Philosophy of Mental Disorder and Wellness

For instance, the definitions and diagnosis of mental disorder constitute a larger part of the problem. Therefore, to clearly define and comprehend the topic of mental illness, two approaches were evident from the beginning of the last century, that is medical and psychological models as well as related questions differentiation of normal from the abnormal. Mental illness or mental disorder is a notion that has its origin of contemporary psychiatry around a century ago (Bolton, 2008). Generally, definitions of mental disorder emphasize on the harms that are associated with it, distress, and the importance of distinguishing social deviance and mental disorder. According to the manuals of the psychiatric diagnosis, the core facts and reasoning behind psychiatry and mental health is the fact of people coming for clinical services with symptoms of distress and disability in their lives (Bolton, 2008).

Mental disorder may be defined as a harmful disruption of the natural functions in evolution. Based on this approach, a condition is considered to be a disorder if it exhibits a negative social evaluation. Consequentially, a condition may change from being a disorder to normal and normal to disorder as determined by different social norms. This view aligns critiques of social construct of the 1960s. Conversely, some divergent views states that mental disorder is a due to failure of the natural psychological function. Around this time, deinstitutionalization of the stigmatization had begun and people had started to understand and appreciate broader concepts about mental disorder (Bolton, 2008). This led to a major shift in the field of care practices during the 1980s and 1990s.

Many victims of mental disorders were released from the national hospital even though few people were available to take good care of them. There is also an assumption language concept in medicine and the major inventions of nineteenth-century postulates that illness and some of the major medical conditions are as a result of diseases which normally involves more or less destruction of the respective body tissue. Conversely, a new psychological paradigm postulates that mental processes imitate neurological lesions that can disrupt the normal functioning of the brain. Recovery can be understood to be a lifelong process whereby one who suffers from the condition of mental illness strives to align with the community activities even while experiencing and undergoing the symptoms and disabilities.

Since many people with mental disability experiences physical disorders, a two-standard stress on mental and physical health is important. There is an emergency in research which has postulated the correlation between mental health and the biological functioning of the body (Piat, Seida, Sabetti, & Padgett, 2017). Going by the recent review, a summary of evidence has shown that the degree of happiness, joy, contentment and enthusiasm show relation with decreased morbidity, increased longevity as well as reduced symptoms. In addition, low levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine are associated with the positive emotional response (Piat, Seida, Sabetti, & Padgett, 2017). Therefore, nurses must allow the users of service to define recovery for themselves and collaboratively align their services with the style of users through working with a recovery philosophy in mind (Piat, Seida, Sabetti, & Padgett, 2017).

With appropriate and effective medication, persons who suffer from mental illness can significantly reduce the effects of their illness and be able to find a satisfying measure of addressing their condition. In conclusion, early detection and treatment are of vital importance in addressing mental disorder challenges. By ensuring access to better treatment and recovery supports that are more effective, the degree of recovery from the illness is accelerated and any further harm that is related to the disorder is thus minimized. Ideally, mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions and any stigma that contravenes this fact should be avoided (Piat, Seida, Sabetti, & Padgett, 2017). "(Em) placing recovery: Sites of health and wellness for individuals with serious mental illness in supported housing. " Health & Place, vol.