Mental Illness: A Euphemism for Behaviors Disapproved by Society

Mental Illness: A Euphemism for Behaviors Disapproved by Society

Derrick D. Wheatley

Grand Canyon University: Contemporary & Ethical Issues in Psychology

6.27.2013

Mental Illness: A Euphemism for Behaviors Disapproved by Society

Thomas Szasz' criticism of psychiatrist was quite fascinating; even more so, because he was a psychiatrist himself. Szasz was particularly vocal in his criticism of the existence of mental illness; he referred to the specialty as a pseudoscience. This controversy resonated because of the recent shootings in schools, movie theaters, and political rallies, to name a few a few. Often times, when the case of the culprit is followed the plea is not guilty by reason of insanity. I cannot understand how a person is sane enough to gather the guns or weapons and keep it a secret to commit the crime, but insane when in the commission of the crime. This gives the detractors of psychology tools to question its legitimacy today.

Background of Mental Illness

The existence of mental illness has been an ongoing debate since it conception in the 1800's. The chances of an individual becoming a lunatic vastly increased if a child slept under the moonlight or was born during a full moon. As a result of an individual being labeled as a lunatic; as they were called, the person would be removed from society and removed from society. The individual was often viewed as being possessed. During this time, the treatment of mental illness was limited to giving the affected ice baths until they passed out or high voltage to the brain. To rid the body of the illness only two techniques existed; vomiting the illness up or bleeding. The bleeding involved removing the "bad" blood from the body; which often led to the death of the patient. There have been at least four revolutions of mental illness; the moral treatment of patients, electro convulsive therapy, psychotropic medications, and the fourth being the combination of mental illnesses with chronic physical illnesses (Gautam, 2010).

Moral Treatment of Patients

The moral treatment of patients was the first revolution of the treatment of mental illness, which occurred in 1793. According to Luchins, this revolution placed a requirement on those who came in contact with patients suffering from mental illness be treated with kindness and respect (1989). The individuals had already been removed from their homes and familiar surroundings. Furthermore, there was a recommendation to establish and maintain regular habits for the patients. The routine was to assist the patient with self-control and prevent their minds from developing any morbid thoughts. Prior to this revolution, mental illness was considered as incurable. The moral treatment of the patient assisted changing the thinking of the time to the curability of the illness.

Electro Convulsion Therapy (ECT)

ECT ushered in the second revolution of in mental illness in 1935. This treatment was seen as the most effective and most feasible treatment. This method of treatment had been accepted in the treatment of "functional" psychoses. However, not everyone was agreeable to it use and remained hopeful that another affecting procedure could be developed (Robinson, & Demott, 1953). The technique was originally proposed for use in schizophrenic patient. It was later used to treat both depression and mania behaviors.

Psychotropic Medications

The introduction of medication for the treatment of mental illness occurred in 1952 and began the third the evolution of the treatment of mental illness. This treatment allowed patients to be treated in the comfort of their own homes. This revolution entailed the transitioning towards the reliance on drugs to treat mental illness. According to Baumeister & Hawkins, the belief that mental disorders, at their core, are biological disturbances began to develop (2005). At the completion of World War II, the perspective of psychoanalytic became a powerful tool in revolutionizing the treatment of mental illness. The mechanism for this revolution benefited tremendously from the analysts dominating areas of government and education (Baumeister & Hawkins, 2005).

Significance of the Issue

The significance and acceptance of the chosen issue cannot be overstated. More often than not most people failed get diagnosed or accept the diagnosis of being mentally ill because they either do not understand it or the associated stigma. As long as there are detractors to the validity of mental illness there will always be the possibility of someone who suffers from it committing such heinous acts as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Having worked in a mental health facility I have witnessed first-hand the behavior of those suffering from mental illness.

Unfortunately, no technology exists to predict who will suffer from mental illness. Of course, the possibility increased based on the genetic make-up of the parents. The thinking of genetics created another controversy. The thought