Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health Notes

Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health

Introduction to Health Psychology

• Health Psychology: A subfield that merges psychology with the understanding of health, illness, and healthcare practices.
  • Focuses on behavioral medicine and the psychological aspects of health.
  • Questions explored:
  1. Influence of emotions and personality on disease risk.
  2. Behavioral attitudes that promote health and prevent illness.
  3. The role of perception in stress levels.
  4. Techniques for stress reduction and management.

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

• PNI: Studies the interaction between the mind, brain, and immune system.
  • Neurotransmitters are crucial in regulating immune functions.
  • Chronic stress can weaken the immune system, increasing health risks.

Stress Perception and Appraisal

• Our interpretation and appraisal of events dictate our stress responses.
  • Different interpretations classify events as threats or challenges, affecting emotional responses.

The Dual Nature of Stress

• Adaptive Stress: Helps in survival situations (e.g., fleeing danger).
• Maladaptive Stress: Chronic stress leads to health issues (e.g., hypertension, heart disease).

Types of Stress

• Eustress: Positive, motivational stress (e.g., starting a hobby).
• Distress: Negative stress resulting in anxiety, pain (e.g., job loss, relationship issues).

Stress and Stressors

• Stress is both a stimulus (e.g., failing an exam) and a response (e.g., sweating while taking it).
• It encompasses how we appraise and cope with environmental threats.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

• ACEs affect future relationships and emotional health.
• Differentiation in socio-cultural perceptions of ACEs exists.

Personality Types and Health

• Type A: Competitive, impatient; more prone to heart disease.
• Type B: Relaxed; less prone to stress and related health issues.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• Stress response includes three phases:
  1. Alarm: Initial reaction to stress.
  2. Resistance: Coping with stress.
  3. Exhaustion: Prolonged exposure to stress without relief.

Fight-Flight-Freeze Response

• Behavioral reactions to perceived threats:
  • Fight: Confronting the threat directly.
  • Flight: Escaping the threat.
  • Freeze: Becoming immobile.

Tend-and-Befriend Response

• Emphasizes nurturing and establishing social connections as stress coping mechanisms.
• Social support is critical for managing stress effectively.

Coping Strategies

• Problem-Focused Coping: Directly addressing stressors through action.
• Emotion-Focused Coping: Managing emotional distress through support, journaling, or meditation.

Positive Psychology

• Focuses on strengths, happiness, and well-being.
• Key components for happiness:
  • Strong, meaningful relationships
  • Spiritual self-nurturing
  • Setting and achieving small goals
  • Practicing gratitude
  • Engaging in shared experiences over material possessions

Resilience

• The ability to adapt positively to stress or trauma.
• Skills developed through experience:
  • Positive reframing of negative situations.
  • Focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses.

Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon

• Happiness enhances altruistic behaviors, reinforcing social bonds and community well-being.

Psychological Disorders Overview

• Defined by disturbances in thoughts, feelings, or behaviors and can be biological, psychological, or developmental.

What Constitutes a Disorder?

• The Three D’s: Deviance, Distress, and Dysfunction.
• Classification is governed by DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

The Medical Model

• Proposes that psychological disorders have physiological causes, which can be diagnosed and treated similar to physical ailments.

Biopsychosocial Approach

• Integrates biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors in understanding behavior and mental health.

Culture-Specific Disorders

• Certain disorders are unique to specific cultures, influenced by local beliefs and practices.
  • Examples: Anorexia Nervosa (Western culture), Susto (Latin America).

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Manifest in early childhood and can persist into adulthood:
  • Includes Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Intellectual Disabilities.

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

• Characterized by symptoms affecting thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors:
  • Positive Symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions.
  • Negative Symptoms: Emotional flattening, lack of motivation.
  • Disorganized Symptoms: Erratic thoughts and behaviors.

Depressive and Bipolar Disorders

• Bipolar Disorders: Include manic episodes (Bipolar I) versus hypomanic (Bipolar II) episodes alongside depressive states.
• Major depressive disorder (MDD) involves persistent sadness and additional symptoms impacting life.

Anxiety Disorders

• Characterized by persistent and distressing anxiety, and behaviors to reduce it. Include:
  • Phobias: Irrational, persistent fears.
  • Panic Disorders: Episode of intense terror.
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Chronic anxiety and tension without a specific trigger.

Obsessive Disorders

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Characterized by unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions).

Dissociative Disorders

• Conscious awareness is altered, leading to problems with memory and identity (e.g., Dissociative Identity Disorder).

Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Arises after exposure to traumatic events, characterized by nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and heightened emotional distress.

Feeding and Eating Disorders

• Severe disruptions in eating habits, such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, with significant psychological and physical implications.

Personality Disorders

• Patterns of behavior that impair social functioning and include Cluster A (odd behavior), Cluster B (dramatic behavior), and Cluster C (anxious behavior).

Treatment Approaches: Psychotherapy and Biomedical Therapies

• Psychotherapy: Involves emotional healing through talk and various therapeutic approaches (Cognitive, Behavioral, Humanistic).
• Biomedical Therapy: Includes medication, surgery, and other physiological treatments to address mental health conditions.

Conclusion

• Emphasizes the importance of psychological understanding in physical health and the promise of resilience and coping strategies in mental health treatment.