psych mental wellbeing

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Mentally healthy people:

• high level of functioning

• social and emotional wellbeing

• resilience to life stressors

Level of Functioning

how well an individual independently performs or operates in their environment

Domains of Functioning

• interpersonal relationships

• school and work settings

• leisure/recreational activities

• daily living skills

• cognitive skills

• emotions

Adaptive behaviours

enables individual to adjust to environment appropriately and effectively

Maladaptive behaviours

detrimental, counterproductive or interferes with ability to adjust to environment and fulfill roles in society

Resilience

ability to cope with and adapt well to life stressors and restore positive functioning

• bouncing back from difficult experiences

Resilient (mentally healthy)

perceive life stressor as opportunity to excel

Not resilient (mentally unwell)

likely to feel significantly challenged or overwhelmed

Characteristics - Resilience

• high self esteem

• adaptable

• organised

Social and Emotional Wellbeing

• connection to body and behviours

• connection to mind and emotions

• connection to family and kinship

Psychological factors

• associated with mental processes
  - behavioural models, memory bias, catastrophic thinking

Biological factors

• involve physiological processes

Specific phobia

• anxiety disorder characterised by marked and persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object, activity or situation

• fear or anxiety experienced is out of proportion to danger which phobic stimulus presents

Panic attack

sudden onset of sudden fear or terror with feelings of impending doom, has physiological and psychological changes

types of phobia

animal, situational, natural environment, body

LTP

• Neuron connections change (plasticity) in response to our experiences which enables learning and memory

• Neuron connections influences how people acquire and retain fearful and anxious experiences ​ 

• LTP contributes to development and maintenance of any type of specific phobia that is experience-based

Role of GABA

• inhibitory neurotransmitter - makes post synaptic neurons less likely to fire

• counterbalances excitatory activity of glutamate

• both regulate arousal of CNS

benzodiazepines

• increase GABAs inhibitory effects (GABA agonists)

• slow down CNS activity to relieve symptoms of anxiety by reducing physiological arousal and promoting relaxation in short term

how benzodiazepines work

• stimulate activity at site of a postsynaptic neuron where GABA is received from a presynaptic neuron.  

• benzodiazepine attaches to GABA receptor, changes shape of receptor ->  make it more receptive to the activity of GABA ->  amplify the impact of GABA 

tachypnea

pattern of uncontrolled rapid and shallow breathing

behavioural model

phobias are learned through experience and maybe developed, sustained, or modified by environmental consequences such as rewards or punishments
- operant and classical conditioning

precipitated by classical conditioning

Before Conditioning:  

Neutral stimulus (NS) produces no response.  

Unconditioned stimulus naturally (UCS) produces the 

unconditioned response (UCR) 

 

During Conditioning: 

Repeated association of NS immediately before UCS to produce UCR 

 

After Conditioning: 

CS alone produces the conditioned response (CS)

perpetuated by operant conditioning

Avoidance behaviour is negatively reinforced as it reduces or removes the unpleasant feelings of fear and anxiety 

catastrophic thinking

involves overestimating, exaggerating or magnifying an object, activity or situation and predicting the worst possible outcome

memory bias

distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs and feelings on the recollection of previous experiences (selective memory)

CBT

• Cognitive - distressing emotions and maladaptive behaviours are the result of faulty patterns of thinking 

• Behaviour - behaviour is learned and therefore can be changed.

• Aims to change thoughts and behaviours that perpetuate the phobia and to improve coping skills  

Systematic desensitisation

1. teaching relaxation technique to decrease the physiological symptoms of anxiety when confronted by a phobic stimulus. i.e. breathing retraining 

2. breaking down the anxiety-arousing object or situation into a fear hierarchy

3. Pairing the fear hierarchy with relaxation techniques

Specific Environmental triggers

an initial fear response to a specific environmental trigger becomes a conditioned fear response through classical conditioning and is produced whenever the stimulus is subsequently  

stigma

feeling of shame or disgrace experienced by an individual for a characteristic that differentiates them from others

self-stigma

an individual accepts the negative views and reactions of others, internalises them, and applies them to themselves -> leading to low self-esteem and low self-efficacy

psychoeducation

• Offered to the phobic person and their families with the aim to empower them to understand their illness and how to develop strategies to cope with them

• educated about the importance of challenging inappropriate thoughts and not encouraging avoidance behaviours

Challenging Unrealistic or Anxious Thoughts 

Families and friends of those with a specific phobia can challenge their thoughts and behaviours

Not encouraging avoidance behaviours  

avoidance behaviour is maladaptive and perpetuates the phobia

Protective factors

decreases chance of developing mental disorder and increases likelihood of high levels of mental wellbeing

biological protective factors

• adequate nutrition and hydration

• adequate sleep

psychological protective factors

• meditation

• CBS

social protective factors

support from family, friends and community

culture

refers to the way of life of a particular group, society or community that sets it apart from other groups, communities and societies.  

cultural determinants

protective factors that help maintain strong connections to culture and help maintain good mental wellbeing, cultural continuity and self determination

issue of cultural determinants

Intergenerational effects of colonisation and laws have disconnected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from culture, perpetuating poor mental wellbeing outcomes.

cultural continuity

The passing down and active practice of cultural knowledge, traditions and values from generation to generation.

self determination

Rights of all peoples to pursue freely their economic, social & cultural development without outside interference