Introduction to Mental Health Conditions

Question 1

What do I need to know about mental health?

Answer 1

Aim to explore the concept of mental health from a holistic practitioner’s perspective, encompassing different theories and models of diagnosis and intervention

Learning Outcomes:
* List the presenting symptoms, patterns of behavior and likely ameliorating interventions for people with mental health conditions, from a medical model perspective.
* List physiological factors that may interact with mood and emotional wellbeing.
* Evaluate insights into the neurobiology of trauma

Question 2

What do I need to know about neurodiversity?

Answer 2

Context and Controversy
* Autism and ADHD are not universally considered “diseases” or “disorders” by those who experience them.
* Neurodiversity is a term to describe these diagnoses as part of the normal variation in human experience, allowing such diagnoses to be both strength and challenge, rather than be seen as disadvantage or indeed a disorder
* With this way of looking at things neurodiversity as with diversity in general is a fact of nature - as opposed to ‘Neurodivergence’ being an issue of society?

Question 3

How do you work with or without diagnosis?

Answer 3

You will find in practice that Psychiatric diagnostics will be based on interpretations of behavior and the qualitative experience of the practitioner and the patient rather than physical examination or biochemical investigation.
There is dissent and advocacy for different paradigms of classification within academia, service providers, service users and others.
‘Working without diagnosis’ may be a conceptualized model and one as a
practitioner I might sometimes favour.
In practice the psychiatric diagnostic framework maybe the preferred model for both your patients and other health practitioners. So it is important to be familiar with it and to understand the medications and treatments available to people.

Question 4

How does Digestion - transit affect the nervous system?

Answer 4

**Role **
* Absorption of nutrients
* Re absorption

Impact
* Deficit – e.g. B12 – anxiety
* Positive correlation between constipation and depression

Question 5

How does Digestion - liver affect the nervous system?

Answer 5

Role
* Breakdown of endogenous chemical (e.g. hormones), exogenous chemicals (e.g. pharmaceuticals, alcohol, steroids)
* Glucose regulation
* Immune response - more studies looking into immune function/ inflammatory response and mood

Impact
* Excess and deficit mood fluctuations, PMS , postnatal depression, anxiety etc
* Sugar dips and mood

Question 6

How does Digestion - parasites and pathogens affect the nervous system?

Answer 6

Role
* Commensal role unclarified
* Pathology - species specific

Impact
* Psychosis
* High incidence in psychiatric institutions
* Irritability in children with children with high worm load

Question 7

How does Digestion - microbiome affect the nervous system?

Answer 7

Role
* Absorption
* Immune modulation
* Manufacture of hormones and other chemical

Impact
* Diversity associated with improvements in mood
* Changes in behaviour (animal studies)

Question 8

How does Nutrition - Vitamin C affect the nervous system?

Answer 8

Role
* Helps to make the hormones adrenaline and cortisone and the neurotransmitter noradrenaline.
* Vitamin C aids proper adrenal and thyroid function.

Impact
* Deficiency has been associated with depression and cognitive impairment

Question 9

How does Nutrition- Vitamin D affect the nervous system?

Answer 9

Role
* Ubiquitous function in the body - precursor for neuro transmitters and hormones – also related to immune function and cardi-vascular health – each of which can have an effect on mood.

Impact
* Deficiency associated with depression and cognitive impairment
* SAD

Question 10

How does Nutrition - Vitamin B12 (and folic acid) affect the nervous system?

Answer 10

Role
* B12 Helps to build the myelin sheath, the insulating layer for nerve transmission.

Impact
* Deficiency is associated with depression, anxiety, and psychosis

Question 11

How does Nutrition - EFAS essential fatty acids affect the nervous system?

Answer 11

Role
* Modulation of neurotransmitters, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation and neuroplasticity

Impact
* Hypothesised supplementation may be preventative in depression and bi-polar

Question 12

How does sleep affect the nervous system?

Answer 12

• Sleep deprivation associated with increased emotional arousal and sensitivity to stress.
• Healthy sleep repairs adaptive processing and functional brain activity.
• REM-dreaming may facilitate the rehearsal or the re-processing of the threatening events supporting more efficient threat perception and avoidance.
• Lack of sleep may increase sugar cravings

Question 13

How does exercise affect the nervous system?

Answer 13

• Positive impact on mood and immunity
• Move report: 89% of studies published between 1990 and 2022 found a positive statistically significant relationship between exercise/physical activity and mental health
• Effect may be enhanced by the environment – forest bathing , community setting

Question 14

What is neuroplasticity?

Answer 14

• ‘Neuroplasticity’ – refers to the understanding that the adult brain can keep adapting and forging new pathways – it can continue to grow and change in response to intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
• It can also shrink.
• ‘Neurogenesis’ - the birth of new neurons in the adult brain
• Early research and understanding of neuroplasticity occurred more in context recovery from physical trauma and brain injury
• It is being begun to be understood in terms of potential for recovery from emotional trauma
• Change in terms patterns of thinking or feeling can happen in positive or negative directions
• Re –wiring’ new pathways for thinking and feeling is more complex and may depend on external factors as well as internal ones “