Women's Mental Health & Well-Being (Guest Presenter)

Question 1

Biopsychosocial Model

Answer 1

States that mental health origins come from 3 aspects of our makeup: biology, social, psychological

Question 2

Biological Causes of Mental Health

Answer 2

Neurotransmitters: found when we give people SSRIs they seem to be less depressed.
But despite this, we don’t really know too much about the biological causes.
Long term use of SSRIs and experiences can change how your brain works.

Question 3

Social Causes of Mental Health

Answer 3

Modeling: How you see your parents/caregivers respond to stressful situations
Social determinants of health: Access to health care, food, security, etc

Question 4

Psychological Causes of Mental Health

Answer 4

Coping Skills: May have learned from modeling/environment.
There are two types: active coping skills (effective in treating mental health illnesses) and passive/avoidant coping skills (ineffective)
Traits: Optimistic personality protects people’s mental health

Question 5

Why are there gender differences in the diagnosis of mental health disorders?

Answer 5

• Underdiagnosis in men (women may tend to seek out help more than men since it’s more normalized for them than it is for men)
• Overdiagnosis in women: Women tend to be stereotypically categorized –> seen as more emotional therefore look for psychological issues or even looking for different things when diagnosing