Ch 7 Flashcards
mental health
state of well-being in which people realize their own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and are able to make contributions to their communities
mental status
person’s state of mind, reflected by emotional and cognitive responses
degree of competence that a person shows: intellectual, emotional (right emotion at right time), psychological (using words appropriately), personality (may change w/ mental health)
orientation - person, place, time, situation
neurotransmitters
chemical vehicles that provide synaptic transmission of messages from neuron to neuron or from neurons to muscle cells
depression
common psychiatric disorder associated with a neurochemical imbalance
characterized by feelings of helplessness and hopelessness and recurrent suicidal thoughts
not care about appearance
women 2x likely to have depression than men
somatic complaints: altered appetite, sleep problems, constipation, headache, fatigue
anxiety
feeling of uneasiness or discomfort from mild anxiety to panic
response to no specific source or actual object (unlike fear)
anxiety disorders
panic attacks
generalized anxiety disorder
specific phobias
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
delusions
beliefs so strong you can’t convince them otherwise
hallucinations
apparent perception of something that doesn’t exist
could be from any of the 5 senses
obsessions
thoughts, impulses, or images that persist or recur, despite the affected individual’s attempts to dismiss them
compulsions
ritualistic behaviors that an individual feels driven to perform in an attempt to reduce anxiety or prevent an imagined calamity
bipolar disorder
characterized by episodes of mania, depression, or mixed moods
mania: exhibits excessive emotional displays, excitement, or hyperactivity accompanied by elation or delusions of grandeur
depressive: marked by apathy and feelings of profound sadness, loneliness, guilt and lowered self-esteem
schizophrenia
group of psychotic disorders characterized by: severe disturbance of thought and associative looseness, impaired reality testing (hallucinations, delusions), limited socialization
clinical findings: flat, blunted, or bizarre emotions, disorganized thinking, jumbled or illogical speech, impaired reasoning, autistic thinking (delusions, hallucinations), severe ambivalence
anxiety/panic disorder (levels)
4 levels: mild, moderate, severe, panic
delirium
characterized by disturbance of consciousness and rapidly developing change in cognition
(rarely lasts more than a month, reversible with treatment)
ACUTE CONDITION
clinical findings: altered level of consciousness, impaired memory, fluctuating attention span, may have hallucinations or delusions, “sundowning” may increase, speech may be rapid, inappropriate, or rambling
dementia
characterized by memory impairment
CHRONIC CONDITION (NOT REVERSIBLE)
slow/steady decline
Alzheimer’s is form of dementia
clinical findings: consciousness intact but memory, judgment, and calculation impaired, flat affect, may have delusions, speech is slow and incoherent
Neurotransmitters that affect mental health
norepinephrine
serotonin
dopamine
histamine
acetylcholine
gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
imbalance can cause mental health issues
less norepinephrine and serotonin = depression
When does data collection begin for mental health assessment?
upon first seeing patient
Who should be asked about alcohol and recreational drug use?
every adult and adolescent; to determine if it is a health problem
What should you ask about alcohol use?
what kind, how often
men no more than 2/day
women and elderly no more than 1/day
CAGE questionnaire
C - have you ever felt the need to CUT DOWN on your drinking?
A - have you ever felt ANNOYED by criticism of your drinking?
G - have you ever felt GUILTY about your drinking?
E - have you ever felt the need to drink a morning EYE-OPENER?
AUDIT tool
A - alcohol
U - use
D - disorders
I - identification
T - test
Topics to ask about patient drinking causing problems
risk of harm (DUI)
relationship trouble
role failure (call in to work)
run-ins with the law
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) tests include…
memory
ability to form sentences
simple math problems
repeat simple sentences
reading
writing
copying (drawing)
judgment (give scenario to see what they would do)
speech and language skills assessment
detailed evaluation of receptive and expressive communication skills should be performed if the patient has difficulty communicating during the history
voice quality (loudness/volume)
articulation (dysphasia)
comprehension
coherence
aphasia (lack of ability to speak)
