Living With A Mental Illness - 863 Words

I have been living in recovery from depression and anxiety since November 17, 2006. While living with a mental illness has been a daunting task, I am happy to say that my road to recovery has made me who I am today. Thanks to the love and support of my family, friends, and pastors, I have been able to live a well-balanced meaningful life. By adopting a lifestyle of discipline as well as self- awareness, I have been able to develop an appreciation for all of life’s complexities. These experiences shaped my life and despite the obstacles facing me with law school, I now know that I can face them with both fear and courage. These characteristics are not mutually exclusive. In fact, in those times of my greatest fears and vulnerabilities I discovered my greatest strengths, which has adequately prepared me for the rigorous demands of a legal education. The sad truth is that we live in a society that refuses to treat illness above the neck the same way we treat illnesses below the neck, and my family is no exception. I remembered my dad’s failed suicide attempt, brought upon by years of alcoholism and chronic depression. My Nana’s schizophrenic institutionalization, after she mistakenly beat my cousin with a baseball bat. The life sentence rendered against my sociopathic Grandfather, whose uncontrollable desire to commit murder was manifested as an enforcer in the Winter Hill Gang under James â€Å"Whitey† Bulger. His criminal cruelty cultivated my Mothers struggles with post-traumaticShow MoreRelatedLiving With the Stigma of Mental Illness Essay examples1285 Words   |  6 PagesLife with a serious mental disorder such as schizophrenia and others, usually never falls within the boundaries of what could be considered ‘easy.’ Long treatment regiments, intense medications and sometimes debilitating symptoms are just a few headlines in the laundry list of hardships that befall those diagnosed with a serious mental disorder. Even with all this, they then must face society and its uncanny ability to stigmatize and isolate these people. While certainly not anything new to thisRead MoreWomen With Serious Mental Illness Essay1580 Words   |  7 Pageswomen with serious mental illnesses. Using the National Institute of Mental Health study, the researchers used randomized groups to gather information. By using specific questions about the lives of women with a serious mental illness, the researchers were then able to categorize the main themes that impacts women living with a serious mental illness. The observations were then used to inform mental health professionals the complexity of women living with serious mental illness and how to improveRead More The Social Model of Mental Illness Essay1337 Words   |  6 PagesThe Social Model of Mental Illness The social model of mental illness emphasizes the social environment and the roles people play. Thomas Scheff maintains that people diagnosed as mentally ill are victims of the status quo, guilty of often unnamed violations of social norms; thus the label mental illness can be used as an instrument of social control. I agree with Scheffs analysis, and I strongly concur with the view Thomas Szasz takes on the notion of mental illness. Szasz argues that muchRead MoreThe Link Between Homelessness And Mental Health983 Words   |  4 PagesWhat’s the issue? The lack of mental health services available to the mentally-ill and the deinstitutionalization of mental health hospitals have created a public health concern. These issues along with a failed continuum of care plans and a lack of community mental health services have been major contributing factors to homelessness. In addition, the strict guidelines for psychiatric hospitalization are critical when analyzing homelessness. In many cases, only the critically ill are meeting clinicalRead MoreMental Health For The Mentally Ill999 Words   |  4 PagesMental Health Brief What’s the issue? The lack of mental health services available to the mentally-ill and the deinstitutionalization of mental health hospitals have created a public health concern. These issues along with failed continuum of care strategies and a lack of community mental health services are major contributing factors to homelessness. In addition, the strict guidelines for psychiatric hospitalization are critical when analyzing homelessness among the mentally-ill. In many cases,Read MoreMental Health And The Media982 Words   |  4 PagesMental Health and the Media Mental illness in general carries an enormous stigma. People have respect for and take seriously physical ailments but when it comes to mental illness there is still immense discrimination. The stigma that comes from having a mental disorder such as, bi-polar depression, schizophrenia, or panic disorder comes with an enormous societal cost and can cause people not to talk about it. They may feel ashamed, embarrassed or fear stigma. Not seeking treatment causes people livingRead More Mental Illness Essay1144 Words   |  5 PagesMental Illness Mental illness is an issue that hits extremely close to home. Both of my uncles on my fathers side developed schizophrenia in their 20’s. One of them, upon being diagnosed, committed suicide. This happened before I was born, but the fall-out is still visible in my family. The other now lives in a home for those with mental illness. He is on medication, which helps with many of the symptoms, and has been an important pillar in my life. There is a fair chance that either my brotherRead MoreLack Of Adequate Discharge Planning For Incarcerated Adults With Serious Mental Illness986 Words   |  4 Pagesmentally ill has seemed cyclical. Essentially, persons with serious mental illness went from community-living to incarceration to hospitalization to community-living and finally back to incarceration (Matjekowski, Draine, Solomon Salzer, 2011, Ostermann Matjekowski, 2014 Raphael Stoll, 2013). Currently, the United States has a federal mandate that all incarcerated persons with m ental illness have access to at least basic mental health care. However, there is no such policy for these same personsRead MoreHomelessness Is Becoming An Epidemic1566 Words   |  7 Pagesbarriers, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioral or physical challenges, and/or racism and discrimination. Most people do not choose to be homeless, and the experience is generally negative, unpleasant, stressful and distressing†. More importantly, recent research studies have shown increased association between prevalence of mental illness among the homelessness in western countries. For example, Fazel, Khosia, Doll, and GeddesRead MoreMental Illness, By David Shipler And Scaling Up Mental Health Care1106 Words   |  5 Pagesissue of mental illness is ignored. It can affect just about anyone, this includes those below the poverty line. The article, â€Å"Scaling Up Mental Health Care† mentions how one in ten people are suffering from mental illness at any time. Mental illnesses can keep individuals from obtaining or maintaining a job, which can keep them below the poverty line. David Shipler wrote the novel, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, but he is culpable for completely skipping over the topic of mental illness which