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ADMH 5001 - Reflective Assignment #1

Due Sept 20 5:00pm

Addictions and mental health in my circle in my social circles unfortunately are made up of

many stereotypes and stigmas, in Ecuador where I live there is a lot of controversy and ignorance

especially about addictions. Many people believe that consumption should be penalized and

punished, this controversy arises from the approval of public law called "carrying table" which

allows a citizen to have a limited amount of drug with the aim of not incarcerating the consumers

with who sell drugs. Since that government policy, the media have pointed out that the country

has suffered an increase in the consumption of addictive substances, which has worsened

society's vision of consumption. Among family and friends, I have heard and discussed what

causes it and what it really is the drug use. The vast majority consider that the problem lies in the

sale of substances rather than in the reasons that lead the individual to seek it.

Regarding mental health, I believe that little by little people have become more educated about

how important it is to go to a mental health professional, however there are still certain stigmas

about what it means to have mental balance, many people in my social circle think that mental

health is not a priority or something that should not be addressed. in some cases, people describe

psychological problems as weak personality or lack of proper parenting. It is common to hear

that only crazy people should go to a psychologist and that the rest of the "normal" people should

solve problems by their own means. The discussion that arises at this point is what is normality
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in my society? What is mental health? many of my friends consider being psychologically

healthy is simply not being crazy or on the verge of depression. Within the pandemic there were

many talk shows on television that began to talk about anxiety disorders or psychological

problems that could be triggered by confinement, this helped many people to question their

health, to understand many emotions that they did not know how to handle them

As a psychologist, most of my knowledge of addictions and mental health came from my

professional training, which helped me to have a clearer vision. It helped me to understand that

the individual has a bio-psycho-social formation where all these elements are crucial to

understand the complexity of human behavior. Anyone can experience mental illness at some

point of the life. Understanding them from a comprehensive health approach is essential to

overcome prejudices and advance care and social integration.