Mental Health

Question 1

Mental Health

Answer 1

A state of emotional and social wellbeing in which an individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and can contribution to their community

Question 2

Mental Health Problem

Answer 2

A mental health problem adversely affects the way a person thinks, feels and/or behaves, but typically to a lesser extent and of a shorter duration than a mental disorder.

Examples of mental health problems include sadness associated with grief and symptoms associated with stress.

Question 3

Mental Disorder (Diagnosable)

Answer 3

a mental health state that involves a combination of thoughts, feelings and/or behaviours which are usually associated with significant personal distress and impair the ability to function effectively in everyday life.

Question 4

The essential characteristics of a mental disorder (use the 3D’s)

Answer 4

• The disorder occurs within the individual and results from dysfunction within the individual
• There is clinically diagnosable dysfunction in thoughts, feelings and/or behaviour.
• Causes significant personal distress or disability in functioning in everyday life

Question 5

Two Type of Factors (Mental Health)

Answer 5

Internal factors: are influences that originate inside or within a person such as genetics, beliefs, attitudes, ability to deal with stress, the way a person thinks etc

External factors: are influences that originate outside a person such as social relationships, social support available, education levels, housing etc

Question 6

Internal Factors (Mental Health)

Answer 6

Biological factors involve physiologically based or determined influences often not under our control such as the genes we inherit, whether we are male or female or substance use

Psychological factors involve influences associated with mental processes such as beliefs, attitudes, ways of thinking

Question 7

External Factors (Mental Health) Examples

Answer 7

Examples of external factors that can influence mental health include school and work, the amount and type of support available from others when needed, exposure to stressors, level of education, level of income and/or housing

Question 8

Characteristics of a Mentally Healthy Person

Answer 8

These include:

1. High levels of functioning
2. Social and emotional wellbeing
3. Resilience to life stressors

Question 9

High levels of functioning (Characteristic)

Answer 9

People with a high level of functioning tend to be/have:

• successful relationships with others
• productive at school/work and achieving goals
• control of their emotions, both positive and negative emotions.

Someone with high levels of functioning will show adaptive behaviour (adapting to the demands of daily living relatively independently)

Question 10

Social Wellbeing (Characteristic)

Answer 10

Social well-being refers to our sense of ‘wellness’ or how well we feel about our relationships and interactions with others.

A person with high levels of social wellbeing would be able to:

• develop and maintain healthy relationships with family and friends
• socially interact with others in appropriate ways
• respect and understand other individuals

Question 11

Emotional Wellbeing (Characteristic)

Answer 11

Emotional wellbeing refers to our ability to control emotions and express them appropriately and comfortably.

A person with high levels of emotional wellbeing is able to:

• develop awareness and understanding of their own emotions
• regulate their emotions and exercise control when appropriate
• accept mistakes or setbacks and learn from them
• take responsibility for their actions

Question 12

Resilience (Characteristic)

Answer 12

Resilience is the ability to cope with and adapt well to life stressors and restore positive functioning (‘bounce back’).

It can be shown through adjusting to the stressor (accepting it) or through overcoming the stressor (addressing and fixing the issue)

People described as resilient usually display characteristics like:

• a strong belief in their abilities to accomplish tasks and succeed
• high self-esteem
• approaching change and stress with optimism and opportunity
• adaptability and flexibility in life

Question 13

Ethical Implications (Mental Health Problems/Disorders)

Answer 13

People with mental health problems or disorders are particularly vulnerable research participants as they may have one or more cognitive impairments that reduce their capacity to make decisions and judgments about their participation in the research, making them more susceptible to harm in the particular circumstances of the research.

Question 14

Informed Consent (Mental Health Problems/Disorders)

Answer 14

Someone with a mental disorder might be vulnerable to giving informed consent without fully comprehending what that means or involves as they may have one or more cognitive impairments that diminish their capacity to make a decision about their participation in research.

Question 15

Ethical Issues in using Placebos

Answer 15

The main issue with using placebo treatments in mental health research is that sometimes patients in the control group have to stop taking their active medication or therapy to take a placebo instead. This can be harmful for patients as it could mean that their symptoms reappear or their mental health condition becomes worse in the absence of the real medication or therapy they would normally be using.

Question 16

Stress

Answer 16

Stress is a state of physiological and psychological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that are perceived by the individual as challenging or exceeding their ability or resources to cope.

Question 17

Anxiety

Answer 17

Anxiety is a state of physiological arousal associated with feelings of apprehension, worry or uneasiness that something is wrong or something unpleasant is about to happen.

Question 18

Phobias

Answer 18

are considered a mental disorder characterised by persistent, intense and unreasonable levels of fear of a particular situation or object

Question 19

Protective Factors (4P Factor Model)

Answer 19

Protective factors are any characteristics or events that reduce the likelihood of occurrence or recurrence of a mental disorder and minimise the impact of a risk factor when risk factors are present.

Question 20

Predisposing Factors (4P Factor Model)

Answer 20

Are factors that increase the susceptibility to a particular mental disorder and that make the individual more susceptible or likely towards development of a particular mental health disorder.

These factors often occur during conception or early in life including:

• previous mental illness
• low self-esteem
• genetic vulnerability
• poverty/socio-economic disadvantage

Question 21

Precipitating Factors (4P Factor Model)

Answer 21

An immediate factor or event that has caused the individual to experience symptoms of the mental health disorder, generally occurring just before the onset of the mental health disorder.

These factors trigger the onset of a mental disorder including:

• acculturative stress
• poor sleep
• break-up or deterioration of a relationship
• loss of a loved one
• job loss

Question 22

Perpetuating Factors (4P Factor Model)

Answer 22

Are factors that help maintain the occurrence of a particular mental disorder and inhibit recovery from the disorder.

These factors prolong the course of the disorder including:

• poor response to medication due to genes as well as resistance
• poor social support from family, friends or health professionals
• continuing to use alcohol/drugs to cope with a problem
• poor diet/nutrition

Question 23

Type of Biological Risk Factors

Answer 23

• Genetic Vulnerability - Predisposing
• Poor Response to Medication - Perpetuating
• Poor Sleep - Precipitating
• Substance Use - Precipitating

Question 24

Type of Psychological Risk Factors

Answer 24

• Rumination - Perpetuating
• Impaired Reasoning & Memory
• Stress - Precipitating
• Poor Self Efficacy - Predisposing

Question 25

Types of Social Risk Factors

Answer 25

• Disorganised Attachment - Predisposing
• Loss of a Significant Relationship - Precipitating
• Stigma in Accessing Treatment - Perpetuating

Question 26

Protective Factors

Answer 26

Type of biological protective factors includes having an adequate diet and experiencing adequate sleep.

Types of psychological protective factors include cognitive/behavioural strategies: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to identify, assess and correct faulty patterns of thinking or problem behaviours that may be affecting mental health.

Question 27

Biological Interventions

Answer 27

Biological interventions include:

1. the use of short-acting agonist medications called benzodiazepines that target GABA dysfunction and can minimise the onset or severity of symptoms
2. relaxation techniques involving activities such as breathing retraining and exercise that are under the control of the individual and promote relaxation which can also help in the management of symptoms and the stress response.

Question 28

Biological - Benzodiazepine Agents

Answer 28

Benzodiazepines are a group of drugs that work on the central nervous system, acting selectively on GABA receptors in the brain to increase GABA’s inhibitory effects and therefore reduce the activation of postsynaptic neurons

Benzodiazepines have both anti-anxiety and sleep-inducing properties and are commonly referred to as depressants because they slow down CNS activity.

Question 29

Psychological: Systematic Desensitisation

Answer 29

Systematic desensitisation is a type of behaviour therapy that aims to replace an anxiety response with a relaxation response using classical conditioning principles as this is how it’s often acquired.

Question 30

Social - Psychoeducation

Answer 30

Psychoeducation is the provision and explanation of information about a mental disorder to individuals diagnosed with the disorder to increase their understanding of the disorder and its treatment

The key assumption of psychoeducation is that patients who are well informed and have an increased understanding of symptoms, treatment options, services available and recovery patterns enable them to cope more effectively with their specific phobia.

Question 31

Transtheoretical Model

Use PC-PAM to Remember

Answer 31

Explains how people intentionally change their behaviour to achieve a health-related goal.

Stage 1: Pre-Contemplation
- In this stage people are not ready for change.
- They do not see their behaviour as problematic
- They lack motivation to alter it
- They tend to underestimate the benefits of changing their behaviour
Stage 2: Contemplation
Stage 3: Preparation
In this stage people mentally prepare for the desired behaviour change by formulating intentions and making action plans.
Stage 4: Action
In this stage, people make overt attempts to change or abandon the problem behaviour anytime from one day to six months.
Stage 5: Maintenance
In this stage, people have successfully sustained the changed behaviour over a relatively long period of time without relapse, typically for six months or more after the initial action took place