Perspective of Mental Health throughout the Ages

Perspective of Mental Health throughout the Ages NameStudent ID
Perspective of Mental Health throughout the Ages
Introduction
Background
The probability of one person among four people to suffer from mental disorders or illness in a life time is high. Some of the mental disorders include bipolar affective disorders, obsessive and compulsive disorders, panic disorders and unipolar depressive disorders (Van der Ham et al., 2011 p. 574). These disorders are dangerous because they change the thinking processes and functioning of the patients besides reducing their productivity and activeness in social roles in the community. Because these disorders are disabling and sometimes they last for along time, the communities from which these people come from are often economically and emotionally burdened. As a result, mental illness has always been associated with stigma hence making even those suffering from common mood disorders and anxiety to refrain from seeking treatment out of fear of stigmatization and discrimination.
Over the ages, people with mental health disorders or illnesses have received negative publicity. They have always been stigmatized in public or private, in spite of the increasing public awareness (Sadik, 2010). People with mental problems were discriminated against and in most times, they were considered unfit of human associations. Although this is like any other health condition that anybody is vulnerable to, many people tend to think that "people with mental health problems are largely to blame for their condition" (Sadik, 2010, P3). In addition, the society treated this group of people like beasts than fellow human beings. Because of their status, the mentally ill could neither have children nor marry because they were not only perceived dangerous but also unable to maintain friendly and beneficial ties with other people who were perceived to be normal. Consequently, it was considered shameful if one of the family members suffered from mental disorders or had contacts with such people. All these increased both pubic stigmatization and discrimination against the mentally ill and their value as humans was not enough to buy them the worthiness of belonging among those who were perceived normal.
In spite of the deplorable conditions of the mentally ill patients which were exhibited through the symptoms associated with this illness- abnormal behavior, including abnormal laughing and talking, loss of memory, aggression and violence among others, these patients worried more about other people’s perception of them more than anything else. According to Stromwall and Holley (2012 p.406) the quality of life lived after people are declared mentally ill depends on the level of stigmatization and discrimination that they are subjected to. In the past, they were perceived as aliens in their own societies and they were considered unworthy or unfit to mingle with other people. Their presence was highly detested...