Mental Wellbeing Flashcards
what is mental well-being?
an individual’s current state of mind, including their ability to think, process information, and regulate emotions
what are the ways of considering mental wellbeing?
- levels of functioning
- resilience
- social and emotional wellbeing
what are levels of functioning?
refer to the degree to which an individual can complete day-to-day tasks in an independent and effective manner
what is resilience?
refers to the ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty
what are indications of high levels of functioning?
- carrying out basic tasks
- productive in goal setting and tasks
- independent
- adapt to environmental changes
what are indications of low levels of functioning?
- struggle to carry out basic tasks
- uncharacteristically lethargic/ tired
- lack direction in life
- unable to cope with environmental change
what are indications of low levels of resilience?
- overwhelmed when problems arise
- rely on unhealthy coping strategies
- lack hope and optimism
what are indications of high levels of resilience?
- seek solutions to problems
- optimistic and hopeful
- ability to be flexible
what is social wellbeing?
the ability for an individual to form and maintain meaningful bonds with others, and adapt to different social situations
what is emotional well-being?
the ability for an individual to appropriately control and express their own emotions
what are indications of high levels of emotional wellbeing?
- aware of their own and others current emotional state
- experience a wide range of emotions
what are indications of high levels of social wellbeing?
- have a strong support network
- maintain meaningful relationships
- effectively communicate with others
what is SEWB?
a framework that has been developed and includes all elements of being, and therefore wellbeing, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
What are the key characteristics for SEWB?
holistic and multidimensional framework
what does connection to body refer to? + example
Connection to the physical body and health in order to participate fully in all aspects of life eg: managing illness and disease
what does connection to mind and emotions refer to? + example
ability to effectively manage thoughts and feelings and be at peace with them eg: maintaining self esteem/ strong identity
what does connection to family and kinship refer to? + example
Connection to the immediate and wider family group and community established through respect eg: spending time with family promotes connection and therefore wellbeing
what does connection to community refer to? + example
Connection to wider social systems, providing individuals and families the ability to connect and support with each other. eg: community services and support networks
what does connection to culture refer to? + example
A strong sense of identity, values, tradition and connection (between past, present and future) based on principles of heritage and respect. eg: Elders passing on information and tradition and speaking local languages/ attending cultural events
what does connection to country refer to? + example
A strong sense of identity, values, tradition and connection between the past and present and the future that drives behaviour and beliefs, spiritual connection to the land. eg: Obligations to the associated land, That one belongs to the land not that we own the land
what does connection to spirituality and ancestors refer to? + example
Set of beliefs and principles that people follow and believe in. eg: ancestors watch over them for the entirety of their life
what are social determinants?
the circumstances in which people grow, live and work, and the systems put in place to deal with illness eg: socioeconomic status or racial discrimination
what are historical determinants?
the ongoing influence of events policies and trauma on groups of people eg: colonisations legacy/ government policies
what are political determinants?
political policies that shape the process of distributing resources and power to individuals and communities, and create or reinforce social and health inequalities eg: unresolved land issues
what are cultural determinants?
including cultural continuity and self-determination, as integral for the maintenance of wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
what are the two aspects of cultural determinants?
cultural continuity & self- determination
what is culture?
encompassing a strong sense of identity, values, tradition, and connection. between the past, present, and future that drives behaviour and beliefs
what is cultural continuity?
refers to the passing down and active practice of cultural knowledge, traditions, and values from generation to generation
how is cultural continuity relevant?
can be achieved from songlines and enables communities to heal and form strong identities. can be disrupted through colonisation
what is self determination?
The rights of all peoples to pursue freely their economic, social, and cultural development without outside interference
how does self determination enhance wellbeing?
in control over their own lives and live on their own terms which enables us to feel like we have a greater level of wellbeing
what is the mental wellbeing continuum?
refers to a tool used to track fluctuating mental wellbeing, a spectrum
what is the continuum measured through?
functioning and resilience
what are characteristics of high levels of mental wellbeing?
- ability to function independently
- cope with everyday demands
- ability to regulate stress and anger
what are characteristics of medium levels of mental wellbeing?
- functioning not at optimal levels
- amplified emotions
- irrational though patterns
- less severe impacts and temporary nature
what are characteristics of low levels of mental wellbeing?
- high levels of distress
- impacted for 2+ weeks
- cannot meet environmental demands
- may be diagnosed by a professional
what are internal factors?
that arise from within the individual (stress response, thought patterns, genetic predisposition)
what are external factors?
factors that arise from an individual’s environment
what is stress?
psychological and physiological experience that occurs when an individual encounters something of significance that demands their attention and/or efforts to cope
what are key characteristics of stress?
- normal part of life
- usually in response to a known stimulus
- not necessarily and indication of low levels of mental wellbeing
what is anxiety?
psychological and physiological response that involves feelings of worry and apprehension about a perceived threat. It can involve cautiousness regarding a potential threat, danger or other negative events
what are key characteristics of anxiety?
- typically only involves distress
-often future oriented - response to an unknown stimulus
- 2+ weeks it can lower MW
why are anxiety and stress similar?
- expected part of life
don’t usually impact daily functioning - moderate to high part of the continuum
what is specific phobia?
a type of diagnosable anxiety disorder that is categorised by excessive and disproportionate fear when encountering or anticipating the encounter of a particular stimulus
what is the biopsychosocial model?
is a holistic, interdisciplinary framework for undertsanding the human experience in terms of biological, psychological and social factors
what are biological factors?
internal, genetic and/or physiologically based factors
what are psychological factors?
internal factors relating to an individuals mental processes, including their cognition, beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts
what are social factors?
external factors relating to an individuals interactions with others and their external environment including relationships and community incolvement
what is GABA dysfunction?
the insufficient neural transmission or reception of GABA in the body
what is GABA?
main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human nervous system, prevents the uncontrolled firing of neurons by decreasing the likelihood of it firing an action potential
how does GABA relate to phobias?
may cause an anxiety response to be activated more easily, recurrent stress responses to specific stimuli can lead to the development of a phobia (classical conditioning)
what is long term potentiation?
the long lasting and experience dependent strengthening of synaptic connections that are regularly coactivated
what are the stages of LTP in relation to phobias?
1.Strengthening the association between neural signals involved in perceiving a stimulus and neural signals involved in activating the fear response
2.Through repeated coactivation the signals involved in perceiving a phobic stimulus more readily trigger the activation of the neural signals responsible for the fear response
3.the more this occurs the stronger the association becomes and the strong the phobia becomes
what is the role of the amygdala?
processes the fear response (implicit) that is associated with a specific stimulus and signals to the hippocampus
what is the role of the hippocampus?
forms the memory of the actual object or event and encodes the explicit, declarative aspects of the memory
what are benzodiazepine agents?
type of medication that depresses the central nervous system
how do benzos work?
bind to GABA receptor sites and mimic the effects of GABA to increase its inhibitory response, reliving anxiety it causes
what is a consideration of benzos?
they don’t address the underlying issue and therefore should only be used short term or in conjunction with therapy
what is the step by step process of benzodiazepines?
1.bind to a GABA receptor site on a postsynaptic neuron
2. increase the effectiveness of GABA when it later binds to the same receptor sites
3.GABA then has its inhibitory effect, reducing the likelihood that the neuron will fire (reducing over excitation)
what is breathing retraining?
a method used to teach breathing control techniques that may reduce physiological arousal
why is breathing retraining important?
sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant, - Rapid breathing can increase oxygen levels and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood, Carbon dioxide assists in the regulation of the body’s reaction to anxiety and panic
what are the 2 steps in breathing retraining?
- slow deep inhalations, and counting slowly
- using learnt breathing techniques in the presence of a phobia. restoring oxygen and co2 levels ton an optimal state
what is classical conditioning?
a form of involuntary learning in which two unrelated stimuli are paired together and form an association
what are precipitating factors?
factors that increase the susceptibility to and contribute to the occurrence of developing a specific phobia (classical conditioning)
what does classical conditioning do in terms of phobias?
classical conditioning precipitates phobias
what is operant conditioning?
involves learning through the association of a behaviour and the consequence (punishment/ reinforcement) it receives
what does avoidance do in phobias?
Avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus leads to negative reinforcement, contributes to the maintenance of a phobia by hindering our ability to recover
what is a perpetuating factor?
factors that inhibit a person’s ability to recover from a specific phobia
what is a cognitive bias?
a predisposition to think about and process information in a certain way (tends to be fallible ‘errors’ in cognition)
what is a memory bias?
cognitive bias caused by inaccuracy or exaggeration in the recall of an event, More likely to remember negative information than positive ones- Enhance negative memories and impair positive memories (with the stimulus)
what is catastrophic thinking?
stimulus or event is repeatedly predicted to be far worse than it is likely to be in reality (overestimated)
what is cognitive behavioural therapy?
type of psychotherapy that uses cognitive and behavioural therapies to change unhelpful or unhealthy thought processes, feelings and behaviours
what are the 2 main aims of CBT?
- modify unhelpful behaviours
- identify and replace irrational thinking wth realistic forms
what is systematic desensitisation?
targets the biological stress response and is an intervention that can be used alone or in conjunction with CBT
-Occurs in 4 distinct stages
what are the 4 stages of systematic desensitisation?
1.Learning of relaxation techniques- breathing retraining (box breathing)
2.fear hierarchy- list of anxiety inducing experiences in order of easiest to confront to most difficult to confront
3.Gradual step by step exposure from least to most paired with learned relaxation techniques (doesn’t move on until conquered)
4.Continual exposure to fear hierarchy until the patient has overcome their phobia by not producing a phobic response
what are the three environmental triggers that could lead to a phobia being developed?
- direct exposure to the traumatic event
- witnessing other people experiencing a traumatic event
- reading or hearing about a traumatic event
what are the 2 factors that influence social learning?
consequences matter- wether the model is reinforced or punished
we don’t pay equal attention- pay more attention to people similar to us and authority figures
what are the stages of observational learning?
attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, reinforcement
what is stigma?
the social disapproval of an individual’s personal characteristics or beliefs pr social disapproval of a type of behaviour
how does stigma effect phobias?
If the individual with the phobia accepts the stigma it can lead to feelings of shame, distress, and hopelessness. Causes sufferers to hide symptoms of their illness
what is psychoeducation?
education about mental illnesses and the nature of them, treatment and management strategies
what is the goal of psychoeducation?
to empower the individual to understand their illness and how to develop strategies to cope and recover from it
what are the 3 cognitive distortions?
fortune telling, overgeneralisation, catastrophising
what is fortune telling?
predicting a scenario with the phobic stimulus that hasn’t occurred
what is overgeneralisation?
applying the traumatic incident to the entirety of that phobic stimulus/ scenario
what are the 2 aims of psychoeducation?
challenge unrealistic or anxious thoughts
2. not encouraging avoidance behaviours
what is negative reinforcement?
the absence of the fear (from avoiding it) becomes a reward and reinforces the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated again
what are protective factors?
influences that enable an individual to promote ad maintain high levels of mental wellbeing
what are biological protective factors?
Influences that stem from an individuals brain and/or body that can maintain or promote mental wellbeing
how does adequate nutrition promote mental wellbeing?
Unprocessed foods can reduce the risk of experiencing mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety
how does sleep promote mental well-being?
Good sleep is likely to reduce the likelihood of mental health disorders and promote wellbeing Bidirectional relationship with mental wellbeing
what are psychological protective factors?
Influences that relate to mental processes that can maintain and promote mental wellbeing
how does cognitive behavioural strategies promote mental well-being?
Acknowledging and changing thoughts and behaviours that impair mental wellbeing/ Identifying dysfunctional thoughts/behaviours and developing/maintaining more functional thoughts/behaviours
how does mindfulness meditation promote mental well-being?
Individual focuses on their present experience to promote feelings of calm and peace which can improve emotional reactivity, reduce likelihood of rumination, reduce stress, improve memory
what are social protective factors?
Influences that exist in an individual’s social environment that can maintain and promote mental wellbeing
what is cognitive behavioural strategies?
Techniques that utilise traits of cognitive behavioural therapy
how does support promote mental wellbeing?
genuine and effective comfort and reassurance to encourage individuals to develop different strategies to promote their mental wellbeing
