Mental illness

It is unusual to make a distinction in the meaning between illness and disease.  These two words seem to be the same and are often used interchangeably.  However, it is important to define illness and disease differently because they have differences in severity and causes. O’Neil (2006) defines disease as an objectively measurable pathological condition of the body. For example, typhoid or a broken bone. In comparison, illness is a feeling of not being normal and healthy.  Illness may be due to a disease.  However, it may also be due to a feeling of psychological imbalance (O’Neil, 2006). Examples of this are anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. These types of illnesses are called mental illness. Today, it is estimated that about 30 per cent of the population experiences at least one mental disorder and that about 40 per cent of these disorders can be considered serious (Weiss & Lonnquist, 2009). Most of these disorders are treatable and the causes of these are diverse. To understand these causes it is necessary to know the concept of mental illness, the major categories, classifications, and the primary causes of this disease, especially the relationship between genetic hereditary and environmental causes. Therefore, it will be argued that factors both inside and outside mind can cause mental illness.                     

             

The concepts and meanings of a mental disorder are several. Depending of the socio-cultural basis, place or country where it is; mental disorder, mental illness, psychiatric illness, and psychiatric disorder are the common names used to talk about emotional, physical and mental problems (Weiss & Lonnquist 2009; Savy & Sawyer 2009; Lindsey 1989). In addition, Lindsey (1989) defined mental disorder as arrested or incomplete development of the mind, and any other disorder or disability of the mind. Furthermore, an easier definition states that mental illness is a problem in the mind of a person (Weiss & Lonnquist 2009; Savy & Sawyer 2009). Moreover, the most extensive method to classify and diagnose psychiatric disorders is a system known by its acronym DMS-IV, that means Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition (1994) (Savy & Sawyer, 2009). This manual can classify more than 300 illnesses. According to Medical Health America (2007) (cited in Weiss & Lonnquist, 2009) the five major categories of mental illness are: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, dementias, and eating disorders. First, anxiety disorders include phobias, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders. They are the most common. Second, mood disorders include depression and bipolar disease. Third, schizophrenia affects how a person thinks, feels and acts. It can make the sick person unable to have a normal life and he or she can suffer from delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech among other symptoms. Next, dementias, involves loss of several mental functions like Alzheimer’s diseases. Finally, regarding eating disorders, the most common are anorexia and bulimia.

The consideration and classification of psychiatric disorders are achieved using several criteria. Such as, etiologically three primary considerations exist to understand mental illness: the biogenic or physiological approach (also called the medical model), the environmental or social approach, and a combination of both, the gene-environment approach (Weiss & Lonnquist, 2009). These primary considerations are also called primary causes. Furthermore, McInnes (1949) points out that the primary causes of mental disorders are: influence of heredity, experience in infancy, basic patterns, social and physical influence. Moreover, the terminology “social consequence” can be found in the study of psychiatric disorders. That is, medical sociologists argue that social factors influence persons and these consequences are social economic status and race, gender, residence, and marital status (Weiss & Lonnquist 2009; McInnes 1949).     

These primary causes, and social consequences are the framework of the study of mental disorders. However, as the human being behaves as a whole, it is not appropriate to divide the primary causes of a mental disease. Whereby, the relation between inside and outside causes in an individual might be the appropriate way of study. In support of this, an interesting hypothesis was developed by Charles Darwin. He has also demonstrated in the book “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life” published on 1859, that all living beings develop their skills, abilities and deficiencies according to a linkage of genotype factors and phenotype factors, also called causes (Darwin, 2006). For example, in the case of a deficiency like a physical illness, such as arthritis which describes over 100 different types of inflammatory or degenerative diseases that damage the joints, its causes are primary a combination of genetics and environmental causes (Marieb & Hoehn, 2013). Thereby, if the mind is part of our body system, why are mental disorders not part of Darwin’s hypothesis? It should be attributed to the majority of diseases which can be physical or mental, external and internal factors among its causes. Following Darwin’s ideas and the use of new and better study tools several authors support that the action of external and internal causes in mental illness may be the most important primary cause (Weiss & Lonnquist 2009; Savy & Sawyer 2009; Lindsey 1989).

In brief, mental disorders are one or several problems in the mind of the individual and the DMS-IV has classified a large number of these illnesses. In fact, the most common are: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, dementias, and eating disorders. In addition, the primary causes of psychiatric disorders are three: inside the individual that is the physiological approach (also called the medical model), outside the individual which is the environmental or social approach, and a combination of both, the gene-environment approach. The combination of genotypes and phenotypes could be the most important primary cause because the health of an individual is related to internal and external factors that affects her or his development. However, the study of the mind, how to enhance it and the treatment of mental disorders does not answer all the questions that humans have and it is a study topic that could be analyzed more.

REFERENCE

Darwin, C. (2006). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. Teddington, UK: Echo library.

Lindsey M. (Ed.). (1989). Dictionary of mental handicap. NY, USA: Routledge.

Marieb, E. N., & Hoehn, K. (2013). Human Anatomy and physiology. Il: Pearson.

McInnes, R. G. (1949). Causes of Mental Illness. Health Education Journal, 7, 60-65. doi: 10.1177/001789694900700204

O’Neil, D. (2006) Explanation of illness. Retrieved from 2012, http://anthro.palomar.edu/medical/med_1.htm

Savy, P., & Sawyer, A. (2009). Mental illness: Understandings, experience, and service provision. In J. Germov (Ed.), Second opinion: An introduction to health sociology, 4th ed. (pp. 269-87). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Weiss, G. L., & Lonnquist, L. E. (2009). The sociology of health, healing and illness. Il: Pearson.

Mental health & misconceptions in south asian community [Image] (2010, september 8). Retrieved from http://www.sagennext.com/2010/09/08/mental-health-misconceptions-in-south-asian-community/

At 150, Darwin's 'Origin' Stirs Even More Debate [Image] (2009, noveember 24). Retrieved fromhttp://3riversepiscopal.blogspot.com.au/2009_11_22_archive.html