Module 1: Introduction to the Science of Well-being, Mental Health and Resiliency Flashcards
Well-being
Overall state or feeling comfortable, healthy, and happy. Well-being is made up of many components one of which is mental health
Ex. parallel to Physical fitness (capabilities)
Mental Health
Includes psychological, emotional and social aspects of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Mental health is a prerequisite to realizing potential, being able to cope with normal life stress, and being productive at work or school
ex. parallel to physical health. (system functioning well)
Physical Health
Proper care of your body for optimum health and functioning, as well as disease prevention.
Optimal physical health requires good sleep, exercise, nutrition, and mental health
Supportive and Secure Environment
Current environment and past experiences affect your mental and physical health. A supportive
and secure environment is one in which a person feels socially, emotionally, and physically safe and value
Contributors to Mental Health
Realizing Potential - degree to which you feel you are reaching your potential and making a meaningful contribution to the world around you
Emotional Health - made up of feelings and emotions. Ability o regulate your feelings across different challenges, experiences, and contexts.
Psychological Health - how
you think about things and regulate your feelings. This includes the ability to self-reflect, problem-solve, manage emotions, be resilient, think, and be attentive
Social Connectedness - creating and maintaining good relationships with others
and behaving in a socially responsible and acceptable way
Mental Health Spectrum
- Well - feeling content, capable and happy. Stress is present but is managed well and short lived
- Symptoms - Situational distress. Anxiety, Bad Mood, and Bad Sleep. Symptoms subside when stressor is removed. Positive lifestyle helps
- Concern or Problems - Symptoms that persist but not severe enough for diagnosis. Support or counseling helpful. ex. death of loved one
- Disorder or Illness - clinically diagnosed illnesses that require evidence-based treatments
provided by health care professionals. Effect day to day function.
Mental Health Contributors
- Family Factors
- Personal Factors
- Early Environment
- Psychological
- Lifestyle and Behaviour
- Course Outcomes
Mental Health Goals
- community (be apart of)
- social (broaden network)
- recreational (have hobbies)
- career (enriching work)
- Academic (good grades)
- relationships (new personal relationships)
- cultural
Factors Influenced by Mental Health
- Energy levels and Motivation
- Concentration and Cognition
- Self Efficacy (ability to achieve)
- Managing Stressful Situations
- Belongingness
Risk Factors
a biological, psychological, or sociological characteristic or exposure that is associated with a higher likelihood of a negative outcome.
ex.
Not getting enough sleep
* Using recreational drugs
* Not having a reliable support network
* Having a prior history of a mental condition
* Any culture in which your identity or experience is seen as other
* Overthinking and avoiding tackling problems
Protective Factors
characteristic or exposure that lowers the likelihood of negative outcomes or
that reduces the impact of a risk factor.
ex.
* Having a reliable support network of friends and/or family
* Developing a good study-life balance
* A healthy sleep schedule
* Feeling included
* Positive thinking, journaling, or talking to a friend
Stressors
a person, place, or situation that causes a state of psychological strain or tension. Stress
is a psychological response to a stressor
ex.
* An upcoming midterm or final exam
* Relationship problems
Resilience
being able to adjust, adapt, overcome, and cope with a disappointment, stressor, threat, or adverse event.
Developed from effectively managing stressors
Signs and Symptoms
Refer to observable (signs) or experienced (symptoms) indicators of being under stress.
These are indicators which either distress the individual or impairs their ability to function emotionally,
socially, or academically. Signs and symptoms may signal the emergence of an illness or problem, or
they may be circumstantial and short-lived
Developed from not adapting to stressors
Psychodynamic Model
- Developed by Sigmund Freud in late 19th century.
- Mental distress arises from unconscious conflicts, often rooted in repressed childhood feelings that conflict with conscious thoughts.
- Therapy aims to uncover and resolve these unconscious issues through the therapeutic relationship.
- Limited evidence for effectiveness; largely replaced by newer treatments.
Medical or Disease Model
- Based on early ideas by Aristotle, Galen, and Hippocrates.
- Emil Kraepelin: Modern psychiatry’s founder, linking psychiatric disorders to biological and genetic malfunctions.
- Studied asylum patient and noted illness run in families
- Views mental health issues as diseases with a biological basis.
- Treatment focuses on somatic therapies, such as medication and brain stimulation.
Behaviour Model
- Based on learning theories by Pavlov (1920s), Watson (1930s), and Skinner (1950s).
- Actions are conditioned through reinforcement: positive outcomes increase behaviour, negative outcomes decrease it.
- In anxiety, harmless stimuli become linked to fear, leading to avoidance and preventing the safe learning.
- In depression, avoiding activities during low moods reduces positive experiences, worsening mood and reinforcing withdrawal.
Cognitive Model
- Key contributors: Abraham, Seligman, Teasdale (1978), Beck et al. (1983), Brown & Harris (1978).
- Mental disorders arise from errors in thinking or cognitive biases.
- Negative thinking, focusing on past failures or future worries, increases anxiety and mental disorders.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) combines this model with the Behavioural Model to treat disorders.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Widely used therapy that combines cognitive and behavioural components.
- Cognitive: Identifying and correcting thinking errors (e.g., distortions, over-generalizations, worry).
- Behavioural: Changing maladaptive behaviours (e.g., exposure, systematic desensitization).
- Effective for treating anxiety and depression.
Biopsychosocial Model
- Introduced by George L. Engel (1977).
- Mental illness results from the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.
- Biological: Health, genetics, drug effects.
- Social: Peers, family circumstances, relationships.
- Psychological: Coping skills, self-esteem, mental health.
- The relative importance of these factors varies across different mental disorders.
Osler Medical Humanist Model
- A holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment, emphasizing the whole person.
- Moves away from rigid biological, cognitive, or social models and instead integrates all relevant factors.
- Focuses on medical, biological, social, and psychological aspects in a flexible, patient-centered way.
- Developed by Sir William Osler, the father of modern medical education.
Social and Cultural Models
Social Model: Focuses on community-based influences like work, housing, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors that impact mental health.
- Emphasizes support through addressing broader issues like nutrition, education, and healthcare access.
Cultural/Minority Model: Highlights lived experiences, advocating for the voices of those affected by mental health issues.
- Example: Hearing Voices Network, which challenges stigma and promotes a more positive approach to voice-hearing experiences.
The Mad Movement
- Emerged in the 1960s, alongside civil rights movements, led by individuals with lived experience of mental health issues.
- Focuses on a non-stigmatizing approach to mental health and challenges traditional views.
- Influenced by Michel Foucault’s Madness and Civilization (1964), which explored how society historically defined madness as the opposite of reason and rationality.
- Foucault argued that madness was marginalized and treated as deviant by society.
Distal
A factor that represents an indirect cause or underlying vulnerability for a particular condition.
Proximal
A factor that represents a direct cause or immediate vulnerability for a particular condition
Reconsidering Risk Factors
enes:
Our temperament and predisposition to mental disorders is in part related to our genetic make-up and
family history.
Epigenetics:
Epigenetics refers to the modification of gene activity or expression. This modification can occur
through certain exposures, including biological (e.g. hormones), environmental (e.g. famine), and/or
psychological (e.g. chronic stress, abuse or neglect) factors.
Environment:
In this context, the environment refers to your physical, psychological, and social surroundings, including the emotional context at home or in class.
Stress Diathesis* Model:
A model of mental illness that is based on interactions between genes and the environment, and the wear and tear effect of chronic risk exposures related to stress on your mind and body. Your ability to cope and adapt is affected by this balance.
Culture:
The differences in cultures have a range of implications for mental health practice [and risk], ranging from the ways that people view health and illness, to treatment seeking patterns, the nature of the therapeutic relationship and issues of racism and discrimination
Student Stories: Risk Factors
Dakota’s risk factors include:
* A prior history of experiencing uncomfortable anxiety symptoms
* She was bullied in high school and feels misunderstood by her peers
* She is already feeling some anxiety symptoms, including tension, racing heart, dry mouth, and
wavering voice
* She is still formulating aspects of her self concept in terms of her socio-cultural identity and
sexuality
* She is a member of a minority group and, therefore, there is potential risk of exclusion and
harassment
Lily’s risk factors include:
* She feels lonely and a little homesick as the only member of her family in Canada
* She worries about mother’s health
* She feels pressure to perform academically, but worries she is missing out socially
Noa’s risk factors include:
* He is struggling to find a balance between school, sport, and a social life
* Recent change in university that meant he moved away from his previous supportive
relationships
* Binge drinking
* Cannabis use
* Family history of substance abuse and severe mental illness
Gabriel’s risk factors include:
* He stopped exercising this year
* He is not sleeping well and feeling stressed about academic performance
* He feels unusually low at times
* His support system is not local
* He finds it hard to make friends
* Family history of mental illness
* He is a member of a minority group and, therefore, there is potential risk of exclusion and
harassment
Student Stories: Protective Factors
Dakota’s protective factors include:
* Knows a number of students who are also attending her University
* Is physically active and part of a team
Lily’s protective factors include:
* Organized and self-directed
* Good sleep and study routine
* Makes friends easily
* Currently not distressed or experiencing impairment, despite a major life change
Noa’s protective factors include:
* Physically active and part of a team
* He has quickly found a new strong social support network (housemates, girlfriend)
* Clear personal goals
* No personal history of mental health problems or illness
Gabriel’s protective factors include:
* Supportive partner
* Highly-motivated and self-directed
* Does not misuse alcohol or drugs
* Clear sense of himself and comfortable with who he is
Student Stories: Signs and Symptoms
Dakota
Dakota is manifesting symptoms of anxiety in the context of the stress of starting university and in light
of her still-evolving sense of self, including her racialized minority background, being the first of her family to go to university, and her sexuality.
Lily
Lily has some feelings of homesickness and loneliness appropriate to her situation and feels some stress finding a healthy study-life balance.
Noa
Noa is showing some symptoms of anxiety and low mood associated with substance misuse, along
with low energy and breathing problems associated with smoking cannabis.
Gabriel
Gabriel is showing some symptoms of stress and shortened/disrupted sleep.
