Definitions in the feild of Mental Health (2)

Failure to function adequately (1)

A person may cease to be seen  ‘mentally healthy’ at the point to which they can no longer cope with the demands.

 

This is described as a failure to function adequately.

 

We might decide that someone is not functioning adequately when they are unable to maintain basic nutrition and hygiene.

We might also consider that they are no longer functioning adequately if they cannot hold down a job or maintain relationships with people around them.

Failure to function adequately (2)

Rosenham and Seligman

= proposed some additional signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping.

 

•  When a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules, for example maintaining eye contact when speaking and respecting personal space.

• When a person experiences severe personal distress

When a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others

Failure to function adequately (3)

Example = Unconventional lifestyles

People who live alternative lifestyles may appear to function inadequately.

 

For example New Age travellers don’t live in permanent accommodation and may not work.

Some people might label this lifestyle choice as a mental health condition

A03 - value in proffesional help

It represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help.

 

Most of us show symptoms typical of one or more mental health conditions to some degree at some time.

 

According to the mental health charity mind, around 25%of people in England will experience a mental health problem in any given year.

 

Many people press on in the of fairly sever symptoms, but when we cease to function adequately people seek professional help or are noticed and referred for help by others.

This means that this criterion provides a way to target treatment and services to those who need them most.

A03 - can lead to discrimination and social control

failure to function is open to abuse.

 

It can be very hard to say when someone is really failing to function and when they have simply chosen to deviate from social/cultural norms.

 

For example people may choose to live - off grid as part of an alternative lifestyle choice.

This means that people who make unusual choices are at risk of being diagnosed with a mental health condition and their freedom of choice may be restricted.

Statistical infrequency (1)

Defining mental health in terms of statistics.

 

The most obvious way to define anything as mentally healthy or a mental health condition is according to how often we come across it. Statistics are about numbers.

 

Any relatively usual or often seen behaviour can be thought of as mentally healthy

Any behaviour that is different or rare, is statistically infrequent or ‘outside the norm’

SI example (1)

Example = IQ and intellectual disability disorder

 

We know that in any human characteristics, the majority of peoples scores will cluster around the mean, and that the further we go above or below that mean, the fewer people will attain that score.

 

This is called normal distribution.

 

The average IQ is 100. Most people have an IQ between 85-115 and only 2% score 70.

These individuals scoring below 70 are statistically unusual and are possibly labelled as having intellectual disability disorder.

A03 - Real world application

One strength is its usefulness.

 

Statistical infrequency is used in clinical practice, both as part of formal diagnosis and as a way to asses the severity of an individuals symptom.

 

Example = it is used in assessing depression in the Beck depression inventory.

 

• 5% of the 30+ on the Beck which indicate severe depression

This shows that the value of the statistical infrequency criterion is useful in diagnostic and assessment process.

A03 - unusual characteristics may be positive

One limitation is that infrequent characteristics can be positive as well as negative.

 

For every person with an IQ below 70, there is another IQ above 130. Yet we would not think negatively of someone for having an IQ above 130.

 

Similarly we would not think of someone with a very low depression score on the BDI is lacking good metal health.

 

Being unusual of at the end of a psychological spectrum does not necessarily equate to ‘lacking good mental health’.

Although statistical infrequency can from part of assessment and diagnostic procedures, it is never sufficient as the sole base for defining mental health