Preconceived Ideas of Mental Illness/ Health

Preconceived Ideas of Mental Illness/ Health

For your journal there are two parts to write on:

Part 1) What is normal? What is mentally ill? How do you define these two things?

Part 2) What I want you to write about this week is your self-evaluation of your feelings, thought, and preconceived ideas about the mentally ill. I want you to evaluate and write on how you feel about anyone who is mentally ill. If it helps, write specifically on how you feel about people who are diagnosed with depression and now cannot work; or how you feel about a person who is diagnosed as schizophrenic and lives on the streets during the day and sometimes at night when they cannot get into a shelter.

What are your fears (if any) in working with someone who is mentally ill? Are you sympathetic or do you feel overwhelmed by someone who is mentally ill? If you are fearful of caring for someone who is mentally ill, what exactly do you think you are afraid of? What are your beliefs about the mentally ill?

Do you think our society has an obligation to take care of American’s who are mentally ill? What should that care entail?

What affect do you think mental illness and those who suffer from it has on our economy in Utah and/or over all of the United States?

What is your opinion on Hollywood’s depiction of the mentally ill?
Do you have any desire to work with the mentally ill?