The topic of mental health is very involved in today's society with many controversial issues related to it. Basically it is a person's ability to function in society and experience a healthy normal life. An individual is constantly changing, "dealing with everyday problems, and moving towards self-actualization, an achievement of life's goals, and greater self-understanding" ("Emotional" 59-60). It is a process rather than a condition; that is to say, one is not born mentally healthy. There are many different aspects that contribute to a person's mental health. These is a person's emotional health, intellectual health, social health, and spiritual health. These different types deal with every part of a person's life, such as the "feelings one has toward oneself and others...", "a person's ability to make effective use of his or her intellectual capacity...", "the ability to perform comfortably and effectively within a variety of social roles...", and a person's religious life as related to spiritual values ("Emotional" 60). Obviously, when a person fails to live normally in everyday society and stops moving towards self-actualization, he is said to have a mental disorder. Once again, there are several different types of mental disorders. These range from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia. Common symptoms of anxiety are excessive worrying, shyness, failure to assert one's self, and agoraphobia--the fear of public places. The symptoms of depression are very similar to those of anxiety, yet at more extreme levels. Depressed individuals, while still being able to function in normal life, are engrossed in their feelings and negative thoughts toward themselves, others and their world as a whole. Schizophrenics are what people think of when they think of someone who is mentally unstable with such symptoms as hearing voices and other abnormal behavior. Causes of mental illnesses are unknown but are believed to be dependent on the actual physical makeup of the body, including the brain, chemical imbalances, and the psychological development of a person in daily life. Patients can go to hospitals or private facilities to receive treatment from public and private doctors qualified to diagnose and recommend treatments for mentally ill patients. These treatments can be anything from psychotherapy to drugs and somatic treatments. Psychotherapy relies specifically on verbal and nonverbal communication between the therapist and the patient in one-on-one sessions, and group or family sessions. Drugs are also a common alternative to psychotherapy. Little was known about the biochemistry of mental disorders until the 1950s when drugs were introduced. They suppress the symptoms of the mental illness or chemically balance the brain's neural transmitters and re-uptake processes allowing the patient to maintain a normal life. Tranquilizers and sleeping pills are used for the short-term treatment of anxiety, fear, and tension. Antidepressants, such as Prozac, are used in the treatment of depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Antipsychotics reduce agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, bizarre behavior and thought disorder commonly associated with schizophrenia. Often times, the drugs are used in conjunction with psychotherapy. Yet another form of therapy would be Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), commonly known as electro shock therapy. It was first introduced in 1934 and since then has received a bad reputation as painful and torturous. In fact, the opposite is true. The patient does not feel the electric shock but it can break bones and the patient can receive other injuries as a result of the convulsions if not properly restrained. This is one of the many reasons why over the years, people have grown to resent this treatment. Shock therapy is used in treating depression, among other illnesses, and involves exposing the brain to pulses of electric current inducing seizures. Its only recognizable risks are that it causes short-term memory loss and mild confusion for a period of time after treatment. This electro-shock therapy is a very controversial issue, one of the many that Ellison touches upon in Invisible Man. He portrays the treatment as a means for control that society uses over Invisible Man. The mental health issue in itself is very touchy with critics' advocating a wide variety of treatments and ideas.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

"Emotional and Mental Health." MacMillan Health Encyclopedia. Eds: Kass, Oldham, Pardes, Morris, Watson. New York: MacMillan, 1993.

The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Complete Home Guide to Mental Health. New York: Holt, 1992.

Modern unit for administering electroconvulsive therapy.

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