Mental Illness And Mental Health - 1568 Words

On the continuum of mental health, mental health and illness are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Most of the population lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum; however, the line can be crossed putting an individual into the mental illness end of the continuum. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five adults experience mental illness in a given year in the United States (â€Å"Mental Health By The Numbers†, 2015). Although this is a relatively large number, mental illness is often represented in the media as something that is odd, different, or away from what is considered normal. Because of this, many representations of mental disorders are inaccurate and often times picks out certain features of a disorder to focus on. However, there are many media forms that portray mental health accurately. One such film is As Good As It Gets (1997), which is focused on a main character (Melvin Udall) who has a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disord er (OCD). Throughout the film his OCD affects many different aspects of his life and his relationships. This paper will summarize the main plot of the movie, summarize obsessive-compulsive disorder, and then look at the what is accurate and inaccurate about the films representation of an individual living with OCD. As Good As It Gets (1997) is about a writer named Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) who lives by himself in an apartment in New York City. He is an interesting man who has many funny quarks such asShow MoreRelatedMental Illness : Mental Health Illness2108 Words   |  9 PagesMerriam-Webster, mental health illness is described as a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause noticeable grief or disability and that are usually related with a disruption in standard judgement, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning. Mental healthRead MoreMental Health : Mental Illness1604 Words   |  7 PagesMENTAL HEALTH REPORT 1.Prevalence is the number of cases of disease in a given population and is defined with epidemiological data. Mental health is a person’s psychological well-being. Associated diseases have become increasingly prevalent in Australia over the past decade, with a recent advertisement by the ABC highlighting that 50% of Australians will experience a mental illness. Mental illness is responsible for the third largest burden of disease in Australia, making it a priority. †¢ MorbidityRead MoreMental Illness And Mental Health1460 Words   |  6 Pageshaving mental health problems when actually they should be referred to as having a mental illness. Mental health is â€Å"a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community† (Mental health basics). Mental health is something a normal, healthy functioning human being has when everything in their head is in order. A mental illness is theRead MoreMental Health And Mental Illness1702 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween mental health and mental illness? Although the terms are often used interchangeably, mental health and mental illness are not the same thing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. However, mental illness is a recognized, medically diagnosable illness that resultsRead MoreMental Illness : Mental Health Illness1986 Words   |  8 PagesMerriam-Webster, mental health illness is described as a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause noticeable grief or disability and that are usually related with a disruption in standard judgement, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning. Mental healthRead MoreMental Health : Mental Illness1604 Words   |  7 PagesMENTAL HEALTH REPORT 1.Prevalence is the number of cases of disease in a given population* and is defined with epidemiological data. Mental health is a person’s psychological well-being. Associated diseases have become increasingly prevalent in Australia over the past decade, with a recent advertisement by the ABC highlighting that 50% of Australians will experience a mental illness. Mental illness is responsible for the third largest burden of disease in Australia, making it a priority. †¢ MorbidityRead MoreMental Illness And Mental Health1284 Words   |  6 PagesMental Illness Mental illness has been the most overlooked issue in society today let alone within prisons. Researcher Lurigio (2001) explored studies from the 1970’s through to the 2000’s on the deinstitutionalization and restructuring of mental health laws that basically channeled the mentally ill into the corrections system. Often mentally ill offenders are released into community care. Lurigio emphasized that community based care â€Å"compartmentalizes† mentally ill offenders and creates limitationsRead MoreMental Illness And Mental Health1724 Words   |  7 PagesVISUALISATION Mental illness is one of the major illnesses, some people face in everyday of their life, which can trigger them in one or the other as well prevent them to do things effectively as it use to be. According to Mental Health Foundation (2015), about a quarter of the population will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, this can happen either by anxiety and depression which is the most common mental disorder in Britain. Women are consideredRead MoreMental Health And Mental Illness1314 Words   |  6 PagesUnderstanding mental health is a very complex concept. The antiquity of mental illness and madness tells two common and defective definitions of mental health. The first, that mental health is the absence of mental illness, while the second that mental health is a state of well-being (Tudor, 1995). The fact that both definitions are reductive and the same word mental health is used to mean mental illness added more confusion to such term. However, i t is important to know what really is mental health and mentalRead MoreMental Illness And Mental Health893 Words   |  4 Pagesreasons I wanted to write about mental health is because I do not think is discussed enough and more importantly I do not think it is given the importance it deserves. Mental Health is something you heard now and then, but it’s never actually discussed and it should. When I asked about this topic some people were uncomfortable, others were more open to discussion, but both of these people had something in common: they did not actually had an idea of what is a mental illness or disorder, the people who