Misrepresentation of Mental Illnesses :: essays research papers

Misrepresentation of Mental Illnesses by Television MediaTo eliminate the overtone representation of mental illnesses, television media needs to focus on all sides of this illness. The media needs to show that attention shortfall hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a real disorder with effective treatments.At least one in four families in the U.S. is affected by mental illnesses. Unfortunately there is no restore for this range of illnesses, which have been around for thousands of years. Of the Ameri foundation adult population, 5.4 percent have a serious mental illness. These health conditions are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, behavior, or some combination of these. They are also associated with distress and sometimes impaired functioning. In 1990 the total cost of mental health services in the U.S. was $148 billion. tally to a new report by the Mental Health Foundation, one in five children suffer from a mental health problem. Attention deficit hyperactive disorde r is a mental illness that is diagnosed mainly in young children and doesnt always disappear in adulthood. All we know is that this genetic, inherited condition ADHD is not due to brain damage at all but rather a variation in how the brain functions. Attention- deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) includes symptoms and characteristics that can be placed in one of three categories inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These characteristics commonly leave a person with ADHD with lack of attention span, easily distracted, fidgety, struggling to persist in seated, having trouble engaging in calm activities, impatient, and talking excessively or out of turn. A new study by researchers says that hyperactive children have behavioral differences due to under active parts of their brain, a biological malfunction, rather than due to way they were brought up. This was revealed by a magnetic scanning device that allowed researchers to experience at the brains of children diagnosed w ith ADHD. These studies and statistics reinforce the claim that mental illnesses are not invented simply to justify drugging of children and a disease that needs be educated to the habitual for better understanding. Rather, ADHD is an illness that affects many people throughout their lives. This topic is often misunderstood by the public. The media and medical community need to educate the absolute side of this controversy and not just show the opposing view, which often times misrepresented by the media.According to the current President of Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), the medication prescribed by a doctor cannot lead to drug abuse and addiction.