Mental Health Flashcards
How common are mental disorders
Global: 1 in 4 people experience mental disorders
Canada: 1 in 5 people experience mental disorders
Mental Wellness
Our capacity to think, feel, and behave in ways that contribute to our ability to enjoy life and manage challenges.
- Emotional health: feelings, moods
- Psychological health: Thoughts
The Maslow Pyramid
Abrham Maslow described a new ideal of mental health that encouraged individuals to fulfill their potential
Defined a hierarchy of need:
- Physiological needs: Basic needs such as food, water, shelter, sleep
- Safety: Personal safety, financial safety, safety against illnesses/accidents
- Being Loved: Emotional relationships (friends, family, romantic partner)
- Self-Esteem: Desire to be valued and accepted by others
- Self-Actualization: Living life to the fullest
Qualities of Mentally Healthy Individuals
- Values themselves
- Maintains close relationships
- Accepts limitations
- Pursues work that suits talents
- perceives relities as it is
Psychological Disorders
A mental disorder is a persistent disturbance or dysfunction in behaviour
- thoughts or feelings that cause significant distress or impairment
Statistics on Mental Health Disorders in Canada
- 1 in 5 Canadians face Mental Health Issues
- 1 in 2 people have never seen a doctor about this problem
Categories of Mental Health Disorders in Canada
- Anxiety and Phobic disorders (12%)
- Depressive and Bipolar (mood) disorders
- Panic Disorders (2%)
- Psychotic disorders (Schizophrenia) (~1%)
- Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (~2%)
- Suicide (~4000 yearly)
General Anxiety Disorder
Chronic, irrational worry about daily events (work, school, finances, etc.)
Symptoms: Agitation, Fatigue, Sadness, Depression, Nausea
Treatments: Therapy, Antidepressants
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Components of recurring thoughts or actions that greatly affect someone’s life.
May consist of:
- Obsessions (cleanliness)
- Compulsions (Must clean)
- Rituals (Lysol in diagonal motion)
Treatments: Antidepressants, CBT (Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy)
Panic Disorder
Recurrent panic attacks without warning
Panic attack: Severe response for no particular reason
Symptoms: Chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness
Treatments: Anti-Anxiety Drugs, CBT (Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy)
Agoraphobia
Type of panic disorder that involves individual avoiding social situations (Ex. Riding bus) due to fear of having a panic attack and not being able to access medical aid
Phobias
Marked, persistent, excessive fear and avoidance of specific objects, activities, or situations
Social phobias: Fear of social situations (public speaking)
Specific phobias: Spiders, Heights, Sea
Depressive (Mood) Disorder
Disorder that involves persistent feelings of sadness and lack of interest or pleasure in life
Depressive symptoms:
- Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, exterme guilt
- Disturbed sleep; change in eating patterns
- Fatigue
- Anhedonia: Loss of enjoyment of usual activities
- Suicidal thoughts
Bipolar Disorder
Mood swings; Recurrent episodes of disturbance in mood
- Periods of depression followed by Mania
Mania: Extreme euphoria, rapid speech, lack of need to sleep; grandiosity
Treatments: CBT, Tranquilizers, anticonvulsants, ECT (electric shock therapy)
From a nerve cell perspective, what causes psychological disorders?
Serotonin and neopinepherine: neurotransmitters that alter the responsiveness of the brain and are responsible for mood, level of attentiveness, and other psychological states.
Many psychological disorders are related to poblems with these neurotransmitters and their receptors
Schizophrenia (Psychotic disorder)
A disorder that profoundly impairs one’s sense of reality.
- Genetics is a factor
Social isolation, drug use, traumatic event(s) may exacerbate/accelerate progression
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Positive (symptoms present that should be absent):
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Disorganized speech
- Grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour
Negative (Symptoms absent that should be absent) :
- Negative symptoms (lack of motivations, depression, etc.
Types of Therapists
Psychiatrist: M.D; Can prescribe drugs
Psychologists: advanced degree in psychology; can offer behavioural therapy but not drugs
Social workers: Trained in counselling; usually licensed and registered
Counsellors: Various kinds; often no specialized training or licensing required
CBT Cognitive behavioural Therapy
The therapy is typically short-term and focused on helping clients change negative thoughts and actions into positive ones.
- commonly used to treat a wide range of disorders, including phobias, addiction, depression, and anxiety.
Antidepressants
used to treat depression, also effective for other conditions like anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and sometimes eating disorders.
- work by altering the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine in the brain, which are involved in mood regulation.
Mood Stabilizers
primarily to treat bipolar disorder, helping to stabilize mood and prevent the extremes of mania and depression.
Antipsychotics
These medications are used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and sometimes bipolar disorder or severe depression.
Anxiolytics
Used to treat anxiety disorders, panic attacks, and sometimes insomnia
Stimulants
Used primarily to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and certain sleep disorders like narcolepsy.
Stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy by enhancing the effects of certain neurotransmitters in the brain such as dopamine and norepinephrine.
Suicide
Second leading cause of death in Canada
3x more likely in men, 6x more likely in Indigenous youth
Tips for engaging with people considering suicide
- Listen without judgement
- Ask direct questions
- Show love and care
- Do not leave them alone
- Make plans for the next day
- Recommend counselling
Stress
Any situation that disrupts homeostasis
Homeostasis: state of dynamic equilibrium
Stressors
Shift our body away from homeostasis
General Adaptation Syndrome
How our body responds to stress
Eustress
A positive stress and promotes high-level functioning
Distress
Negative stress and decreases performance
Fight or Flight response
The “fight or flight” response is an acute stress response triggered by the sympathetic nervous system when an individual perceives a threat or significant stressor. This reaction prepares the body to either fight the threat or flee from it.
Key physiological changes:
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Hyperventilation
- Dilation of pupils
- Sweating
Result of having no stress
People would not be getting up in the morning, would not be eating, would not have enough arousal to respond to daily life
- This is why some stress is good; eustress (positive stress)
Excess stress
Once that positive stress reaches a tipping point, it is called distress.
- This stress has a negative affect on your wellbeing
Chronic stress
consistently high levels of cortisol (stress hormone); affects immune systems.
- decreased white blood cells
- decreased lymphocytes
- Increased inflammation
- Increased sereactive protein; risk to cardiovascular disease
Psychoneuroimmunology
field that studies the interactions between the psychological processes, the nervous system, and the immune system.
- explores how the brain and behavior influence the body’s immune response and how the immune system in turn can affect the brain and emotional health.
Stress link
Strong link between stress and physical and psycholgical disorders
Sleep
Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep
Sleep is an active and dynamic state; individuals cycle between REM (dreaming) and non- REM states several times per night
REM: Rapid eye motion
Every REM stage increases cortisol levels, if we are not going through sleep cycles properly, then cortisol levels are not regulated properly
What is sleep important for
- Clearing the brain of wastes
- Learning and Memory
- proper Immune function
Ways to minimize stress
- Ensure you have a good support system
- Improve communication skills
- Be kind and nurturing to others
- Develop healthy exercise, eating and sleeping habits
- Develop healthy coping techniques (meditation, music)
- Learn to identify stressors, how to moderate them, and how to develop resilience
Avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms
Although they provide imediate relief and relaxation, the long term affects are problematic
Ex. Drugs and alcohol
