Mental Health and Stress

What is the definition of mental health from a positive view and the definition from a negative view?

Positive = presence of mental well being

Negative = absence of illness

What is psychological normality?

The characteristics attributed to the majority of a population at a given time. It is the societal average.

What 4 dimensions of well being are encompassed by Psychological well being?

Emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social

What are 2 major characteristics of good mental health?

1. A good sense of emotional and spiritual well being

2. Ability to self regulate and manage stress

(also loving yourself and having compassion)

Name characteristics of emotional well being

Can share feelings with others

Can accept ones own feelings

Has trust and self-confidence

Name characteristics of social/interpersonal well being

Can make and maintain healthy relationships

Has social bonds and can cultivate social support

Name characteristics of spiritual well being

Has a good sense of personal values/beliefs and acts in alignment with those values

feels meaning and purpose

feels connected to something bigger than themselves

Name characteristics of Intellectual well being

Is curious and open to learning new things (life long learning)

Can think critically and creatively

sense of humour

What is the bottom level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? What is the highest level?

Psychological needs: food, shelter, sleep, exercise, water

Highest level = Self-actualisation

What are the 6 key factors of self-actualization? explain them briefly

1. Realism - has a grounded perspective, expectations are achievable

2. Authenticity - acts in alignment with values and beliefs, genuineness

3. Autonomy - Independence, guided by personal values

4. Creativity - continually sees the world with new appreciation, reduced fear of the unknown

5. Capacity for intimacy - can make meaningful relationships and express intimacy without the risk of getting hurt

6. Acceptance - positive self-image, love yourself

What does maslow’s hierarchy of needs propose/represent? 

Each level represents needs that motivate a person’s behavior/goals. A step must be satisfied before you can be motivated by the next level up.

Each stage of our development is marked by a ____________

that increases our potential for __________ growth.

major crisis or turning point

psychological

what is the major crisis/turning point experienced as adolescents?

Identity conflict

what is the major crisis/turning point experienced by young adults?

Intimacy vs isolation (learning to share in relationships and make lifelong friends)

Are the major steps in our psychological growth a linear model?

what happens if a step isn’t fulfilled?

Not linear, but failure to solve a crisis and moving on to the next step will have repercussions later in life. Can cause psychological disorders. Luckily, there is always opportunity to master tasks later.

define psychological disorders 

An alteration in thinking, emotion, mood or behaviour beyond the normal response to everyday challenges. Usually impairs function and interferes with activities.

What are the 4 mood disorders?

Schizophrenia, Manic disorder, Bipolar disorder, Depression

what are the 7 anxiety disorders?

Social phobia, simple phobias, general anxiety, OCD, PTSD, Panic disorder, behaviour addiction

General definition of General anxiety?

Uncontrollable and excessive worry

General definition of simple phobias?

A deep persistent fear of a specific object or situation

General definition of OCD?

Performing habitual, obsessive behaviors

Having illogical and intrusive thoughts

General definition of PTSD?

Reliving traumatic events

General definition of Panic disorder?

Regular occurrence of severe anxiety attacks with physical symptoms

General definition of Social phobia?

Fear of being observed in public

General definition of Behavior addiction?

Repeating behaviours despite negative impact/outcome

General definition of Mania? Bipolar? Schizophrenia?

Mania = Elevated states of elation, talkativeness, or elation

Bipolar = alternating episodes of mania and depression

Schizophrenia = disturbance in perception of reality

General definition of Depression?

feeling unmotivated, sad, loss of appetite, no hope, fatigued, thoughts of suicide

What is stress? What is a stressor?

Stress is an internal state of arousal. It is a physical and emotional response.

A stressor is an event or situation that triggers a physical and emotional reaction

What are the two components of the autonomic nervous system? What does each do?

Parasympathetic = rest and digest. conserves energy

Sympathetic = flight or flight response, release of stress hormones like cortisol, triggers release of adrenaline, suppresses immune system

How can stress be good?

An appropriate level of stress provides opportunity for growth and positive change

what are some stressors? Do we normally experience 1 or many?

Relationships, financial, environmental, school-related, work-related, health-related, phones

We normally experience more than one at a time

where is peak performance and fill in gaps

Optimal performance is at the peak of the yellow zone, just hitting the early stage of fatigue.

The ______________ dictates the length of the recovery

level of stress

What are the three steps of General Adaptation syndrome?

Alarm

Resistance

Exhaustion

In the Alarm step, what system is active and what events are associated?

The sympathetic nervous system is activated and levels of adrenaline and cortisol rise.

There is a disturbance in homeostasis when the body perceives a stressor.

In the Resistance step, what system is active and what events are associated?

The parasympathetic system becomes active as the body tries to restore homeostatic levels of stress.

response to stressor

Body attempts to relax and lower cortisol levels

What are some physical signs/symptoms of stress?

Brain is more alert —> affects memory and sleep, senses heightened, muscles tense, slower digestion/issue digesting, more susceptible to disease due to suppressed immunity, breath quickens, heart rate increases, reproductive issues.

What is the exhaustion step?

When the body’s energy stores are depleted and it can’t continue to resist stress. This leads to burn-out and negative health affects. May lead to anxiety or depression.

We want to avoid this stage

What is allostatic load and the effects?

The cumulative effects of prolonged stress resistance due to cortisol levels.

More susceptible to disease, injury, obesity, accelerated ageing

If we remain in the resistance stage for too long, this can lead to __________

burn out and exhaustion