Intro to Mental Health

Mental Health definition

ability to positively function and adapt to stressors

Mental Illness definition

“cognitive and emotional disturbances, abnormal behaviors, impaired functioning”

Pre-enlightenment era (Prior to late 1700s)

• Mentally ill seen as wild animals, criminal, amusement

• Were confined and chained

• Caused by: demons, breaking taboo

• Shamans used

Enlightenment era (1790s)

• Asylums for protection

• Eastern State, 1st mental hospital in US

• Human dignity upheld

• Hardworking “inmates” would be “encouraged” to stay and help run facility

Scientific Study (1850s-1870s)

• Focus on treatment

• Mental illness to be studied

• First psych nurse, Linda Richards

• Few drugs available:

  • sedatives (alcohol and opium
    used sparingly for violent
    patients)

Period of Psychotropic Drugs (1950s)

• 1st antipsychotic-chlorpromazine

• 1st antimanic-lithium

• 1st antidepressant-imipramine

• Deep sleep, insulin shock, electroshock therapy

• Hospital stays shortened

• Psych nursing required for accreditation

Period of Community Mental Health (1960s)

• Deinstitutionalization

• Community Mental Health Centers Act: continuum of care (use least restrictive)

Decade of the Brain (1990s)

• Increase in brain research

• Biological explanations of mental health:

  • Use of PET scans, MRI

• Certification in psych nursing

Mental Health Continuum definition and levels

• Range of mental health functioning from wellness (ability to cope) to illness (inability to cope)

• Five levels:

  • crisis, struggling, surviving, thriving, and excelling

RESILLIENCE: ability to recover from stressors and difficulties

Diathesis definition

Individual’s genetic or biological predisposition for developing an illness

Factors of the diathesis stress model

• adverse childhood experiences

• protective factors

Antagonist

block receptors and lessen
the biological reaction

Agonist

activate receptors

Reuptake

reabsorption of
neurotransmitter back into presynaptic
neuron where it was released. Blockers
stop this to allow neurotransmitter to be
available.

antidepressants

block reuptake of serotonin
and/or norepinephrine

antipsychotics

block dopamine receptors.
Atypicals focus on serotonin receptors also

Benzodiazepines

increase inhibitory
neurotransmitter GABA

Psychostimulants

increase norepinephrine,
serotonin, and dopamine release

Cholinergic class

neurotransmitter

Acetylcholine

Cholinergic role

triggers muscle contractions,
controls HR, plays role in memory
and brain function

Cholinergic increased imbalance

Depression, seizures, spasms

Cholinergic decreased imbalance

Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s,
Parkinson’s

Amino Acids neurotransmitters

Inhibitory: GABA,Glycine,

Excitatory: Glutamate
(NMDA) Aspartate

Amino Acids role

inhibitory: slowdown of brain &
body activity

excitatory: relay of sensory
information and regulation of
various motor and spinal reflexes

amino acids increased imbalance

(glutamate) Huntington’s, anxiety

amino acids decreased imbalance

(GABA) Huntington’s, anxiety,
schizophrenia, Autism, OCD

(glutamate) Schizophrenia

Monoamines neurotransmitters

Norepinephrine

dopamine

serotonin

histamine

Norepinephrine role

Regulation of mood, cognition,
perception, memory, sleep,
vigilance

Norepinephrine increased imbalance

Mania, Schizophrenia, Anxiety

Norepinephrine decreased imbalance

Depression

dopamine role

Voluntary, Movement, emotions,
memory

dopamine increased imbalance

Mania, Schizophrenia, Addiction

dopamine decreased imbalance

Parkinson’s, depression, ADHD

serotonin role

Sleep, libido, appetite, mood,
aggression, pain

serotonin increased imbalance

anxiety

serotonin decreased imbalance

depression

anxiety

histamine role

Wakefulness, pain, inflammation,
regulate release of other
neurotransmitters

histamine increased imbalance

Sleep disorders, anxiety,
Alzheimer’s

histamine decreased imbalance

anxiety

****Biopsychosocial Model Theory

• Mental health disorders are from a malfunction in the anatomy

• Limbic system

• Neurotransmitters

Limbic system:

regulates…

components:

• Regulates emotions, memory, and motivation
  “emotional brain”

• Survival F’s: “Fight, flight, freeze, feed, fornicate”

• Components

  • Amygdala

  • Hypothalamus

  • Hippocampus

Neurotranmitters:

• Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Histamine, Glutamate, Acetylcholine, GABA, Dopamine