Internal and External factors of MEntal health Flashcards
Internal factors that influence mental health?
Biological, genetics Thoughts/feelings Hormones physical health Personality Immune system
External Factors that influence mental health?
Social relationships Employment status Socioeconomic Life events (traumatic) Nutrition Isolation Injury
The vendiagram of Ris factors
Biological, Psychological and social risk factors
Biological risk factors
Genetic Vulnerability- genes passed on by our parents, more susceptible
eg: Schizophrenia
Biological relative with schizophrenia have a 10% risk of developing the disorder, as compared with schizophrenia has a 40%-50% risk.
-Depression
-Poor response to medication due to genetic factors
-Poor sleep
- Long term substance use
Psychological risk factors
Rumination- is when people overthink or obsess about situations or life events
- has been linked to incidence of depression, anxiety and PTSD
Impaired reasoning and memory- cognitive problems that can contribute to development and progression of mental disorders.
Stress, chronic and acute stress contributes to mental disorders
Poor self efficacy- general coping strategies are poor, less likely to seek help
Social Risk factors
Disorganised attachment- struggle with relationships, avoidant personality. (attachment is the emotional bond that forms between an infant and caregiver)
- Loss of a significant relationship- family, friend, can make people more vulnerable to mental disorder.
- Stigma is a mark of disgrace or disgust that sets someone apart from others- Stigma as a barrier to accessing treatment- 25-50% sufferers don’t seek treatment.
WHAT is Cumulative risk?
All these factors interacting together to precipitate a mental health disorder
What are the 4 Ps?
Predisposing factors; Factors that increase vulnerability to developing mental health problems
Precipitating Factors; Factors that trigger the onset or exacerbation of mental health problems.
Perpetuating factors; Factors that inhibit recovery from mental health problems
Protective Factors; prevent the occurrence or recurrence of mental health problems
Predisposing Factors…
Factors that increase vulnerability to developing mental health problems:
- Genetics
- Hormones
- Temperament
- Poverty
Precipitating factors…
Factors that trigger the onset or exacerbation of mental health problems:
- Environmental trigger
- Significant life event
- Trauma, accident, injury
Perpetuating factors…
Factors that inhibit recovery from mental health problems:
- Poor health
- Stigma
- Lack of social support
- Lack of resources
Protective Factors…
Prevent the occurrence or recurrence of mental health problems:
- Good health/sleep/exercise
- Hormonal balance/ no family incidence
- Resilience
- Resources
- Strong social support and network
Contributing biological factors to stress?
Stress response
Long term potentiation-physical occurrences that happen in the brain as result of repeated stimulation of the neural pathway during learning (amygdala- initiating and processing emotional responses such as fear. Hippocampus-Involved in formation of declarative memories)
GABA Dysfunction- GABA regulates anxiety, sleep amd arousal. Plays a role in anxiety as it acts like a calming agent or ‘brake’ to the excitatory neurotransmitters that lead to anxiety.
Contributing Psychological factors?
Behavioural models: phobias are influenced by environmental factors
- SPecific phobia may be learnt through classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning. (P1 Little Albert developed a specific phobia of rats through classical conditioning. P2 Avoiding the -feared stimulus -rat, far is reduced - negative reinforcement = happy feeling- which maintains the phobia) eg: dentist, injections
Cognitive Models: Emphasises thought process on feelings and behaviour
Cognitive Bias- A tendency to think in a way that involves errors of judgement and faulty decision making.
Memory Bias- Memory encoded inaccurately and distorted, tend to remember the negative or threatening information about the phobic stimulus
Catastrophic Thinking- Over estimating the threat, irrational, obsessive thinking. Thinking any dog you encounter will attack you and leave you with permanent facial disfigurement.
Contributing social factors ?
Environmental triggers: Direct exposure to a traumatic or distressing event eg: bitten by a dog
- Witnessing someone experience a traumatic event: eg see someone get bitten by dog
- Reading or hearing about a traumatic event:eg hearing a story about someone being bitten by a dog
- Stigma around seeking treatment: Mark of disgrace, labels and separates a person so less likely to seek help due to shame or embarrassment.
