UNIT 4 AOS 2 (DP1 - 3)

Q: What is mental wellbeing?

A: A DYNAMIC state of mind involving enjoyment of life, the ability to cope with normal stresses of everyday life, and the ability to develop one's potential.

Card 2 — Q: Why is mental wellbeing considered a dynamic state?

A: Because it changes over time and circumstances and is therefore not fixed or static.

Card 3 — Q: Is mental wellbeing simply the absence of mental illness?

A: No. A person can experience mental illness while still having aspects of positive mental wellbeing.

Card 4 — Q: What characteristics are typically associated with mentally healthy people?

A:

• High levels of functioning,

• high social and emotional wellbeing

• strong resilience.

Card 5 — Q: What are levels of functioning?

A: How well an individual independently performs or functions within their environment.

Card 7 — Q: What are the three levels of functioning?

A: High, moderate and low.

Card 8 — Q: What is high-level functioning?

A: Superior or competent functioning, generally associated with positive mental wellbeing.

Card 9 — Q: What is moderate-level functioning?

A: Some difficulty functioning, potentially associated with a temporary mental health problem.

Card 10 — Q: What is low-level functioning?

A: Poor or impaired functioning, often associated with mental illness.

Card 11 — Q: What areas can indicate an individual's level of functioning?

A: Daily living skills, interpersonal relationships and emotions.

Card 12 — Q: What is adaptive behaviour? ⭐

A: Behaviour that enables an individual to adjust to their environment appropriately and effectively.

Card 13 — Q: What is maladaptive behaviour? ⭐

A: Behaviour that is detrimental to, and interferes with, an individual's ability to successfully adjust to their environment.

Card 14 — Q: What is the difference between adaptive and maladaptive behaviour?

A:

• Adaptive = appropriately and effectively adjusts.

• Maladaptive = detrimental and interferes with successful adjustment.

Card 15 — Q: What is resilience according to VCAA? ⭐⭐⭐

A: The ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.

Card 16 — Q: Is resilience a strategy for coping with stress? ⭐⭐⭐

A:

• No. Resilience is not a strategy for coping with stress or a response to stress.

• It is a capacity/ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.

Card 19 — Q: What are three resources that promote resilience? ⭐⭐⭐

A:

1. Strong social support

2. High self-efficacy

3. Problem-solving skills

Card 21 — Q: How does strong social support promote resilience?

A:

• Supportive relationships provide assistance and encouragement, helping an individual cope with and manage change and uncertainty.

Card 22 — Q: How does high self-efficacy promote resilience?

A:

• Believing in one's ability to manage situations and achieve goals increases confidence in one's ability to adapt to adversity.

Card 23 — Q: How do problem-solving skills promote resilience?

A:

• They allow an individual to identify problems and develop effective solutions, helping them manage change and uncertainty.

Card 24 — Q: What does SEWB stand for?

A: Social and Emotional Wellbeing.

Card 25 — Q: Who is the SEWB framework particularly relevant to?

A: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Card 26 — Q: What is SEWB? ⭐

A: A multidimensional and holistic framework for wellbeing that encapsulates all elements of being.

Card 27 — Q: What does holistic mean?

A: Considering the whole person.

Card 28 — Q: What does multidimensional mean? ⭐

A: Wellbeing consists of multiple interconnected dimensions/aspects that influence one another.

Card 30 — Q: What are the seven SEWB domains? ⭐⭐⭐

A:

1. Body and behaviours

2. Mind and emotions

3. Family and kinship

4. Community

5. Culture

6. Country

7. Spirituality and ancestors

Card 31 — Q: What is emotional wellbeing?

A:

• The ability to feel a range of emotions, express them positively and manage them appropriately for the context.

Card 32 — Q: What is social wellbeing?

• A: The ability to form and maintain positive, meaningful and healthy relationships with others.

Card 33 — Q: What does connection to Country help underpin?⭐

A: Identity and a sense of belonging.

Card 34 — Q: What is a protective factor relating to Country?

A: Time spent on Country.

Card 35 — Q: What is a risk factor relating to Country?

A: Restrictions on access to Country.

Card 36 — Q: How can restrictions on access to Country affect wellbeing?

A: They can contribute to disconnection from Country, negatively affecting identity and sense of belonging, and therefore social and emotional wellbeing.

DP 2 START : Card 37 — Q: What is the mental wellbeing continuum? ⭐

A: Mental wellbeing exists on a continuum from high to low, with individuals occupying a unique position that can fluctuate over time.

Card 38 — Q: What are the three zones of the mental wellbeing continuum? ⭐⭐⭐

A:
High → mentally healthy
Moderate → temporary mental health problem
Low → mental disorder

Card 39 — Q: What is a mental health problem?

A: A condition that interferes with functioning, is generally moderate in severity and temporary.

Card 40 — Q: What is a mental disorder?

A: A diagnosable, more serious and longer-lasting condition that may require treatment.

Card 43 — Q: What are internal factors?

A: Factors that originate from within the individual.

Card 45 — Q: Give examples of biological factors. (internal)

A: Genetics, gender, hormones and immune function.

Card 46 — Q: Give examples of psychological factors. (internal)

A: Thinking styles, emotions, learning and memory.

Card 47 — Q: What are external factors?

A: Factors that originate outside the individual.

Card 49 — Q: Give examples of social factors. (external)

A: Relationships, early life experiences and education level.

Card 50 — Q: What is the biopsychosocial model? ⭐⭐⭐

A: A model proposing that mental wellbeing is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors, rather than having a single cause.

Card 52 — Q: Where can normal stress/anxiety sit on the continuum?

A: Within the normal range of functioning, between mentally healthy and a mental health problem.

Card 53 — Q: Where does a specific phobia sit on the continuum?

A: At the mental disorder end when it meets the criteria for a diagnosed disorder.

Card 54 — Q: What is a specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐ (PIIF!)

A: A persistent, intense, irrational fear of a specific object or event.

Card 56 — Q: What happens when someone with a specific phobia encounters their phobic stimulus?

A: They may experience an acute stress response, including physiological arousal associated with the fight-flight-freeze response, and may engage in avoidance.

Card 57 — Q: What does "relative influences" mean? ⭐⭐⭐

A:

• Considering how the different biological, psychological and social factors contribute to the development and maintenance of specific phobia, rather than simply listing the factors.

Card 59 — Q: What does GABA normally do? ⭐

A: inhibitory neurotransitter that reduces neural activity. When GABA activates its receptors, the postsynaptic neuron becomes less likely to fire an action potential.

Card 60 — Q: How does GABA dysfunction contribute to specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐

A: GABA dysfunction → reduced inhibition → increased neural activity/arousal → increased anxiety/fear → greater vulnerability to specific phobia.

Card 61 — Q: What is long-term potentiation (LTP)? ⭐

A: The long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons, resulting in enhanced signalling between neurons.

Card 62 — Q: How does LTP contribute to specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐

A: LTP can strengthen neural pathways associated with fear, making the fear memory more persistent and allowing the phobic stimulus to trigger a fear response more easily.

Card 63 — Q: What role does classical conditioning play in specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐

A: Classical conditioning can precipitate (initiate/develop) a specific phobia.

Card 64 — Q: What does precipitation mean?

A: Initiation or development of a specific phobia.

Card 65 — Q: What is the classical conditioning sequence? ⭐⭐⭐

A:

Before conditioning

NS (initially doesnt produce response) , UCS (naturally produces a response) PRODUCES UCR (natural, unlearnt response)

During Conditioning :

NS + UCS → UCR

After conditioning:

CS (previously neutral stimulus) → CR (learnt response to CR)

Card 72 — Q: What role does operant conditioning play in specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐

A: Operant conditioning perpetuates/maintains specific phobia through negative reinforcement of avoidance.

Card 74 — Q: What is negative reinforcement? ⭐

A: Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again.

Card 75 — Q: Why is avoidance negatively reinforced? ⭐⭐⭐

A: Phobic stimulus → anxiety/fear → avoidance → anxiety decreases → avoidance is negatively reinforced → avoidance becomes more likely → phobia is perpetuated.

Card 76 — Q: Why does avoidance help maintain a phobia?

A: Avoidance reduces anxiety in the short term and is negatively reinforced, making future avoidance more likely and preventing the person from learning that the stimulus may be safe.

Card 77 — Q: What is a cognitive bias?

A: A tendency to think in a way involving errors of judgement or faulty decision-making.

Card 78 — Q: What is memory bias? ⭐⭐⭐

A: A form of distorted thinking that distorts recall of past experiences, potentially exaggerating the threat or danger associated with a phobic stimulus.

• increases fear and avoidance

Card 80 — Q: What is catastrophic thinking? ⭐⭐⭐

A: A cognitive bias involving overestimating and exaggerating the worst possible outcome, even though it is unlikely to occur.

• increases fear and avoidance

Card 83 — Q: What are the two social factors contributing to specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐

• Specific environmental triggers

• Stigma around seeking treatment

Card 84 — Q: What are specific environmental triggers?

A: Aspects of a person's environment or upbringing that can contribute to the development or reinforcement of a phobic response.

Card 85 — Q: Give examples of specific environmental triggers.

A: Witnessing a family member's fear reaction, media portrayals, cultural attitudes and traumatic environmental events.

Card 87 — Q: What is stigma around seeking treatment?

A: Negative attitudes, beliefs or judgement surrounding mental health treatment.

Card 88 — Q: How can stigma perpetuate specific phobia? ⭐⭐⭐

A: Stigma → reduced treatment-seeking → phobia remains untreated → fear/avoidance continues → phobia is perpetuated.

Card 89 — Q: What is a predisposing factor?

A: A factor that increases vulnerability to developing a mental disorder.

Card 90 — Q: What is a precipitating factor?

A: A factor/event that triggers or contributes to the onset/development of a mental disorder.

Card 91 — Q: What is a perpetuating factor?

A: A factor that prolongs or maintains a mental disorder and can inhibit recovery.

Card 92 — Q: What is cumulative risk?

A: The significantly increased risk of developing a mental health disorder when multiple risk factors occur simultaneously.