Mental Health Flashcards
What is Mental Health
a state of well-being in which:
- the individual realizes his or her own potential
- can cope with the normal stresses of life
- can work productively and fruitfully
- able to make a contribution to his or her own community
What are the 7 Characteristics of Mental Health?
- Interpret reality accurately
- Have a healthy self-concept
- Are able to relate to others
- Achieve a sense of meaning in life
- Demonstrate creativity/productivity
- Have control over own behavior
- Can adapt/cope with change & conflict
Which 2 Factors Impact Mental Health?
- Mental wellbeing
- Mental illness diagnosis
What are the 4 quadrants of MH in which everyone exists in?
- Person with no mental illness/disorder and positive mental health
- Person with no mental illness/disorder but has poor mental wellbeing
- Person with a serious mental illness/disorder and has poor mental wellbeing
- Person with a diagnosis of a serious mental illness, but copes well and has positive wellbeing
- you can be in 1 of these quadrants at any point and i can change with time
Over ______of people worldwide receive care for a mental disorder at some time in their life?
1/3
In the US, _____% of family doc visits related to mental health.
45%
______% of Canadians will be diagnosed with at least 1 mental disorder in their lifetime.
20%
What are the Most Commonly Diagnosed MH Disorders?
- Anxiety Disorders – 12.2%
- Mood Disorders – 8.3%
- Personality Disorders – 7%
- Substance Addiction – 3.4%
- Self Harm – 2% of all deaths
- Schizophrenia – 1.3%
When do symptoms become a diagnosable mental health illness?
- symptoms are required to be there for an extended period of time and they need to impact activities of daily living (ADLs) before diagnosing someone with a mental health illness.
-Symptoms include:
* Decreased emotional expression
* Self-concept changes
* Depressed mood
* Occupational problems
* Disorganized thoughts
* Decreased motivation
* Insomnia
* Fatigue
* Nervousness
What are the 8 Components of a MH History Assessment?
- Past Medical History - includes previous diagnoses/conditions that the patient is taking medications for. Also includes past history of mental health illness!
- Family History - Diagnosis of first degree family members. ALSO includes family history of mental health illnesses!
- Medications - medications patient has be prescribed, including over-the-counter or herbal medications.
- Trauma - past history of trauma - psychological or physical.
- Psychosocial - What supports does the patient have? Are there stressors affecting the patient?
- Substance Abuse - Is the patient using/overusing any substances to cope with their symptoms? The patient can also have an addition to other things (ie. gambling)
- Mood - How are they describing their mood?
- Suicidal Ideation - Is the patient experiencing any Suicidal or homicidal (harm to others) ideation?
What should be documented about Appearance & Behavior in a MH Assessment?
Appearance - posture, clothes, grooming, and cleanliness
Behaviors - mannerisms, gestures, expression, eye contact, ability to follow commands/requests, compulsions
Attitude - is patient cooperative, hostile, open, secretive, evasive, suspicious, apathetic, easily distracted, focused, or defensive
What should be documented about
Emotion/Affect in a MH Assessment?
Emotion: emotion is what the patient says their mood is (ie I’m sad, or happy, or angry)
Affect: Affect is how people express their emotions or the outward display of one’s emotional state.
○ People express their emotions through facial expressions, eye contact, what they do, and what they say.
○ Ex. eye contact is commonly used to judge a person’s mood because people who are feeling down or depressed commonly avoid eye contact.
○ ** be aware that cultural beliefs can affect the use of eye contact **
- Patient with a “flat affect” - refers to very few facial expressions being displayed to indicate emotion, which is often associated with depression.
- If the patient’s mood or behavior seems inappropriate for their current situation, make a note of that as well.
○ Ex. a patient in an usually elated mood in a situation when most people would be seriously concerned can be a symptom of mental illness
- If the patient’s mood or behavior seems inappropriate for their current situation, make a note of that as well.
What should be documented about Perception in a MH Assessment?
Hallucinations - perceptions in the absence of sensory stimuli in any of the 5 senses (auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory, and tactile).
○ 2 most common hallucinations are: 1) Auditory 2) Visual
Illusions - misperceptions of actual stimuli, and are either a misinterpretation or clear error in perception (e.g. - patient feels as though a clock has eyes, that wind blowing is whispers, or they see figures moving iin the dark at night when leaves on a tree are blowing)
What should be documented about
Thought process and thought content in a MH Assessment?
Thought process - the way in which a person puts together ideas and associations, the form in which a person thinks.
○ It can be logical and coherent or completely illogical and even incomprehensible.
Thought content - what a person is actually thinking about: ideas, beliefs, preoccupations, obsessions.
○ Coherent thought is clear, easy to follow, and logical.
What should be documented about Insight/Judgment in a MH Assessment?
When assessing insight, ask yourself:
1) What is the patient’s understanding of the world around them and their illness?
2) Are they able to reality test? (i.e. - are they able to see the situation as it really is?)
3) Are they help-seeking? Help-rejecting?
- Insight is usually described as Poor, Fair, or Excellent
When considering judgment, ask yourself:
1) What have the patient’s recent actions been?
2) Have they done anything to put themselves or other people at harm?
3) Are they behaving in a way that is motivated by perceptual disturbances or paranoia?
4) What is your confidence in the patient’s decision making
Judgment can be described as:
- Impaired (for individuals who are acutely intoxicated)
- Poor (in the context of acute psychosis in schizophrenia or dementia)
- Good (patient is aware and makes decisions in a way that does not put them or others in harm)
What should be documented about Cognition in a MH Assessment?
- ask if they know the date, location of where they are, and their name
- documented as Alert or Oriented (AO) × 3 in charts).
What are the 4 Screening Tools used to diagnose Mental Illness?
- Common Depression screening Tool (PHQ-9)
- Common Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)
- Common Alcohol Use Disorder (CAGE Questionnaire)
- Suicide Assessment Tool
What is the Common Depression screening Tool (PHQ-9)?
- it is a patient health questionnaire
- asks how often you have been bothered by a list of things
- you rank how they bothered you by: not at all, several days, more than half the days, and nearly every day
What is the Common Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) tool?
- asks how often you have been bothered by a list of things
- you rank how they bothered you by: not at all, several days, more than half the days, and nearly every day
What is the Common Alcohol Use Disorder (CAGE Questionnaire) tool?
- asks 4 questions:
- C: Have you ever felt you should CUT down alcohol?
- A: Have people ANNOYED you by criticizing your drinking?
- G: have you ever felt GUILTY about your drinking?
- E: Have you ever had a drink 1st thing in the morning (EYE opener)?
Score 0-1 - low risk of problem drinking
Score 2-3 - High suspicion of alcoholism
Score 4 - diagnostic for alcoholism
What is the Suicide Assessment Tool?
- states a lost of risk factors tha patient is supposed to rank as not present or present
5 factors including:
1. Presence of hopelessness
2. Evidenve of loss of interest/pleasure
3. Evidence of plan top committ suicide
4. Recent bereavement or relationship breakdown
5. Prior suicide attempt
- these factors, if present, are assigned 3 points (wheras the other factors are assigned 1 point each)
Score 5 or less - low level or risk
Score 6-11 - moderate level of risk
Score 12 or more - very high level of risk
