module 1 Flashcards
well- being
is considered an overall state or feeling comfortable, healthy, and happy
what is well-being made up of
many components one of which is mental health
what does mental health include
includes psychological, emotional, and social aspects of thinking, feeling, and behaving
what is mental health a prerequisite to
realizing potential, being able to cope with normal life stress, and being productive at work or school
mental health analogy
paralleled with physical health
- having good physical health means your body and organs systems are functioning well; having good mental health means that your mental and emotional systems are functioning well and you can manage the typical stresses of life
well-being analogy
- can be paralleled with physical fitness
- being physically fits means that you can get the most out of your body’s capabilities
- having high levels of well-being means that you are living well, doing meaningful things and working towards the things that matter to you in life
what did Aristotle (384-322 BCE) think about goal of life
goal was eudaimonia, which is often translated as happiness,
- more corresponds to the idea of not being happy but flourishing
the historical origins
various religious and cultural traditions have historically played a part in perpetuating injustice (colonist, sexism, ableism) which results in isolation, marginalization, oppression of particular individuals and communities
Buddhism and well being
balance and harmony with self and environment are important
african religious and cultural traditions
relationships with the land and community members (both living and dead) are important paths to wellness
Ubuntu
African philosophy which shows that a person cannot flourish in isolation but can only grow in connection with others
various religious and cultural traditions
have historically and continue to play a part in perpetuating injustice and thus the isolation, marginalization nod oppression of particular individuals and communities
components of well-being
- mental health
- physical health
- supportive/secure environment
overall well-being; mental health
NOT defined by the absence of mental illness
- embodies positive psychological, emotional, and social functioning
- positive mental health includes; feeling happy and satisfied with life (emotional well-being), positive functioning and self-realization (psychological functioning), and positive social value (social well-being)
what is mental health related to
your physical health and contributes to your ability to strive and reach your potential, cope with normal life stresses, establish good relationships, and be productive at work
overall well-being; physical health
taking proper care of your body for optimum health and functioning, as well as disease prevention
- closely related to mental health in a reciprocal way
what does optimal physical health require
good sleep, exercise, nutrition, and mental health
overall well-being; supportive/secure environment
current and past environment experiences affect your mental and physical health
- supportive and secure environment is one in which a person feels socially, emotionally, and physically safe valued
contributors to mental health
- realizing potential
- emotional health
- psychological health
- social connectedness
realizing potential
are you achieving all you can and want?
- your mental health is affected by the degree to which you feel you are reaching your potential and making a meaningful contribution to the world around you, that aligns with your interests and persecptive
emotional health
- contributes to overall mental health
- made up of emotions and feelings
- includes feeling happy, secure, and confident and not overly anxious, upset, or sad
- ability to regulate your feelings across different challenges, experiences, and contexts
psychological health
can measure mental health through this
- involves how you think about things and regulate your feelings
- includes the ability to self-reflect, problem solve, manage emotions, be resilient, think, and be attentive
social connectedness
social network or social connectedness involves creating and maintaining good relationships with others and behaving in a socially responsible and acceptable way
- relies upon the development of positive social skills such as empathy
mental health spectrum
mental health exists on a spectrum
- not that you have mental health or you dont
- one can think about mental health states based on certain and defined thresholds
- as you go up in intensity, there are fewer people that are likely to meet that threshold
mental health spectrum thresholds (low intensity to high)
- well
- symptoms
- concerns or problems
- disorders or illness
well
- being mentally well is reflected in feeling content, capable, and happy
- stress and disappointment are normal parts of life, but when feeling mentally well, these are mostly manageable, and any associated discomfort is short-lived and appropriate to the stress or context
symptoms
experiences that can be associated with some distress, maybe situational and not indicative of a problem or disorder
most common university experiences what mental health symptoms
anxiety : over worry, heart racing, bad relaxing
mood; feeling sad, having negative thoughts, low energy
sleep: trouble falling or staying asleep
about symptoms
might be transient and subside when a stressor or disappointment resolves
- helped by lifestyle changes, self-help, short-term problem-focused counseling
- if they are persisted and associated with distress then they might reflect a mental health concern
concerns or problems
the presence of symptoms that persist and are associated with distress or difficulty, but are not severe enough to be considered a diagnosable mental illness
- mental health concern relates to persistent or new life event or stress
- may be uncomformable and prolonged but not able to be diagnosed
disorders, conditions, illness
refer to clinically diagnosed illnesses that require evidence based treatements
- disorders are comprised of clinically significant symptoms characterized by a disturbance in thought, feeling, and perception that negatively affects day to day functioning
major depressive disorder
a mood disorder characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in most usual activities
- associated with bad sleep, hunger and changes in appetite
generalized anxiety disorder
an anxiety disorder characterized by persistent and excessive worry about everyday events
relating mental health and well being
been conceptualized as on 2 parallel continuums
- can be diagnosed mental illness in good quality remission and therefore experience positive or high level of well being
mental health of Canadian uni students
in 2016, 26.3% of post secondary students reported having been diagnosed or treated by a professional for one or more mental health conditions within a 12-month period
what were the most common mental condition in canadian universitys for student
anxiety and depression
canadain students depression
46% reported experiencing symptoms
- made it hard to function optimally
Canadian university anxiety
65% reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety
mental health in uni student from the UK
2017 study reported 19% of 16 to 24 year old’s in England have a mental health condition
- increased 15% from 2003
reporting mental health (student UK)
5-fold increase in the number of students reporting a mental health problem from 2006 to 2015
- 2020 found 27.2% of young women and 13.3% of young men were identified as having a probable mental disorder
dropping out of uni (UK)
significant increase in the number of students who dropped out of uni because of a mental health problems
suicides (student UK)
there has been a increase in student suicides in the UK from 2017 to 2015 similiuar to the young population in UK
mental health in uni students worldwide
WHO found 35.3% of lifetime, 31.4% 12 months of first year college students screened positive for a mental disorder
- anxiety, mood, substance use
- most students with depression and anxiety had an onset prior to entering uni
- substance use disorders tended to onset after entering uni
- mental health in a concern worldwide
what the student demand for mental resources increasing or decreasing before covid
increasing
need for uni mental health services
- at risk age
- transition period
- vulnerable brain
- lacking support
- decrease in stigma
at risk age
- transition to uni is happening at a time when the brain is undergoing alot of growth and development and has not yet fully matured
adult mental illness
begin in adolescence and early adulthood
- 75% of adult mental illness begins prior to 25
transition period
students experiences whole new set of academic, financial, and social stressors such as making friends, away from fam, new routines
stressor
person, place or situation that causes a state of psychological strain or tension
vulnerable brain
the growing adult brain is particularly vulnerable to a stressful environment
- young ppl are undergoing fast growth and are more vulnerable when exposed to risk factors and stressors
lacking support
resources to support are limited
- universities historically provided only short term counselling services and community mental health services are not designed to meet the needs of students
decrease in stigma
an increase in students reporting mental health problems and seeking care might also reflect a reduction in stigma around mental health
stigma and disclosure
as stigma decreases around mental health increasing numbers of students are disclosing mental concerns
- stigma is still a problem
goal of UFlourish Study
improve understanding of how shared and unique student experiences affect mental health, the uni experiences and academic outcomes
contributors to mental health and academic outcomes in first years
family factors
personal factors
early environment
psychological
lifestyle and behaviour
course outcomes
family factors
family relationships
parental mental health history
parent education
personal factors
mental and physical health, age, gender, sexuality, sociolcultural background
early environment
childhood abuse, neglect, peer bullying, early loss/separation
physchological
emotional self-awareness, compassion, resilience, mental health literacy, stigma
lifestyle and behaviour
exercise and recreation, social connections, sleep quality, and substance use
course outcomes
mental health
academic outcomes
it can be helpful to think of well-being and mental health in terms of ____
goals
what are the 8 different categories of goals
- community
- social
- recreational
- career
- academic
- relationships
- cultural
community
be part of a broader community, support/ contribute to positive change for others in those communities
social
make new social connections and develop a broader social network
recreational
maintain physical fitness, engage in recreation, hobbies, and/or cultural activities, achieve a healthy study-life balance
career
look for enriched or applied learning experiences, such as volunteering or internships
academic
achieve and maintain good grades and self directedness in learning
relationships
make new and keep existing meaningful personal relationships
cultural
every culture has a different way of thinking bout well-being and mental health
- overcoming stigma and sharing your story with those who understand your specific experiences and concerns can be useful
better mental health is strongly correlated to»
better academic outcomes
5 important factors that are influenced by mental health
- energy levels and motivation
- concentration and cognition
- self-efficacy
- managing stressful situations
- belongingness
energy levels and motivation
mental health influences how you feel in your daily life
- are you motivated to begin your day?
- do you have energy to complete all your daily tasks?
concentration and cognition
mental health influences the mental processes of concentration and cognition
- are you able to concentrate on the task at hand?
- how do you perform in environments that demand thinking, learning, comprehension?
self-efficacy
extent to which someone believes in their ability/capacity to achieve certain outcomes
- do you feel you are able to succed at your goals and generally cope with what you might be faced with?
managing stressful situations
- commone occurence throughout an individuals life
- ability to manage stressful situations as they arise is related to your mental healht
- how well do you manage stressful situations
a sense of belongingness
fosters a pro-social dimension of feeling part of a learning community, and collaborating with others on the university journey
5 mental health concepts
- risk factors
- protective factors
- stressors
- resilience
- signs and symptoms
risk factors
biological, psychological, or sociological characteristic or exposure that is associated with a higher likelihood of a negative outcome
- some are modifiable some are not
examples of risk factors
- not getting enough sleep
- using recreational drugs
- not having a reliable support network
- having a prior history of mental condition
- any culture in which you identity or experience is seen as other
- overthinking and avoiding tackling problems
protective factors
characteristic or exposure that lowers the likihood of negative outcomes or that reduces the impact of a risk factor
examples of protective factor
- having a reliable support network of friends/family
- developing a good study-life balance
- healthy sleep schedule
- feeling included
- postivie thinking, journaling, talking to a friend
stressors
is a person, place, situation that causes a state of psychological strain or tension
- stress is a psychological response to a stressor
examples of stressors
- an upcoming midterm or final exam
- relationship problems
resilience
if an individual learns to effectively manage their stressors they develop resilience
- is being able to adjust, adapt, overcome, and cope with a disappointment, stressor, threat, or adverse event
signs and symptoms
- if the individual does not adapt, they can develop signs and symptoms
refer to observale or experience indicators of being under stress - indicators which either distress the individual or impairs their ability to function emotionally, socially, academically
what might signs and symptoms signal
the emergence of an illness or problem, or they may be circumstantial and short-lived
psychodynamic model who was it developed by
sigmund freud
what is the psychodynamic mdoel
- The mind is influenced by unconscious psychological forces (like sadness, anxiety, distress) that can cause mental distress.
- These feelings are often misinterpreted by the conscious mind but come from deeper, unconscious conflicts, often from childhood.
- Therapist relationship is key to uncovering and understanding these unconscious feelings, helping to resolve the conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind.
treatment based on psychodynamic model
no strong evidence
- is helpful for common disorders and has largely been replaced by later development in our understanding of factors that cause and maintain mental illness
behavioural model who was it developed by
pavlov, watson, skinner
what is the behavioral theory
- it theories that how you behave day-to-day is (learned) due to the reinforcement you receive for your actions
- more likely to do things that have positive consequences and less likely to do things with negative consequences
what does the behavioral model proposes
that anxiety disorders, maladatpive learning has taken place and a harmless stimulus has become linked to extreme fear
- fear causes avoidance of the harmless stimululs and prevents learning that is safe
- depressison proposes that the short term benefit of avoiding things when you feel down, tired, stressed has become outweighed by the reduction in postive experiences you are no longer having, worsening mood futher, and increasing the desire to withdraw
aims of behaviour therapy
- to reverse this learning in anxiety disorders and phobias (counter conditioning)by creating a different, less negative association with the harmless stimulus
- treatment for depression: focuses on overcoming avoidance and building up opportunities to experience positive reinforcement
one of the most commonly used theories used today
medical/disease model who was it based on
aristole, galen, hippocrates
Emil Kraeplin
created as the founder of modern psychiartry belived that psuchiatric illness were diseases caused by biological and genetic malfunction
who did emil kraeplin study
patients admitted to asylums, noted that illness ran in families and differentiated dementia (psychotic illness) from mood disorders
medical and disease model views
problems of mental functioning (social, emotional, psychological) from a disease perspective with a biological basis at the core
- emphasizes recovery through somatic treatment such as medication and brain stimulation
cognitive model contributors
abraham, seligman, teasdale, beck etal, and brown and harris
what is the perspective of the cognitive model
- that mental disorders are the result of errors in thinking or biases
- assumes that your perspective of yourself and the world are the result of your thinking therefor, errors or distortion in thought processes can cause upset and mental disorders
- making negative interpretations of situations, recalling negative memories, and focusing on negative information can all contribute to increased ancient and depression
what does unhelpful thinking involve
repeated dwelling, overthinking, and worry about what didn’t go right or what could go wrong in the future
what was the cognitive model combined with
the behaviour model
- became cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
cognitive behavioral theory
includes a cognitive component, including identifying and correcting errors and biases in thinking (distortions, over-generalizations, negative automictic thoughts, worry, rumination)
behavioural component: changing maladaptive behaviour and learning new behavioural responses
what is the biopsychosocial model who created it
George L
- emphasizes the interacting roles of biological factors, psychological factor, and social factors, as contributors to mental illness
modern uses of biopsychosocial model
- emphasizes that these 3 factors are not always equal in their role in determining mental illness (biology may play a stronger role in some types of mental disorders compared to others)
biology
- physical health
- genetic
- vulnerabilities
- drug effects
social
- peers
- family circumstance
- family relationships
psychological
- coping skills
- family
- relationships
- self-esteem
- mental health
Osler medical humanist model
- rather than adopting a singular reductionist approach, it reminds us to take the whole individual person into account when assessing for a diagnosis and developing a treatment plan
Osler medical humanist model holistic approach
incorpating all relevant medical/biological, social and psychological aspects
social and cultural models what is it
focuses on broader holistic community-based influences on mental health including social, cultural, and environmental context
- providing support throughout addessing contributing facotors including work/study conditions, nutrition, housing, and living conditions, socieconmic, cultural, and environemntal conditions, education, healthcare
what does the social and cultural model focus on
voices of experience in response to feeling talked at or over in the medical and social models
example of the social and cultural model
hearing voices network, which seeks to reject the stigma often imposed on the experience and seeks to encourage a more positive response to voice hearing and related experiences in healthcare setting and wider society
what is the ‘mad movement’
led by those with lived experience of focuses on non-stigmatizing way of approaching mental health experiences
- arose in 1960s aligned to civil rights movements
Micheal Foucailts madness and civilzation
a history of insanity in the age of reason (1964) is often cited as a key work in this movement
- traced how meanings of madness changed throughout history, and in the age of enlightenment was seen constructed as opposite to rationality, logic, and sanityt
pathways to mental health
models that take into account the development stage and exposure to risk and protective factors help explain the onset of mental illness
why is understanding models of how mental problem and illness develop important
helping with prevention and intervention
what do good models include
variety of interacting factors
using descriptors distal and/or proximal
distal factor
reps an indirect cause or underlying vulnerability for a particular conditions
proximal factors
a factor that represents a direct cause or immediate vulnerability for a particular conditions
distal risk factors
- include family environment during childhood in terms of family functioning and emotional support, degree to which adequate nutrition, housing, and safe nurturing environment was provided
- abuse, neglect, peer bullying and the negative effect on mental health later in life is treatable
proximal risk factors
- choices made such as using weed, or binging on alchol and healthy sleep, exercise/recreation routine impacts our mental health
- if initial anxiety and depression are untreated they can develop inot significant mental health problems
outcomes of distal and proximal risk factors
- uni student mental health, well-being and academic outcomes are associated with each other and determined by a combination of distal and proximal risk facots and stressors
genes
our temperament and predisposition to mental disorder is in part related to our genetic makeup and family history
epigenetics
refers to the modiciation of gene activity or expression
- can occur through certain exposures, including biological (hormones), environmental (famine), and/or pshychological (chronic stress, abuse) factors
environement
refers to your physical, psycholigcal, social surroundings, including the emotional context at home or in class
stress diathesis model
based on interaction between genes and the environment, and the wear and tear effect of chronic risk exposures related to stress on your mind and body
- ability to cope and adapt is affected by this balance
diathesis
a persons predisposition or vulnerability to a medical condition
culture
- the differences in cultures have a range of implication for mental health practice (and risk), ranging from the ways that ppl view health and illness, to treatment seeking patterns, the nature of the therapeutic relationship and issue of racism and discrimination
schizophrenia
mental illness that is thought to have a relatively strong genetic component
- majority of children with a parent with schizophrenia will not develop this disorder
what can further influence schizophrenia
certain environmental and lifestyle factors increase the risk of individual who already vulnerable or at genetic risk such as regular use of weed
