Can you Establish a connection between paragraphs that will make…

BarristerValorBison3 Can you Establish a connection between paragraphs that will make…Can you Establish a connection between paragraphs that will make the transition between paragraphs more clear and smooth? This is the feedback I received: “It isn’t always clear how one paragraph is connected to the next, or why you’ve put them in this order. Once you have a solid understanding of those choices yourself, you can add metacommentary that makes it clear for readers.”Introduction: Look around the room, you are not the only one struggling. 1 in 4 people are affected by a mental illness at some point in their life. Statistics show that 970 million people struggle with a mental disorder or substance abuse in their life “(“Global Mental Health Statistics”)”. A lot of these people suffer from more than one at a given time. How many of these people are able to overcome their mental disorder? About 65% of them experience partial to full recovery overtime (Davidson, Ponte). The process of overcoming a mental disorder is long-term and not so simple for most people. It begins by realizing and accepting that one has a mental disorder, then looking for its cause, following the effort to overcome and flourish from it. On top of that, all this is done at the same time that the person is battling with all their emotional changes, which can also directly impact other important areas of their life and relationships outside of the disorder. Lastly, most importantly being able to recover and flourish from a mental disorder. The experience of undergoing a mental disorder is not easily done, but it is possible. The fight for mental illness recovery can be lengthy, it requires self-sustained motivation as well as some risky effort, for example, self-advocacy in order for one to obtain rehabilitation and reach full potential. Body Paragraph #1: In this essay I will be explaining the process of overcoming and thriving from a mental illness/ disorder. Obsessions and intrusive thoughts having you wrapped, getting lost in your own thoughts, and having a hard time finding yourself and difficulty accepting it, is what a young Indiana teenage girl named Aza experienced in the Book “Turtles All the Way Down” by John Green. The mental disorders that Aza has are obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety. She claims that she feels as if she has no control over her own mind at times, and even expresses that she hates who she is. She questions how genuine she is and doesn’t trust her own character. “You just, like, hate yourself? You hate being yourself?” “There’s no self to hate. It’s like, when I look into myself, there’s no actual me—just a bunch of thoughts and behaviors and circumstances. And a lot of them just don’t feel like they’re mine.” (Green 244).  Her anxiety takes over and she fears she is living a life that isn’t hers. Many with mental disorders can relate to this feeling of no self control over one’s body. She would also state the sense of no escape from her mental illness, for example, “I would always be like this, always have this within me. There was no beating it. I would never slay the dragon, because the dragon was also me. Myself and the disease were knotted together for life.” (Green 280). This is often seen in those with mental illness, no sense of hope.  Aza’s intrusive thoughts trigger specifically around the thought of bacteria. This fear of hers causes her to react ignorantly in certain situations.. For example, when she is with her best friend, Aza tends to make things about herself which eventually has a negative effect on their friendship. We see Aza being so distracted by her mental state that she isn’t fully aware of what is going on around her. Anxiety, change in energy levels, concentration, sleeping and keeping a job are all examples of what someone with a mental disorder can experience on a daily basis.  These examples are called “PSDs”. The article, “Narratives, Reflecting the Lived Experiences of people with brain disorders, common psychological difficulties, and determinants,” by Sally Hartley, is about gaining a deeper understanding of those with brain disorders experience in their daily life. It goes into detail on how PSDs are one of the major challenges. Dealing with these PSDs while balancing your everyday life can be difficult and not only directly affect you but also those around you and the way they see you. The article describes PSDs as “impairments of body functions under central nervous system control, activity limitations and participation restrictions, such as concentrating, sleeping, maintaining energy levels, anxiety, making and maintaining relationships and keeping a job”, which emphasizes that PSDs limit a person’s ability to do normal activities. This is a constant battle that one with a mental disorder deals with on a daily basis.Body Paragraph #2: Coming to realize and accept that one has a mental disorder, can be difficult for many. There can be fear in accepting mental illness because of  social stigma, or lack of understanding. Studies show that more than half of people do not receive help for their mental disorders! The article “Self-labeling as having a mental or physical illness: the effects of stigma and implications for help-seeking” by Horsfield Philip, speaks on the stigma behind self-labeling mental health disorders, leading to the cause behind many untreated mental health problems. The article says “The findings suggest that personal stigmatizing attitudes—rather than perceived stigma—impact on self-labeling, and highlight the need for interventions that assist persons with mental illness in overcoming those attitudes.”, which proves that the stigma of self-labeling mental illness/disorders is the first step to overcome. Why is this important? Well, the article states, “Self-labeling as physically or mentally ill increases the likelihood of seeking help from the health service provider deemed most suitable for that label compared to persons who applied no self-label.”, and receiving help for a mental disorder is crucial! When someone is able to accept the fact they have a mental disorder they can seek help. The beginning of overcoming a mental disorder is self-labeling and accepting it. Body Paragraph #3: Could it have been one of my adverse childhood experiences? Or maybe my socioeconomic status? Perhaps it developed from my health behaviors? These along with various other questions are helpful to ask when figuring out what area of one’s life was the leading cause of a mental illness. Seeking professional help is the next step to overcoming mental illness. When someone seeks help, the first step of it is getting to the root issue behind the mental disorder. There are many factors that affect and cause mental illness. The article “Flourishing after depression: Factors associated with achieving complete mental health among those with a history of depression”, is about a study that focuses on 7 factors behind a mental disorder. The seven factors investigated were: demographics, social, economic, status, health and mental health conditions, health behaviors, marriage and social support, adverse childhood experiences, and religiosity and spirituality. These factors can be associated with the absence of flourishing from depressive disorders and achieving complete mental health. Conclusion: The fight for mental health recovery is intensive and needs more awareness. Although it won’t happen overnight, we are able to see that there is hope in overcoming mental disorders. With the first step of realization of one’s mental illness. This will lead to self-labeling and being accepting of it. Then being able to seek help and getting support from those around you. Finding the root issue behind the mental disorder, where it all started. Being able to work from there and heal where the disorder came/resulted from. Although the process will be difficult because at the same time PSDs will be present, it is worth the effort of pushing through. People need to know that they are not alone in this fight and there is no shame in getting help. Although it takes some time and a lot of effort, we can flourish and survive any mental disorder there is with the proper effort and support. Let’s continue to get informed on how to prosper from mental mental health disorders, and bring awareness that it is possible to flourish from them!Arts & HumanitiesEnglish