Mental Illness Exam 1

Two Approaches to the study of Mental Illness

Dimensional: Mental illness is understood on a continuum (range or scale without clear-cut breaks) of severity rather than a “yes/no” category

Categorical: Mental illnesses are seen as distinct categories, similar to how physical illnesses are diagnosed; distress is psychological pain

Four Meanings of Mental Illness

Symptom or Indicator of Illness: A behavior/experience (like hearing voices) only becomes a symptom when interpreted as such or labelled as an “illness“

Cultural Significance: Mental illness carries meanings society projects onto it (e.g., stigma, stereotypes); social norm violation, because culture decides what’s “normal” vs. “illness.”

Personal and Social Relations: Illness meaning is shaped in families, jobs, friendships—how relationships are strained and suffering is lived; illness interferes with life roles

Explanatory Model: Brain dysfunction in cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior;

mental disease vs. mental disorder vs. "serious mental illness"

Mental Disease: biologically based, universal dysfunction (all people and cultures know the brain is not working as it should); Conditions where the symptoms come from a problem inside the brain or body, are different from other illnesses, and show features that are the same for people everywhere

Mental Disorder: broader, includes disease + culture-shaped dysfunctions such as caffeine and emotional deregulation. It can vary in how long it lasts and how much it affects daily life.

“Serious Mental Illness”: public health term for the most disabling subset of disorders; Mental illness has to do with labeling, anything a culture defines as such. In essence, SMI is a more severe and persistent form of mental illness that has a more profound and lasting impact on a person's life.

EX: schizophrenia, severe bipolar disorder, and severe major depression

Three Groups That People with Mental Illness Fall Into

1) Mild / Short-Term Problems: acute mental health (sudden episode of mental illness impairing daily functioning) problems such as normal depression following a loss or some other stressful event; temporary mental health issues & usually improves over time and support; still a bit functional

2) Moderate / Manageable Problems: acute mental health problems that are more severe or those who have chronic conditions but can maintain normal role functioning; People with more severe or ongoing conditions. BUT they can still function in daily roles (work, family, social life)

3) Severe / Disabling Problems: People with serious, long-term mental illnesses. Involves significant, major functional impairment (trouble working, maintaining relationships, living independently).

"Medicalization of Mental Illness"

When behaviors, emotions, or conditions that were once seen as normal life problems or moral/spiritual issues get redefined and treated as medical problems (illnesses) needing diagnosis and treatment.

Major Conceptual Challenge in Epidemiology

True Prevalence: actual proportion of a population affected by a specific social phenomenon, including both the identified and unidentified cases. False positives are a major conceptual challenge as it shows more prevalence, when it could just be a common response to a life event. There are also problems of measurements; conceptual of validity.

Epidemiology

How we measure mental illness in the population; study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why

Identify Some of the Findings from Psychiatric Epidemiology

There are three most prevalent mental illness: mood disorder (SMI smaller portion + bipolar is the biggest), anxiety disorders (most prevalent in society), substance abuse (ever had in lifetime)

Identify & Distinguish Three Theories in the Biological Approach to Mental Illness

Neuroanatomy: neurodegenerative problem brain structure, forebrain, neurons, and synapse.

Neuronal Communication: dysfunction of receptors, “command center”, neurochemistry (chemical and molecules: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine). Not from a break like shaking babies. A problem with the receptor receiving/sending chemicals OR the release/uptake of chemcials

Genetic: need genetic factors, shared environment, and unique environment, strongest for psychotic disorders (e.g. schizophrenia)

The Relationship of "Personality" to Mental Illness from the Psychological Approach

Personality traits can either increase risk, act as protection, overlap with symptoms, or themselves be classified as disorders. They also shape how mental illness is experienced and treated. Psychological problem then the goal is to change personality. Look at the effect of life experiences, we are now looking at what goes inside the mind, how it operates and expressed itself

The Role of Symptoms for Explaining the "Cause" of Mental Illness

Symptoms can also give clues about the causes of mental illness. For example, if many people in a certain group or community have similar symptoms, it may point to shared social or environmental factors as a cause, like high levels of stress or discrimination. In the sociology of mental illness, researchers pay attention to how social factors, like family, work, or community, can influence the symptoms people experience. These social factors can be a big part of why people develop mental health issues in the first place. They point us toward deeper biological, psychological, and social explanations.

Most Prominent Approach in Psychology for Treating Mental Illness

CBT

Three Theories in the Sociological Approach Explaining Mental Illness

Social Stress Process – link between stressors and mental health outcome

Structural strain – how society’s organization and inequality create mental health problems (macro)

Labelling – social meaning of mental illness and the consequences of stigma aka social reaction

Relationship of Stressor to the Mental Health Outcome of Distress

Stressor: A stressor is something that causes stress, like a difficult situation, a problem, or a challenging event in your life. For example, it could be a breakup, a demanding job, or a traumatic experience.

Distress: Distress is a feeling of emotional pain, discomfort, or unhappiness. When you face a stressor, it can lead to distress, meaning it can make you feel anxious, sad, or overwhelmed.

So, when a stressor happens, it can lead to distress because dealing with that stressful situation can take a toll on your mental well-being. In other words, the stressor is what triggers the feelings of distress.

Identify and Distinguish the Different Types of Stressors Part 1

Chronic vs. Acute Stressors:

Big Life Changes (Chronic): These are major events like moving, getting married, or losing a loved one.

Everyday Annoyances (Acute): These are small, daily irritations like traffic jams, work problems, or household chores.

Environmental vs. Social and Emotional:

Environmental: Stress from the physical world, like pollution or natural disasters.

Social and Emotional: Stress from relationships and feelings, such as conflicts with friends or family.

Physical vs. Mental:

Physical: Stress from physical health issues, like illness or pain.

Mental: Stress from thoughts and emotions, like worrying or feeling sad.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term:

Short-Term: Stressors that happen suddenly, like an accident or a job deadline.

Long-Term: Stressors that go on for a while, like financial problems or a difficult job.

Identify the Meaning of Vulnerability and Resilience in the Social Stress Process

Vulnerability means being more sensitive to the bad effects of stressful or difficult situations. It's like feeling the impact of stressors more than others do because of your personal characteristics, past experiences, or lack of support.

Resilience means being able to bounce back from tough situations. It's like having the strength to handle stress well, learn from it, and not let it harm your mental well-being. Resilience helps you stay mentally healthy even when things are hard.

In the sociology of mental illness, these concepts help us understand why some people are more affected by stressors while others can handle them better. We look at how to support people and communities to be more resilient and reduce the impact of vulnerability.

Define "Social Support"

Identify the Three Dimensions of Social Support

Perceived Support:

• The feeling or belief that one has access to supportive people and resources

Received Support:

• The actual transactions or interactions where a person provides help to another.

Structural Support:

• The network of relationships an individual is part of, focusing on its size and different roles

Identify Strategies for Coping with Stressors

Coping strategies determine how well someone manages stress:

• Coping: The methods used to deal with stressors, like problem-solving, seeking social support, or emotion regulation.

• Resilience: The ability to recover from stress. High resilience can buffer the negative effects of stressors.

EX: social support, problem solving, meaning-focused

Comorbidity

Simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.

Psychiatric Epidemiology

Sub-discipline that identify how widespread it is, identify unmet need for services (untreated cases), examine group difference in rate, discover cause and courses, and overcome “clinical illusions“

Clinical Illusions

Bias in sampling where clinicians sample from a prevalence population (those currently ill) rather than an incidence population (those who have ever contracted the disease)

Clinical

Some intervention; medical history of seeing a psychiatrist

Bean Counting

Counting symptoms, but it is difficult & research being done is trying to look at not just symptoms–different domains and factors

Incidence

Measures the rate of new cases of a condition over a specific time, indicating how quickly something occurs.

Lifetime Prevalence

Represents the proportion of people who have experienced the condition at any point in their entire life.

Prevalence

Measures the total number of cases (both new and existing) in a population at a specific time or over a period

Prevalence of any mental illness (AMI) 18 years or older

22%

Prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) 18 years or older

5.5% (the age of onset symptoms AKA when symptoms first detected)

Conclusions

Distress CANNOT be separated from disorder, studies overestimate amount of mental illness, need to incorporate context in studies to get a diagnosis, and insurance benefit because more people mentally ill = increase in premiums. 

Neurodivergent

Nonmedical term that describes people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason. This means the person has different strengths and struggles from people whose brains develop or work more typically. While some people who are neurodivergent have medical conditions, it also happens to people where a medical condition or diagnosis has not been identified

Serotonin in Major Neurochemicals/Neurotransmitters

Low levels may be related to depression and many other mental illness

Dopamine

High levels may be related to schizophrenia

Norepinephrine

High levels may be be related to anxiety

3 Frameworks for Mental Illness

Biological, sociological, and psychological

Neuroplasticity

Where some parts of the brain can take over other parts

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that communicate between neurons into

Synapses

Gap between neurons

Receptors

Absorb chemicals

Genetics and Epigenetics

Study of how the environment and other factors can change the way that genes are expressed; we are concerned with epigenetics when something happens psychologically that will trigger the gene that may have not been implemented yet. Look at anatomical, transmitters, and genetics.

3 Things about Genetics

The gene (genome), the environment & kinds of conditions they grow up in, and unique environment (bullying, a car accident, and rape)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Dysfunctions of thought (distorted) and behaviors (maladaptive) lead to mental distress when one is placed in highly unusual situations or have unusual ways of thinking. The basis of CBT is that our thoughts influence our emotions, behaviors, and feelings. Treatment goal is to teach one to have more accurate perceptions and solve problems more efficiently

Causes: experiences, Concepts: Freud, Treatment: CB

Brain Injury: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries. It causes the death of nerve cells in the brain, known as degeneration. CTE gets worse over time. The only way to definitively diagnosis CTE is after death during and autopsy of the brain. Some symptoms cognitive impairment, behavioral changes, and mood disorders.

Cognitive Impairment

Trouble thinking, memory loss and problems with planning, organization and carrying out task

Behavioral Changes

Impulsive behavior and aggresion

Mood Disorders

Depression or apathy, emotional instability, substance misuse, and suicidal thoughts or behavior

Biological Approach

Posits that mental disorders are caused by underlying biological factors, such as brain chemistry, brain structure, and genetics. 

Psychological Approach

Effects of life experiences (biography)/personality and talk therapy (psychotreatment). Instinctual energy unconscious motivations and defense mechanisms- to cognitive functions of learned behavior thought and feelings

Sociological Approach

Mental disorders are based on the idea that external social factors shape mental health. It includes interactionalist and structuralist perspectives

Identify and Distinguish the Different Types of Stressors Part 2

Macro, meso, and micro

• Macro-level stressors: Large-scale societal or structural stressors. Examples: economic recession, war, systemic racism, government policy changes. These affect many people at once.

• Meso-level stressors: Stressors at an intermediate, group or community level. Examples: family conflict, workplace downsizing, school pressures, neighborhood violence.

• Micro-level stressors: Personal, day-to-day stressors affecting an individual. Examples: arguments with a friend, missing a deadline, health problems, commuting stress.

Stressor types: threat, demands, challenge, structural constraint

• Threat: Something perceived as potentially harmful. Example: fear of losing your job.

• Demands: Situations requiring effort or energy. Example: juggling multiple assignments at work or school.

• Challenge: Stressors that are difficult but manageable, potentially leading to growth. Example: learning a new skill under time pressure.

• Structural constraint: Stressors arising from limits imposed by social or organizational systems. Example: strict workplace rules, bureaucratic delays, lack of resources.

Types of stressors/continuum: from events to chronic traumatic stress

• Acute events: Short-term stressors. Example: a car accident, a sudden argument.

• Chronic stressors: Long-term ongoing stress. Example: persistent work overload, caregiving for an ill family member.

• Traumatic stress: Extreme events that overwhelm coping abilities. Example: natural disasters, abuse, combat.

Social context or event = vulnerability

• Social environment or life event can increase a person’s vulnerability to stress