praccc Flashcards
Mental health as a continuum
The mental health continuum involves the progression of levels of mental health. This ranges from an individual being mentally healthy, to having a mental health problem, and to having a mental health disorder.
Mentally healthy
Individuals who are able to independently and effectively function within their everyday life.
→ Able to cope with stress
→ Able to meet the demands of everyday life
→ Displays resilience
→ Maintains positive relationships with others
→ Able to regulate emotions and express them appropriately
Mental health problem
Disruption to an individual’s usual level of social and emotional wellbeing and can interfere with our performance and enjoyment in a range of life areas (schools, work, r/ship)
→ not functioning at optimal level
→ generally not too severe or long lasting
→ experiencing amplified emotions and high levels of stress
Mental health disorder
Involves a combination of thoughts, feelings and or behavior that are usually associated with significant personal distress and impair in everyday life
→ extremely overwhelming
→ low levels of functioning
Biopsychosocial model
Way of describing and explaining how biological, psychological and social factors combine and interact to influence a person’s mental health
Internal factors
Influences that originate inside or within a person
→ biological
→ psychologica
External factors
Influences that originate from outside a person
→ social
Biological factors
Involves physiologically based influences, often not in our control
→ balances/imbalances of specific neurotransmitters
→ fight/flight/freeze
Psychological factors
involves all those influences associated with mental processing
→ thoughts, perceptions of ourselves, others and our external environment, problem solving and managing stress
Social factors
School and work related factors, exposure to stressor and social stigma
High levels of functioning
Independence, ability to achieve goals, development over time
→ meet demands of everyday life
→ balance work, rest, recreation
High level of social well being
Ability to maintain satisfying relationships and have appropriate interactions with others
→ connected, reciprocated, valued
High levels of emotional wellbeing
Ability to control, express and share emotions appropriately
→ balanced, normal range, strategies
Resilience
The capacity to recover quickly from setbacks
→ ability to cope and adapt to life stressors and restore positive functioning
Ethical implications
When working with vulnerable people, ethical standards must be upheld
→ informed consent - all participants known there is a chance they wont receive the treatment (all other medication would need to stop to avoid EV so may be having no treatment)
Predisposing risk factor
Increase susceptibility to developing a specific mental disorder
B → genetic vulnerability
P → poor self efficacy
S → disorganised attachment
Perpetuating risk factor
Maintains / prolongs the occurrence of a mental disorder and inhibits recovery
B → poor response to medication
P → impaired reasoning and memory
S → stigma
Protective risk factor
Helps prevent the occurrence or recurrence of a mental disorder
B → adequate diet and sleep
P → cognitive behaviour strategies
S → support from fam, friends, community
Cumulative risk
Suggests that the greater the number of risk factors, biological, psychological and social, the more likely it is that the person will develop a mental illness
Poor sleep
Chronic sleep disturbances are associated with mental health issues
Poor response to medication
Some people respond better to medication than others
Substance abuse
→ Addictive substances can alter the way the brain works by interfering with chemical neurotransmission.
→ Some substances affect the amount of neurotransmission released while other can affect how the neural messages are getting through.
→ Some drugs can trigger the first symptom of mental illness and other drugs can make existing mental disorders worse
Rumination
Obsessive thinking and worrying about the negative aspect of a past, present or future situation