First and Last Name/s of Presenters

Emily PalmaFollow

Mentor/s

Susan Goncalves

Participation Type

Paper Talk

Abstract

Due to ongoing stigma, most people in today’s society express little regard toward managing their mental health. Having a strong understanding of one’s mental state allows a person to experience clear cognition and appropriate behavior day to day. When a person’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions stray from what is considered ‘normal’ they are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. There are many forms of mental illness, but the most common types referred to in today’s studies are depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (National Collaborating Centre…, 2011). The etiology of mental disorders is still under research, but there is a large amount of evidence indicating that genetics plays a major role (Mannarini & Rossi, 2019). In other words, the development of a mental illness is out of an individual’s control, but their ability to accept and work through their disorder is dependent on their attitude and societal support. A person’s perception of their mental illness can have a profound effect on their ability to manage their disease. Such attitudes are highly influenced by the person’s cultural beliefs regarding their mental illness. The Chinese culture has struggled with this matter since the beginning of time, and as a result, millions of their civilians are without proper care (Shao, Wang, & Xie, 2015). Whereas, the Swedish have taken initiative to abolish their stigma surrounding mental health and are now working towards integrating the mentally ill into society. The quality of life of an individual suffering from a mental disorder is heavily dependent on their culture’s perceived importance of mental health, diagnosis of the psychiatric disorder, and treatment effectiveness. Therefore, a unique approach to decimate each culture’s negative stigma towards mental health must be taken immediately to alleviate the suffering of all those affected.

College and Major available

Nursing BSN

Location

Digital Commons

Start Day/Time

4-24-2020 2:00 PM

End Day/Time

4-24-2020 4:00 PM

Students' Information

Emily Palma, Nursing, Honors, 2020

Prize Categories

Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Meaningful

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Apr 24th, 2:00 PM Apr 24th, 4:00 PM

Implications of Cultural Stigma on the Mentally Ill

Digital Commons

Due to ongoing stigma, most people in today’s society express little regard toward managing their mental health. Having a strong understanding of one’s mental state allows a person to experience clear cognition and appropriate behavior day to day. When a person’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions stray from what is considered ‘normal’ they are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. There are many forms of mental illness, but the most common types referred to in today’s studies are depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (National Collaborating Centre…, 2011). The etiology of mental disorders is still under research, but there is a large amount of evidence indicating that genetics plays a major role (Mannarini & Rossi, 2019). In other words, the development of a mental illness is out of an individual’s control, but their ability to accept and work through their disorder is dependent on their attitude and societal support. A person’s perception of their mental illness can have a profound effect on their ability to manage their disease. Such attitudes are highly influenced by the person’s cultural beliefs regarding their mental illness. The Chinese culture has struggled with this matter since the beginning of time, and as a result, millions of their civilians are without proper care (Shao, Wang, & Xie, 2015). Whereas, the Swedish have taken initiative to abolish their stigma surrounding mental health and are now working towards integrating the mentally ill into society. The quality of life of an individual suffering from a mental disorder is heavily dependent on their culture’s perceived importance of mental health, diagnosis of the psychiatric disorder, and treatment effectiveness. Therefore, a unique approach to decimate each culture’s negative stigma towards mental health must be taken immediately to alleviate the suffering of all those affected.

 

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