Sociology in Health

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Explain how society’s view of mental illness has changed over time ‘Mental’, ‘lunatic’, ‘schizo’, ‘nutcase’, ‘maniac’, ‘fruitcake’, ‘crazy’ and ‘psycho’, these labels are just to name a few of the derogatory terms that were acceptable and, to an extent, part of the norm to describe someone with a mental disorder/illness (Pilgrim 2009). More concerning is that these terms are still used in today’s society. Therefore this begs the questions as to whether society’s perception of mental illness has changed or has it simply stayed the same and if not, more importantly will it ever change. This essay will compare the views of society dating back to Ancient Civilization to the 21st century. It will explore the way people with mental disorders were treated by medical professionals, the community and society as a whole and how it has changed over time. In order to fully understand the key concept in this essay we must fully understand what exactly is a mental illness. Defining Mental illness has always been a sensitive and difficult issue as it raises many questions and criticisms, especially by sociologists as it raises the question if mental illness is referred to a behavior that is abnormal and is deviant, which in theory goes against the norms and laws of society, then surely Mental illness is socially constructed as a society and as individuals make the rules as to what is normal and abnormal in society. But according to ‘Time-to-Change’ (2008) they define mental illness as:- ‘Some mental health problems are described using words that are in everyday use – for example, ‘depression’ or ‘anxiety’. The most commonly diagnosed forms are depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression), schizophrenia, personality disorders and eating disorders. While, common behaviours and symptoms associated

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