Jan. 9th 2023 - Week 1 Mental Health - Emotional, psychological, and social well being. Mental health is a spectrum of how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Factors that contribute to mental health ● Biological factors - gene and brain chemistry ● Life experience - trauma or abuse ● Lifestyle and life circumstances - diet, exercise, social support, opportunity for relaxation Mental Health condition - Any mental behavior, or emotional disorder, ranging from mild to moderate impact on one’s daily life. Medically referred to as “Any Mental” (AMI) ● ● ● ● ● Generalized anxiety disorder Depression Eating disorders Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Obsessive compulsive disorder Serious mental illness (SMI): a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities ● Schizophrenia ● Bipolar disorder ● Severe depression ● Severe obsessive-compulsive disorder Mental health conditions are common, yet often unseen ● In 2018, 47.6 million adults aged 18 or older reported experiencing mental health conditions at some point during the previous year. ● 1 in 5 American adults experience a mental health condition every year, and 1 in 25 lives with a serious mental illness. The effect of mental health conditions ● For nearly 40 years, mental health conditions have been the second-most common cause of disability in the United States ● 70% of those diagnosed with a mental health condition also experience a co-morbid illness, such as obesity and diabetes—and in higher rates than in the general population. World ● Depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity Community ● 20% of the people experiencing homelessness also have a serious mental illness ● 1 in 8 U.S. emergency department visits are related to mental and substance use disorders Family ● At least 8.4 million Americans care for a loved one with mental or emotional health issues ● Worldwide, 15-23% of children live with a parent with a mental health condition Personal ● Increased risk of chronic disease ● 19% of people with mental health issues also have substance misuse issues Jan. 18, 2023 - Week 2 Fear vs Anxiety and Stress Fear - an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Stress - stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you sense danger—whether it's real or imagined—the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction or the "stress response." Anxiety - a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome Anxiety: ● Inevitable ● Response to everyday challenge ● Proportioned, ● Appropriate, ● Reasonable When does anxiety become a disorder? ● Anxiety is a normal human response to objects, situations or events that are threatening ● Anxiety is different from fear due to its cognitive component (eg. fear of the future) ● Anxiety can be helpful and adaptive (eg. anxiety about giving lectures) ● Anxiety becomes a disorder when out of proportion or when it significantly interferes with life Anxiety disorder ● Highly treatable yet also resistant to extinction ● Often begins early in life ● Reported more by women than men ● Reported more in western countries ● Often comorbid both with other anxiety diagnoses and with other disorder groups (eg. Mood disorders, psychoses) Some statistics ● At least 20% of children under age 18 have significant mental health problems. ● 75% of those don’t get help - Parts of the brain involved in fear response = thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus, which then instruct the endocrine glands and autonomic nerv.sys. Evolved fear module (pink) versus considered response (green) = “fight or flight” versus “feel the fear and do it anyway (or do it) Symptoms in four arenas Somatic: ● Hyperventilation ● Trembling ● Shakiness ● Sweating ● Flushing ● Urgency to urinate ● Nausea ● Dizziness ● Wobbling legs ● Tachycardia - rapid heart rate ● Palpitations ● Swallowing ● Lump in throat ● Hair raising ● Tinnitus - ringing or buzzing in the ears Cognitive: ● Specific fears ● Embarrassment or shame is intolerable ● Thoughts that something bad will happen ● Thoughts that ”I am going crazy” ● Thought that “I will lose control” ● Thoughts that “I am going to die” Behavioral: ● Withdrawal ● Avoidance ● Escape ● Clinging ● Aggression Emotional: ● Tense ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Worried Panicky Terrified Scared Anxious Nervous On edge Feeling of unreality - sense of detachment from the self Hyper vigilant - assessing potential threats Depressed When to be concerned ● Avoidance of school or activities ● Frequent stomach aches or headaches Jan. 23, 2023 - Week 3 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & Phobias Jan. 30, 2023 - Week 4 Eating disorders and Treatments ● ● ● ● Approximately one in six children and adolescents (aged 2-19) in North America are obese Childhood obesity is a chronic medical condition Is severely stigmatized in North American society and carries many social and health hazards Significantly affects children’s psychological and physical development Feb. 6, 2023 - Week 5 Mental Health Theories What are models of abnormality ● Models of abnormality are general hypotheses as to the nature of psychological abnormalities. ● The four main models to explain psychological abnormality are the biological, behavioral, cognitive and psychodynamic models. ● They all attempt to explain the causes and treatment for all psychological illnesses, and all from a different approach. ● Mental health disorders are surprisingly common. ● ● Psychopathology can happen to anyone and affects many people around them - there is no age, race or group that is immune. Furthermore, many people experience more than one disorder at the same time. What does abnormal mean? ● Defining abnormality is deceptively difficult. ● When asked to describe abnormal behavior, people typically say that it occurs infrequently, is odd or strange, is characterized by suffering, or is dangerous. ● All of these are reasonable answers for some type of abnormal behavior, but none of them is sufficient in itself, and making them all necessary results in too strict a definition. What causes abnormal behavior? ● With a basis for understanding how to define abnormal behavior, we can focus on its causes. ● Abnormal behavior is constructed from a number of different perspectives; each of the following models tells us something about different aspects of a multi-faceted group of mental disorders. Biology and genetics ● Biological and genetic models assert that mental disorders are diseases, and symptoms of mental disorders are caused by factors such as: - Brain defects (abnormalities in the structures of the brain); - Biochemical imbalances (complex dysregulation processes involving various neurotransmitters); - Genetic predispositions (risk for psychopathology carried via our genetic material). The parent - child relationship ● Freud emphasized the role of the early parent–child relationship in the development of mental illness. ● According to Freud, to the extent that the child did not successfully negotiate the psychosexual stages, mental illness would develop. ● Many of Freud’s ideas have gone unsupported by research, but a number of them have proven to be fairly accurate. FEB. 13, 2023 - Week 6 Stress Management Stress ● Definition: State of tension that arises when you experience demands from your environment or from inside yourself ● Can be real or perceived threat Stress happens ● Stress is a normal part of life, especially during changes in life: ○ Childhood ○ Adolescence ○ Young adult ○ Marriage ○ Parenthood ○ Middle age ○ Aging ○ Injury ○ Moving ○ Death of a loved one ○ Divorce ○ Retirement ○ Pregnancy ○ Beginning or ending formal schooling. Common college stressors ● Balancing work, school, and family life ● Health ● Class scheduling and credit load ● Costs of college/finances ● Grades and exams ● Preparing for post-graduation life ● Relationships During fight or flight ● Adrenaline is secreted from the kidneys ● Cortisol (a hormone) is released providing burst of energy ● The heart suddenly beats faster ● Breathe rate and blood pressure increase ● Blood sugar is released into the bloodstream ● Hearing and sight are enhanced ● Digestive system, and urine production slow to divert blood to more critical areas, such as the brain and muscles.
