Soci of Mental Illness Midterm

What is mental illness?

A medical or a legal view, and is reserved for the most serious of afflictions leg schizophrenia, major depressive , bipolar)

Objectivist definition

Mental illness /disorder is something real in and of itself,a concrete thing some people possess consisting of real generic conditions or symptoms that signal the phenomenon.

Constructionist definition

Mental disorder/illness is inseparable from cultural norms. Resides in the rules and reactions of people who define what is normal or abnormal different and groups cultures define behaviors and thought content different ways.

DSM III definition of mental-illness

A clinically significant behavior or psychological pattern,characterized by consistent symptoms of present or immediate distress resulting in impairment in more than one area of everyday life

Precivilization

Early tribal groups viewed odd behavior as the result of evil spirits super natural powers, either the body was invaded by evil or part of the soul left the body.

Trephination

Involved removing parts of or putting holes in the skull to let out evil spirits, used to treat mental illness

Hippocrates

Doctors take the hippocratic oath to do no harm and to Neal. Hippocratic method involved observation viewing illness as having a natural origin, and a general plan for treatment

The four humors

Blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile. Too much black bile or if too cold or hot as cause of mental illness - treatment involves elimination from the bowels

Views of Galen

Believed mental wellness required equalrim between the rational, irrational, and lustful parts of people saw sexual release as key to reducing tension and increasing well-being

Views of soranus

Believed that the mentally afflicted should be kept in peaceful surroundings and be treated with care and sympathy. routinely were placed in the care and custody of family

Middle Ages

Image of the soul as possessed or as too weak to resist evil. Devil was seen as the source of lunacy. Exorcism was practiced to drive out evil spirits. A dark period in the treatment of human behavior.

Theologians and the mind

They were purveyors of the mind, science or medicine physical illness and the body. Period of harsh treatment of the human flesh to save the soul

Malleous malefircarum

Two catholic clergyman, Henry kraemer and James sprenger, treatise about now to identify and punish witches witches viewed as doing the devils work the devil was seen as the link to mental derangement. people were burned and drowned

Bethlam Royal Hospital

One of the first institutions to house the insane (London)

Ship of fools

Mentally disordered at the time viewed as fools helpless, and as entertainment. Either kept in their homes or pushed out to wander aimlessly

Renaissance

Era after the plague. Focus shifted toward individual expression, humanism, appreciation of the arts and humanities

The Great Confinement

Institutions of confinement, hospitals emerged across Europe. Housed people viewed as social problems. The mad came to be isolated separated, removed from society. The sick, drunk, disabled, Old and insane confined together. Authorities began to offer food and shelter in exchange for liberty. Confinement in what were social warehouses proliferated

Hospital General (Paris)

Small facility where process of separating those viewed as social problems from the sane took root

Retreat

William Tuke housed about 30 people. Saw work as restoring mental health. Saw work as restoring mental health. A model of compassionate care.

Moral treatment

Advocated for kindness ,balance in life, and instilling hope. Role of therapist was to be firm and to reeducate. Patients allowed freedom to work and engage in meaningful activities.

Germ theory

Every disease had a pathogenic infectious cause.

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud. Focused on the mind rather than disease. Emphasized instincts, the unconscious, stages of psychosexual development, dreams, and the personality

Psychosurgery

Case of phineds gage. Construction accident sent a steel pole through his brain and separated his frontal lobes. Survived but said to nave changed his personality. Gave rise to the frontal lobotomy. Procedure began in Europe, and was introduced to U.S. In 1930'S by neurologist Walter freeman. Said he used a local pain killer an ice pick and a hammer. A quick procedure.

Discovery of Thorazine

Originally used to treat-nausea and allergies. Had a sedating impact. Highly effective with schizophrenia and manic episodes. Did not cure, but controlled symptoms. Developed by Smith Kline. This and other antipsychotics led to the massive decline of patients in asylums.

Community mental health

Modern treatment to be delivered in the community. Goals included: keeping case workers to assist with poverty, joblessness, homelessness, hunger, isolation, which accompanied de institutionalization

The New Asylums

The number of mentally ill being arrested and warehoused, this time in jails and prisons, increased sharply. Resulted from steep drop in hospitalized patients, release of people back into the community, and failure of community mental health centers.

Proportion of inmates with mental health issues

Research shows that about 1:2 state prisons and 3:5 jail inmates

Most common mental health problems among inmates

Substance disorders, mania, major depression, and psychosis

Brain chemistry

End of the 20th century new SSRI drugs were invented to combat depression, based on the theory that depression and other disorders are the result of chemical imbalances in the brain.

Brain structure

Efforts are underway to map the physical structures and processes of the brain, this could lead to new understandings of mental disorders.

Human genome

Some disorders are passed on genetically. Futuristic approaches might include alteration of our genetic code to prevent the heritability of a disorder

Stigmatization of generic causes

Others are more likely to stigmatize-those with mental problems if they believe the cause is genetic; more likely to be seen as different and to experience social rejection.

Comorbidity

Tendency for one disorder to be accompanied by other disorders. Research has shown it is common.

Schizophrenia spectrum

Hallucinations most often hearing voices or commands delusions (false beliefs such as others are plotting or controlling) disorganized thoughts. Usually emerges during late adolescents and young adulthood. Runs in families

Delusional disorder

Distorted thoughts (subtypes:erotomanic, jealous, persecutors, etc)

Brief Psychotic Disorder

Severe symptoms with hallucinations less than a month

Schitzophreniform Disorder

Symptoms that persist 1-6 months

Schitzoaffective Disorder

Similar but with mania or depression as a comorbid feature

Schitzopnrenia

Full blown, profound distortion and break from reality