Psychology Chapter 8 - Defining Mental Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Our sense of wellness and how we feel about ourselves and our lives

Mental wellbeing

An individual's state of mind, enjoyment of life, and ability to cope with the normal stresses of everyday life and develop to their potential. Often used interchangeably with mental health.

Common description of mental wellbeing

A desirable quality in its own right, and more than the absence of mental illness

Mental health

A positive concept related to the social and emotional wellbeing of people and communities. The concept relates to the enjoyment of life, ability to cope with stress and sadness, the fulfilment of goals and potential, and a sense of connection to others

3 ways of describing mental health

Functioning, resilience and social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB)

Functioning

How well an individual independently performs or operates in their environment. Typically corresponds with how well or adaptively a person is meeting the challenges of living across of range of areas

Areas of functioning

Daily living skills, interpersonal relationships, emotions, cognitive skills, occupational setting and leisure.

Adaptive behaviour

Behaviour that enables an individual to adjust to their environment appropriately and effectively

Maladaptive behaviour

Detrimental, counterproductive or otherwise interferes with the individual's ability to successfully adjust to the environment and fulfil their typical roles in society

Resilience

The ability to successfully cope with and manage change and uncertainty, i.e. the ability to cope with and adapt well to life stressors and restore positive functioning. Adaption through resilience may involve either adjusting to or overcoming the stressor. Resilience is the product of our coping strategies, among other things.

Characteristics of resilience

- High self-efficacy (belief in own abilities to accomplish tasks and succeed)

- High self-esteem

- Approaching adversity with optimism

- Being adaptable and flexible

- Being organised

- Having problem-solving skills

- Being able to make realistic plans and carry them out

SEWB

The Social and Emotional Wellbeing view of mental wellbeing in relation to ATSI peoples it is a holistic, multi-dimension framework that describes and explains physical, social, emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing.

7 domains of SEWB

Connection to:

- Body and behaviours (physical health and wellbeing)

- Mind and emotions (individual mental wellbeing and management of thoughts and feelings)

- Family and kinship (belonging and kinship in family networks)

- Community (communal spaces help people support each other and work together)

- Culture (Secure sense of cultural identity and values including ways of knowing and provides a sense of continuity with the past)

- Country (Relationship with traditional lands brings belonging, physical and mental health, and underpins all other forms of relational wellbeing)

- Spirit, spirituality and ancestors (Relationship between country, human and non-human beings and past, present and future)

What does connection refer to in the SWEB framework?

The diverse ways in which ATSI people experience and express the various domains throughout their lives

SEWB framework representation

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Social wellbeing

The ability to have satisfying relationships and interactions with others

Emotional wellbeing

The ability to control emotions and express them appropriately and comfortably.

Mental health problem

Adversely affects the way a person thinks, feels, behaves and/or generally functions, but typically to a lesser extent and of a shorter duration than a mental disorder. E.g. work stress, issues making friends, lack of motivation (all separately wouldn't be classified as a disorder

Dual continua model of mental wellbeing

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What does seeing mental health as a continuum imply?

•Two opposite ends, optimum mental health and mental disorder

•A person be anywhere between the two ends, representing that mental health can be experienced to different degrees

•A person can move up and down the scale over time, irrespective of whether they have a diagnosed mental illness

What does seeing mental health as a continuum allow?

It allows for the early signs of mental health difficulties to be identified

Mental disorder

Used interchangeably with mental illness. A mental health state that involves a combination of thoughts, feelings and/or behaviours associated with significant personal distress or impaired functioning.

Biopsychosocial model

A way of describing and explaining how biological, psychological and social factors combine and interact to influence a person's mental health, wellbeing and disorder.

Internal factors

Biological or psychological influences that originate inside or within a person.

External factors

Social influences that originate outside a person

Biological factors

Physiological, anatomical and genetic influences, often not under our control. Includes neurotransmitters, hormones, age, brain structures, physiological stress response, medication and drug effects and response, and family history. Some are to some extent under our control, such as our diet and sleep hygiene.

Psychological factors

Influences relating to a person's unique behaviours and mental processes. Includes ways of thinking, beliefs, attitudes, coping strategies, personality, perceptions, social skills, psychological stress response, emotions and how we learn and solve problems.

Social factors

External factors relating to an individual's interactions with others and their external environment. Includes support networks, societal expectations, early experiences, attachment, physical environment, living standards.

Cumulative risk

Increased risk of developing a mental disorder that occurs as a result of exposure to multiple biopsychosocial risk factors simultaneously.

Protective Factors

Factors that reduce an individual's vulnerability to harm

Stress

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.

Anxiety

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

Anxiety is future-oriented and normal and adaptive in certain situations.

Severe anxiety

Generally accompanied by intense physiological sensations and responses, such as shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, feelings of suffocating, of losing control and/or of impending doom. Not an adaptive response. Also called anxiety disorders. One type is phobia.

Specific phobia

A mental disorder characterised persistent and irrational fear of a particular object, activity or situation (the phobic stimulus), which is consequently either strenuously avoided or endured with marked distress. Causes acute stress.

Anticipatory anxiety

The the gradual rise in anxiety level and worry/apprehension as a person thinks about, or 'anticipates', being exposed to a phobic stimulus in the future.

Key differences between stress, anxiety and phobia

● Stress is normal, while anxiety may or may not be a symptom of a mental disorder and phobia isn't normal.

●Stress and phobia are linked to identifiable stimuli (the stressor), whereas anxiety is more a general feeling of apprehension/discomfort. People can not know they are anxious.

●Stress can be good (eustress) or bad (distress), whereas anxiety is always unpleasant to experience.

* Neither stress nor anxiety are, on their own, mental disorders, while specific phobia is a diagnosable mental disorder

DSM-5

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, used to diagnose mental disorders like phobia.

Panic attack

A period of sudden onset of intense fear or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom. Can be triggered or occur out of the blue

DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for specific phobia

● Marked, out or proportion fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation

●The phobic object is avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety

●The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent and consistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more

●The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

●The disturbance is not better explained by symptoms of another disorder

Symptoms of a panic attack

●shortness of breath or smothering sensations

●a racing or pounding heart

●sweating

●trembling

●tightness in the chest

●feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded or faint

●nausea

●feelings of going crazy, losing control or even dying.