Mental health and sickness are significant phenomena that affect people. They shape how people engage with one another and contribute to their communities. This essay will look at several elements of mental health and reflect on my perceptions and understanding of both my own and other people's mental health. It will allude to everything we have learned over the last five weeks in class as well as my prior experience and knowledge of mental illness. My plan for incorporating my new insights and understanding into treatment and ensuring that patients receive proper care will also be included in the report. Mental health entails an individual’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is how human beings think, act, relate to other people, and make choices (Happell, Cowin, Roper, Foster, & McMaster, 2008). One can evaluate an individual’s mental health by determining how the latter handles stress. It is important in every stage of our lives and without it, life can be debilitating. A good mental status is where one can work or study to their fullest potential. One can also cope with the ever-present stressful situations and still carry on with responsibilities as the member of a community. According to Angermeyer and Matschinger, a healthy mental state allows one to live a free and satisfactory life (2003).
The mind can be subjected to pathologies described as mental illness. Mental illness can be caused by biological factors which are inclusive of genes and brain chemistry. Significant experiences in life such as trauma and abuse can interfere with mental health. Also, family history of mental illness is a factor in an individual’s mental wellbeing. Notably, mental illness causes a change in a person’s thought process, moods, and behaviour. It interferes with how one relates to other people and takes care of himself or herself (Dixon, Holoshitz, & Nossel, 2016). My mental well-being is supported by a conducive social environment created by family and friends. The people that form a significant part of my life provide the much needed psycho-social support. The ability to experience stressful situations and survive them is another factor. It shows that there is no situation that I cannot overcome. All that it takes is to have patience and know that things get better with time.
Over the course of 5 weeks, my opinions on mental health and illness have changed quite significantly. I would say it is an improvement because I have been enlightened with all I have learnt and experienced. Before the course, I perceived mental health as the difference between a sane person living a normal life and a crazy person in a psychiatric ward for treatment. However, I now know that there are more people living regular lives and struggling with mental illnesses. They are not all necessarily at inpatient care centres; instead, we live and interact with them on a daily basis.
Management of mental illness is of great importance; otherwise, society crumbles as the causes of stress increase with changing time. There is more to worry about today with the ever-swaying economy and the need to survive (Pescosolido, 2013). However, we are not entirely equipped to deal with all this and, therefore, more should be done at all levels. Compared to the past, more people have opened up to talk about their struggles with mental illness such as bipolar disorder and depression among others. These people intend to make others understand that there are other people going through the same experience too. They want the world to know that help can be sought and obtained (Walton, 2011).
My experience with a mental health issue is with a friend of mine called Jane who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 24. It took her several years to come to terms with the diagnosis and that is the reason she did not always comply with medication. The only time she did was when she was forcefully taken to the psychiatric ward and forced to get on medication. For this reason, her condition deteriorated with time because she self-medicated with drugs and alcohol when faced with stressful situations. The denial of her condition can be attributed to the stigma that is associated with mental illness. According to Pescosolido, some nurses may even stigmatise the patients unknowingly by treating them differently from how they would have before the diagnosis (2013). Such individuals fail to comply with medication because of the way other people treat them.
Getting to understand what the patients experience when going through episodes of psychosis gives a clear understanding that they are not always in control of what they are doing or what is happening to them. After learning from the lecture tutorials, I have formed a sympathetic view of the patients and an understanding that people need to be patient when they fail to cooperate with care givers who provide them with treatment. I have also learnt that the patients settle down after a while and that is the best time to interact with them and explain to them the importance of all the procedures they are undergoing. Treatment of mental illness is a long process that can take up to several years. Most of the time it will recur and, therefore, as a practitioner, I need to be patient and understanding of the situation. Health care providers need to explain to the patients that they require the various forms of treatment, whether pharmacological or psychological, to get back to their normal state of living(Elder, Evans, & Nizette, 2008).
Many of the people undergoing treatment for any form of mental illness find it difficult to stay on treatment. Crowe, Carlyle, and Farmar (2008) assert that a majority of them drop out of the course. This may lead to poor clinical outcomes, such as worsening of their current situation, relapse of symptoms, or rehospitalisations. There exist different variables that affect treatment. They include the accessibility of the patient to treatment, the engagement between the caregivers, and the patient and therapeutic alliances that exist. To enhance treatment at my nursing practice, I will consider making the patients the priority, understand their conditions, and ensure that the patient trusts that the therapy offered, be it pharmacological or psychological in nature, will bear fruits and address the unique goals (Pattyn, Verhaeghe, Sercu, & Bracke, 2013).
A recovery oriented form of treatment is a more helpful framework for treatment. It prioritises the uniqueness of every patient’s condition and respect to all receiving the service. Shared decision-making between the caregiver and the client has better outcomes, since the clients are aware of what they are receiving and understand the importance of compliance. For those populations that are more difficult to deal with due to their age such as young adults and the elderly, special treatment strategies can be employed to improve engagement with them (Crowe et al., 2008). Use of electronics and the internet has been shown to improve the engagement among the young when incorporated with peer providers in treatment. I might find it challenging to care for individuals who suffer from mental illness but do not adhere to medication or are reluctant towards seeking for help. However, I consider patience and sympathy as my strengths. Therefore, I will be able to put up with difficult cases such as patients’ resistance against medication and still provide them with quality care.
Conclusion
The essay has provided a discussion of various aspects of mental illness. It considers the patient-centred approach tailored to meet the needs of the individual patients as the best approach. Also, I have elaborated on my previous understanding of mental well-being and the knowledge that I have acquired from the lecture tutorials. Some of the factors that contribute to mental illness are a family history of mental illness, trauma, and abuse. The lecture materials aroused my sympathy for individuals with mental illness and enhanced my understanding of their condition. Patience and understanding are key to providing proper care for the mentally ill.
Reference
Angermeyer, M. C., & Matschinger, H. (2003). The stigma of mental illness: Effects of labelling on public attitudes towards people with mental disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 108(4), 304-309.
Crowe, M., Carlyle, D., & Farmar, R. (2008). Clinical formulation for mental health nursing practice. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 15(10), 800-807.
Dixon, L. B., Holoshitz, Y., & Nossel, I. (2016). Treatment engagement of individuals experiencing mental illness: Review and update. World Psychiatry, 15(1), 13-20.
Elder, R., Evans, K., & Nizette, D. (2008). Psychiatric and mental health nursing. Elsevier Australia.
Happell, B., Cowin, L., Roper, C., Foster, K., & McMaster, R. (2008). Introducing mental health nursing: A consumer-oriented approach. Allen & Unwin, Crow’s Nest: Australia.
Pattyn, E., Verhaeghe, M., Sercu, C., & Bracke, P. (2013). Medicalizing versus psychologizing mental illness: What are the implications for help seeking and stigma? A general population study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48(10), 1637-1645.
Pescosolido, B. A. (2013). The public stigma of mental illness: What do we think; what do we know; what can we prove?. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 54(1), 1-21.
Walton, A. G. (2011). Why more Americans suffer from mental disorders than anyone else. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/why-more-americans-suffer-from-mental-disorders-than-anyone-else/246035/
