Mental Health And Illnesses

Mental illnesses as one of the major aspects in the medical discipline has been a subject of study and research since the nineteenth century and not much has been known about it. There are several views about mental illnesses of which include that mental illnesses are caused by spirits hence are associated with diviners, fortune tellers, and soothsayers. Several studies such as Cornwells, (1993) refers to mental illnesses as several conditions which include depression, anxiety, emotional and psychological instability, schizophrenia (inability to think or act clearly) to mention but a few that leads to the deterioration in the mental stability of an individual which can happen anytime. Hence, different ways have been suggested through which the issue of mental illness can be approached. The aim of this essay is to explore and review the effects of mental illness on individuals as it will be discussing the causes, nature, and diagnosis, and the possible treatments currently available.

Causes of mental illnesses. In the pursuit to clarify the uncertainty and the beliefs of different societies on the causes of mental illnesses, it has been a subject of research and studies since the early nineteenth century. Studies and researches were made by researchers and scientists such as cornwells, (1993) and Razali, et al. (1996) in order to find the causes of these illnesses. Cornwells, (1993) explained that mental illnesses could be as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, brain injuries which can be as a result of accidents, exposure to harmful chemical substances, and infection. He demonstrated that drugs such as hypnotics (sleep-inducing drugs), sedatives (minor tranquilizers), stimulants, and alcohols are highly addictive and alters the mental orientation of an individual when abused. Hence when these drugs or alcohol are not available, the individual feels very much uncomfortable and begins to act irrationally. This illustrates that abuse of drugs and alcohol leads to addiction and finally to mental illness. They resolved in their research that mental illnesses were caused by drugs and alcohol abuse due to the fact that about 74% of the youth’s population in England suffered from drugs and alcohol abuse as of 1990-1993. On the other hand, Razali, et al. (1996) in their research on causes of mental illness at the University of Saine Malaysia explained that mental illnesses were not only caused by drugs and alcohol, infection, exposure to harmful chemical substances, or brain injuries sustained from accidents but can also be as a result of psychosocial stress, psychological factors, and biological factors. They further explained that loss of loved ones, bankruptcy, the crash of investment, and inefficient social support could result in psychosocial stress which in turn causes poor coordination, slowness in problem-solving, amnesia( inability to remember recent events) among others, trauma which the patient goes through when emotionally, physically or sexually abused and the inability of the individual to relate with others are among the psychological factors which can lead to mental illness and the biological factors can be traced through genetic roots and prenatal damage such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). From the explanation of the studies made by Cornwells, (1993) and Razali et al. (1996), it can be argued that the causes of mental illnesses are not limited to physical factors but can also be caused by psychological factors, biological factors, and psychosocial stress.The nature and diagnosis of mental illnesses. Several researchers such as Galvez, et al. (2011) and Thomas, et al. (2018) explained that mental illnesses are distinctively different from other physical illnessses. Galvez, et al. (2011) demonstrated that all branches of medicine required a combination of observable indicators (signs) and subjective reports of the patient (symptoms). They further explained that psychiatry as a branch of medicine does not fall under the category of illnesses that require any form of medical test to be diagnosed. The diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses are on the basis of self-report, and understanding these reports requires in-depth knowledge and experiences of working in this medical field. Hence, three ways were developed for meeting this need which includes, clinical model, social disability model, and diversity model. These models are generally used as the basis of understanding the reports by the subjective experiences in the mental health services. The clinical model is the most used model among the three due to the necessity and importance which is based on the use of evidence from clinical sciences. The social disability model has several advantages as it diversifies the construction of understanding which means that both the medical, familial, psychological, societal, and spiritual construction of understanding can be accommodated. The diversity model of approach does not directly relate with the individual but relates to the environment. It is out to defend the rights of the mentally ill people which goes a long way in alleviating the feeling of discrimination from the patients. However, Thomas, et al. (2017) argued that the diversity model was not related to the understanding and diagnosis of mental illnesses. They further explained that diagnosis of mental illness has to do with the one-on-one interaction with the patient and not the patient’s environment as relating with the environment will in no way reveal the actual mental illness from which the patient is suffering from. Hence, can be a very useful model in the treatments and recovery of patients and in every way defend the patients from deprivation of their fundamental human rights. From the explanations made, it can be argued that the diagnosis of mental illnesses can be a result of the fact that the clinical model, social disability model, and diversity model covers the personal, social, and environmental factors responsible for the promotion of well-being of patients.Treatments for mental illnesses. Several types of research such as Drake et al. (2004) and Margraf and Schneider (2016) have been carried out on the development and modification of various treatments of mental illnesses, which are commonly used by clinicians and therapists responsible for the well-being of mentally ill patients. Drake et al. (2004) identified the different treatments of mental illness of which include dual-disorder treatment and relapse prevention. They demonstrated that these treatments being globally adopted were developed and modified on regular basis to ensure that the primary purpose of recovery was achieved. The relapse treatment programs involve integration packages while the dual disorder treatments are strictly governed by principles. They further explained that the dual disorder treatment is guided by the principle of care and evidence which must be strictly adhered to in accordance with the Texas psycho-social rehabilitation criteria.

Level 1 of the principle demands at least five (5) controlled studies with a reasonable outcome.

Level 2 demands that any controlled studies with meaningless outcome must be indicated.

Level 3 demands that references to uncontrolled empirical studies must be made.

Level 4 demands the basis on which multiple studies were made.

Level 5 demands recommendations from expert panel and must be supported with a high level of evidence. This means that before the dual disorder treatment is implemented, the requirements in the various level of the principle must be met.

while relapse prevention manages both mental illness and substance abuse intervention at the clinical interface for understanding the progress made towards recovery. On the contrary, Margraf and Schneider (2016) explained that treatments of mental disorders are grouped into pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. They demonstrated the fact that pharmacotherapy was an inferior system of treating mental illnesses, reason being that the effects of the pharmacotherapy drugs on the patient vanishes rapidly as soon as the patient stops taking the drugs compared to psychotherapy which takes a longer time to achieve but provides a lasting treatment by the end of the process. They also explained that pharmacotherapy drugs such as benzodiazepines and anti-depressants are highly addictive and because of this, the western government has warned against the use of benzodiazepines for a long time as it worsens anxiety, cognitive impairment, and functional decline. Thus, it could be argued that the relapse prevention and the dual disorder treatments can be classified under pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy as they both involve the use of drugs and psychological processes to achieve recovery.

This essay has reviewed the nature and diagnosis, the causes and the treatments currently available for mental illnesses. The essay explained from the researches and studies conducted by Cornwells, (1993) and Razali, et al. (1996) that mental illnesses are generally caused by psychological factors, biological factors, drugs and alcohol abuse, exposure to harmful chemical substances, brain injuries sustained from accidents and psychosocial stress. From the studies made by Galvez, et al. (2011) and Thomas, et al. (2018) it was explained that mental illnesses are very different from other physical illnesses both in nature and diagnosis and also explained the three models which includes the clinical, social disability and diversity models put in place to aid the understanding and diagnosis of mental illnesses. And finally talked about the different treatments available such as relapse prevention, dual disorder, pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy from the studies made by Drake et al. (2004) and Margraf and Schneider (2016).

 REFERENCE LIST.

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