Dr. Thomas Szasz, in his book, the Myth of Mental Illness, raises some fundamental thoughts regarding psychiatric treatment. He argues that mental illness ought not to be classified as diseases; moreover, he believes that what other psychiatrists call illnesses are just life vicissitudes hence dismisses psychiatry as a cause that does not require any treatment at all (Dunn, & Hammer, 2018). From the argument trying to find out whether Szasz was wrong or right, it is essential first to establish what is the meaning of diseases or illness. Therefore, a medical standpoint, a disease is classified as an abnormal condition that affects the way a certain body organ functions, and it is often as a result of external injuries.
From this description of the term disease, it is already established how certain body parts are supposed to function hence a slight deviation, and with the help of certain symptoms, then that part is said to be ill (White, 2014). When we come back to Szasz's issue, then we have to question if there are already established ways in which the mind is supposed to function. Moreover, we have to inquire whether it is the surrounding and cultural practices that influence how we conduct and do things; if so, then there is no clear way that the brain should function in which if it does not, then it becomes classified as mentally ill. In medical practice, there is no clear ways that the human mind should function; therefore, I concur with Szasz that there is nothing as mental illness.
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Furthermore, why would one be classified as mentally ill when he/she does things contrary to the normal way expected of him according to the society. Maybe that is the person’s real behavior and attitude and not the way the society has conditioned the person to behavior all along. I fully support Szasz’s findings and thoughts on the subject. I believe it would be wrong to treat psychological disorders in the same way that diseases are treated.
I believe it would be wrong considering that firstly there is no established way that a normal human should behave. Moreover, the mind is not like a disease considering that when a disease affects the eye, then that eye will not fully be utilized and will not function the way it should; that is, it will not enable the victim to see properly. Therefore, in regards to the mind, we would not know what to treat, considering that people's brains differ in everything, including thoughts; hence no one knows how someone is supposed to reason or behave.
We are who we are, and our thoughts are what makes us the people we are. Furthermore, our thoughts are only known to us; hence no one else can determine how another person's brain should function. Therefore, it would be wrong to state that someone is mentally ill, then how would it be known that the person is ill and not fully functioning according to the brain? Finally, I believe Dr. Thomas Szasz’s reasoning makes sense and should not be downplayed.
References
Dana S. Dunn, and Elizabeth Yost Hammer, (2018) Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century Wayne Weiten,
Cengage Learning ISBN.13: 978-1-
305-96847-9
White, Tim (2014). "What is the Difference Between an 'Injury' and 'Disease' for Commonwealth Injury Claims?" . Tindall Gask Bentley. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017.
