Harper's Column: My Spiritual Devotional

                 Questions about NPD As I scroll through the various questions on Quora, I have noticed many that reference an ex-significant other as having narcissistic personality disorder. It was not too long ago when I became more familiar with the term. At the time I assumed it was used as an adjective to describe a personality type or characteristic. Additionally, I believed Narcissism was a chosen tool someone used by choice to manipulate and control others.  I never really gave it much thought, at least not until someone very dear to me was diagnosed with a personality disorder. It was then that I began doing research and educating myself on the disorder. Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental illness. I assure you that no one chooses to have NPD and it is likely they are not aware themselves, nor will they accept or appreciate the suggestion. Narcissistic personality disorder can be the result of childhood trauma. Howeve...

  Mental Illness  Prevalence and Impact Mental health is defined as “our cognitive, behavioral, and emotional wellbeing - it is all about how we think, feel, and behave.  Mental health can affect daily life, relationships, and even physical health. Mental health also includes a person's ability to enjoy life - to attain a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience” (Newman, August 24, 2017).  Mental illness diagnoses can range from everyday anxiety and depression to personality disorders such as Schizophrenia or Borderline Personal Disorder.  No one is immune to mental illness.  Causes can be genetic, environmental, or both.  Mental illness is documented to impact roughly 50% of the population in the United States and around the world at some point during a life span, but that number is extremely conservative.   Mental illness has a history of being highly stigmatized and is met with significant controvers...

  Prevalence and Healthcare Policy The hard truth is that mental illness occurrences are significantly higher than what is reported by research studies.    The Surgeon General expresses that very few people in a population are untouched by mental illness either directly or indirectly in their lifetime.    More importantly, mental illness is often the underlying cause of many other healthcare-related events. Limited access to mental health care  and the  laws governing the privacy rights of those who have mental illness  make the known prevalence challenging to ascertain.    Therefore, the research offering such information is likely only a small percentage of what the reality is.    The mental health sector does not report to the CDC, watchdog for epidemics.    There is no single agency tasked with overseeing the state of mental health in America.    Below are statistics based on what was known at the time r...

  A Review of Our History The history of mental illness in the United States illustrates how our understanding of mental illness and trends in treating mental health influence both our attitude toward mental illness and national policy governing mental healthcare. For centuries many cultures viewed serious mental illnesses as a religious problem, religious punishment, or even demonic possession. Hippocrates was an early pioneer in treating mental illness in the 5th century B.C. Rather than pointing to religious and paranormal causes, Hippocrates directed his attention toward changing the patient's environment or occupation and administering oral treatments as medication. Despite his work, the belief that the mentally ill were demonically possessed continued into the 18th century in the U.S. The belief surrounding possession and mental illness led to the unhygienic and degrading confinement of people with serious mental illnesses until the early 19th century. The work of activist/lo...