MH Intro Flashcards
Cultural implications for mental health
Behavior is considered as normal or abnormal according to ones culture or social norms
Mental health
Successful adaptation to stressors from the internal or external environment, evidenced by thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are age appropriate and congruent with local and cultural norms
Mental illness
Defined as maladaptive responses to stressors from the internal or external environment, evidence by thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are incongruent with the local and cultural norms, and interfere with the individuals social, occupational and/or physical functioning
Maslows hierarchy of needs
Self-actualization: desire to become the most that one can be
Esteem: respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength, freedom
Love and Belonging: friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection
Safety needs: person security, employment, resources, health, property
Physiological needs: air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, reproduction
Stress
Fight or flight response in the body
1. Alarm
- activating
2. Stage of resistance
- physiological responses to attempt to adapt to the stressor
3. Stage of exhaustion
- prolonged exposure to the stressor. Unable to continue to compensate.
Physical response to stress
Sustained physical responses to stress occur after a prolonged period of stress and promotes susceptibility to many diseases of adaptation
- headache
- palpitations
- confusion
- dread
- impaired attention and concentration
Anxiety
Feeling of discomfort and apprehension related to fear of impending dangers. Individuals may be unaware of the source of their anxiety, which is often accompanied by feelings of uncertainty and helplessness
Levels of anxiety
Low
- adaptive and can provide motivation required for survival
- often able to use coping skills or or behaviors to prevent escalation
Moderate
- unresolved for long periods of time can lead to psychological disorders. This can also result in interference of treatment of a medical condition
- moderate anxiety motivates us
High
- often is interfering with the individuals ability to function
- extended periods of functioning at the panic level of anxiety may result in psychosis
- ex: schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and delusional disorders
Coping skills
Crying, nail biting, daydreaming, eating, drinking, foot swinging, fidgeting, laughing, sleeping, exercise, etc.
Ego Defense Mechanisms
Denial, displacement, identification, isolation, projection, rationalization, regression, repression, suppression, undoing, etc.
At a mild to mod level, the strength of the ego is tested
Ego defense mechanisms are employed for protection
Adaptation responses on a continuum of anxiety
Mild ->moderate -> severe -> panic
Coping -> ego defense -> psycho-physiological -> psychoneurotic -> psychotic
Grief
A subjective state of sorrow and sadness accompanied by emotional, physical, and social response to the loss of a loved person or thing
- loss may be real or perceived
- not mourning can be maladaptive
Anticipated loss
-Can trigger a grief response
- thought to shorten the grief response when the loss actually occurs
Five stages of grief
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance