Zaloga 1

Kaleb Zaloga

Professor Dewey

ENG101

25 March 2019

Essay 3

In this day and age, mental illness is a monumental topic but there are some lesser known

issues that come with mental illness that people do not know. Mental illness is a very serious

social issue that countless people live with daily and is still discarded as unimportant. These

illnesses can be caused from a variety of things but can also create different health issues.

When being assessed for mental illnesses and disorders, there is not a precise way to

pinpoint the illness. “Mental, or psychological, illnesses and disorders occur in or relate to the

mind. Unlike physical health problems and medical conditions, there are no laboratory tests such

as blood and urine analyses or x rays to help physicians and other mental health professionals to

diagnose mental illnesses. Instead they must rely on listening carefully to patients' complaints

and observing their behavior to assess their moods, motivations, and thinking” (Wexler). Mental

illness, unlike physical illness, has no easy way besides a doctor listening to the patient on how

they feel, which can be misleading to the diagnostic but can also help their patient.

There are many things that can cause a mental illness, especially in younger people. One

of these factors is stress, something that many young people deal with. “Stress is something

everyone in modern society seems to understand. There are two basic kinds of stress: inner stress

from previous traumas or wounds that affect one's present life; and outer stress,... that when

people are chronically stressed in life, they are vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and other
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disorders” (Ballinger). Stress, being a toxic emotion, can extremely affect someone’s mental

health. This can cause different mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, etc.

These illnesses can severely affect people’s lives, and can lead to more serious illnesses.

“Mental health disorders, such as depression, are inextricably linked to risk, development,

management, progression, and patient outcomes of chronic diseases” (Culvert). When dealing

with these mental illnesses many do not realize the long term effects of these disorders. When

talking about mental illness, copious amounts of untrained people will assume that it is not a big

deal, or they are too young to have these issues. These disorders and illnesses come from the

environment the person is in, usually not something they think is affecting them.

When talking about mental illness, it can be a tricky subject. Many people disregard is,

and other know the serious effects of these illnesses and disorders. This is a very serious social

issue that more people should be discussing and not be afraid to, because it affects many people

and will for a long time.

Works Cited
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Bollinger, Beth A., M.D., and Rebecca J. Frey, Ph.D. "Origin of Mental Illnesses." The Gale

Encyclopedia of Mental Health, edited by Brigham Narins, 4th ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2019,

pp. 1173-1182. Gale Virtual Reference Library,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2491200356/GVRL?u=mcc_glendale&sid=GVRL

&xid=2c570633. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

Culvert, L. Lee. "Mental Health and Disease." The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied

Health, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 4th ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2018, pp. 2281-2284. Gale

Virtual Reference Library,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3662600727/GVRL?u=mcc_glendale&sid=GVRL

&xid=a7bb65a7. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

Wexler, Barbara. "Mental Illness." Healthy Living, edited by Elizabeth P. Manar, 2nd ed., vol. 3:

Self Esteem, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Behaviors, Habits, Addictions, and Eating

Disorders, UXL, 2013, pp. 483-527. Gale Virtual Reference Library,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2763900025/GVRL?u=mcc_glendale&sid=GVRL

&xid=47b6fcec. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.