Intro to Mental Health and Distress Flashcards
What is mental health?
“Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises their potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community”
What is distress?
A range of experiences in a person’s internal life (thoughts, feelings etc.) that are commonly held to be troubling, confusing, or unusual
Experiences for which individuals might seek support from professionals.
Has a wider scope than the term mental illness: A person in mental distress may exhibit some of the “symptoms” typically regarded as signs of mental illness (e.g. anxiety, extreme emotions, hallucinations, rage, depression etc.) without necessarily being ‘ill’ in the medical sense.
Simply = Anything disrupting mental well-being but just because you’re going through a difficult time, does not necessarily mean you are clinically ill
What are the 2 disciplines that can address mental health and distress?
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
What is Psychiatry? List 3 features
- Specialised doctors (medical specialty devoted to addressing mental health and distress)
- Specialists are able to prescribe drugs and diagnose patients
- Focuses on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental disorders, including affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities)
What is Clinical Psychology? List 3 features
- New branch of Psychology, not doctors or a medical speciality
- Unable to prescribe drugs but uses psychological theory, methods and clinical knowledge to help clients
- Focuses on reducing and preventing distress and enhancing/promoting psychological well-being
What resource is considered the “bible” of Psychiatry?
Psychiatry (DSM-5) or the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 5
Which discipline aims to cure mental disorders and syndromes?
Psychiatry
Which discipline aims to help with psychological distress that may be difficult to cope with in daily life?
Clinical Psychology
A state of emotional suffering associated with stressors and demands that are difficult to cope with in daily life
What term is used to describe this?
Psychological distress
What are the 5 characteristics of psychological distress?
1) perceived inability to cope
2) changes in emotional status
3) discomfort
4) communication of discomfort
5) harm
A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behaviour that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning
What term is used to describe this?
Mental disorder
Define mental disorder
A syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behaviour that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning
Define psychological distress
A state of emotional suffering associated with stressors and demands that are difficult to cope with in daily life
Why are definitions important?
Our understating and conceptualisation of the topic inform treatment and prevention approaches
Mental health difficulties and distress are often conceptualised using either (1) or (2) approaches
(1) Categorical
(2) Dimensional
According to the DSM-5, what are the 4 characteristics of mental disorders (diagnoses)?
1) Clinically significant behavioural or psychological syndrome or patterns that are associated with distress (a painful symptom) or disability (impairment in one or more areas of functioning)
2) Must not be merely an expected response to common stressors and losses (ex. the loss of a loved one) or a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event
3) They must be considered a manifestation of a behavioural, psychological or biological dysfunction
4) Neither deviant behaviour nor conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict is a symptom of dysfunction in the individual (If things are not socially accepted, does not mean they have a mental disorder; it depends on symptoms of the individual)
How can we distinguish between normality and abnormality? List 3 approaches
1) Social approach
2) Medical approach
3) Statistical approach
What is a social approach?
Activities/characteristics/behaviours that are approved according to certain cultural norms vs. those that are disapproved
Activities/characteristics/behaviours that are approved according to certain cultural norms vs. those that are disapproved
This is known as…?
Social approach
What is a medical approach?
Activities/characteristics/behaviours that contribute to health and well-being vs. those that endanger life and well-being
Activities/characteristics/behaviours that contribute to health and well-being vs. those that endanger life and well-being
This is known as…?
Medical approach
What is a statistical approach?
Activities/characteristics/behaviours that are usual in a certain population vs. those that are statistically unusual
Activities/characteristics/behaviours that are usual in a certain population vs. those that are statistically unusual
Statistical approach
Which approaches/models assume that:
- There is a sharp and neat distinction between normal and abnormal
- There is a rigid way of separating/”boxing” people
- “Yes” or “No” approach assumes that whatever we regard as “abnormal” is distinct from normal functioning
Categorial approaches/models
Describe categorical approaches/models
- Assumes there is a sharp and neat distinction between normal and abnormal
- Assumes there is a rigid way of separating/”boxing” people
- Follows a “Yes” or “No” approach and assumes that whatever we regard as “abnormal” is distinct from normal functioning
(But the definition of normality/abnormality leads to contradictions and arbitrary exceptions)
How common are mental health difficulties?
Common mental health difficulties (such as anxiety and low mood) are extremely prevalent globally
In a systematic review of over 170 surveys on mental health difficulties, how many people experience mental health difficulties in the 12 months preceding the assessment?
Approximately 20% (1 in 5 individuals) experienced mental health difficulties in the 12- months preceding the assessment
In a systematic review of over 170 surveys on mental health difficulties, how many people experience mental health difficulties at some point in their lifetime?
Approximately 30% (1 in 3 individuals) had mental health difficulties at some point in their lifetime (lifetime prevalence).
What are the 4 characteristics of the dimensional/continuum approach in investigating mental health?
- Models of mental health/distress that do not presume there is a sharp dividing line between “normality” and “abnormality”
- Instead, they describe distressing experiences as lying on a continuum with normal functioning (people may experience extreme distress during certain periods when undergoing a particular event)
- Not just poor or good mental health and well-being – it is inter-related
- Our mental health is dynamic, fluctuates and responds to things happening to us
Research suggests that many experiences of mental health difficulties (in the general population) are better represented as …?
a) dimensional approaches/models
b) categorical approaches/models
a) dimensional approaches/models
During the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, how many people in the UK (5) showed signs of ‘moderate or severe’ anxiety in the previous 2 weeks?
22%
During the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, how many people in the UK (5) showed signs of ‘moderate or severe’ depression in the previous 2 weeks?
22%
During the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, how many people in the UK (5) showed symptoms of trauma (post-traumatic stress) in the previous month?
17%
Mental health symptoms were worse in vulnerable groups, including ….?
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Other front liners during the pandemic
