How Do We Define Mental Illness? Flashcards
Mental illness as 6 different types of problems
Spiritual Problem Balance Problem Somatic Problem Personal Problem Problem of the Consciousness Social Problem
What is mental illness characterized by?
their effect on thought, behaviour and mood
the medical model
biological illness like any other with viruses, lesions, and genetics
malfunction in the brain
focuses on the individual
heavily dominates
may be an attempt to cut ppl out of the helping equation
the psychological model
focuses on the individual’s mental processes
mental illness is about the mind and the disorders within it
mental illness arises from internal mental processes that reflect the interaction between the individual and their environment
talk therapy, psychotherapy, not physical interventions
the behavioural model
mental disorder is learned behaviour
it is a matter of unlearning deviant behaviours if you want to get better
get rid of symptoms = get rid of disorder
the social model
mental illness is about a person’s role in life and how many resources they have access to = power
found in society = genesis of mental illness
mental illness = stress or a label created by powerful individuals who determine what is normal/abnormal
why so many models?
different explanations work better with different disorders
no single model works all the time
some people find some models offensive
some models benefit groups more than others
mind/body dualism
mental illness is just as much as a physical thing than a mental thing
it affects your whole self and cannot be separated
you are your illness
non-absolute: value and judgement involved in the diagnosis = power of psychiatry
what is the DSM
defining book of what counts as a mental disorder and what doesn’t = what is abnormal = the official accepted amount of disorders
affects who is diagnosed, who gets treatment, how people look at a person, how etiology is considered, how it is understood
weaknesses of the DSM & problematic diagnosis
lack of hard evidence: formed on committee basis
focuses only on the symptoms, not the experience
reinforces a hegemonic social order of deviance
may be reliable but is not valid
ignores the context of the person and
how “real” are these illnesses
doesn’t account for culture
could be bias depending on who is diagnosing
some disorders don’t make it
no way to verify
Robert Spitzer
conducted an experiment in a hospital where regular people admitted themselves into a psychiatric ward pretending to have a mental disorder when they actually didn’t - when they got in, they went back to “normal” but were still not released right away
results: we have no way of saying who is truly mentally ill and who is not
DSM = inaccurate way of diagnosis
DSM & mental disorder
mental disorder by EXPRESSION not by cause
source of mental disorder is UNCLEAR
alternative definition of mental disorder
significant/involuntary deviations from what is considered “normal” behaviour
deviant behaviour = violation of social norms within a given social system
must interfere with a person’s daily living in society
