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Christian T.

Kelly
UWRT 1103
Mrs. Thomas
Health and Medical Issues Today
Thompson, Marie. Health and Medical Issues Today: Mental Illness. Connecticut: Greenwood
Press, 2007. (3-5) Print.
Marie L. Thompson, writer of the 2007 Health and Medical Illness today volume focused on
Mental Illness, hones in on the idea that mental illness possesses a rich history. Historically,
mental illnesses were seen as a form of manifesting sorcery, while, in the twentieth century,
mental illnesses can be identified through brain imagining and psychotherapy. As such,
Thompson ties in how the definition of mental illness has changed over the years and across
many societies. Despite the constant misunderstanding between professionals regarding the
causes of mental illnesses, one thing is certain; mental illness affects people from all walks of
life, no matter what age, race, or form.
Mental Illness can be looked at from two different perspectives. One perspective holds
that mental illnesses do not exist, commonly using the phrase, the mind cannot be ill, while,
the conflicting viewpoint argues that mental illnesses do exist. Those in opposition enforce the
idea such illnesses are just a deviation from societal norms. On the flip side, those who view
mental illness from the view they do exist, hold this position because clearly there is a difference
in the brain, said to arise from psychological, biological, genetic, or environmental factors.

As people vary, so does the hierarchical level of symptoms. Symptoms can either be
continuous or remise and the severity varies from individual to individual. This variation
highlights an important point Thompson wants to bring attention to; mental illness does not
create a new person, one does not possess any weaker characteristics, and they are not any less
strong or any less intelligent. Thompson alludes to the multitude of definitions and how they
have developed over the years. The United States Surgeon General in 1999 Mental Health:
Report of the Surgeon General unintentionally clarifies the difficulty in defining whether mental
illness do or do not exist. The United States Surgeon General states that mental illness is, the
term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders. Mental disorders are health
conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some
combination thereof) associated with distress and impaired functioning. On the flip side, the
United States Surgeon General then says, Mental Health is the successful performance of
mental functioning, resulting in productive activities fulfilling relationships with other people,
and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity. With such conflicting views,
Thompson indirectly believes a more sufficient answer would be that physical functioning and
mental illnesses go hand-in-hand, resulting in the conclusion that the body and mind cannot exist
alone (Thompson, Marie).
Marie Thompson, writer on Mental Illness from the Health and Medical Issues Today Series,
opens with a quote from Nancy C. Andreasen, Brace New Brain: Conquering Mental Illness in
the Era of the Genome, rooted with meaning and endorses the belief that, if society assumes that
mind and brain are separate and that mental disorders are different or bad, misunderstanding,
mistreatment, and stigma will persist. If we see people are categories, we will not see them as
people. This link between mind and body, supports Thompsons claims that Mental Illness

cannot be defined simply, and what constitutes a mental illness is relative to time, constantly
changing. This thesis is supported by the wide range of definitions and support evidence,
including, the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II), alluding to how
initially, the guidelines considered homosexuality a mental illness, and after twenty-one years,
homosexuality was removed from the list. Also, she alludes to the contrast in the definitions
provided by the Surgeon General, in which, they present a mental illness using terminology such
as distress, and impaired functioning, while, mental health is referred to in a more positive
context with diction such as productive, and successful performance (Thompson, Marie).
Other quotes: One school of thought maintains that mental illness does not exist, a rationale for
that belief being that perceptions of the norm vary widely between and within cultures, and
even between individuals. Therefore, what may be called mental illness by one culture or person
may be regarded as quite natural behavior by another.
Mental Illness does not indicate weakness, lack of intelligence, or a defective character. It is
not caused by poor upbringing, although environmental factors such as this often play a role.
It is important to understand that physical and mental, that us, body and mind, cannot exist in
isolation from one another.
Analysis: This piece allows one to grasp just how little society knows about mental illness. One
concept this article does well is allude to how complex the idea of mental illness is. As such, this
article was fairly easy to read but very sophisticated in its approach to coming to a conclusion of
whether mental illnesses do or do not exist. The only answer blatantly given is that body and
mind cannot exist alone. This piece alone caused me to alter my inquiry question because of
how interesting, persuasive, and well-written it was. This article is very helpful if one is

interested in any topic along the lines of sanity, madness, insanity, mental illness, and a plethora
of topics that deal with psychology.

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