Intro to Mental Health Flashcards
Define mental health problem
Occurs when the difficulties experienced by a person are mild, temporary and able to be treated within a relatively short period of time.
What is a mental illness?
Psychological dysfunction, that usually involves distress, impaired coping ability and atypical thoughts/feelings/behaviours.
What are some mental illness facts?
1-in-5 Australian adults experience a mental illness each year.
Almost 50% of Australians have experienced a mental illness in the past 12 months.
Male and females suffer from mental illness at a similar rate.
Anxiety disorders are most common in women while substance abuse disorders are most common in men.
Prevalence is highest in people aged 18-24.
What is the functional approach?
Thoughts, feelings and behaviours are viewed as normal if the individual is able to cope with living independently (‘function’) in society, but considered abnormal if the individual is unable to function effectively in society.
What is the medical approach to normality?
Abnormal thoughts, feelings or behaviours are viewed as having an underlying biological cause and can usually be diagnosed and treated.
What is the statistical approach to normality?
Based in the idea that behaviours in a large group of individuals is distributed in a particular way; that is in a normal distribution. ‘Statistical average’ (large majority of people) is considered normal.
‘Statistical extremity’ (minority of the people) considered abnormal.
What are the other three approaches to normality (other than functional, medical and statistical)?
Socio-cultural approach- TF&B viewed normal if they are appropriate or acceptable in a particular society or culture.
Historical approach- considered normal and abnormal in a particular society depends on the era, or period of time, when judgement made.
Situational approach- what considered normal in one situation considered abnormal in another.
What is the definition of stress?
Physiological and psychological response to internal or external sources of tensions that challenge a person’s ability to cope.
What is a stressor?
Any person/situation/event that produces stress.
It can be physical, psychological, internal or external.
What are the types of stress?
Eustress- positive response to stressor
Distress- negative response to stressor
Acute- high level or arousal occurring quite suddenly
Mild- form of stress that is minimal. Makes you more active.
Chronic- prolonged, period of stress.
What are the physiological reactions to stress (initial and prolonged)?
Initial: sympathetic NA, adrenalin and cortisol released, enabling the fight-flight response. Cortisol increases immune system.
Prolonged: cortisol can weaken immune system, causing possible pneumonia or even cancer. Cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart attack or stroke.
What are the psychological reactions to stress (ABC)?
Affective- grumpy, irritable, angry, sad, anxious.
Behavioural- changes in eating and sleeping patterns, aggressive.
Cognitive- pessimistic thoughts, impairment in memory, problem solving, thought processes.
Define mental health.
A state of emotional and social wellbeing, in which individuals realise their own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively and contribute to their community.
