8.2 - Mental Health Flashcards
What % of Australians experience some form of mental illness?
20%
What age group has the highest % of mental illness
Young adults, 25%
What is a mental disorder or mental illness?
A diagnosable illness that affects a person’s thinking, emotional state and behaviour.
Disrupts the person’s ability to work or carry out other daily activities and engage in satisfying personal relationships.
Is being mentally healthy defined by not having a mental illness?
No, its about having a positive state of wellbeing
Should the CS suggest a mental health diagnosis to the HS if they believe it to be true?
No, this is the role of mental health professionals who work with the HS
What role can a CS play in helping with mental health of a HS?
Collaboratively exploring supports and professional help for symptoms or situations that are affecting help seekers.
What are the 3 main types of mental health disorders faced by HS’s?
1) Depression
2) Psychosis
3) Anxiety Disorders
What is clinical depression?
Long term numbness or lacking of emotion that leads to changes in behaviour, such as lack of sleep, loss of appetite, change in activities you like and thoughts of suicide
What is the leading cause of disability in the world?
Depression
How long on average does it take for someone to admit to someone they have depression?
10 years
Should you say that “I know how you feel, I felt that way before” when someone tells you they are depressed?
No, it can make them feel guilty about not being able to overcome their struggles
What is psychosis?
Mental state that results in difficulties determining what is real or not.
Includes, false beliefs (delusions), hearing things that others do not see or hear (hallucinations), incoherent speech (alogia)
If someone believes that they are being watched by the people around them and think they might be harmed by them, this could be a type of…
Psychosis
What is an anxiety disorder?
When anxiety is chronic and doesn’t ever leave you, impacting your thoughts, behaviours and daily life
What is a panic attack?
An extreme form of panic that has taken over the person. They start to believe they might have a heart attack and this leads them to panic more which increases their heart rate again, further causing them to panic. A circle of panic.
An intense and extreme form of anxiety
What is the difference between anxiety and a panic attack?
Is telling someone to “calm down” helpful when calming someone down?
Never
Instead, try grounding
What is grounding?
A type of coping strategy that is designed to ‘ground’ the help seeker in, or immediately connect them to the present moment.
A way of reducing distress or panic and focusing on the present.
How might we “ground” a panicking help seeker?
Hearing the pain
Focusing confused thinking by focusing on the present moment
When can grounding be used?
When a help seeker is highly distressed
When the help seeker is swamped by emotions of past events
When the help seeker is experiencing a panic attack
To reconnect the help seeker to their physical environment.
Asking a HS “where are you at the moment, what can you see around you?” is an example of…
Grounding
Looking at things that are familiar to the HS to reduce distress from a crying or screaming individual
Responding to someone with a panic attack by saying “Take your time, I’m here” is an example of…
Connection and grounding.
What microskills can you use to make the HS feel calmer?
Voice tone (calm voice)
Active listening
Reflecting the help seeker’s overwhelming feelings
Asking them to describe something in their immediate environment
Focusing the help seeker onto things easily within their control. (e.g. what have you eaten today)
Exploring grounding/calming activities that the help seeker may be able to engage in when talking to you (stroking a cat, making a cup of tea etc.)
If they suggest it, engage in breathing activities with them.
If someone tells you they have a mental illness (or someone they know), when should you offer a referral for them?
Not immediately, remember to spend time hearing their pain. Do not jump into it, even when they are ready for the next steps.
Consider whether professional help is already being accessed and work collaboratively with the HS
If a HS doesn’t have a mental health diagnosis but you believe they have one, what should you do?
Do not jump into diagnosis, hear their distress and listen for how the symptoms impact their daily life.
When you are collaboratively discussing what actions the help seeker might take after the interaction, it will be helpful to check out professional supports that the help seeker may already have before you discuss any referrals
