Part 1 Finding the Right Balance
Chapter 2
Psychosocial Health: Achieving
Mental, Emotional, Social, and
Spiritual Wellness
1
Psychosocial
Dimensions Of
Health
INTELLECTUAL (thinking)
EMOTIONAL (feeling)
SOCIAL (relationships)
SPIRITUAL (being)
2
Psychosocial Health
 How we face life’s up and
downs
 Challenges
 Disappointments
 Joys frustrations
 Pain
 Complex interaction
 Between a person’s history
and conscious & unconscious
thoughts + interpretations of
the past
3
Resiliency
Characteristics
PS Health
 Feel good about
themselves
 Feel comfortable with
people
 Control tension &
stress
 Meet the demands of
life
 Curb hate & guilt
 Positive outlook
 Enrich the lives of
others
 Cherish things that
make them smile
 Value diversity
 Appreciate nature
4
Consider Your Personal
Psychosocial
HEALTH !
5
INTELLECTUAL HEALTH
The Thinking You
The ability to:
 reason / interpret / remember
 sense / perceive / evaluate
 solve problems / sort through clutter
of life
Positive / negative development
 develop healthy attitudes & beliefs body, family, relationships, and life
 learn, understand, appreciate
 differences / contradictions
6
EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Intense FEELINGS / SUBJECTIVE
Minute to minute
Day to day






Loving
Caring
Hating
Hurt
Despair
Release





Joy
Anxiety
Fear
Frustration
Anger
The emotional
experience
7
Lazarus - Four Basic Types
EMOTIONS
 Emotions from harm,
loss or threats
 From benefits
 Borderline - hope and
compassion
 Complex - grief,
disappointment,
bewilderment and
curiosity
8
EMOTIONAL RESPONSES
(Non Life-threatening)
HEALTH vs. UNHEALTHY
Healthy:
Unhealthy:





 Feelings overpower
 Highly volatile
 Unpredictable emotional
outbursts
 Frightening responses
 Verbal / physical violence
Stable
Appropriate
Non-extreme
Behave consistently
Adopt an offensive
attack mode
9
Emotions & Social Interactions
Display
 Hostility
 Withdrawn
 Mood
fluctuations
 Grumpy
 Nasty
 Hurtful

Get Help!!!!
10
SOCIAL HEALTH
Interactions With Others
Achievement and Maintenance of Health
Social bonds







 Unconditional
Love?
Provide intimacy
Belonging / integration
Give / receive nurturance
Provide reassurance of worth
Assistance & guidance
Providing advice
Feel connected to life & live
11
Social Support
Expressive Support
 Emotional Support /
Encouragement
Structural Support
 Housing / Money
 Children - Families
Expressive & Structural
 Adults - Develop Own
Social network - Friends /
Family
12
Prejudice Cults & Social Health
 Extreme groups /
belonging + support
 Cults
 Elements / social
health
 Negative
representation
 Aggressive
 Hate
 Bias
13
Spiritual Health
Difficult-to-describe Element That Gives Zest For Life
 A unifying force that gives propose or meaning
to life
 Nature, family, religion, community
 Egocentric / self orientated
 Clothing, car, home, possessions
 Western civilization denies spiritual until later
in life
 Death, failed relationships,
 Midlife crisis - sense of spiritual bankruptcy
 What if i die tomorrow
14
Factors Influencing Psychosocial Health
easy to define
difficult to assess




Psychosocially well
Virtually all the time
Some of the time
Almost never







External influences
Family - adjustments
Dysfunctional families
Greater environment
Where you live
Education
Access to health
services
15
Family Situations
External Influences
 healthy / supportive /nurturing /
happiness
OR!
 violence / sexual, physical,
emotional abuse / distrust /
anger / dietary deprivation
 Dysfunctional families
Greater Environment
 Where you live / safety /
stressors / threats
 Education / Lifestyle
 Access to health services
16
Internal Influences
 Hereditary traits
 Hormonal functioning
 Physical health status
Formative years
school, sports, self
perception, job,
relationships
 Personal worth
 Self Esteem
17
SELF PERCEPTION
Believing in Yourself
 Self - efficacy
 Belief in your ability to
perform a task successfully
 Personal control
 Internal resources allow
you to control a situation
 Learned
helplessness
 Past failures influence what
you do now - ‘I give up’ /
18
‘why bother’
Personality & Freud
 Id
 Unconscious desire for
immediate gratification
 wants and needs- disregards
laws / society / others
 Ego
 Personality forces that restrain
the Id - Satisfy the Id in socially
acceptable ways
 Superego
 Personality forces that act as our
conscious
19
Psychology…
 Behavioral
psychology
 B.F. Skinner - all behavior
learned by reward and
punishment
Right Vs. Wrong
 Developmental
psychology
 Personality +development
of emotional health
successful completion of
tasks at various ages
 Humanistic
psychology
 Emotional well being
based on hierarchy of
needs
20
Life Span and Maturity
 Personality
impossible to define
 Dynamic
 Temperaments
change as we grow
 Early development
or lack can influence
our lives
 Self-esteem - sense of
self, respect &
confidence
21
Developing and Maintaining
Self-Esteem
Learn To See Yourself
 Perception from others
 Internalized / realized/
demonstrated
 Strength training for
self-esteem
 Find A support group
peers who: share values,
goals, positive, honest
 Help you develop as a
person
22
Self-Esteem.., continued
 Forming realistic
expectations
 life is not all Or
nothing
 Taking and making
time for yourself
 Maintaining physical
health
 Examining problems
and seeking help (if
required)
23






Getting Adequate Amounts of
fix worries or grief Rest
alcohol or smoking
avoid heavy meals
reduce caffeine
avoid daytime naps
spend an hour resting
before trying to sleep
 don’t worry about sleep
 clocks / out of direct sight
 sleep at regular schedules
24
When Thing Go Wrong
Depression……………….
Facts & Fallacies
 Endogenous - biochemical
disorder (neurotransmitter)
 Exogenous - external cause
 Symptoms Similar:
sadness
joyless
loss of interest - work / school
fatigue
hopelessness / worthlessness
sleeplessness
 Real Depression not a
natural reaction to crisis
and loss
 People will not ‘snap
out’ of depression with a
little will power - leading
cause of suicide
 Frequent crying not
related to depression
 Depression is not “all in
the mind”
 Genetic predisposition
 many causes
 many treatments
25
Depression…… continued
Facts & Fallacies
 Real Depression not a natural
reaction to crisis and loss
 People will not ‘snap out’ of
depression with a little will power leading cause of suicide
 Frequent crying not related to
depression
 Depression is not “all in the mind”
 Genetic predisposition
 many causes
 many treatments
26
Treating Depression
Psychotherapeutic
social & interpersonal
 cognitive - view life
rationally / less
pessimistic
 6 to 8 months
 & interpersonal therapy correct chronic human
relationship problems
Pharmacological
 relieve symptoms - sleep &
appetite
Antidepressant drugs - 80%
Electroconvulsive therapy
shock treatment
every 5 seconds for 15 to 20
minutes
27
Other Disorders………...
Obsessive
compulsive
disorder
- a disorder
characterized by
obsessive thoughts or
habitual behavior
that can not be
controlled
 cleanliness - washing
hand 20 times before
eating
 pulling out hair
 self mutilation
 causes are unclear
 avoiding deeper
problems
 lack of neurotransmitter
serotonin ( emotion +
motivation)
28
Anxiety Disorders
 Disorders characterized
by persistent feeling of
anxiety in coping with
everyday problems of
living……..,
 fatigue, back pains,
headaches, unreality,
 weakness in legs, and
losing control.
29
Phobias and others
 Phobias: A deep and persistent
fear of a specific object, activity,
situation
 spiders, flying, heights, public
speaking, eating in public places
 Panic Attacks:
 Disabling Terror
 breathing, heart rate, sweating,
shaking, choking, trembling
 Heart Attack
 Biochemical imbalance
30
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Light Therapy - Mimics Sunlight
A Type of Depression
“the winter blues”
reduced sunlight
irritability, apathy, CHO craving,
weight gain, more sleep & sadness.
Hypothalamus function
external stimuli
response regulator
women 4X more than men
ages 20 to 40
Canadians at high risk
Latitude matters………………
31
Suicide: Giving Up On Life
A Cry for Help, Gone Wrong






3,500 each year
University Students
poor coping skills
lack of social support
low self-esteem
perspective of
negative situation
 women attempt 4X
the rate of men
 men are 3X more
successful
32
Suicide……….. Continued...




Risk Factors
family history
previous attempts
drug / alcohol
 depression…...
 financial
 loss of loved one
 death or rejection
33
Warning Signals of Suicide
 I can’t take it
anymore
 I might as well end it
 soon the pain will be
over
 giving away prized
possessions
 loss of interest
 personality change
 risk taking
 personal appearance
 drug / alcohol use
34
Suicide……. Continued!
 monitor warning signals
 take threats seriously
 tell them you care & are there
for them
 listen
 ask directly
 don’t challenge the attempt
 alternatives
 get help / remove pills / guns
etc……..
 tell family members
35
When do I need help????
suicidal
drugs/alcohol use








I think I need it
mood swings
problems effect daily life
withdrawn
hallucinations
life - worth living?
Inadequate / worthless
emotional response &
situation don’t match
 crises
 Can’t get act together 36
Seeking Professional Help!
 Psychiatrist: Licensed Physician
specialists mental / emotional disorders
 Psychoanalyst: reveals past traumas
blocking personal growth
 Clinical /Psychiatric Social worker:
Mater’s Degree, work in clinical
settings/ sometimes insured by employee
assistance programs
 Counsellor: Wide variety of services,
academic - family, relationship, selfesteem, behaviours……
 Anyone can have the title of Counsellor37
 so check them out!