Imagine living an average life until one day you pick up some literature on psychological disorders. You glance through a lot of them because you’re curious, it’s human nature, until you come across a psychological disorder with symptoms that you can relate to. How would handle this situation? Many would just simply ignore it, and reassure themselves that they are not mentally ill, but will others take this the wrong way? Will some give in to their curiosity and worry themselves that they have that same disorder? This is a major issue that some psychologists and well as I have with certain aspects in the field of Psychology.
There is, without a doubt, a lot of mentally ill people out there. Those that cause harm to others should definitely be quarantined and treated because they are a danger to all of us. This is an aspect of Psychology that is definitely needed in today’s society. I recently have glanced at a list of psychological disorders and their symptoms and I have to admit, the symptoms are quite broad. Who hasn’t felt depressed in their lives? Just because you went through a bad relationship and feel sad or get angry sometimes doesn’t mean you have a psychological disorder, you may be just mislead at the moment. However, there are those who do have disorders and fake a depression in order to get approval or sympathy from family members and friends.
There is nothing that is beyond our control. You have to remember that Psychology is a science, which means that it is constantly being updated and improved so nothing is perfect, just like with everything in life. If you ever happen to look deeper into Psychology and glance through psychological disorders and relate to certain symptoms or descriptions, don’t panic. If you are happy with who you are and choose not to harm others or yourself, really consider whether or not therapy is right for you.
Jason Psychology
Psychology is a science that has been greatly developed throughout the years. You probably know of one of its most famous people, Sigmund Freud. In the early days, those that were mentally ill were labeled as witches. Is this fair? No, of course not. In fact, in the Middle Ages, they had what they called “dunking tests”, which was used to determine whether or not someone who behaved abnormally were possessed by demons. Just because someone is abnormal, does that necessarily mean the person is being controlled by some outside force? However, “dunking tests” consisted of placing someone in water and if the person drowned they were judged innocent, but if they managed to survive, they were labeled of being possessed and punished by hanging usually.
That does seem very extreme to us because we are living in a society where Psychology has flourished and developed into the modern medical model. However, there was a time period, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when asylums were first established but patients weren’t given rights like an average human being. However, Philippe Pinel, in 1792, discovered that by shackling people to walls and unheated cells would not make the condition any better. He discovered that more progress is made if you treated the person humanely. That’s just a background of how the science of Psychology has developed throughout the years.
The modern medical model is one that is highly advanced, but still greatly debated. This model consists of labeling mental illnesses as having biological causes just like other diseases. This is where psychiatry was born. However, I would like to discuss more about the cons of Psychology. Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz believes that the current model encourages people to believe that they have no responsibility for their actions and find solutions in drugs, hospitalization, and surgery. Pretty much, he believes that mental illness is merely a “myth” that is used to label those who are peculiar or offensive to others. After all, how can someone label our psychological makeup? Szasz also believes that labeling the person with the certain disorder would only encourage them or make them behave according to the diagnosed disorder. If you think about it, do you know of anyone who can fit this description in your life?
There was a famous study that was done by David Rosenhan from Stanford University which shows the problems of diagnostic labels. In a nutshell, Rosenhan and several colleagues pretended that they had a medical condition, hearing voices which is a symptom of schizophrenia. They had no other complaints but was admitted into the hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Once they were admitted, they stopped claiming to hear voices and behaved normally. They did this because they wanted to see how long it would take the hospital staff to recognize that they were not mentally ill. The result? None of the pseudo-patients were recognized as phony. They were merely seen as a label of schizophrenia. However, the real patients inside the hospital were the first to realize that they were phony. What good is it if you are simply labeled with having a mental disorder like a disease?
Jason Psychology
Paranormalknowledge.com is proud to launch our newest category to write about, Psychology. Psychology is a science that is being greatly developed as time goes on and we would like to explore certain areas and write about it for your own convenience.
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Jason Psychology
