Ch 3 Summary
The third chapter, Problem of Mental Illness and Treatment, examines mental illness and
explains why it is a social issue. The book defines a mental disease as a diagnosable mental,
behavioral, or emotional problem as the first point they make clear. They go on to distinguish
AMI and SMI, two distinct categories of mental diseases. A serious mental illness (SMI) is one
that causes significant functional impairment. An AMI is any mental illness that is a mental,
behavioral, or emotional condition. Since the early centuries, our understanding of and
approaches to treating mental disease have advanced significantly. We discovered in the middle
of the 20th century that some mental diseases have biological roots. Since then, they have also
learned that social circumstances might have an impact on mental disease.
Each person will experience mental diseases differently, and they all have various
symptoms. In the book, it states that, “ Those with mental illness suffer twice, they suffer from
the illness itself and suffer from rejection” (Seccombe, 2018). Depending on the sociological
perspective you employ while examining mental illness, you can come away with a variety of
beliefs about it. When considering the interactionist viewpoint, they emphasize social constructs
that determine our typical and abnormal conduct in settings, and that is how the description of
mental diseases comes about. According to the conflict theory, mental illness is a result of
poverty, inequality, and unequal access to medical care. The last explanation is the functionalist
viewpoint, which views it as a social issue since it challenges the ability to offer appropriate
treatment.
The DSM from the American Psychiatric Association has significantly improved the
diagnostic accuracy of mental disease. Nevertheless, a lot of scientists think that psychiatric
classifications that describe behavior that deviates from recognized psychological and social
norms are arbitrary and just labels in general. High exposure to crime and violence is correlated
with poverty, which can lead to stress that might trigger mental illness. In addition, there is a
higher chance of being chosen for or given a mental illness diagnosis if your social class is lower.
The social-selection, or drift, theory contends that social class is not a cause of mental illness but
rather one of its effects. Due to their sickness, those with mental disorders are more likely to
belong to lower social classes than those without such conditions. There has been little definitive
research on the relationship between urban life and crowded living conditions and mental
disease. Additionally, race does not seem to be an important factor by itself, but there are
disparities between the sorts of mental diseases that affect men and women.
There are three ways to approach those who are mentally ill when examining how mental
illness is socially constructed. First, there is the medical paradigm, which treats mental illness as
a sickness. The deviance perspective, on the other hand, views mental illness as a social
phenomenon. The third is a contentious claim that there is no such thing as mental illness and
that it is only used by the government to keep some people apart. Since the medical field has
advanced so much in treating mental problems, every patient now receives a unique course of
treatment, which may or may not involve medication. Even if your insurance provider does not
pay the treatment, the Affordable Care Act will enhance insurance coverage for assistance and
treatment.
