder to adjust with the new lifestyle and cause an unusual amount of stress on children psychological, physiological and also on their education. Psychologists believe that these situations can leave great level of scars on children’s psyche. IT’S EFFECTS OF THE SOCIETY: Unemployment not only affects an individual’s personal life, his/her family but it in the long run also affects the society. The environment he lives in. with unemployment comes despair, sorrow and unhappiness; it forces people to live their lives in a way that they do not wish for. They lose their power to spend and purchase, it directly affects the market to drop. People go under depression and they stop expecting much from life following are the aspects that is gravely affected due to lack of a source of income: MENTAL HEALTH: People with no employment suffer through a lot of mental problems like depression and stress; they also suffer from problems like low self-confidence and hopelessness. Newly unemployed people develop a negative attitude towards life they feel that. Frequent mood swings and low self-esteem and feelings of dejection and hopelessness. HEALTH DISEASE: Excessive depression and stress cause health diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. PERSONAL PROBLEMS/ DIVORCES: Unemployment creates problems at home and is the major reason for high divorce rates. INCREAMENT IN TAXES: High unemployment rates bring discontent and frustration among citizens who pay tax. In order to meet the unemployment funds, government may have to increase taxes because in some states taxes are the source of sustainability, thus it creates discomfort among tax payers. CRIME, VIOLENCE AND SUICIDE: Unemployment leads to a high crime rate, because people try to make money through illegal ways. These crimes include smuggling, drug dealing, murdering, human trafficking etc. frustration and high depression lead to high suicidal rates. EXCLUDED GROUPS OF SOCIETY: Social exclusion is a term used for people who are socially unacceptable; it is a multidimensional process of alienating the society from certain groups, detaching them prevents them from relating, join institutions, and even get jobs in good organizations. These people are forced to live in an environment where they are not allowed to participate in any kind of social, economic or political activity. This distances them from jobs, a permanent source of income, social activities and community networks. These people have little exposure to knowledge, power and also to decision- making bodies, which is why they feel powerless over their condition and which disables them from making their day-to-day decisions. DEFINITION: "a process where a certain group of people are pushed to the edge of society and are ripped off from their rights of participating in activities fully, due to their poverty, education, gender, disabilities, race and culture." TYPES OF EXCLUDED GROUPS: 1. Women/ girls: in some countries especially in south-Asian and middle-eastern countries women are not allowed to work. Some organizations even have strict rules of obstinate women from working. 2. Refugee: people who are exiled, escaped from different countries and belong to different nationalities are not allowed to work. they don't find substantial jobs according to their competency 3. People with disabilities: people with a long-term physical, sensory, mental, who are considered to be disadvantageous in employment in some organizations. They are considered as liabilities over the organization because of their medical impairments. 4. HIV and Aids: marginal groups like HIV/ AIDS patients are not welcomed in organizations because these diseases are considered contagious, therefore, to provide a healthy and productive environment in an organization people with such diseases are not offered jobs neither are the accepted. 5. Indigenous: people like aboriginals of Australia, North American Indians, people belonging from different African tribes are registered marginal groups who are not offered jobs because mostly of their appearances and their behavioral conflicts. 6. People in detention: sometimes people with criminal records in foreign countries are not accepted in educational institutes, organization etc. including people in detention. ISSUES THAT EXCLUDED GROUPS FACE: EXCLUSION AND POVERTY: The basic root cause for poverty is social exclusion, it is usual that excluded groups are poor and it only exceeds. Usually the most vulnerable and the poorest people of a society are the socially excluded. The reason being, that these people are excluded from the benefits of developments from institutions and the systems that distinguishes and cuts them off from what everyone deserves. It is estimated that over 100 million people under extreme poverty are older people and about 20% of the poverty includes people who are disabled. EXCLUSION FROM DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES: Every person of the society should be given opportunities to realize their human rights so that they can take total control of their lives and be able to take their own decision rather than have others decide for them. But exposure to human rights means providing an environment free from power, government and people from the system should promote programs that would enlighten people with their rights for all groups and every individual of the society should have same rights over the government. Unlike institutions that only represent elite groups who fail to cater to the people who are poor and socially excluded. SOCIAL EXCLUSION A SOURCE OF SOCIAL CONFLICT: Social exclusion restricts people’s rights to have access to economic opportunities and limits their access to the market. This distribution on the social division hinders entrepreneurship and slows the growth of the economy. For example, distortion among Latin America on the basis of race and gender has triggered high unemployment rate. ACCESSION TO INFORMATION: It is important for the marginalized groups to have access to data and information to tackle problems like social exclusion. Data is very important to ground policies and pass laws regarding such social problems which have grave impacts on the economy. Data systems hardly have information over social exclusion because this is a topic that is hardly tackled in our society due to other prominent groups. This also poses difficulties for civil society’s work to draw attention to such issues and demand action by the government. JOB RETENTION: People belonging to these groups face major problems in finding jobs let alone retain them. There are many organizations working for the betterment of these groups, which help such people find jobs and retain them. It is important to understand that people who are experiencing social exclusion including the homeless, mentally ill, and disabled, do want to work. Unfortunately, due to non-existent support and services very few of them maintain their employment over long time and are not paid enough to support themselves of their families. If there are adequate supports and services being for these people to help and plan their job seeking processes, these service providers can enhance the likelihood of these workers to find and retain jobs in a positive and productive manner. In order to provide adequate help it is important that we develop a better understand how employers view of such groups as well as the general public, co-workers and colleagues providing services because it will help people to provide support and services also find out opinions of other people. DO SOCIALLY EXCLUDED PEOPLE NEED EMPLOYMENT? Social exclusion is the major factor increasing the poverty rate. Employment is a primary need for these, many think that unemployment is the reason for these exclusion. Providing jobs to these people and letting them be a part of other vocational activities is the only way to putting an end to the numerous problems in the society. Employments will automatically provide those shelters and they would no longer need government assistance, therefore many issues regarding high tax rates, and government funds etc. It is important that we understand if we work with the workers to getting a first job, it will lead us to loftier goals. ARE THESE PEOPLE “WORK SLACKERS”? This is a never ending debate among people, whether marginalized people are work shirkers or whether employment is the only way to ending their stigma. But an answer to the question posed above is “no”, it is evident and true that these people do desire to find permanent jobs and become financially stable so that they become the source of provision for their families and themselves. It is true, if given the chances these people can substantially their work activity. Many of the service providers who have experience exclusions believe that employment is the only way to ending one’s experience of desertion. Researches demonstrate these people are even more motivated to work than others. These people have special talents and gifts but they face certain barriers which restricts them to from sustaining their work. Some individuals may even find jobs with little or no difficulty due to their previous work experiences or qualifications and yet they face obstacles at work. METHODS TO END SOCIAL DISCRETION: EMPLOYMENT EQUITY: Equity does not mean that every person should be treated equally instead it means that every employee in an organization should be equally treated. They should get equal chances to use their skills and talents irrespective to their gender, race, ethnicity, nationality etc. it includes diminishing all the barriers that create difference between co-workers due to the difference of religion, gender, race etc. every organization should be flexible enough to invite people from every type culture, color, race etc. An employment equity program plans to motivate: A system that will promote policies and practices to support the workforce as a whole and support the recruitment, retention and promotion of appropriate people irrespective of their color, culture, nationality etc. All employees of an organization must be provided equal opportunities to develop their skills and equally contribute for the betterment of the organization. AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS: Employment equity is important to remove systematic discrimination among the organization because it is against the human rights legislation. It is a process through which equality is achieved within an organization through legally eliminating, systematic discrimination. Affirmative actions are temporary actions that salvage the discrimination among the designated groups. An affirmative action through an employment equity program creates equality among all employees. SYSTEMATIC DISCRETION: Creating differences among the employees and excluding from giving opportunities given to every employee in an organization for reasons not related to job requirements. These discriminations are often hidden, but they have an adverse affects on the designated people and is a major cause of poverty. Managers often believe that they need to hire people with a university degree to do the clerical work but they fail to understand they are excluding many people with good potential but without degrees, because you don’t need a degree for clerical work. MENTAL ILLNESS: People with mental illness can be described as those individuals having a disability experiencing psychological and emotional difficulties, which poses issues and problems in conducting their day-to-day activities. Most common types of mental illnesses are depression, anxiety, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder, phobia, panic-attacks and schizophrenia. These mental illnesses impact greatly on finding and retaining employments. The ways through which these problems can be solved is by setting policies that will help people with people with mental illnesses. Those providing support programs and the policy makers should understand what employers seek from people with mental illnesses, what kind of on-the- job work experience they expect them to have. Employers should have information and should stay in contact with people who provide services to such people to gain information regarding how to train and employ people with illnesses. Education and training should be provided regarding the employment, it is an important opportunity for those with illnesses. Vocational training and education allows them to gain soft skills, skills that will help them at work like communication and time-management, rather than teaching them technical skills for the job. Communication skills and time-management will help them gain confidence to participate in the labor market. Because people with mental illness are more likely to fail course related to vocational education from people with physical disability. But it also depends on the person’s ability to influence them to complete the course with proper help from the service providers. Also teaching them to use their interest, meaning proper help should be provided to these people to help understand where their skills lie at. Help them use their skills and talents and help them take it from there! REFERENCES 1. TRADES UNION CONGRESS, & STEPHEN LAWRENCE TASK GROUP. (1999). Black and excluded: black and Asian workers in the 1990s. London, TUC, Congress House. 2. CARMEN, R., & SOBRADO CHAVES, M. (2000). A future for the excluded: job creation and income generation by the poor. London, Zed. 3. MOORE, T. S. (1996). The disposable work force: worker displacement and employment instability in America. New York, Aldine de Gruyter. 4. COHEN, M. G. (2003). Training the excluded for work access and equity for women, immigrants, first nations, youth, and people with low income. Vancouver, UBC Press. 5. KOPPELMAN, K. L., & GOODHART, R. L. (2011). Understanding human differences: multicultural education for a diverse America. Boston, MA, Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH. (2009).Genetics in the workplace: implications for occupational safety and health. Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Genetics Working Group. 7. SCHULTZ, I. Z., & ROGERS, E. S. (2011). Work accommodation and retention in mental health. New York, Springer. 8. PENNER, R. B. (2002). Human resource management applied research reports: Class 150, 2002. Beaver Falls, Pa, Geneva College]. 9. MCRAE, A. (2012). Second class citizens discrimination against Roma, Jews, and other national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [New York, N.Y.], Human Rights Watch 10. . BRADDOCK, J. H., & MCPARTLAND, J. M. (1987). How minorities continue to be excluded from equal employment opportunities: research on labor market and institutional barriers. Baltimore, Md, Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University. . Read More