In the context of poverty, using disability and illness togain benefits can be interpreted at the street and family level as a marker of competence andsocial responsibility,
If they do not use this strategy, are disabled/low income individuals perceived as lazy? The governments fails to allow them any other alternatives and corners them into an epidemic of the misuse of drug medications.
Eventually, Jasmine, exasperated by his inability to establish himself as a responsible head-of-household broke up with him
Gender norms and masculinity also impacted Primo's life in addition to pathologizing poverty
represented a more stable source of income than entry-level labor market orunderground economy wages.
While I like the idea that disabled individuals have a stable source of income from SSI, it is a bit disappointing to hear that educated and qualified individuals are not paid as much for their labor.
In both of their cases, it is not the stigma of apsychiatric diagnosis that is shameful to them
Answers my question earlier about Lennie being ashamed about his diagnosis. It is more so about the limited control they have over their autonomy and self-identity.
This contrasted with Lennie's selfidentity as a hard-working man with endless stamina. His already faltering health, combinedwith his inability to work a paying job and the bureaucratic requirement to declare anddemonstrate ongoing disability, gave Lennie a sense of defeat
It is upsetting to hear how was willing to sacrifice his values and beliefs just to receive aid. It is contradicting how the government offers welfare to "protect" the public yet they are also responsible for contributing to unemployment, which makes people like Lennie feel the need to maintain his disability for the benefits that they fail to provide in the first place.
But his struggleto reconcile himself with being on public aid was not over, and it reached a head at a familyNew Year's party. Hiding in the corner of his nephew's suburban living room with a glass ofgin, so that he did not have to explain that he was unemployed
Lennie seems like he takes a lot of pride in working hard. Was he ashamed that relying on public aid would disclose the fact that he was disabled?
many are finding that applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)payments on the basis of mental disability is the only way to survive”
Poverty has become associated with stigma of mental health disabilities. Is it possible that some people may induce psychological symptoms to qualify for SSI if they see this as an only option to survive?
Furthermore, alcoholism and addiction were eliminated as a qualifying diagnosis in 1996,contributing to an increase in mental health-related dual diagnoses (i.e. substancedependence plus another psychiatric diagnosis)
I agree with this decision to eliminate these qualifying diagnoses. These conditions are characterized by underlying mental health disorders. Alcoholism/addiction can either progress into psychological symptoms or poor mental health can lead someone to abuse substances.
He su gests that the reason antidepressants appear towork better in relieving severe depression than in less severe cases isthat patients with severe symptoms are likely to be on higher dosesand therefore experience more side e ects
Since they have more intense/severe side effects, it gives illusion that antidepressants are more effective in drastically reducing what is obvious
Refusal to take food is as suicidalas self-destruction by a dagger or firearm. The subject’s act need noteven have been directly antecedent to death for death to be regarded asits effect;
I believe suicide is about intent of a harmful act that can lead to death. Refusing to eat shows how someone has no will to live or survive. It is important to note how it can be an indirect act over time rather than quick death, like a gunshot, that is often portrayed.
Poverty protects against suicide because it is a restraint initself. No matter how one acts, desires have to depend upon resourcesto some extent; actual possessions are partly the criterion of thoseaspired to. So the less one has the less he is tempted to extend the rangeof his needs indefinitely
When you have power, you are greedy to prove you can get more than what you already have. Poverty builds humility and resilience as they tolerate more suffering and manage to survive in other ways without such resources.
In reality they are an effect rather than a cause; they merelysymbolize in abstract language and systematic form the physiologicaldistress of the body social.
The individual in this type of suicide perceives themselves as abnormal part that disrupts flow or functioning of society.
Where collective sentiments are strong, it is because the forcewith which they affect each individual conscience is echoed in all theothers, and reciprocally
In other words, does this mean that family functioning affects the intensity of people affected? The energy that one or a few individuals possess affect others like a domino effect?
Due to this extreme sensitivity of his nervous system, his ideas andfeelings are always in unstable equilibrium.
The intrusive symptoms are contradicting to one's mental state and makes it difficult to live a sustainable life. It seems it is difficult to predict events to prepare for appropriate responses.
for the excessive penetrability of a weakenednervous system makes it a prey to stimuli which would not excite anormal organism
Can constant discomfort from physiological symptoms trigger mental urges to perform suicide?
Therefore among the factors of suicide the only ones whichconcern him are those whose action is felt by society as a whole. Thesuicide-rate is the product of these factors.
I realize how suicide can concern sociology because these social conditions affect the behavior of a population. Before reading this article, I focused more on the effects of interpersonal relationships that could lead to suicide such as loss of a loved one, strained marriage, etc. I also focused on the biological aspect of a person's genetic predisposition to depression.
As side e ects emerge, they areoften treated by other drugs, and many patients end up on a cocktail ofpsychoactive drugs prescribed for a cocktail of diagnoses. Theepisodes of mania caused by antidepressants may lead to a newdiagnosis of “bipolar disorder”
More side effects means more drugs prescribed. Does this mean more opportunities to earn more profit? It is evident that psychoactive drugs are in demand yet healthcare system fails to make affordable
The symptoms produced bywithdrawing psychoactive drugs are often confused with relapses ofthe original disorder, which can lead psychiatrists to resume drugtreatment, perhaps at higher doses
Seeing as how symptoms can relapse from withdrawal, this clarifies my understanding of how much more effective it can be to combine psychotherapy and medication than depending on one treatment alone
Yet because the positive studies wereextensively publicized, while the negative ones were hidden, the publicand the medical profession came to believe that these drugs werehighly e ective antidepressants
Drugs were not much more effective than placebos, but highlighting only positive results makes it seem like drugs were more effective than they actually are
those children spent an average of at least 50 days unnecessarily hospitalized at a cost of $6.3 million to taxpayers
Costs could have been shared towards residential facilities
our reporting showed leaves them feeling isolated and alone, falling behind in school
Due to lack of education instruction and interactions outside of hospitals
providing placements designed to bridge the gap between a child coming out of a hospital and going into a home,
Programs should be focused in impoverished areas where rates are high for children staying in hospitals
There are currently about 40 children in the program, but plans to expand have faltered because of DCFS turnover, trouble recruiting and retaining staff,
Programs are somewhat helpful but there is a limit to its effectiveness due to lack of staff
Such homes offer support beyond traditional foster homes for families caring for children with intense mental health needs.
Foster families also need resources and support to care well for children with mental health disorders, to prepare for deviant behavior as it can be overwhelming
Advertisements typically connected the most gen-eral symptoms of depression from the DSM’sdiagnosis—sadness, fatigue, sleeplessness, andthe like—with common situations involving inter-personal problems, workplace difficulties, or over-whelming demands
These symptoms can easily be linked to stress, so many people are taking medication that they do not need due to lack of information. When it is unnecessary to take antidepressants, serious side effects can occur such as loss of emotions and apathy. This selling strategy can do more harm than good without explaining the complete diagnosis.
The criteria do not, however,exclude people whose symptoms arose from otherlife events such as the dissolution of a romanticrelationship, loss of a valued job, or failure toachieve a long-desired goal.
They consider the depressive symptoms of losing a loved one to be severe as a normal response, but other life events can also be just as devastating depending on the resources that each individual has. For example, losing a valued job can be very significant for someone who grew up in financial poverty for most of their life.
The diagnosis was thus groundedin symptoms that characterized state hospital pa-tients, which could differ substantially from thosefound in outpatient settings or acute psychiatricwards, not to mention untreated community popu-lations
I find this to be a significant limitation in the Feighner Criteria because the basis was rooted in hospital patients and does not consider untreated populations, which is mainly composed of ethnic communities. It does not consider much of the overlapping symptoms that untreated minority groups experience that may also relate to cultural demands.
Beginning in the 1960s,clinicians and researchers started to pay moreattention to depression, and by the end of thedecade the disparity between anxiety and depres-sive diagnoses had narrowed
Depression and anxiety comorbid. They share overlapping symptoms. Anxiety can be a symptom of depression or depression can be a triggered by an anxiety disorder.
, like smoking, having sex, andtaking drugs, that are discussed in health education classes, high schoolassemblies, and public service announcements on televisio
They anticipate suicide or feelings of suicide as a common behavior during adolescence that teens will come across at one point of their life. It can be compared to inevitable urges like sexual desires or peer pressure.
In fact, in anonymous forms of care, personalconnections are supposed to be suppressed.
As I mentioned before, this type of practice is contradictory to personal connections that are crucial to sustainable well-being. It is ironic that in these hotline services "callers" are expected to share deep, personal thoughts yet still volunteers still place boundaries as a strategy to address these problems, which doesn't represent a fully safe space.
We teach cleanliness but expect filth. We teach life as theultimate value but expect death.
It is important to understand one to fulfill the other. We need experience a valuable life to learn that death is not something to fear as it is inevitable.
By turning people who are suffering into“clients” who become objects of suicide risk management tools, thecounselor no longer has to cope with the existential anxiety that israised by suicide and the specificity of the suffering one is witnessing
I believe this could be contradictory to feelings of loneliness and need for meaningful relationships. It is different being heard as a friend or family member than a professional.
“Sui-cidal individuals themselves are positioned within this discourse ofpathology as mentally unwell, and thus not fully responsible for theiractions; instead, clinicians are taken to be the responsible, accountable,and possibly culpable agents in relation to their ‘suicidal patients.’
I agree with this statement because children are not fully developed to understand their emotions. Parents are supposed to guide them and observe their behaviors to rectify them.
“People who talk about suicide do it. Four out offi ve people who kill themselves have given out definite signals or talkedto someone about it”
Even just talking about suicide is enough concern to prove how much they are mental suffering to seek immediate treatment before their triggers are exacerbated
In one study on suicide in the U.S., the rising rates were closely linked with reductions in social welfare spending between 1960 and 1995.
Social welfare is linked to one's overall well-being. The system should focus more on spending these programs to avoid detrimental effects. Suicide may "die by their own hand," but to put it into perspective: the U.S. holds the gun while these individuals pull the trigger.
According to social strain theory, when there’s a large gap between the rich and poor, those at or near the bottom struggle more, making them more susceptible to addiction, criminality and mental illness than those at the top.
This makes sense as lack of resources and difficulty of living can lead to mental health issues and unhealthy ways of coping.
Incor-porating an intersectionality framework into self-labeling theory may better help inform our under-standing of the mechanisms and social processesthat lead to differential self-labeling amongsocially and economically disadvantaged groups.
Considering intersectionality is important as there are several factors aside from culture that influence perception on mental health. I would like to hear more about how experiences with disabilities and sexual orientation are involved in differential self-labeling.
Poorer self-labeling among Asian American immigrants com-pared to their U.S.-born counterparts may reflectpoorer health literacy and more stringent culturalnorms against disclosing private information tooutsiders within immigrant subpopulations
Outsiders who are non-immigrants can refer to "outgroups." They are different in which their values and beliefs do not match, so maybe they are against disclosing private information to avoid judgement or misunderstanding of their community.
Foreign-born Asian Ameri-cans are less likely to perceive a need than U.S.-born Asian Americans,
Most likely has to do with cultural values. For example, there is a common stigma/taboo of mental health and seeking treatment among traditional Asian parents.
Men have lowerodds than women of perceiving they need help
Does this have to do with gender stereotypes? Do men fear being perceived as emotional and "weak" if they seek help?"
Bettermental health literacy and higher economicresources are thought to affect how individualsidentify and respond to their mental health prob-lems, which may “advantage” certain groups likenon-Latino whites in recognizing a need forcare and seeking treatment.
Educational attainment is also related to socioeconomic status and these factors contribute to one's perceived need for mental health care. A good educational system is more likely to introduce/emphasize importance of mental health. However, many racial/minority populations face educational and economic disparities that may affect their ability to recognize mental disorders.
acial/ethnic minority populationsalso face a constellation of life stressors thatmay have unique influences on mental illnessand how it is perceived, especially whether treat-ment is needed.
When constantly facing stressors and discriminatory experiences, I can understand how these populations may interpret psychological symptoms as normal responses to stressful events. The way they normalize poor mental health as a consequence of social injustice shows how much the system should provide better access to services even more so.
he psychological experience of adolescence parallels theAmerican cultural emphasis on individualism, enhancing the young Latina’s sense ofdiscontinuity between herself and her family
I agree with this as older generations in traditional cultures seem to emphasize collectivism, and especially for older ethnic women, most of them acknowledge the importance of caring for their family.
Ataques de nervios among womenappear to be a coping strategy that reduces the demands and expectations that family andspouses put on them, thus providing an opportunity for women to regain their psychological,emotional and social equilibrium
It is starting to make sense how women are more likely to attempt suicide due to the additional demands of gender roles in traditional cultures on top of general issues of ethnic differences and social discrimination.
Many attempters recallfeeling ambivalent about the underlying goal of the attempt—it is rarely to kill oneself, andinstead reflects a broader desire to escape.
Earlier, the author mentions that his sample did not recall having thoughts of death. Suicide attempts among them seem to have some sort of impulsive response to escape stress in the moment.
but rather local explanatory models for theetiological origins of illness that could be used to convey a variety of differentpsychosomatic experiences
I agree. I would consider cultures to contribute to psychosomatic experiences rather than labeling their stress-induced factors as syndromes. I think explanatory models would best illustrate the social causation factors that lead to mental illnesses.
The DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000)defines culture-bound syndromes as those “recurrent, locality-specific patterns of aberrantbehavior and troubling experience that may or may not be linked to a particular DSM-IVdiagnostic category”
In other words, this term seems to categorize cultures and ethnic groups who have developed psychological symptoms due to distress and discrimination.
Research suggests that family-related stresses seem to play a greater role in the onset ofsuicidal behavior than is seen among non-Hispanic adolescents
Ethnic identity, acculturation and socioeconomic disadvantages are part of family related stresses that can be brought upon by the social justice issue of immigration
school-basedprogrammes were emphasized, drawing upon the observationthat common mental disorders often manifest for the firsttime during childhood.
I believe it would be more effective to implement school-based programs and influence youths as they are still in early development
l. In one study, lessthan 40% of the participants who reported having received anymental health treatment for a serious mental illness were ratedas having received minimally adequate treatment 75.
Two reasons this could be: (1) maybe it is better to start with low dosage than risking intense side effects that can emerge as other disorders AND (2) as stated earlier, primary care physical contact decreased as prescribing of antidepressants increased, so patients do not necessarily know if they need to adjust treatment
Althoughthe short-term mental health impact of these events on spe-cific population groups or specific outcomes has been stud-ied 47-49, their overall and long-term impact on the prevalenceof mental disorders and psychological distress is not clear.
I would like to learn more about the long-term impact of these stressors on potential increase of mental disorders. I would assume that mental health issues can arise from these stressful events, especially from social issues that can result in personal discriminatory experiences. Like I stated earlier, this is why I believe free health care is the common denominator that would address some parts of these issues.
There was little change in primary care physician contactfor a psychological problem over the period from 1993 to2007 27. However, the receipt of antidepressants increased sig-nificantly, nearly trebling between 1993 and 2000 28
Frequent check-ups while taking medication is important to track symptoms and side effects and address them as they manifest.
but they sit empty because the services the facilities offer don’t match the needs of the children waiting.
Beds are not enough, need proper caregivers and services
DCFS simply does not have the money to pay facilities enough to hire specialized staff to adequately care for children with such serious needs
Need better way to distribute state money for developmental needs. Maybe this can also relieve homelessness? (if children are not placed in homes or not receiving proper treatment, they will most likely up end up living on streets)
Less than a month after his arrival, workers noted a sharp drop in the number of times he was physically aggressive, destroyed property or tried to run away.
Martin just needed an environment to explore and engage in meaningful activities to reduce aggression and destructive behavior
Around that time, as White felt she could no longer safely care for Martin and her nieces, she gave up custody of Martin to DCFS.
I believe this happens often when a remaining family member tries to take in child but realizes they are not fit to be guardian. They are doing what they think is best and trust DCFS to give the child what they cannot
“I was fighting everybody because they wouldn’t let me go home,”
Wardell's story shows how extended hospital stays can result in behavior problems. Judge granted permission to move him but why exactly did that never go through? Are there no repercussions for waiting so long?
“If we hurry kids into a placement that can’t meet their needs and they have another episode, they’ll have a new diagnosis and a new hospitalization.”
Suitable environment and mental treatment are interdependent --- support from family or community plays important factor in addressing needs
their extended stays are apparently taken as a sign that the children are particularly difficult to treat.
Contradictory issue -- they may seem "difficult" to treat merely due to detrimental effects of these extended stays
If they receive timely treatment before they have to be hospitalized — though those services are scarce as well — that could lead to fewer cases of children being held beyond medical necessity.
These children are especially prone to being hospitalized, so maintenance of screening and treatment can help them develop coping lifestyle
the state had failed to provide home or community services to children with serious mental- and emotional-health disorders who were covered by Medicaid.
Law should support children w/ mental health disorders by first placing them in healthy family/community environment to avoid such interventions
Time in residential treatment facilities and foster homes is less expensive — and less detrimental to children — than an unnecessary hospital stay.
Tax money for mental health services should be evenly distributed, including foster homes and treatment for patients
While confined to a psychiatric hospital, some children received just an hour or two of educational instruction a day, if that.
If children are staying longer than necessary at hospitals, shouldn't the education system at least prioritize their learning?