C7
Definition of Mental Health
Mental health is considered an integral part of health and is much more than simply the absence of mental illness. It is intimately connected with a person's physical health and behavior.
Although interpretations of mental health vary across cultures, the World Health Organization defines it as "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make contribution to his or her community."
Categories of Mental Disorder
Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal response to stress that can be beneficial by alerting an individual to danger and helping them prepare or pay attention.
Inappropriate expressions of anxiety occur when the feeling is disproportionate to the circumstances or interferes with normal daily functioning.
Anxiety disorders may cause individuals to avoid situations that trigger or worsen symptoms, potentially affecting career, school performance, and personal relationships.
Psychosis
Psychosis involves a loss of contact with reality.
While most characteristically associated with schizophrenia, it can also occur during severe mood disorders.
The two primary symptoms are:
Hallucinations: Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling sensations that other people cannot sense.
Delusions: Holding beliefs that are not actually true.
The presence of these symptoms can lead to severe distress and significant changes in behavior. Experiencing these symptoms is referred to as a psychotic episode.
Disturbances of Mood
These manifest as sustained feelings of sadness, known as major depression, or sustained elevations or fluctuations of mood, known as bipolar disorder.
Mood disturbances are associated with changes in appetite, sleep patterns, energy levels, concentration, and memory.
Major depression is frequently associated with thoughts of suicide.
Disturbances in Cognition
This category involves the impairment of learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving functions.
These impairments can reach a point where normal functioning in society becomes impossible without treatment.
Specific cognitive disorders include:
Dementia (with Alzheimer's disease being the most common form).
Developmental disorders.
Motor skill disorders.
Amnesia.
Substance-induced cognitive impairment.
Causes and Prevention
The exact causes of mental disorders are unknown, but they are viewed as a product of interactions between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.
Genetics play an important role in disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Environmental factors may intervene to prevent the development of certain disorders.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is clearly caused by exposure to an extremely stressful event, but treatment can facilitate prevention of the full disorder.
Prevention depends on the identification of risk factors, particularly in children. Common risk factors include:
Individual Factors: Neurophysiological deficits, difficult temperament, chronic physical illness, or below-average intelligence.
Family Factors: Severe marital discord, social disadvantage, overcrowding or large family size, paternal criminality, maternal mental disorder, and admission into foster care.
Community Factors: Living in an area with a high rate of disorganization or inadequate schools.
Mental Health in Childhood
Risk for developing mental disorders is influenced by both biological factors and adverse psychotic experiences during childhood.
Biological Risk Factors:
Intrauterine exposure to alcohol and cigarettes.
Environmental exposure to lead.
Malnutrition during pregnancy.
Birth trauma.
Specific chromosomal defects.
The Primary Caregiver Relationship:
The quality of the relationship between an infant and their primary caregiver is of primary importance to mental health across the entire lifespan.
Maternal depression, which may lead to child abuse and neglect, is associated with depression, conduct disorder, delinquency, and impaired social functioning with peers in the child.
Specific Childhood Disorders and Issues:
Autism: A severe, chronic developmental disorder characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.
Mood Disorders: Bipolar disorder, major depression, and suicide are serious concerns for children and adolescents.
Suicide Statistics: Among older teens, boys are nearly times as likely to commit suicide as girls, while girls are times as likely to attempt suicide.
ADHD: This is the most commonly diagnosed behavior disorder of childhood. Prevalence is times higher in boys than in girls. It is often treated with psychoactive stimulants, though pharmaceutical treatment is most effective when combined with behavioral therapy.
Mental Health in Adulthood
Common psychological and social stressors in adult life include the breakup of intimate relationships, the death of a family member or friend, economic hardships, racism and discrimination, poor physical health, and accidental or intentional trauma.
Anxiety Disorders:
These are the most prevalent mental disorders in adults.
Types include panic disorders, phobia, OCD, acute stress disorder, and PTSD.
Treatments currently being evaluated for PTSD include prolonged exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy.
Mood Disorders:
Major depression and bipolar disorder are leading causes of disability.
Suicide is the most dreaded consequence.
Effective medications include antidepressants and mood stabilizers such as lithium.
Schizophrenia:
Characterized by profound disruption in cognition and emotion.
Affects language, thought, perception, affect, and the sense of self.
Symptoms frequently include internal voices (hallucinations) and fixed false personal beliefs (delusions).
Treatment generally combines antipsychotic medication with psychotherapy and family intervention programs.
Questions & Discussion
Activity 1: Food Safety Review
What is food safety? Food safety refers to the handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness.
Why is it important to ensure food safety? It is crucial to prevent the spread of bacteria and chemicals that can cause severe illness or death.
What is the relation of food safety to public health? It is a cornerstone of public health as contaminated food supplies can cause widespread outbreaks and economic loss.
Activity 3: Check for Understanding
Question 1: Can you consider an individual to be healthy if he/she has poor mental health?
Answer: B. Absolutely no.
Rationale: Good health includes good mental health; it is not just physical health. One cannot be fully healthy if mental stability is absent.
Question 2: The following disorders can be treated with prescription drugs or psychotherapy except for:
Answer: C. Alzheimer's Disease.
Rationale: While symptoms can be managed, Alzheimer's is a progressive cognitive disturbance that is not primarily treated with the aim of cure through standard psychotherapy or the same psychoactive drugs used for mood or anxiety disorders.
Question 3: Which of the following factors greatly influences mental health?
Answer: A. Individual Factors (along with Family and Community factors, as mental health is the product of biological, psychological, and sociocultural interactions).