Part1
How do society's views on, and responses to, mental illness resemble those of past centuries? How do they differ?
Before the scientific era, those with mental illness were seen by society as different or being punished for sins or violating a taboo. After a few centuries of isolating those who had a mental disorder and being forced to fend for themselves, they start to be housed in mental asylums, the first was founded in 1817.
When Sigmund Freud started to do his research on developmental psychology was when people started to understand that mental disorders are not because of a religious punishment and did not need to be excluded from society was when those with a mentaldisorder started to get help.
In today's modern society there are a lot of resources available for those who have a mental illness. In the past decade, I believe there has been a lot more acceptance and tolerance of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. But I think there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Living in San Diego there is a homeless problem and it's unfortunate common knowledge that a lot of them live on the streets because of mental illness whether it be because of addiction or schizophrenia to name a few.
There are charities and resources out there that work to help get these people off the street but I think there is a lot of work that still needs to be done with regards to acceptance and getting people the treatment that they need if they have a mental disorder.
Reference:
Weitz, R. (01/2012). The Sociology of Health, Illness, and Health Care: A Critical Approach. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved
Part2
Explain the link between stress and mental illness, and then use that explanation to explain class, gender, and race differences in mental illness.
When people go through very stressful period in their lives it is called chronic stress. Anger, irritability, frustration, and aggressive behavior are some of the symptoms of chronic stress. These behaviors can affect the mind, cause depression or lead to bipolar disorder, which are mental disorders.
If chronic stress is not treated it can cause a person to become insane. Person in the middle and upper class are less likely to suffer from stressful situations. On the other hand, people in the lower socio-economic class have much stress. Last year a video circulated on Facebook with a woman beating her daughter who three years old. It turned out that she was depressed and was taking it out on the child.
According to the woman, she was the sole provider for her child because the father was absent, and the pressures of life had gotten to her. Women are more likely to suffer from stress than men which leads to anxiety and depression. Men to suffer from stress but they deal with it other ways.
For example, a man going stress may resort to chronic violence. "Women experience much more fluctuation in hormone levels that are associated with symptoms of depression (Marksberry, 2014)."
In terms of race, African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to suffer from stressful situations and thus will more likely have mental illnesses. African-Americans must cope with racism, poverty, crime and violence, living in the ghetto and other issues which can be quite stressful. This group is likely to suffer from depression and most often it is left untreated.
Reference
Marksberry, K. (2014). Transforming stress through awareness, education and collaboration.
Part3
Hello class, Weitz (2010) suggests that sociological research points to stress as a potential driver of mental illness and the disparities in mental illness across different demographic populations.
Weitz (2010) cites extensive research connecting social stress, low social class during early formative experiences, and mental illness.
Think back to our early weeks of class when we discussed social capital and the role it plays in mental illness. Mental illness is less likely among those with higher social capital.
Do you believe this holds true for those who have been in the News lately (various shootings)? Are they mentally ill?
100 words response per part