What is Psychology? In my research of Psychology and its meaning I have come up with many definitions. To sum all of the definitions into one it’s the study ones feelings, thoughts, and their way of thinking and using all of there senses rather its cognitive, physical, or mental. Some other questions that came to mind during my research are what is normal psychology and what is abnormal psychology?
What is normal psychology? Most people consider one to be normal if they seem

to have no problems physically or mentally. Are you O.K. the way you are? Should you

be different? Most of us tend to roles that are acceptable behavior in society. Society

expects us all to play certain roles. Health and science guide says that normality is only

questioned when there is a conflict between roles. Why do we conform to these roles?

We do it because in most societies, including ours, there are rewards for conformity.

People tend to treat us with respect when we play roles that others are comfortable with.

What is abnormal psychology? I think it could be the study of mental illness as

some journals stated. Overall it’s the study of mental illnesses and of how people with mental illnesses can be treated. Stated in Health and Science guide mental illness is a much-debated topic in the world of psychology to which a lot of research is still needed. Problems usually come up when people try to define what is normal. Sigmund Freud was considered to be the father of Psychoanalysis, said there was no such thing as a normal person.



Mental illness is considered to be an illness of the mind, which makes it difficult for people to carry out a normal, productive lifestyle. Mental illnesses range from depression to schizophrenia (a very serious mind disorder). It is important to remember that people with such disorders ate stricken with an illness. They have no more control over their illness than when a person gets flu or a cold. When I am sick with a fever or flu I would either try or treat with an over the counter product or go to a doctor. A person with a mental disorder may go to a medical doctor, or to a psychiatrist (a medical doctor who specializes in treating mental problems through therapy and medication) or to a psychologist (who is not a medical doctor, but who treats mental and emotional problems through therapy). He or she also may consult other therapist, such as a social worker of psychiatric nurse. In Health and Science guide it’s said the recent speculation and discoveries are relating mental illnesses to chemical imbalances in the brain and /or body. Beginning in the 1950’s a new class of drugs put on the market allowed many people with mental illnesses who otherwise would have been hospitalized to be treated outside of hospitals, and to live much more normal lives. Other research has shown that if a person has a history of family members who have mental illnesses, he or she may be Monroe likely to contract the illness. Present genetic research should soon allow us to better control many frustrating mental illnesses.
Although people with mental illnesses might feel alone in dealing with their problems, like most us do when dealing with problems whether its classes, test, family, or whether you are going to pass your PSYCHOLOGY CLASS it still affects a lot of us as
a society. On November 17, 2000 I spoke with a professor of Psychology at Oklahoma State University Dr. Thathcher gave me some shocking statistics: Mental illness affects one in five americans and 20 percent of the population and is second to heart disease in causing premature deaths and lost of productivity. Despite more than a century of study, the mind still seems to resist our best efforts to find its secrets. While we’ve learned much about certain functional aspects of mental illness, anxiety and depression are ones we still don’t know causes mental problems.
Although many people have many fears, conflicts, anxieties, and desires we have learned to manage them by using behaviors we have adapted to defend ourselves in our life. While most people handle things well many people have fears and wishes in the back of there head that are so intense and conflicting that they lead to a large amount of anxiety, depression, phobias and other symptoms. Dr. Thathcher stated that prevailing psychotherapeutic wisdom holds that helping patients develop a means of looking at their internal world in order to gain insight will then help them develop healthier ways of managing their behavior and thus manage those unconscious aspects of their minds differently.
My psychology professor once stated during a class session that “A lot of people are stuck in a childhood perspective of life without knowing it.” In the Monkeyshines on Health and Science it says that unresolved childhood issues may persist outside our awareness and cause us to repeatedly make the same mistakes in life. Like choosing the wrong kinds of partners and having the same kids of relationship difficulties over and
over again. We may be able to learn from these mistakes because our own early relationship attachments are so strong.



Advances in neuroscience are showing how memories are laid down early in life and how particular relationship interactions becomes deeply ingrained in memory at a very early age. If there were certain perceived psychological traumas in those relationships, it becomes easier for a person to become “stuck” in adulthood. “Perception” is important: What one person may remember as traumatic, another person may not even remember as upsetting. Most of us know that the mind and body are not separate parts and that what affects one usually affects the other. Thatcher stated that “we often manifest emotional disturbances through out bodies.” He says that 20 to 40 percent of patients seen by a typical family practitioner involve mental illness. Its important that we try to destigmatize mental illness and get people the help we now have available.
Treatment options for those with emotional, behavioral and mental difficulties include psychotherapy, drug therapy, and a combination of drugs and psychotherapy. Some patients require more supportive psychotherapy, in which the therapist makes suggestions and offers direction, educating the patient about his illness and how it affects his everyday interpersonal interactions, relationships and job.
In my research of what is normal and abnormal psychology, I have learned that behavior affects the way society perceives you rather you think your normal or abnormal. That everyone suffers from some type of mental illness whether it’s a problem you are dealing with or how you feel. It may not be long term but when you are suffering with that problem there is a slight chance that you can be considered mentally ill at that time.