MENTAL DISORDER (ILLNESS)
Mental illness is
maladjustment in living, It produces a disharmony in the person's ability to
meet human needs comfortably or effectively and function within a culture.
Definition of
mental disorders
Mental and
behavioural disorders are understood as clinically significant conditions
characterized by alterations in thinking, mood (emotions) or behaviour
associated with personal distress and/or impaired functioning (WHO,2001)
Concepts of
abnormality
Research criteria
of abnormality:- Scott ( 1958) reviewed
5 criteria for abnormality which has been used for research purposes.
·
Psychiatric diagnosis
·
Presence in a mental hospital
·
Social maladjustment
·
Subjective unhappiness
·
Objective psychological inventories
1. Abnormal as
deviation from social norms: Abnormal is simply a label given to behaviour
that is deviant from social expectations. Behaviour is abnormal only if the
society labels it as such, It is social acceptance that makes behaviour normal
2. Abnormal as
maladaptive: The defined mental behaviour- includes the more traditional
categories of mental disorders like alcoholism, neurosis, psychosis, prejudice
and discrimination against person, because of race, sex, wasteful use of
natural resources air and water pollution, irrational violence and political
corruption all represent maladaptive behaviour that impairs individual and
group well-being.
3. Abnormality
as personal distress: According to this abnormality in terms of the
subjective feelings of distress rather than individual behavior.
Symptoms of
abnormality
·
Suffering & unhappiness
·
Certain specific manifestation that is not
present in healthy individuals
·
Impaired efficiency
·
Impaired ability to enjoy work
·
Lack of adequate insight or conscious knowledge
·
Excessive defensiveness in the form of isolation
·
Disturbance in the feeling of security &
self esteem
Misconcepts of
mental illness
·
Most of the time mental illness is characterized
by superstitions, ignorance and fear. Some about the mental illness are:
·
Belief that abnormal behavior is bizarre
·
Belief that if one person is a mental patient he
is unstable and dangerous
·
Belief that mental health is not related to
physical health
·
Belief that prevalence of mental illness are low
in our country
·
Belief that mental illness once acquired is life
long
·
Belief that the only place for the mentally ill
is an asylum
·
Belief that no effective treatment is available
·
Belief that mental disorders are something
ashamed of
--------
References
l . Kaplan HI,
Sadock BJ. Synopsis of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences/ Clinical Psychiatry.
9th ed. Hong Kong: William and Wilkinson Publishers; 1998.
2.Sreevani R. A
Guide to Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. 3rd ed. New Delhi: Jaypee
Publishers; 2010.
3.Neeraja KP.
Essentials of Mental health and Psychiatric nursing. Voume l . New Delhi:
Jaypee Brothers Medical publishers; 2008.
4.Mary TC.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing - Concept of Care. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: F.A.
Davis Publishers; 2002.
5.Ahuja N. A
Short Text Book of Psychiatry. 5th Ed. New Delhi: Jaypee Medical Brothers
Publishers; 2002.
6. Fortinash.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Mosby Publishers;
2008.
7.Bhatia MS. A
Concised Text book on Psychiatric Nursing. 3rd ed. New Delhi: CBS publishers;
2004.
COMMENTS