Mental Disorders: Biological, Psychological, And Social Constructionism

This video discusses mental disorders in the context of three different perspectives: biological, psychological, and social constructionism. Within each of these categories, mental illness is defined and common treatment methods were contemplated. Deviation from what is normal varies between societies and depends on culture and specific circumstances. Therefore, it is hard to say definitively if a behavior is normal or abnormal. Treatment has also evolved over time. In the middle ages, people thought mental illness caused by demonic possession and it was often cured by exorcism. In the 18th century, abnormality was considered an illness and there seemed to be few boundaries separating treatment from punishment. Several therapy methods used

One aspect of the body that this model examines is the balance or imbalance of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. It is supposed that if imbalances in these chemicals cause illnesses such as depression, then correcting the levels of neurotransmitters should relieve the symptoms of depression. The principal type of medical treatment used by proponents of the biological method is drug therapy. Medications such as Prozac and serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to remedy the imbalances in mood and conduct by targeting mechanisms in neurochemical abnormalities. One drawback to drug therapy is that it may not be efficient in the long term as some drugs have negative side effects once stopped. For example, Prozac can affect one’s personality and can cause a sense of apathy in the person. Additionally, continual use of drugs may cause the patient to feel powerless since they are not in control of their

Rosenhan’s experiment with the pseudo patients suggest that a large portion of the mental illness diagnosis rests in the labeling of that population and the difficulty in erasing that label once symptoms subside. Thomas Szasz is a complete skeptic of mental illness and asserts that it is irrational to even talk about mental illness since it is a social construct invented to control people. This perspective does not focus on treatment, but rather how society categorizes the normal and the abnormal. However, intertwined with the idea that we judge others and categorize them into normal and abnormal comes the idea of medicalization. This is the idea that with the discovery of more mental illnesses, drugs and pills are being provided much more frequently and could perhaps be detrimental in the future. For example, children who have what is now known as ADHD are often treated with Ritalin, but the same kids often take sleeping medication as Ritalin is a stimulant. It can be risky to take the ideas of social construction too seriously because there is a possibility of simply rewriting history and reverting to considering the people with mental illnesses to be deviant and