The Misconception of Mental Illness 1

Annotated Bibliography: Mental Illness

Foerschner, A. M. (2010) VOL.2 NO. 09. The History of Mental Illness: From Skull Drills to

Happy Pills. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1673/the-history-of-mental-illness-from-skull-

drills-to-happy-pills

This article talks about the beginnings of mental illness. It focuses on how ancient

civilizations viewed mental illness as a demonic possession and the methods that were used to

cure people of their illness. Trephining was a popular method used to get rid of an individual’s

mental illness, or so they thought. It was believed that if a huge hole was drilled into your skull

then the demons that lied within would fly free and return back to hell. This article, in my

opinion, is scholarly because it gives a historical background to mental illness and really helped

draw attention to the stigma that has been associated with it for as long as people can remember.

I would definitely use this article as a source because I feel as though I can really bring in the

pathos and create a descriptive image of how painful and terrorizing it must have been back in

the day if you had an illness. It would also be a good source to use because it always helps to

have a historical background on your argument so that you can give your audience a little bit of

insight on why you may have that specific opinion on a topic.

Griffin, R. (2016, February 15). 6 Reasons Why People With Mental Illnesses Are Strong, Not

Weak. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/6-reasons-

why-people-with-mental-illnesses-are-strong-not-weak_b_9204122

This article is focused on how people with mental illness are afraid to reach out for help

because they are afraid of being stigmatized. The authors focus on how these complex elements

impact how willing mentally ill individuals are in participating in care. This leads to them

becoming worse rather than getting better. Treatments have been developed and tested to
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successfully reduce the symptoms and disabilities of many mental illnesses. Unfortunately,

people distressed by these illnesses often do not seek out services or choose to fully engage in

them. One factor that impedes care seeking and undermines the service system is mental illness

stigma. This stigma is detrimental because it has so many factors that are involved in its complex

system. It involves the public, the self, and the structural components that make up a stigma. This

article, in my opinion, is scholarly because it has facts to back itself up. I will definitely use this

article as a source because it digs deep into the aspect of why there are so many different

perspectives on mental illness and provides a deep analysis of how impactful our thoughts and

words can be when we are faced with something that we have no true idea about.

Balhara, Y. P. (2011). Diabetes and psychiatric disorders. Retrieved October 29, 2018, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193776/

This article is focused on the connection between diabetes and mental illness. The author

focuses on how mental illness is similar to diabetes because they both have an impact on your

health. Diabetes affects your body while mental illness affects your brain. Everything ties in with

each other. I believe that this article is scholarly because it has a lot of credentials and a lot of

factual information to back up its data. I will definitely use this article as a source because it

really provides a deeper perspective on how mental illness is just like a physical disease and how

it must be viewed just as importantly as other diseases.

Metzl, J. M., & MacLeish, K. T. (2015, February). Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the

Politics of American Firearms. Retrieved October 29, 2018, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4318286/

This article talks about how society is accustomed to encountering violence among the

mentally ill, through movie depictions of crazed killers or real-life dramas played out constantly
The Misconception of Mental Illness 3

on late night television. The authors also talk about how media plays a huge role in the

perspective of mental illness in general. I believe that this article is scholarly because it has a lot

of ethos and had been verified by other PhD holding individuals which make it even more

reliable. I will definitely use this article as a source because it really provides an interesting

scenario that you can clearly see happening in today’s society and it is really eye-opening and

interesting.

Schmidt, C. W. (2007, August). Environmental Connections: A Deeper Look into Mental Illness.

Retrieved October 29, 2018, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1940091/

This article talked about how different factors can lead to mental illness. Some factors

that it stated were environmental, psychological, stress, and emotional. All of these factors can

cause an individual to develop a mental illness. I find this article so powerful because it really

attacks the misconception that people with a mental illness fake their symptoms. It shines a light

on just how many different factors would have to be prevalent in order for an illness to form. It

takes a genius to be able to effectively fake all of these factors. I believe that this article is

scholarly because it contains a lot of credibility and has a lot of research within it. I would

absolutely use this article as a source because I believe that it is super beneficial for my

argument.