Violence in Psychiatry - An Over-emphasised Subject

Abstract

Psychiatry as popularly said is a subject in its infancy and various aspects of it remain unexplored of which one is violence. Violence in psychiatry has intrigued researchers for decades and yet remains understudied. Various neurotransmitters and brain pathways have been found to be associated with aggression and vivid mechanisms have been hypothesised in violent patients. Schizophrenia, mania, depression, some particular personality disorders etc. are predominant mental illnesses associated with some incidences of violence but not exceeding that done in general. News and media notoriously present the scenarios of violence and add to the already existing stigma in general public about violence done by patients with mental illnesses. This leads to an opinion in public of chronic mentally ill patients being better in institutions. Though in recent years with development of forensic psychiatry and newer mental health care acts emphasis has been given to rights of mentally ill patients.