Psychology has always been a mind-blowing topic, it has made people THINK and has sparked how we view the world. Even though, sometimes it’s not how we view the world but it is how we view people, specifically people who have mental disorders. Society has a different way of presenting these people, so what would this look like in an ideal world? To inform about mental institutions and WHY people need to be treated there is difficulty to inform about. Places that have the resources but sadly there aren’t many of them left or if there are half of the time they have no more room. So, if they aren’t in a mental institution, where are they?

Can you believe prisons get more funding than schools every year? Well, the reason for that is prisons hold more mentally ill people than mental institutions, making mentally ill people seem to like “monsters”. So no, they aren’t actually monsters, out of the 4 D’s in psychology, (deviant, distress, dysfunctional, and dangerous), very FEW are what society calls “dangerous” and “hostile” because, in reality, everyone experiences symptoms of some sort of mental disorder, and at least experience anxiety. In a perfect world, society wouldn’t judge everyone who is their painted picture of abnormal. They wouldn’t shame or blame the ill; But most definitely, they wouldn’t have the power to make the mentally ill feel small. That’s an issue especially nowadays, and when you look back to the 1700s when it was actually recognized, you’d say “Well we have it better now”. You may be right, but we still aren’t giving them the help they need. 

The Kirkbride Plan is designed for mental institutions, but it also informs how many abandoned asylums are. There are many reasons for them being left behind, so why not design something fit for all? Well, that is what the plan is about, “ Today, there are more than a hundred abandoned asylums in the United States,” sure you’ve heard of abandoned hospitals, and 100% is it creep, but even after interviewing Agua Fria, a Psychology teacher Ms. Rams about HER perfect idea she brought up something that not many people have talked about, she says “It would be with people who are trained as mental health professionals, people who care about vulnerable people and have the education to make a difference”. We see this all the time when a profession like this gets paid less attention to and with the pay being just as bad, obviously not many people want to take it. Just because the pay is bad doesn’t mean you should treat people badly, but with the pay improving, can you think of all the new therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists coming in? No, you can’t because we haven’t gotten to that stage, it is dreadful that today’s world is one where we have to FIGHT to be taken seriously, most people just want an answer to their problems for comfort but just to make them feel normal. 

“In my perfect world, there would be a place where people could get treatment or the necessary support they need, at a low to zero cost. It would be with people who are actually trained as mental health professionals, people who actually care about vulnerable people and have the education to make a difference”, Ms. Rams says again, she is absolutely right, it’s mindblowing how ur description of abnormal is any mentally ill person because it’s morally wrong, this connects to how words can affect a person life negatively or positively, either way, it MATTERS. When people compliment you, you might forget it after 2 minutes, but when you make someone feel “abnormal” it likely sticks more, not everyone is secure with themselves and not everyone is as confident as the next person. As a society maybe one day in the future people will be able to express themselves and talk about what they struggle with, without fear of a group of people having their eyes on them.