Mental illness appears in various forms. It is characterized by some serious disruptions in someone's thoughts or even demonstrated in their actions. The person presenting these symptoms is often unable to deal with the day-to-day activities and patterns of a normal life. Mental illness can take over 200 forms each having an effect on the patient's disposition, character, traits, and even the way they interact with others. Some of the common forms of mental illness are 'schizophrenia', 'depression,' 'bipolar disorders' and 'dementia'. Taylor and Brown (1988) state that mental illness can be presented in a psychological, emotional way and even in physical symptoms. A person under severe stress due to dealing with an incident or series of stressors' build-up over time is prone to mental illness. A person may also present symptoms of mental illness through a biochemical imbalance, a negative reaction to his environment, and the pressures accrued thereby, and even because of his/her specific genetic makeup. Patients may recover from mental illness or learn to manage their conditions under the provision of care and appropriate treatment (Mental Illness and the Family: Recognizing Warning Signs and How to Cope, n.d.). Although mental health is a concern for many people, mental illness arises and is recognized when a person is unable to operate normatively due to the illness. It can be observed in the way a person interacts with others, with their jobs and with their families. Medicine can sometimes be prescribed to treat it in addition to suggestions of therapy sessions (Clinic, 2015).
Effects of Mental Illness
Mental illness can affect the patient personally as well as socially. The patient who suffers from it may suffer severe side effects from the medicine that has been prescribed for them. For example, the person may suffer memory lapses, their emotions may be negatively affected, and they may not be alert as before, their ability to take action may be impaired along with their ability to interact well with others (Taylor, et.al, 2003). The other side of the illness presents challenges from the society which may stigmatize the person who is suffering the mental illness. At the same time, the person can also self-stigmatize as a result of taking in the stigma from the society (Nezlek et al., 1997). Thus, it is important to understand mental illness through various approaches and the effects of its treatments as well (Maddux and Tangney, 2011).
Evaluating the patient for mental illness is the first step in the process of diagnosing the illness. This is normally done by a professional in the field who will evaluate the symptoms. Medical history of the patient is probed through questioning. The patient will be given an opportunity to express their symptoms after which a physical evaluation may also be done. The professional will seek to eliminate any other extraneous, uncontrolled causes of the symptoms through the preliminary examination so that the diagnosis can be accurate. For the patient diagnosed with mental illness, the next step is to be referred to a specialist who can confirm the diagnosis and offer alternatives for treatment. Some of these professionals are psychiatrists and psychologists. These specialists are better equipped to determine the presence of mental illness through various assessments. Some of the things that the assessments will bring out include any problems experienced as the person has been about his/her daily life such deterioration in social interactions or losing the ability to function well in the environment. Goldberg (2014) states that from these, the specialist can better diagnose the specific disorder the patient is suffering from.
Mental Illness and Self-stigma
Self-stigma arises when an individual internalizes the stigma that they are experiencing from the society. This self-stigma results in individuals sometimes exhibiting negative actions and mental reactions. The effects of self-stigma can be long lasting. Link, et al., (1987) demonstrated that these effects can stay even after the person has successfully undergone psychiatric treatment. The psychological impact persists. Thus, the person suffering from self-stigma is inhibited in his/her ability to be rehabilitated - of gaining desired independence and good employment.
Self-stigma can emanate from the types of stereotypes that society holds towards mental illness. From these stereotypes, the person who is suffering mental illness forms self-stigma from which problems such as lowered self-esteem and reduced capacity arise (Markowitz, 1998; Ritsher and Phelan, 2004). Sometimes this reduction in a person's self-worth comes as a natural response to the society in which the patient is living and the specific stereotypes that are held by that society or culture...
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