Perception of Mental Health Problems among the General Population and Standards of Mental Health Nursing

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH 1
Mental Health
Name
Institution

MENTAL HEALTH 2
Mental Health
Perception of Mental Health Problems among the General Population
Mental health problem is a disorder which causes mild to severe disturbances in
behaviors, thoughts and thus resulting to inability to cope up with the ordinary demands and
routines of life. In most instances, attitudes and beliefs of lay people are created by personal
knowledge, interacting with the mentally ill as well as the cultural stereotypes. Parcesepe and
Cabassa (2013), argue that the general population perceives mental illness to be as a result of
drug abuse. Continuous drug abuse may trigger psychosis thus mental illness. The general
population also perceives mental illness to be an attribute of genetic reasons (Choudhry, Mani,
Ming, & Khan, 2016). This is because of the inherited traits and genes which may have been in
family history hence peculiar reasons for the perceptions. In addition to that, mental illnesses are
perceived to be as a result of spiritual and supernatural cause. Basically, the general population
associates mental health disorders with God’s wrath, curses and evil spirits.
Standards of Mental Health Nursing
Data Collection
In mental health nursing, the nurses are required to always collect accurate, systematic
and comprehensive data through observing behaviors, conducting effective interview as well as
assessing the physical and mental health of a patient (Townsend, & Morgan, 2017). This is to
help the nurses make sound decision and make appropriate intervention plan.
Planning