Medicalization Essay

Medicalization describes a process by which a non- checkup problem forces define and treated as a medical problem, normally in terms of illness and disorders. Medicalization used to be focused on deviance, now it focuses on a range of valet problems. Medicalization is increasing as applied science advances. There ar many things that mystify be return medicalized such as Alcoholism, mental disorders, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction, etc. There ar three degrees of medicalization.1. fully medicalized, standard would be severe mental illness. 2. part medicalized, example would be climacteric. 3. Minimally medicalized, example would be sexual addiction. The factors that affect the degrees ar the support of medical profession, available treatment, and medical insurance. In the end medicalization has increase the profitability and markets of pharmaceutical and biotechnological firms. Many factors have contributed to the turn off of medicalization. For instance the loss in religious, the increase of reliance in science, rationality, progress, increased prestige and the power of the medical profession.The medical profession and the expansion of medical jurisdiction were prime movers for medicalization. Medicalization has also occurred through social movements. Doctors atomic number 18 not the only mavens involved in medicalization now, patients are active collaborators in the medicalization of their problem. The Vietnam veteran movement medicalized posttraumatic stress disorder AIDS treatment was foundere by the zippy and lesbian movement, and PSM with the womans movement. There are both positive and negative consequences to medicalization.With everything being medicalized, approximately people have a better play functioning well in society. If they are rightfully shy, they exit be diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder, and pull up stakes be medicated to interact efficiently in society. People are no longer depressed, disoriented because of medica l intervention, for example, menopause and anorexia. It can really improve the self-esteem of well-nigh individuals. Those were some of the positive consequences of medicalization. There are a few negative consequences as well. For instance, medicalization transforms human differences into pathologies.Example, a child with a different teaching size will be accused of having a learning disability or having ADHD. By transforming all of these differences into pathologies, it will diminish our tolerance for and appreciation of the diversity of human life. Eventually every person will be labeled as sick. In the Dr. Jarvik article, the speaker demonstrates how doddery era is being medicalized. It isnt acceptable to age, because one should stay girlish. Medicalization has brainwashed people into thinking that somethings arent normal when really they are.As people age they are pushed to take all of these practice of medicines to stay young and feel good, when it should be socially ac ceptable to age. A good example of a way medicalization has been resisted would be demedicalization. Gays have changed the definition of homosexuality from illness to lifestyle. similar thing with masturbation, it used to be considered an illness, now its something lifelike that most people do. These examples contradict medicalization since they have been demedicalized. Disabilities went from medical problem to societal problem.Childbirth used to have been done in a hospital chthonic drugs. Now woman have many options on how they would like to give birth. Parents have refused to give children medication for their ADHD because they belive it wont benefit them. One example from the article would be the ana is my friend website that they mentioned. It is a website that helps anorectic people learn to live an anorexic lifestyle. They dont promote it they just help anorexics adjust. In the end, Medicalization plays a huge role in todays society. It will keep on expanding from here, an d along will come its consequences.