Sunday, January 26, 2020

Stigmatization Of People With Schizophrenia Social Work Essay

Stigmatization Of People With Schizophrenia Social Work Essay Schizophrenia is a mental illness with symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behaviour, and inappropriate emotions (Barlow Durand, 2009). These symptoms would distort an individuals living to a certain extent. For example, the irrational thoughts may result in communication problems. In fact, not only do the symptoms of schizophrenia affect an individual, stigmatization of people with schizophrenia also has profound effects on those people with schizophrenia. Stigma is the general negative attitudes towards a certain group of people (Schneider, 2004). Many scholars suggested that people with schizophrenia are highly stigmatized (Chang Johnson, 2008; Gingerich Mueser, 2006; Prior, 2004). They are generally described as depressed, unpredictable, violent, dangerous and aggressive (Chang Johnson, 2008; Schneider, 2004). Although these may be true for some cases, it is believed that there is overgeneralization of the situation. The situation would also be worsened by the media (Chang Johnson, 2006), which sometimes connect schizophrenia to violent acts. For example, a person with schizophrenia would be more likely to be a murder. These negative views would trigger discrimination on people with schizophrenia. Schneider (2004) suggested the labeling theory to explain why people with mental illness behave in the way that the general public describes as dangerous and violent. He explained that they act as dangerous and violent just because they are stigmatized and play out their assigned roles. Therefore, it can be seen that they may actually be socialized to behave in those ways instead of behaving naturally. It should be noted that people are not only stigmatized while they are suffering from schizophrenia. A research was done by Cheung and Wong (2004) with 193 people in Hong Kong on the perception of stigmatization on people with mental illness. The result shows that the majority agrees with the fact that most people believe that someone with a previous mental illness is untrustworthy and dangerous. Schizophrenia, being one of the mental illnesses, is of no exception. The implication of this research is that stigmatization on people with schizophrenia is a life-long issue, from the onset of the disorder until the end of ones life. Gingerich and Mueser (2006) suggested that stigma on people with schizophrenia may make others feel fear of and avoid interacting with those people. This fear and avoidance would in turn reduce the interaction between people with schizophrenia and the public and there would be less opportunity to change the stigmatizing beliefs (Gingerich and Mueser, 2006). Holmes and River (1998) introduced the concept of social stigma and self-stigma. The aforementioned are social stigma as the general public stigmatizes those with schizophrenia. Chang and Johnson (2008) suggested that there are social messages delivered in the stigma which may lead to self-stigmatization of an individual. This further stigmatization would cause even more negative effects on oneself. Effect of stigmatization on people with schizophrenia As suggested by Tsang, Tam, Chan and Cheung (2009), stigmatization prohibits mentally ill people from recovery. Regarding situations in Hong Kong, Tsang et al. (2009) found from a survey that 80% of respondents thought social stigma has negative consequences towards mentally ill people. Compared with the high percentage, much less respondents considered social stigmatization unacceptable. Which means quite a number of people tolerate or accept stigmatization even though they know the impact brought. Other figures found by Tsang et al. (2009) also revealed the severeness of stigmatization in Hong Kong. For example, one fourth of respondents are hesitate to accept people with mental illness and about 30% of respondents oppose mentally ill elderly into elderly home. These thoughts and stigmatizations contribute to the effects brought by schizophrenia and make it more serious in Hong Kong. There is no doubt that stigmatization poses negative consequences on people with schizophrenia throughout their life. Chan, Mak and Law (2009) confirmed the point above after reviewing a lot of literatures. Firstly, it imposes constraints in daily living on those with schizophrenia. Moreover, it may lead to lower self-esteem, reduced life satisfaction and social adaptation. It also hinders help-seeking behavior. Apart from the above impacts, Corrigan (1998) also suggested that stigmatization would lead to discrimination, followed by loss of social opportunities as members of society withhold the chances related to work or income. Thus lead to poor quality of life. It should be noted that the psychological, social and biological aspects cause the negative consequences and they are interrelated. Socially, negative attitudes towards people with schizophrenia inhibit the employment opportunities (Corrigan, 1998). The claim is also supported by the finding by the Equal Opportunities Commission (1997) in Hong Kong. It stated that the mentally ill peoples employment rate is low (around 30%). The unemployment problems may trigger a lot of other problems. It is obvious that unemployment causes financial problems. It also places burden on clients relatives. Moreover, as stated by Mowbray, Bybee, Harris and McCrohan (1995), employment offers opportunities for social interaction, builds self-esteem and identity, and is the best predictor of recovery and social integration. However, without a job, there may be disappointment and self-blame of being a burden to the family or being incapable to earn a living. The psychological aspect of the people is thus af fected and may reduce life satisfaction. Tsang et al. (2003) also suggested that stigmatization not only affect the individual but also his family or social network. An example illustrated is that a large number of people would change seats in public transport when sitting next to people who appear to have mental illness. When going out with the mentally ill people, their relatives or families would feel embarrassed. Thus their emotions are also affected. And because of the stigmatization of experiences that irritate the mentally ill people, they may isolate themselves. The family is also likely to conceal their illness because they feel ashamed of the schizophrenic people. This is particularly true in Hong Kong as Chinese stresses the importance of collective representation of families (Tsang et al., 2003). This further prohibits the individual from interacting with other people. Because of the isolation, the individual is not quite possible to seek help from other. Without social support and social resources, the schizoph renic people are hard to adapt to the environment. This forms a vicious circle and the situation may become worse. Biological aspects may also increase the seriousness of stigmatization. Age of onset of mental illness may be an important factor. If a person is mentally ill since he/she was young, his/ her social network would narrow down as there may be discrimination and isolation. Thus the support is limited. Moreover, if the person suffers from schizophrenia during college or secondary school, his/her education is not competitive enough in Hong Kong as there are more and more students receiving tertiary education (Census Department, 2005). With the mental illness and lower than average academic achievement, they face a lot more difficulties in employment. Interventions It can be seen that stigmatization causes many negative effects on people with schizophrenia. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the stigma on them. However, there should be some consideration when intervening in the situation. Chiu, Chui, Kelinman, Lee and Tsang (2006) pointed out that those interventions which focus on changing public attitude towards schizophrenia are actually isolating those stigmatized to be a group that deserves special treatments. This in turn reinforces the stigmatization. Chiu et al. (2006) also stressed that there may be the possibility of making those stigmatized more aware of the fact that they are being stigmatized. They may become hopeless about changing the current situation and just conform to the stigmatization. Hong Kong has actually taken some actions to intervene in the stigmatization on people with schizophrenia. However, it seems that the actions taken are not quite effective in reducing the stigma. For example, psychiatrists changed the Chinese term for schizophrenia from splitting of the mind to perceptual disorder (Chiu et al., 2006, p. 1694). However, Chiu et al. argued that the new term was re-stigmatized quickly after a short period of time. Besides changing the name, there have been anti-stigma programmes which promote a sense that schizophrenia is an illness like any other (Davies, Haslam, Read Sayce, 2006). Davies et al. (2006) pointed out that these programmes failed to reduce the stigma as they deliver the message that individuals cannot control themselves when they are suffering from schizophrenia. This makes the public feel that those with schizophrenia become even more unpredictable and thus increasing the stigma. As it has been mentioned, stigma on people with schizophrenia can be divided as social stigma and self-stigma. Therefore, interventions at both community and individual level are needed to reduce the stigma on people with schizophrenia. For the community level, Gingerich and Mueser (2006) suggested letting people understand more about the situation instead of changing how they think about the situation directly. One common but effective way is education (Gingerich Mueser, 2006). Education allows people to develop a better understanding on schizophrenia, for example, the cause, effects and treatments. They may be able to view psychiatric symptoms as understandable psychological or emotional reactions to life events, thus reducing the fear on people with schizophrenia (Davies et al., 2006). A research done by Chan et al. (2009) discovered that it is more effective in reducing stigma on schizophrenia if there is a lecture about schizophrenia followed by a video show which includes real cases of schizophrenia. They explained the effectiveness of the education-video model as allowing participants to get enough information and background before having deeper processing of the video. It is suggested that there was little or no organized advocacy by psychiatric patients to strive for their own interest (Chiu et al., 2006), like legislation and resource allocation on people with schizophrenia. Besides, it is suggested that poor treatment of schizophrenia may intensify the stigmatization of schizophrenia (Prior, 2004) because people may over-generalize those small group who are poorly treated and have adverse symptoms as the majority of people with schizophrenia. Advocating for the improvement of services for people with schizophrenia can thus help to reduce stigma by allowing better recovery. Besides, services like employment assistance can help integrate them in society and allow them to develop a social network (Prior, 2004). For individual level, treatments like medication, psychosocial education (Chang Johnson, 2008). In addition, family cares and supports are important to reduce stigma on an individual with schizophrenia (Chang Johnson, 2008; Gingerich Mueser, 2006) as it is the first system that the individual would situate. If the family is a supportive one, it is more likely that the individual would be less self-stigmatized. In conclusion, stigmatization poses great impacts on individuals with schizophrenia and their families. These impacts included reduced life satisfaction and social adaptation. Unemployment is also an important factor that affects social and psychological functioning of people with schizophrenia. On the other hand, interventions should not focus on changing publics attitude towards people with schizophrenia. Instead, it should focus on letting people understand more about schizophrenia and providing supports to people with schizophrenia. In the community level, there can be education and advocacy. In the individual level, there can be medication, psychosocial education and family support.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Keeping fit

Our health depends on our life. Most people are busy working, pupils are busy studying, but they always find time to relax and enjoy themselves. Physical culture and sports in our country are part of our cultural and public life. It is very popular with young people. Sport is also paid great attention in schools, colleges and universities. Every city and town has a few stadiums, swimming pools, amateur clubs and keep-fit centers where people go aerobics, yoga, body-building, swimming, skating and Jogging.Sports help people to maintain good health and enjoy life, but some boys and girls do not want to take an active part in them. They do not believe that sport is very necessary and also they think that sport may stand in the way of other important things. Everyone knows that getting fit is good for health buy why it is good and what are the ways to be fit? There are some unusual ways of keeping fit: -First way is that you can practice korfball. Korfball is a mixture between handball a nd basketball, it is a fast exciting game.The main difference is that men and women play on the same team. It is also a good way to keep fit – The second way is to practice Tat-Chi. It is a Chinese martial art which goes back thousands of years. Tat-Chi is very gentle and consists of slow movements which it is important to do carefully. The big advantage is that you can do it anywhere and it is an excellent way of getting rid of stress. – The third way is gaming for fitness. Most people do not see playing video games as a way of keeping fit.You sit on the floor, look at the screen and the only part f your body that moves is your thumb. Thanks to brand new game Dance Revolution, games are now getting on exercise floor and it is an easy and exciting way of getting fit for everyone. Getting in shape has never been more popular. For millions of people around the world, regular exercise is now part of their daily lives. Some people Jog, cycle and swim, while others prefer t o work out in gyms or play team sports.Another reason for fitness boom is youth and beauty, because men and women try their best to look as young and attractive as possible. Fit people not only feel good-they look good too. There are some advantages of being fit: -Firstly it reduces the risk of heart attacks -Secondly it increases strength, stamina, and suppleness -Thirdly it helps people to lose weight – Fourthly it means that people sleep better and do not get tired so better – Finally it makes people feel healthier, happier and more positive. As for me, I do sport regularly. I am not a professional.I play badminton with my friends,but my favorite sport is swimming and I go to the swimming-pool twice a week. This helps me feel fit and healthy. Keeping fit doesn't mean only doing sport. It also includes the right way of eating. Nowadays it is very popular to go on a diet. On the one hand, it makes people feel better because they avoid eating fatty and unhealthy food, but on the other hand, some people start eating very little and they lose weight and do not look healthy at all. It is necessary to get all types of vitamins to keep body healthy.It is recommended to eat fruit and vegetable because they contain a lot of important itamins and one of them is vitamin C. A lot of people like spending most of their spare time watching TV or working at computers. Such people ruin their eyes and their muscles do not work well. This way of life is not healthy. There are also bad habits that can damage health of people. They include smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. A lot of young people prefer smoking to going in for sport and this is not good. As for me, I try to lead a healthy life, because I like feeling happy

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema - 948 Words

January 26, 2013 Horace Minor applied satire in his article â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema.† to the culture of the American people. Several ways in which â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema† relate to the core concepts of sociology are through the use of sociological imagination, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. The American culture is described by Minor in a very unique and humorous way. The author uses satire to examine the rituals that are every day in American culture. The reader thinks at the beginning of the article that they are reading about some uncivilized tribe of people but soon realized that the â€Å"rituals† that are being performed are just everyday events that take place in every American household. Miner describes the†¦show more content†¦In the 1950’s, medical facilities were not what they are today, and I think Miner wanted to raise awareness regarding issues in medical clinics, psychiatric practices, and in dental offices. At that time there were many bizarre treatments in psychiatric facilities and most were just a place to lock up mental patients to remove them from society. Starting in the 1950’s, there has been major changes in the medical community. Practices performed in psychiatry and dental offices have changed dramatically as well and certainly wouldn’t compare to the procedures described of the Nacirema tribe. One could feel sorry for the tribe being written about and disapprove of our own culture when viewing it using the sociological perspective. Miner writes in one of the introduction paragraphs that â€Å"the magical beliefs and practices of the Nacirema present such unusual aspects that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go,† (Minor, 1956) Teeth brushing, dental visits, and hair drying are things that seem like normal behaviors. Even the obsession of women’s breast sizes are accepted as normal and certainly haven’t changed since the 1950’s. Minor’s description of these behaviors make them sound foreign and we feel sympathy towards the behavior’s in this â€Å"tribe†. In the end, while some may not relate popular American culture with the article,Show MoreRelatedThe Body Ritual Among the Nacirema737 Words   |  3 Pages The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema As an individual coming to investigate American civilization through the observation of cultural activities, I find the ritual of medicine men and women (doctors, psychiatrists and pharmacists) very interesting. â€Å"Medicine man or medicine woman are  English  terms used to describe  traditional healers  and spiritual leaders among  Native American  and otherRead MoreBody Ritual Among the Nacirema1031 Words   |  5 PagesBody Ritual among the Nacirema Name Course Sociology Date 6/12/2013 Body Ritual among the Nacirema Horace Miner in the article, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema depicts a society that is growing naturally, but which has transformed itself into a ritual tribe. In this article, the tribe, Nacirema, is a tribe that has transformed itself naturally and which has incorporated a lot of beliefs and religious tendency forRead MoreBody Rituals Among the Nacirema1097 Words   |  5 PagesBody Rituals Among the Nacirema Abstract This study examines Horace Miner’s essay â€Å"Body Rituals Among the Nacirema. While using the participant observation approach, he gives us a new perspective on the daily behaviors within this group of people. Exploring ethnocentrism and how we view cultures outside of our own. Horace Miner was a professor for the University of Michigan. He sought out to teach young people the importance of cultural anthropology. (Horace Mitchell Miner - Wikipedia, theRead MoreBody Rituals Among the Nacirema Essay925 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Body Rituals Among the Nacirema, â€Å" by Horace Miner, is an essay written about the Nacirema, or American people, from an outsider’s perspective. Miner gives an insight on the Nacireman people, which he describes in his essay as an unknown tribe, and the completing of the Nacireman’s magical beliefs and practices, which involve daily, involuntary body rituals that cause much pain and discomfort. Miner shows how an outsider’s perspective can affect the way a culture is seen. In his essay, Miner usesRead More Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Essay699 Words   |  3 PagesBody Ritual Among the Nacirema What is the precise geographical location of this strange tribe, the Nacirema? The Nacirema is a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, though tradition states that they came from the east. What are the private and secret shrines of the Nacirema? In the Nacirema, the belief is that the human body is ugly andRead MoreBody Ritual Among the Nacirema Essay822 Words   |  4 PagesWould you want to live among the Naciremas? Why or why not? After reading Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema I cannot say that I would want to be part of the tribe. A huge reason would be that I could never go from my own Christian faith to the religious practices of the Nacirema. My second reason for not wanting to be part of the tribe is that I could never be subjected to the horrific medical practices and â€Å"magical potions† used on every citizen in the tribe. One of the fundamentalRead MoreBody Rituals Among the Nacirema Tribe421 Words   |  2 PagesBody rituals among the Nacirema tribe The story relates to how we seek perfection on our bodies. It demonstrates how people will perform extreme procedures to achieve perfection, and even after this they will still feel they are ugly and not perfect. The rituals performed by the Nacirema tribe may seem inhumane, but if compared to our current culture and the procedures people perform on their bodies there is no much difference. I viewed the things they did as bizarre, but on close analysis of ourRead MoreSummary of Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Essay726 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Body Ritual Among the Nacirema† Summary In the essay â€Å"Body Ritual Among the Nacirema†, anthropologist Horace Miner depicts a group of people known as the â€Å"Nacirema†, but is referring to Americans, whose cultural beliefs are deeply rooted in the perspective that the human body is prune to sickness and disfiguration. Consequently, a substantial part of their lives is spent on unusual rituals and customs to improve conditions of the body that are filled with magical components. Moreover, Miner usesRead More Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Essay596 Words   |  3 PagesHorace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema In Horace Miner’s article, â€Å"Body Ritual Among the Nacirema†, he talks about a tribe and describes their odd behavior. He tells about how the tribe performs these strange daily rituals and how their peculiarity is extreme, but in fact he is actually speaking of Americans as a whole (Miner). Miner uses this style of writing to more effectively prove his point: that Americans are ethnocentric. Miner does an exceptional job in disguisingRead MoreAnthropology Analysis of Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Essay996 Words   |  4 Pagesin writing this article was not to show the â€Å"Nacirema† as an example of how extreme human behavior can become, but how an outside perspective can affect your perception of an alien culture. If one were to look at the â€Å"Nacirema’s† cultural behaviors regarding physical appearance and health without any insight or knowledge of the specific beliefs or values of that culture, they might seem bizarre and even incomprehensible. By showing behaviors and â€Å"rituals† performed by this unknown tribe, Miner allowed

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Its Influence on...

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Its Influence on Society The German political philosopher and revolutionary, Karl Marx is best known for his radical concepts of society. His socialist views are best seen in his work Communist Manifesto. As one of the most influential thinkers of all times, he was able to convey revolutionary ideas in a manner that all could understand. Due to its comprehendible nature and usefulness to the people of his time this document was widely popular among commoners of the Nineteenth Century. In fact some historians refer to the Manifesto as the first systematic statement about modern socialism the world has ever seen. Powerful language and fueled by desires for better standards of†¦show more content†¦Communist revolts were held outside of factories and people soon took up arms to defend the ideals set forth by Marx. 2 The most faithful believer and crusader in the movement was Friedrich Engels. His writing entitled â€Å"The Condition of The Working Class in England† reflects why the Manifesto was needed during this difficult time. The royalties from Engles’ book â€Å"The Condition of the Working Class in England† were given to Marx, because he was ordered to deport from France. His radical ideas and socialist ways were no longer accepted or allowed by the French Government. Together Marx and Engels moved to Belgium, and formed an alliance, battling the poverty and discrimination of all those whose sweat and hard labor went without rewarded. Together they made an excellent team for as one history says, â€Å"It was a good partnership, whereas Marx was at his best when dealing with difficult abstract concepts, Engels had the ability to write for a mass audience.† Throughout Engels life as an apostle to Marx, he was forced to move from country to count ry. Marx and his ideas reflected in The Communist Manifesto influenced Engels so greatly that he devoted his life to editing and recording the theories and wisdom of Marx. Socialism and equality became his life long pursuit until he died on August 5th 1895. Even though Marx and Engles had passed on the influence of the Manifesto and either other great writings lived on to dramatically change the world.Show MoreRelatedThe Communist Manifesto And Das Kapital1507 Words   |  7 PagesKarl Marx A German philosopher, economist, journalist and revolutionary scientist, Marx was best known for his work in economics. He laid the foundations for today s theories of labor and capital. The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital were among the most famous of his published works. Born to a middle-class family in Trier, Prussia in 1818, his parents were Jewish, but converted to Christianity in 1816 due to strict anti- Jewish laws. He was baptized as a Christian at the age of six but laterRead MoreEssay on Karl Marx827 Words   |  4 Pages The Life of Karl Marx Karl Marx was one of the greatest thinkers ever. Studying law and philosophy, he became an important social philosopher and revolutionary. He influenced the lives of millions of people in generations well past his. A man of mystery in the democratic societies, Karl Marx led an interesting life of new ideas that would influence millions in the future. Karl Marx was born on May 5th, 1818 (Karl Marx). He was the eldest son of Heinrich and Hennrietta Marx. He was bornRead MoreThe Great Philosophies From The 19th Century1386 Words   |  6 Pages4U1 - 02 17 Friday 2016 One of the greatest philosophies from the 19th century was Karl Marx. The German native born May 5 1818 was known for his works as not only a philosopher but an economist, journalist revolutionary socialist and sociologist. 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Karl Marx certainly left a mark on the world, but whether his impact was revolutionary or simply detrimental is up to debate. Marx was largely influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment figures like Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Hegel. Most know him in regard to his writing the Communist Manifesto and its influence on revolutions that led to the formation of notoriously oppressive communist states. His ideas form the base of modern internationalRead MoreKarl Marx: Conflict Theory Essay878 Words   |  4 PagesKarl Marx: Conflict Theory The most influential socialist thinker from the 19th century is Karl Marx. Karl Marx can be consid ered a great philosopher, social scientist, historian or revolutionary. Marx proposed what is known as the conflict theory. The conflict theory looks at how certain social interactions occur through conflict. People engage in conflict everyday to gain more power then others in society. 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It wasn’t until 1871, when the Paris Commune occurred, that the Communist Manifesto began to have a huge impact on the working class all over the world.[i] The Paris Commune, whichRead More A Summary of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx Essays1571 Words   |  7 PagesA Summary of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx Karl Marx was an idealist. He observed the cruelties and injustices that the poor working class endured during the period of industrial revolution, and was inspired to write of a society in which no oppression existed for any class of people. Marx believed in a revolution that would end socialism and capitalism, and focus on communist principles. The Manifesto of the Communist Party, written by Karl Marx and edited by Frederick Engels, describes