Mental Health

Question 1

Defining mental health

Answer 1

Extreme differences or difficulties in the way a person thinks, observes the world and expresses feelings. These can either be brief or occur over a long time. They can cause difficulties in a persons ability to care for themselves, to have relationships, make decisions, work or have any leisure activity.

Question 2

Facts and figures

Answer 2

1 in 6 adults in britain have severe mental health problems at any one time.

1 in 4 are treated by their GP or seek their own help.

About 2% have severe and enduring mental illness.

1 in 10 new mothers have post-natal depression

1 in 10 people will experience clinical depression at some point in their lives

3.4% of men and 8% of women are affected by phobias (agoraphobia most common)

1 in 200 develop mania in their lifetime

Question 3

Mental illness is misunderstood

Answer 3

suffers face prejudice

Question 4

Mental illness is not something that purely requires medical treatment

Answer 4

nor is it the persons fault that they have developed it

Question 5

High risk factors for developing mental health issues in London

Answer 5

Unemployment and Social isolation.
Population of 15-30yr olds (highest risk of psychosis)
Variation in wealth and poverty
Ill health and housing problems
Many different ethnic groups

Question 6

Categories of mental illness

Answer 6

Neurosis
Psychosis
Organic
Personality Disorders

Question 7

Neurosis

Answer 7

A disorder in which anxiety or emotional symptoms are prominent.

The sufferer often has insight into their illness, or has potential to have insight

Main types: Pathological anxiety, Clinical depression, Phobias, Obsessions/Compulsions

Question 8

Pathological Anxiety - definition

Answer 8

is a response to an event which is:
Disproportionate to the severity of stress normally expected.

Continues for an excessive period of time after the stressor has gone

Occurs in the absence of an external stressor

Question 9

Pathological Anxiety - signs and symptoms

Answer 9

Persistent anxiety
Disturbed sleeping pattern
Tension leading to aches and pains
Muscular tremor
restlessness
Dry mouth
Autonomic over-activity (sweating, tachycardia, epigastric disturbances)

Question 10

Clinical Depression two main types

Answer 10

Reactive

Endogenous

Question 11

Reactive Clinical Depression - definition

Answer 11

Usually attributed to a specific event, such as bereavement, major life event or other traumatic/stressful experience.

Question 12

Endogenous Clinical Depression - definition

Answer 12

The person may have frequent prolonged episodes, with no apparent cause.

Question 13

Depression - signs and symptoms

Answer 13

Persistent low mood, reduced energy, pessimism
Sleep disturbance, poor concentration
Reduced appetite, weight loss
Reduced libido, loss of enjoyment
Feeling of worthlessness/guilt
General loss of normal function
Risk of self-harm or suicide in sever cases

Question 14

Depression - treatment

Answer 14

Psychological treatments are often used in conjunction with anti-depressant medication

Question 15

Phobias - definition

Answer 15

A persistent, abnormal fear of an object or situation (sometimes referred to as an irrational fear)

Question 16

Agoraphobia

Answer 16

fear of crowds

Question 17

Claustrophobia

Answer 17

fear of confined spaces

Question 18

Pyrophobia

Answer 18

fear of fire

Question 19

Phobias - signs and symptoms

Answer 19

Recurrent episodes of acute distress
Mental confusion
Sweating
Palpitations
Deep and rapid breathing, which may lead to hyperventilation

Question 20

Obsession/Compulsion - definition

Answer 20

A desire to carry out repetitive actions (compulsion) in response to thoughts that constantly occupy the conscious mind (obsession)

Sufferer may have rituals that become part of everyday life

People with extreme cases of ‘obsessive compulsive disorder’ may spend hours washing or become unable to leave the house because of their need to perform rituals

Question 21

Psychosis - Definition

Answer 21

A process in which the suffers experiences and reasoning do not reflect reality.

A person suffering from psychotic illness may lack insight into their illness and may appear to have lost touch with reality

Question 22

Schizophrenia - definition

Answer 22

A severe mental disorder (or group of disorders) characterised by a disintegration of thought and perception process, contact with reality and emotional responsiveness.

May be acute or chronic and fluctuate in severity.

Affects 1% of the population

Onset: mid to late teens in men, slightly later in women

Cause is unclear

Question 23

Schizophrenia - signs and symptoms

Answer 23

Involves disorders of thought and also include disorders of perception.

Delusions: Paranoid, Grandiose, Persecution

Hallucinations: Auditory, Tactile, Visual, Olfactory (smell), Taste.

Question 24

Affective mood disorders - definition

Answer 24

Affective disorders can be unipolar (mania) or bipolar (manic depression), neurotic or psychotic, mild or severe.

Question 25

Mania - definition

Answer 25

A condition characterised by episodes of boundless energy, a feeling of euphoria and of the person being very successful.

Question 26

Mania - signs and symptoms

Answer 26

Elevated mood, talkative, optimistic (may be unrealistic)
Sleep disturbance
Flight of ideas, decreased attention span
Dis-inhibited (often sexually)
May have delusions of grandeur

Question 27

Bipolar Disorder - signs and symptoms

Answer 27

Severe/intense mood swings from very low to very high. Happening within hours or can take days/months.
Suicidal.
May be accompanied by delusions/hallucinations or thought disorder.
in-between episodes the person is usually able to maintain a normal lifestyle.

Question 28

Bipolar Disorder - Causes

Answer 28

It seems that people with bipolar disorder have a chemical brain imbalance and onset often follows periods of stress.

Question 29

Bipolar Disorder - Treatments

Answer 29

Anti-psychotic medication
Antidepressant medication
Psychotherapy
Electro-convulsive therapy

Question 30

Electro-convulsive therapy

Answer 30

A controversial medical intervention used in the treatment of depression.
An epileptic fit is induced after short electric shock is passed across the brain by placing electrodes on the temple and forehead.
May be used after other methods of treatment have been unsuccessful in life threatening depression.
Used in conjunction with anti-depressant medication.

Question 31

Organic Mental Illness: Dementia - definition

Answer 31

Dementia is a progressive and irreversible disease of the brain.

Question 32

Several different types of illness are grouped under the name dementia, such as:

Answer 32

Alzheimers disease
Huntingdon’s disease
Pick’s disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Question 33

Organic Mental Illness: Dementia - signs and symptoms

Answer 33

Confusion
Amnesia
Confabulation (the invention of circumstances about a past event, often used to disguise an inability to remember)
Reversed sleep pattern
Hallucinations

Question 34

Organic Mental Illness: Dementia - management

Answer 34

Be prepared for irrational behaviour
Be patient
Consider patient dignity
Consider family cares etc

Question 35

Personality Disorders - definition

Answer 35

Deeply ingrained maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaviour, generally recognisable in adolescence and continuing throughout adult life, though often fading by middle/old age.
Extreme/significant deviation from the way a person in a given culture perceives, thinks, feels and relates to others.
10% of the general adult population have a diagnosable PD; in 4% of cases this is severe.

Question 36

Personality Disorder - Causes

Answer 36

The causes of PD are rooted in childhood experience. Most people will have experienced some of the following:
Abuse - physical, psychological and/or sexual
Chaotic and crisis-ridden background
Insecure attachments and/or traumatic Abandonment
Autonomy discouraged
Dependency fostered

Question 37

Personality Disorder - management problems

Answer 37

Mistrust of professionals
Unrealistic expectations and inappropriate demands
Acting out behaviours
High sensitivity to abandonment
Tendency to seduce workers into offering more than is realistic