mental wellbeing Flashcards
unit 4 aos 2
mental wellbeing
an individual’s psychological state, including their ability to think, process information, and regulate emotions
different ways to consider mental wellbeing
-levels of functioning
-resilience
-social and emotional wellbeing
functioning
generally referring to how well an individual independently performs or functions in their environment
resilience
the ability to successfully cope with and manage change and uncertainty
social and emotional wellbeing (sewb)
-multidimensional and holistic
-the sewb of an individual is intimately linked to their family, community - can’t be viewed separately - offers collectivist perspective
-four determinants can influence the strength of the domains
-expressions and experiences can change over time due to determinants
domains of sewb
-connection to body - physical health
-connection to mind and emotions - mental health
-connection to family and kinship - central in functioning of first nations societies
-connection to community - can take many forms, provides opportunities for people to connect and support each other
-connection to culture - provides a sense of continuity with past, helps underpin strong identity
-connection to country - underpins identity and sense of belonging
-connection to spirituality and ancestors - provides sense of purpose and meaning
determinants of sewb
-social - the circumstances in which people grow, live, and work, and the systems put in place to deal with illness
-historical - the ongoing influence of events, policies, and trauma on groups of people
-political - political policies that shape the process of distributing resources and power, and create or reinforce social and health inequalities
advantages of a mental wellbeing continuum
-captures how our mental wellbeing fluctuates over time
-allows for early signs of mental health problems to be identified
-can reduce stigma linked to mental wellbeing as everyone can be placed on it
internal factors
factors that arise from within the individual
external factors
factors that arise from an individual’s environment
anxiety
a state of arousal involving feelings of apprehension or uneasiness that something is wrong or something unpleasant is about to happen
stress vs anxiety
-similar physiological response
-stress is in response to a known cause, anxiety is usually future focused
phobia
a persistent and irrational fear of a particular object, activity, or situation, which is consequently endured with marked distress
specific phobia
an anxiety disorder characterised by marked or persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object, situation, or activity
biopsychosocial approach
a way of describing and explaining how biological, psychological, and social factors combine and interact to influence a person’s mental health and wellbeing
biological contributing factors
-gaba dysfunction
-long-term potentiation
psychological contributing factors
-precipitation by classical conditioning
-perpetuation by operant conditioning
-cognitive biases (memory bias, catastrophic thinking)
social contributing factors
-specific environmental triggers
-stigma around seeking treatment
gaba dysfunction
-inhibitory effect counterbalances the excitatory effects of glutamate
-there is a link between low levels of gaba and specific phobia - therefore can impair ability to regulate their flight-or-fight-or-freeze response
- If there are low levels of gaba, the excitatory effect of glutamate can’t be counter balanced - leads to overexcitation
long-term potentiation
-can perpetuate one’s phobia
-the more the connection between one’s phobic stimulus and their fear is activated, the stronger the connection becomes
precipitation by classical conditioning
-classical conditioning the precipitate (cause) the onset of specific phobia
-what becomes a phobic stimulus would initially be ns, through repeated association with ucs that naturally induces fear, ns becomes cs (phobic stimulus), producing a cr (phobic response)
perpetuation by operant conditioning
-operant conditioning can perpetuate (prolong) one’s specific phobia
-one symptom of specific phobia is avoidance of phobic stimulus - while avoidance can provide short-term relief, it can negatively reinforce one’s phobia (removal on unpleasant stimulus-strengthens behaviour)