Chapter 11: Mental Health Part 1 Flashcards
What is mental health?
A state of wellbeing in which an individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community.
-Often represented as a continuum of mental wellbeing (mentally healthy, mental health problems, mental disorders)
A person with good mental health can:
- Make the most of their potential
- Cope with the challenges of everyday life
- Play a full part in their family, school, workplace, and community when among friends
What does the term mentally healthy refer?
When we are feeling positive and functioning well in everyday life.
What does a mental health problem affect? Give an example:
Adversely affects the way a person thinks, feels and/or behaves, but typically to a lesser extent and of a shorter duration than a mental disorder.
Eg. Sadness or despair associated with grief or anxiety
What is a mental disorder and what is it also called?
A mental health state that involves a combination of thoughts, feelings and/or behaviours which are usually associated with significant personal distress and impair the ability to function effectively in everyday life.
-Also called mental illness
Describe 5 essential characteristics of a mental disorder:
- The disorder occurs within the individual and results from dysfunction within the individual
- There is clinically diagnosable dysfunction in thoughts, feelings and/or behaviour (Eg. Low levels of functioning, social, and emotional wellbeing)
- Causes significant personal distress or disability in functioning in everyday life
- Actions and reactions are atypical of the person and inappropriate within their culture
- The disorder is not a result of a personal conflict with society
What are internal factors? List its 2 types:
Influences that originate inside or within a person.
- Biological factors
- Psychological factors
What do biological (internal) factors involve? Give some examples:
Physiologically based or determined influences, often not under our control.
Examples:
-Genes we inherit,
-Whether we are male or female
-Balances or imbalances in specific neurotransmitters
-Substance use and physiological response to medication
-CNS functioning
-Fight-flight-freeze response and other bodily responses to stress
What do psychological (internal) factors involve? Give some examples:
All those influences associated with mental processes.
Examples:
- Our thoughts, ways of thinking, beliefs, attitudes
-Our skills in interacting with others
-Prior learning
-Perception of ourselves, others and our external environment
-How we learn, make decisions, solve problems
-How we understand and experience emotions, respond to and manage stress
-How we reconstruct memories
What are external factors? Give some examples:
Influences that originate outside a person.
Examples:
-School-and-work-related factors
-The range and quality of our interpersonal relationships
-The amount and type of support available from others when needed
-Exposure to stressors
-Employability history, level of income
-Access to health care and other community resources
-Exposure to social stigma
-Specific cultural influences such as our values and traditions
-Level of education
-Housing, risks of violence
How do internal and external factors interact?
- Internal and external factors affect and are affected by one another
- The complex interactions between multiple factors help account for individual differences in mental health as well as the onset or experience of mental health problems or disorders.
What is the biopsychosocial model and how does it reflect a holistic view of mental health?
A way of describing or explaining how biological, psychological, and social factors combine and interact to influence a person’s mental health.
-The person is considered a ‘whole’ person’ functioning in their unique environment.
List the 3 typical characteristics of a mentally healthy person:
- High level of functioning
- High levels of social and emotional wellbeing
- Resilience to life stressors
What does functioning refer to, where is evident, and how can it vary?
How well an individual independently performs or operates in their environment.
- Evident in observable behaviour, underlying cognition, and emotions
- A person’s functioning may vary in a number of ways. It is commonly described as varying in level and can be represented on a continuum like mental health
What does adaptive behaviour involve?
Actions that enable a person to effectively carry out their usual everyday tasks.
- The individual is able to ‘adapt’ to the demands of daily living and do so relatively independently
- High level of functioning
What is maladaptive behaviour and why is it also called dysfunctional behaviour?
Interferes with the person’s ability to carry out their usual activities in an effective way.
- Is sometimes called dysfunctional behaviour because it disrupts or impairs everyday functioning. There is a reduced ability to do the things one normally does each day
- Low level of functioning
What does wellbeing refer to? List its 2 types:
Our sense of ‘wellness’ or how well we feel about ourselves and our lives.
- Social wellbeing
- Emotional wellbeing
What is social wellbeing? Give an example:
Is based on the ability to have satisfying relationships and interactions with others.
Eg. Spending time with loved ones
What is emotional wellbeing? Give an example:
Is based on the ability to control emotions and express them appropriately and comfortably.
Eg. Developed awareness and understanding of own emotions
What is resilience?
The ability to cope with and adapt well to life stressors and restore positive functioning.
-‘Bouncing’ back from adversity or difficult experiences that are stressors and restoring positive functioning
-Having a lot of resilience does not mean that a person never experiences difficulty or distress or is always untroubled and happy
-Through resilience, we interpret, respond and either overcome or adapt to an adversity
Generally:
-Mentally healthy = resilient
-Mentally unhealthy = not resilient
List some characteristics of resilient individuals:
- Strong belief in their ability to accomplish tasks and succeed (Eg. High self-efficacy)
- High self-esteem
- Approaching adversity and stress with a sense of optimism, opportunity, and hope
- Being adaptable and flexible
- Being organised
- Having problem-solving skills
- Having the ability to make realistic plans and to carry them out
What is informed consent?
The process by which a researcher discloses appropriate info to a potential research participant so that the person can make a voluntary and informed choice about whether to participate.
What must participants be informed about in order for informed consent to be upheld by the researcher?
- Nature and purpose of research
- Procedures
- Risks or adverse affects
- Demands and disadvantages
- Right to withdraw
- Possible benefits
What must participants for mental health research have in order to give informed consent?
- They must have the competence to give informed consent
- This is the ability to understand the info relevant to making an informed decision to participate
What is a placebo, what can it result in, and what is the placebo effect triggered by?
The substance or treatment that appears real and resembles the actual substance or treatment, but is actually inert (it is neutral or has no known effect).
- Can result in a placebo effect involving a change or improvement in wellbeing that may be short-term or lasting.
- The placebo effect is triggered by a person’s belief in the treatment and their expectation of relief or feeling better, rather than the specific form in the placebo takes.
