Lecture 2 Flashcards
What are some of the ways that professionals might interpret and respond to mental health symptoms?
- one interpretation is that a person has a disease with a biological cause
- a person has a disorder
define disorder
a dysfunction that is mental in nature, whatever the cause
Who experiences cardinal symptoms of some mental illnesses like sadness (depression) and worry (anxiety)?
- EVERYONE
- even mental health experts may find it difficult to define line between “healthy” and “unhealthy” degrees of these emotions
- It may be possible that the symptoms and behaviours are within the spectrum of normal human responses to stressors
What does good mental health look or feel like?
- routine
- tasks
- meet social role / responsibilities
- feel happy / satisfied
What does poor mental health look or feel like?
- self-loathing
- unmotivated
- lazy
- no self-love
Review what is meant by mental health and illness
- The definitions of “Mental Health” and “Mental Illness” are not straightforward!
- One possible definition: Mental health is the freedom from suffering, abnormal
behavior, and distress - Another possibility: Mental health is the absence of mental illness
- Neither of these are very definitive! It might be useful to explore the concepts of distress, abnormality, and dysfunction…
define “mental”
- refers to feelings, awareness, cognition (thinking/learning), behavior
What is health and illness associated to
- health is associated with feeling good, while illness is associated with feeling bad
what is dysfunction
When a person’s thoughts and feelings make it difficult for them to meet their daily needs and fulfill typical responsibilities
- however, individual capacity is influenced by a person’s resources and environment
ex. a person may be able to afford days off work when distressed but another person may not be able to and is more adversely affected in terms of fulfilling role responsibilites
What is the WHO definition of mental health?
“a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (WHO, 2013)
- definition points to the interaction of people with their community - but some people have less ability to contribute to society due to sexism, racism, ageism, etc. not due to anything about the individual person
- does it make sense to call such a person not as mentally healthy?
What is the DSM definition of mental illness?
- refers to disturbances in cognition, emotion, or behavior which can be attributed to mental functioning and which usually are associated with distress or disability
- this def touches on distress, abnormality, and disability and also relies on the professional judgement of a clinician for diagnosis
What does the DSM stand for?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
What are some strengths of the DSM definition?
- it’s a flexible definition using words like “usually” and describing the dysfunction as being “psychological, biological, or developmental”
- “bridges” a variety of perspectives about nature of mental illness making it possible for variety of mental health professionals to use it
What are some limitations of the DSM definition?
- flexibility in definition may indicate lack of strong evidence about nature of mental illness
What are the 3 models of mental health and illness?
- biomedical
- psychological-behavioural
- social
explain the biomedical model
- binary division (a person is either mentally ill OR mentally healthy
- sees good mental health as the natural human state
- uses a model of disease to suggest that mental illnesses have specific causes: Biological dysfunction of the brain (even if cause not yet understood or known), genetic
In the biomedical model, what interventions are considered the best way to treat mental illness?
- brain-based interventions
What are the 3 brain-based interventions?
- Psychopharmaceuticals
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
- Genetic interventions (potentially in the future)