Failure to function may not be abnormal Flashcards
Failure to function may not be abnormal
On one hand there are some circumstances in which most of us fail to cope, at least for a time. An example of such a situation that we all encounter eventually is bereavement. It may be very unfair to give someone a label of abnormality that may cause them future problems just because they react to difficult circumstances like bereavement in the same way most of us would.
On the other hand someone’s distress, irrationality and danger to self or others are no less real just because their cause is clearly the circumstances. Also, some people will require professional help to be able to function adequately following circumstances like bereavement.
In conclusion it is sometimes necessary to define people as abnormal when they fail to function adequately but it can be difficult to know when this is the case.
Extremely high standards
On one hand very few of us will ever attain all Jahoda’s criteria for mental health, and probably none of us ever achieve all of them at the same time or keep them up for very long. It can be disheartening for someone already worried about their mental health to see an impossible set of standards to try to live up to.
On the other hand, from the perspective of an individual wanting to better understand and improve their mental health, having access to such a comprehensive set of criteria for mental health to work towards might be of practical value because it provides so many ways to work on their mental health and so many ways to discuss their mental health with professionals.
In conclusion it seems that having a set of comprehensive criteria for mental health is helpful for some people but not others.
Evaluation
Represents a threshold for help
One strength of the failure to function criterion is that it represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help.
Most of us have symptoms of mental disorder to some degree at some time. In fact, according to the mental health charity Mind, around 25% of people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in . any given year. However, many people press on in the face of fairly severe symptoms, It tends to be at the point that we cease to function adequately that people seek professional help or are noticed and referred for help by others.
This criterion means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most.
Discrimination and social control
One limitation of failure to function is that it is easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal.
In practice it can be very hard to say when someone is really failing to function and when they have simply chosen to deviate from social norms - consider, for example, the table on the right. Not having a job or permanent dress might seem like failing to function, and for some people it would be. However, people with alternative If’styles choose to live off-grid: Similarly those who favour high -risk leisure activities or unusual spiritual practices could be classed, unreasonably, as irrational and perhaps a danger to self.
This means that people who make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice may be restricted
comprehensive definition
One strength of the ideal mental health criterion is that it is highly comprehensive
Jahoda’s concept of ideal mental health’ includes a range of criteria for distinguishing mental health from mental disorder. In fact it covers most of the reasons why we might seek (or be referred for) help with mental health. This in turn means that an individual’s mental health can be discussed meaningfully with a range of professionals who might take different theoretical views e.g, a medically-trained psychiatrist might focus on symptoms whereas a humanistic counsellor might be more interested in self-actualisation.
This means that ideal mental health provides a checklist against which we can assess ourselves and others and discuss psychological issues with a range of professionals.
May be culture-bound
One limitation of the ideal mental health criterion is that its different elements are not equally applicable across a range of cultures.
Some of Jahoda’s criteria for ideal mental health are firmly located in the context of the US and Europe generally. in particular the concept of self-actualisation would probably be dismissed as self-indulgent in much of the world. Even within Europe there is quite a bit of varlation in the value placed on personal independence, e.g. high in Germany, low in Italy. Furthermore what defines success in our working, social and love-lives is very different in different cultures.
This means that it is difficult to apply the concept of ideal mental health from one culture to another.
