Psychology 3/4 Chapter 9 & 10: Mental Health

Mental health and wellbeing

a beneficial emotional state in which a person realises their abilities, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and contributes to their community

Resilience

the ability to recover from adversity (difficulties, challenges, or misfortune)

Mentally healthy

the state of not having difficulty with everyday activities and displaying resilience

High level of functioning

the ability to carry out a wide range of daily activities, attend to selfcare, maintain interpersonal relationships and demonstrate resilience in the face of everyday challenges

Social wellbeing

relates to the connections you make with other people and your ability to get along with people in a community

Emotional wellbeing

relates to the ability to feel a range of emotions and express them in a positive way

Life stressor

an everyday or conceivable event, such as a relationship breakdown, work challenge or failing a test

Mental health problem

a relatively short-term disruption that impacts on a person's everyday functioning

Mental disorder

a condition that affects mood, thinking and behaviour and is typically long lasting

External factor

a factor that influences mental wellbeing and originates from outside a person, such as the physical and social environment

Internal factor

a factor that influences mental wellbeing and originates from within a person, such as genetics and hormones

Stress

a state of mental or emotional and physiological tension, resulting from factors that are perceived to challenge or threaten our ability to cope

Anxiety

an emotion akin (similar) to worrying and uneasiness that something is wrong or something bad is going to happen, usually accompanied by physiological signs

Phobia

a persistent, intense, irrational fear of a specific object or event

Biological risk factor of mental disorders

a factor that relates to the physiological functioning of the body, and may contribute to mental disorders (Genetic vulnerability, Poor response to medication, Poor sleep, Substance use)

Genetic vulnerability

an increased likelihood that a person will develop a particular mental disorder because of their DNA

Psychological risk factor of mental disorders

a factor that relates to the functioning of the brain and the mind, which may contribute to mental disorders (Rumination, Impaired memory and reasoning, Stress, Poor self-efficacy)

Rumination

thinking about and focusing on negative thoughts and experiences

Self-efficacy

a person's confidence that they can complete life tasks and meet their goals

Social risk factor of mental disorders

a factor that relates to a person's social contacts and how culture and the social environment can influence the development of mental disorders (Disorganised insecure attachment, Loss of a significant relationship, Stigma as a barrier to accessing treatment)

Disorganised insecure attachment

occurs when a child does not receive consistent care or emotional support from a primary caregiver early in life; leads to inconsistent behaviour being displayed towards this caregiver by the child

Stigma

the real or imagined feeling of shame or disgrace associated with a personal characteristic that indicates you belong to a culturally devalued group in society

Protective factor of mental disorders

a factor that plays a role in decreasing the chance of developing a mental disorder (Adequate nutritional intake, hydration and sleep (biological), Support from family, friends and community (social), Mindfulness meditation (psychological))

Mindfulness meditation

psychological protective factor that is the practice of observing the present moment, suspending judgements, and focusing on something calm and peaceful

Culture

a way of life that is shared and learned

Cultural determinants of wellbeing

cultural factors that influence health and wellbeing

Cultural continuity

the ability to preserve the historical traditions of a culture and carry them forward with that culture into the future

Self-determination

the ability to participate in decisions on matters that affect one's life

Specific phobia

a persistent, intense, irrational fear of a specific object or event

biological factors of phobia development

a factor that relates to the physiological functioning of the body that contribute to phobia development, including: Role of the stress response, GABA dysfunction, Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA)

the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, associated with anxiety, specific phobias and Parkinson's disease

Glutamate

the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, involved with learning and memory

GABA dysfunction

a failure to produce, release or receive the correct amount of gammaaminobutyric acid

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

the relatively permanent strengthening of synaptic connections as a result of repeated activation of a neural pathway

psychological factors of phobia development

a factor that relates to the functioning of the brain and the mind that contribute to phobia development, including cognitive and affective(emotional) processes such as thought patterns and memory (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, cognitive bias, memory bias and catastrophic thinking)

Behavioural model

phobias are learned through experience and may be developed, sustained or modified by environmental consequences such as rewards or punishments (focuses on how phobias are learned and maintained: Precipitation (cause)= Classical conditioning; Perpetuation (maintenance)= Operant conditioning)

Classical conditioning

a simple form of learning that occurs through the repeated association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response

Precipitate

trigger the onset or exacerbation of a mental disorder

Operant conditioning

a type of learning process in which the likelihood of a voluntary behaviour occurring is determined by its consequences

Perpetuation

prolonging of the occurrence of a mental disorder and preventing recovery

Negative reinforcement

when a behaviour is followed by the removal of an undesirable stimulus, increasing the likelihood of the behaviour occurring again

Avoidance behaviour

actions a person takes to escape from difficult thoughts and feelings

Cognitive model

a model that describes how people's perceptions of situations influence their emotional and behavioural reactions (focuses on faulty thinking patterns: cognitive biases)

Cognitive bias

the tendency to think in a way that involves errors of judgement and faulty decision making

Memory bias

distorted thinking that either enhances or impairs the recall of a memory or alters its content

Catastrophic thinking

a cognitive bias that involves overestimating and exaggerating the worst possible outcomes to situations even though they are unlikely to occur

Social factors of phobia development

a factor that relates to the social components of a person's environment that contribute to phobia development, including: specific environmental triggers, Stigma around seeking treatment

Specific environmental trigger

an object, situation or circumstance that probably caused a direct, negative traumatic experience associated with extreme fear or discomfort, which then acts as a cue for future phobic fear responses

biological interventions for specific phobia

a treatment targeting physiological mechanisms believed to contribute to a condition e.g., Short-acting anti-anxiety benzodiazepine agents (GABA agonists), Breathing retraining, Exercise

Benzodiazepine

a type of agonist drug that works on the central nervous system to make the post-synaptic neuron less likely to fire, which regulates anxiety

Agonist

a drug that mimics a neurotransmitter by binding to its receptor, sometimes preventing the presynaptic neuron from firing.

Hyperventilation

rapid, shallow breathing

Breathing retraining

an anxiety management technique that involves teaching someone with a specific phobia how to control their breathing in the presence of their phobic stimulus

Psychological interventions for specific phobia

treatment that uses activities such as psychotherapy to modify thoughts, feelings and behaviours e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Systematic Desensitisation

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

a common intervention consisting of a range of cognitive and behavioural therapies and learning principles to help people identify and change unhelpful thought processes, feelings and behaviours to more helpful ones

Systematic desensitisation

a method for treating phobias in which the phobic stimulus is progressively introduced while the person uses relaxation techniques until their fear is replaced by a relaxation response

Relaxation technique

any method or procedure that helps to induce a physiological and psychological relaxation response

Fear hierarchy

a list of anxiety inducing experiences relating to the patient's phobia, in order from easiest to confront, to the most difficult to confront

Social interventions for specific phobia

an intervention designed to increase social support for people with a mental illness e.g., Psychoeducation for patient, families and supporters.

Psychoeducation

educating people diagnosed with mental health conditions and their family members about the disorder and possible treatment options