Defining Mental Health and Disorder ➔ Normal sleep patterns
Disorder: A set of symptoms that interfere ➔ Few sleep difficulties with daily functioning. ➔ Physically well - Symptoms are reasonably consistent ➔ Good level of energy between patients but origins/causes may ➔ Physically and socially active differ. - The origins and clinical severity may vary. ➔ Good cognitive functioning Disease: A condition with a known cause, ➔ Good level of concentration predictable course and standard protocols Ethics in Study of mental health for treatment. Informed Consent: Requires participants to Mental Health Continuum be fully aware of the purpose of the Mentally Healthy: State of emotional and research and what is expected of them social wellbeing in which an individual is able during the experiment. to realise their own abilities, can cope with Placebo treatments: Informed consent can normal stress, concentrate on tasks and not be fully obtained when using placebos. contribute to their community. They can work for a while but can cause the Mental Health Problems: People with mental illness to get worse. health problems are impacted by some stressors but are still able to bounce back and function normally. Mental Disorder: A set of symptoms and The Four P’s behaviours that interfere and prohibit Predisposing Risk Factors: Factors that regular functioning and require treatment to increase susceptibility to mental recover. disorders. Takes into account what a Factors Influencing Mental health
patient is born with. Examples include inherited traits, environmental exposures before birth, chronic social stressors, FACTORS Internal External brain chemistry and ongoing medical Predisposing - Genetics - Nutrition conditions. - Personality Precipitating Risk Factors: Factors that increase susceptibility and contribute to Precipitating - Hormone - Life events Imbalance recurrence of a mental disorder. Eg/ Majorly stressful life events, being the Perpetuating - Immune - Stressors victim of abuse and long-term use of system - Social some medication. - Biochemical situation/iso processes lation Perpetuating Risk Factors: Factors that increase duration and inhibit recovery of Protective - Genetics - Social a mental disorder. Eg/ Substance usage, - Immune support system - Treatment social isolation, relationship difficulties, - Personality medical conditions, poverty, weakened
immune system and self-harm. Characteristics of a Mentally Healthy Protective Factors: Factors that protect person from initial onset and prevent recurrence Include: of a mental disorder. Eg/Good diet, ➔ Normal mood fluctuations maintained fitness and physical health, ➔ Calm state of mind good sleep patterns, ability to recognise ➔ Good sense of humour early onset of a disorder, social support, ➔ Performs well at school or work etc. Mental Health U4 AOS 2 Loss of Significant Relationship: Separation from a partner, the breakdown of a family relationship, or death of a loved one can Biological Risk Factors contribute to an individual experiencing Genetic Vulnerability: Results from genetic anxiety and/or depression. mutations in individuals that can cause Stigma Stopping treatment: Stereotypes of proteins to be created that function mental disorder patients can lead to suffers differently from how they should. People to avoid treatment for fear of being with imbalances of particular associated with that stereotype. Also to neurotransmitters will be more likely to avoid being perceived as weak. develop a disorder. Poor Response to Medication: Some people Cumulative Risk: Involves the accumulation don’t respond as well to particular of risks, including biological, psychological medication/antidepressants due to and social ones. The more risks abnormal levels of neurotransmitters. accumulated, the higher the cumulative risk Poor Sleep: Sleep problems are associated and, therefore, the higher risk of developing with mental health issues such as depression, a mental disorder. anxiety, bipolar disorder and ADHD. Substance Abuse: Addictive substances interfere with electrochemical neurotransmission. Prolonged exposure can Specific Phobia as an Anxiety Disorder permanently affect the way the brain functions. Specific Phobia: I s a persistent, irrational and intense fear of a particular object or Psychological Risk Factors event. Fear is normal as long as it is a Rumination: Obsessive thinking about rational response to an actual harmful negative aspects of a past, present or future situation. situation. It can affect mental health if the Four main types of phobia: person is unable to break the cycle of ➔ Animal phobias ruminating about the negative aspects of ➔ Natural environment phobias (eg. life. Is associated with anxiety. heights, storms, water, dark, etc.) Impaired Reasoning and Memory: ➔ Situation phobias (eg. Associated with dementia, depression, claustrophobia, elevators, flying, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Causes dentist, tunnels,etc) depend on the type of disorder and the ➔ Blood-injury phobias (eg. fear of particular region of the brain that is surgeries, fear of seeing blood). impaired. Stress: Stress causes the release of cortisol Continuum for Specific Phobia as part of the F/F/F response. Prolonged Healthy: Normal Healthy functioning; no exposure of cortisol can lead the mental treatment required. health issues. Reacting: Common and reversible distress; Poor Self-Efficacy: Poor general coping Some professional psychotherapy needed strategies and perception of ability to ➔ Nervous, irritable, anxious control the events that happen. Poor ➔ Moderate stress self-efficacy can lead to anxiety/depression. ➔ Sleep trouble ➔ Decreased social activity Social Risk Factors Injured: Significant functional impairment; Disorganised Attachment: Individuals find it Profession psychotherapy needed. difficult to share their feelings or relate to ➔ Anxiety and irrational fear others. ➔ High stress ➔ Memory bias Mental Health U4 AOS 2 ➔ Avoidance behaviours ➔ Social avoidance or withdrawal Disorder: Significant mental disorder. Severe Contributing Social Factors and functional impairment; Professional Environmental Triggers: Direct exposure to a psychotherapy and possible medication traumatic event eg/ being attacked by a needed. dog. Could be indirect eg/ watching ➔ Excessive anxiety and fear someone else be attacked, or hearing about ➔ Extreme stress it. ➔ Social Isolation/Avoidance Parental Modelling: Child can pick up Biopsychosocial approach to Specific parents’ fear by watching negative Phobia consequences arise from the stimulus that causes their fear. Contributing Biological factors Fight/Flight/Freeze response: Instant burst Stigma: There is stigma around seeking of energy provided by hormones such as treatment because patients don’t want to be adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol being associated with a negative stereotype or be released into the bloodstream. Hippocampus perceived as weak. and Amygdala play role in that amygdala is activated at the same time that a memory is Evidence-Based interventions encoded by the hippocampus, which leads to that memory being associated with a Anti-Anxiety medication negative emotion. LTP then works to Low levels of GABA contribute to strengthen this connection every time it is development of a mental disorder. thought about. Anti-anxiety medication can mimic the GABA and Glutamate: GABA is inhibitory inhibitory effects of GABA and have been while Glutamate is excitatory. GABA works to reasonably successful. Includes inhibit the F/F/F response, so too much benzodiazepines. used, will decrease GABA. This will lead to the Glutamate being more abundant and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) increases agitation and anxiety and can Focuses on replacing negative, dysfunctional contribute to the develop of a phobia. thoughts towards a stimulus causing a Genetics: A genetic vulnerability resulting mental problem with positive, realistic from a family member having a mental thoughts. problem can increases likelihood, but not certain to develop a disorder. Systematic desensitisation A process of treating a phobia by Contributing Psychological Factors introducing stimuli that are more and more Conditioning: Phobias can be acquired fear-provoking while invoking relaxation. through classical conditioning, and then perpetuated through operant conditioning. Psychoeducation Cognitive Bias: refers to a systematic error is Involves educating the sufferer of the mental thinking that affects the decisions and disorder and their family to better judgments that people make. Can include understand the condition and treatment ➔ Memory Bias: A memory is encoded options. The information helps to dispel any inaccurately and influenced by the myths surrounding the disorder. person’s distorted thinking. ➔ Catastrophic Thinking: Ruminates or obsessively thinks about a perceived threat. Overestimation of threat becomes an irrational fear. Health Psychology: T he Study of the role of biological, psychological and social Mental Health U4 AOS 2 factors and their influence on physical health. Stages of the Transtheoretical Model of Biological Protective Factors Behaviour Change: Adequate Sleep: Resilience improves when 1) Pre-Contemplation: The person may an individual has enough sleep because they deny that they have a health-related are able to deal with adversity and problem that may endanger their challenges more effectively. Chronic sleep wellbeing or they may feel helpless deprivation can create negative thinking and to change. emotional vulnerability. A lack of sleep is 2) Contemplation: The person known to be linked to the development of understands there is a problem or anxiety and depression. Also, worrying about wants to change their behaviours, poor sleep can create a vicious cycle but has not yet decided to take because the you worry that you can’t sleep, action. the more you won’t be able to. 3) Preparation: The person has decided to change their behaviours Adequate Diet: A good diet is essential as it and is making plans to do so; they not only provides us with energy to be able may also be taking the initial steps to to live an active lifestyle and promote change. healthy development but it is great for our 4) Action: The person begins brains as well. With a healthy lifestyle comes behavioural changes, and requires fitness and feeling better about yourself behaviour-control skills to fulfill their which helps us overcome challenges. plan of action through commitment Psychological Protective Factors of effort and energy. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT 5) Maintenance: The person has involves cognitive behavioural strategies successfully avoided relapse and that are psychological techniques used to controlled the target behaviour for help maintain or improve mental health. This at least six months. Some people is used in phobias (graduated exposure) and may still relapse into former can also be used to help with other mental behaviours at various times, but they health problems. An example is meditation. restore change efforts 6) (Termination): The change in the Social Protective Factors behaviour is entrenched such that Social Support: r efers to the network of the problem behaviour will not family, friends, neighbours and community return. The new behaviour has members that are available during difficult become an automatic habit. times to provide emotional, physical and ( *Termination Not on Study design) financial assistance. People know they have social support experience a greater sense of identity and meaning in their lives resulting in greater physiological wellbeing.
Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour
Change: a llows psychologists to understand how people change and to develop different intervention strategies at various stages.