Mental illness has been widely discussed throughout history. The early generation had negative attitudes towards patients with mental disorders since they believed that they were outcasts. As science and technology research improved, people realized that mental illness was a common medical problem. Individuals started addressing this condition using psychotherapeutic approaches. However, there is a persistent stigma toward patients with mental illnesses. Due to the prevalence of mental disorders, it is vital to study the origin, types, and current events linked to the conditions to enhance early interventions and long-term treatment and management.
Origin of Mental Illness
Attitudes and perspectives toward mental illness in the medical society and the general public have transformed throughout history. Supernatural, somatogenic, and psychogenic theories can explain the cause of mental disorders (Farreras, 2019). According to supernatural theories, mental illness occurred among individuals who had sinned, cursed, or were possessed by evil or demonic spirits. Somatogenic theories asserted that mental illness occurred when genetic inheritance, disease, or brain damage distorted bodily functions (Farreras, 2019). Based on psychogenic theories, mental illness arise from traumatic and stressful experiences and loss of cognitive abilities. Afterwards, in 6500 BC, humans used trephination to understand mental diseases’ origin (Farreras, 2019). This method entailed drilling holes into the human skull to release the evil spirits. In some societies, mental illness was linked to an imbalance between internal and external forces. Around 2700 BC, the Chinese claimed that mental illness occurred due to an imbalance between the yin (positive energies) and the yang (negative energies) (Farreras, 2019). When treating mental illness, a traditional healer had to restore the balance between the two forces.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Some societies believed that mental illness occurred due to organ dislocation. This belief was evident in the Mesopotamian and Egyptian communities. Around 1900 BC, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians claimed that women who had wandering uterus were at the risk of mental illness (Farreras, 2019). They believed that the uterus moved to body parts like the chest cavity, thus impairing the bodily functions. Both the Egyptians and Greeks treated mental illness by directing the patients to smell strong-smelling concoctions (Farreras, 2019). They believed that the pleasant smell guided the uterus back to its place. Some cultures held religious healing ceremonies and made sacrifices to the gods to treat mental illness. They considered mental illness a curse or punishment from God.
The emergence of the somatogenic theories changed the medical community’s perception of mental illness. Around 400 BC, Greek physicians disputed the supernatural explanations of mental illness (Farreras, 2019). Health practitioners believed that mental illness occurred when a person’s body had deficient or abundant bodily fluids. Hippocrates believed that essential bodily fluids, such as blood and yellow bile, caused mental disorders (Farreras, 2019). For example, a temperamental individual had excess blood that had to be removed to improve their health outcome. During this era, the physicians and philosophers viewed mental disorders as a condition that required the input of health practitioners and family members. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church’s supernatural theories returned to Europe (Farreras, 2019). Catholics believed that mental disorders were related to evil spirits. Later, scientists from the Protestant Reformation disputed the idea of evil spirits, but the Roman Catholic Church banned their writings (Farreras, 2019). As a result, the Europeans built hospitals and asylums to host patients with mental illnesses. Most patients lived in inhumane conditions, including being chained to walls and living in filth (Farreras, 2019). People likened patients with mental illness to animals since they could not control their actions or feel physical pain. Thus, they used fear and intimidation to control and cure the patients. Between the 19th and 20th century, Sigmund Freud and John B. Watson proposed the psychodynamic and behaviorism theories (Jutras, 2018). Psychodynamics asserted that mental disorders occurred due to unresolved unconscious motives, and thus, they should be treated through open communication with the patient. Behaviorism entailed adaptive reconditioning as a means to restore normal behaviors. These theories are the foundation of modern mental health facilities, which offer patient-centered behavioral and cognitive therapies.
Stigma Associated with Mental Illness
Patients with mental illness experience stigmatization, such as social exclusion and prejudices. In the past, people with mental disorders were considered criminals and were imprisoned, tortured, and killed (Rossler, 2016). Although the Enlightenment period enhanced society’s understanding of mental illness, discrimination towards the patients was prevalent. For example, Germany’s Nazi leadership encouraged the torturing, sterilization, and murder of patients with mental disorders (Rossler, 2016). Today, patients with mental illness are no longer subjected to such inhumane conditions. However, structural discrimination against patients with mental illnesses is prevalent in both legislation and rehabilitation sectors. It is common to find people associating patients with mental illness with unpredictable and violent behaviors (Rossler, 2016). An attitude like, “I do not want to interact with schizophrenics since they are dangerous and unpredictable,” are prevalent. This viewpoint changes the context, “an individual who has schizophrenia” to “a schizophrenic,” which associates a person with an illness. Some people advocate for returning the inhuman mental health asylums, while some employers strongly reject the idea of hiring patients with mental illness. In a recent study, about 50% of patients with schizophrenia claimed that they are subject to discrimination in personal relationships (Rossler, 2016). Patients experience stigma when working or attempting to form social ties. Stigma towards patients with mental illness originates from superficial, religious, and magical viewpoints of the conditions. People prefer to interact with someone with depression than an individual with schizophrenia. In the 21 century, the social distance between ordinary people and patients with mental illnesses has increased due to unfamiliarity with the conditions (Rossler, 2016). Besides, the mass media has not been instrumental in educating the public about mental disorders. Media coverage of mental disorders has been biased and negative. News outlets, entertainment programs, and newspapers have been disseminating misleading information surrounding mental illness and propagating negative stereotypes (Rossler, 2016). Reports on violence and crime that patients with mental disorders commit receive more attention than crimes that healthy individuals commit. These biased reports strengthen the idea that patients with mental illnesses are a threat to society.
One expects the healthcare practitioners to maintain neutral views toward patients with mental disorders. On the contrary, they tend to have negative attitudes toward these patients than the general population (Rossler, 2016). Even the psychiatrists who have positive views towards persons with mental illnesses prefer to have minimal contact with them. In most cases, mental health practitioners contact patients who are unwilling to undergo treatment. Thus, they fail to build long-lasting relationships with these patients. Some people with mental illnesses blame themselves for having these conditions, resulting in diminished self-efficacy and self-esteem (Rossler, 2016). Family members may also blame themselves for the occurrence of mental disorders. Culturally disseminated stereotypes about mental disorders affect patients’ health outcomes and access to health care services.
Types of Mental Disorders
Schizophrenia is one of the common mental disorders. Unlike depression and anxiety, schizophrenia is prevalent in adulthood (McCutcheon et al., 2019). Some patients may experience mild symptoms such as cognitive and motor impairments during their childhood. The predominant symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, diminished emotional expressions (McCutcheon et al., 2019). These symptoms result in the occurrence of psychotic episodes. At this stage, patients are required to seek healthcare services. While some patients respond well to antipsychotic medications, others continue to display negative and cognitive symptoms (McCutcheon et al., 2019). Regardless, patients should not stop taking antipsychotic drugs to reduce the risk of relapsing. Some of the risk factors for developing schizophrenia include family history with this condition, cannabis use, urban centers, obstetric complications, and childhood trauma (McCutcheon et al., 2019). Childhood experiences such as bullying and abuse may alter a person’s cognitive functions, prompting them to develop negative perspectives.
Anxiety disorder is another example of mental illness. It is characterized by excessive fear or worry (Peres et al., 2017). Patients with this condition may fear going to work or school. Others avoid social activities that may trigger the symptoms. Such people have a social anxiety disorder. Some people experience panic disorder characterized by panic attacks, sweating, and chest pains (Peres et al., 2017). Anxiety can also be in the form of specific phobias. For example, some patients have an intense fear of flying. Separation anxiety occurs when there is extreme fear or worry when a loved one leaves. Anxiety disorder can also be in the form of selective mutism. An example is when a child cannot speak in school but is free around their family. Like schizophrenia, anxiety disorder runs in families. Some of the risk factors of anxiety disorders include early childhood experiences, substance abuse, chronic health condition, adverse life events like a parent’s death, and low self-esteem (Peres et al., 2017). Anxiety disorders prompt a person to rethink a past event and be unable to concentrate.
Depression is another mental disorder that is characterized by prevalent feelings of sadness and loss of interest. It affects the way a person solves problems and processes emotions. Patients exhibit sleep pattern disturbances, irritability, hopelessness, anxiety, diminished physical energy, weight gain, and slowed thinking (Peres et al., 2017). Unlike schizophrenia, the symptoms of clinical depression are evident in children and adults. Children may skip school while teenagers may engage in self-harm activities. Like anxiety disorders and schizophrenia, having a family member with a history of depression puts a person at risk of developing this condition (Peres et al., 2017). Most people never know when they have this condition, and hence the reduced health-seeking behaviors among patients. Other risk factors include personality traits, traumatic events, and a history of mental illnesses, such as anxiety and eating disorders (Peres et al., 2017). Depression adversely affects a patient’s health outcome. If not treated, it can cause emotional, behavioral, and health problems.
Current Events
The spread of COVID-19 has enhanced the prevalence of anxiety and major depressive disorders among the pandemic survivors. In a recent study, researchers discovered that most COVID-19 survivors had post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, and anxiety (Mazza et al., 2020). The psychiatric consequences linked to COVID-19 could be due to the reduced immune response to the virus. Some patients may have experienced psychological distress due to concerns about infecting their loved ones, stigma, and social isolation (Mazza et al., 2020). Patients with COVID-19 feared that they could not survive since the disease has high mortality rates. Some patients were paranoid about never seeing their loved ones.
Today, social media has become a vital tool in detecting mental disorders. Patients with schizophrenia use Twitter to express anxiety and depression symptoms (Hswen et al., 2018). Popular hashtags such as depression, suicidal, and anxiety have improved social support among young people. Social media users and health practitioners use these hashtags to inform and support people with mental health disorders. The prevalence of stigma in real-life situations has pushed young people to rely on online friends for support and comfort.
Overall, mental illness discovery has gone through different phases. In the early age of human civilization, people associated with mental disorders with superficial beliefs. Thus, the interventions included holding cultural celebrations to invoke the intervention of the gods. Later, the physicians linked mental illness to loss or excessive production of bodily fluids. The treatment entailed restoring the right amount of bodily fluids. Today, psychiatrists are relying on psychotherapeutic approaches such as open dialogue with patients. Despite the progress made to understand the etiology of mental illness, there are negative stereotypes towards patients with this condition. As a result, some patients prefer using social media to seek support.
References
Farreras, I. G. (2019). History of mental illness. General Psychology: Required Reading , 244.
Hswen, Y., Naslund, J. A., Brownstein, J. S., & Hawkins, J. B. (2018). Online communication about depression and anxiety among Twitter users with schizophrenia: preliminary findings to inform a digital phenotype using social media. Psychiatric Quarterly , 89 (3), 569-580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-017-9559-y
Jutras, M. (2018). Historical perspectives on the theories, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness. British Columbia Medical Journal , 59(2), 86-88
Mazza, M. G., De Lorenzo, R., Conte, C., Poletti, S., Vai, B., Bollettini, I., Benedetti, F., et al. (2020). Anxiety and depression in COVID-19 survivors: Role of inflammatory and clinical predictors. Brain, Behavior, And Immunity , 89 , 594-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.07.037
McCutcheon, R. A., Marques, T. R., & Howes, O. D. (2020). Schizophrenia—an overview. Journal of American Medical Association Psychiatry , 77 (2), 201-210. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3360
Peres, M. F. P., Mercante, J. P., Tobo, P. R., Kamei, H., & Bigal, M. E. (2017). Anxiety and depression symptoms and migraine: A symptom-based approach research. The Journal of Headache and Pain , 18 (1), 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-017-0742-1
Rössler, W. (2016). The stigma of mental disorders: A millennia‐long history of social exclusion and prejudices. European Molecular Biology Organization Reports , 17 (9), 1250-1253. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201643041
