Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

• Mental Health
• Creating a Balance

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Characteristics of Mentally Healthy People

• Possess high self-esteem
• Accept imperfections in themselves and others
• Have a sense of control over their lives
• Demonstrate social competence with relationships
• Able to rely on others
• Not overwhelmed by emotions
• Will not respond to negativity or hate

• Maintain a positive outlook upon life
• Altruistic
• Do not fear differences or diversity
• Capable of intimacy
• Show creativity
• Take reasonable risks in order to grow
• Can bounce back from adversity

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Mental Health Characteristics Key Terms

• Optimism tendency to see problems as temporary
  and specific rather than permanent and general
• Self-efficacy the belief that you are competent
  to perform a particular task
• Resilience is the ability to bounce back from
  adversity
• People who are resilient show the following
  characteristics
• Empathy
• Independence
• Initiative and creativity
• Responsibility for behaviors
• Sense of humor

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What is Emotional Intelligence?

• Psychologist Daniel Goleman (1995) argued that
  such qualities as self-awareness,
  self-discipline, persistence, and empathy are
  more important towards success than IQ
  (intelligence quotient)
• People who are emotionally intelligent have the
  ability to
• Recognize, name, understand their emotions
• Manage their emotions and control their moods
• Motivate themselves
• Recognize and respond to emotions in others
• Be socially competent

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The Brains Role in Mental Health

• The brain is the central control station for
  human intelligence, feeling, and creativity
• In the last 25 years, knowledge of the structure
  and function of the brain has increased
  dramatically
• Advances in imaging techniques have allowed for
  many new discoveries by researchers in the areas
  of mental disorders and they physiology of the
  brain
• Imbalances of neurotransmitters are believed to
  play a role in a variety of mental disorders

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Development of Mental Disorders

• The Diathesis-stress model proposes that a person
  may have a vulnerability (diathesis) for an
  illness
• Certain events (stressors) could trigger the
  illness such as
• Individual factors (genetic in origin,
  biochemical or hormonal)
• Family factors (social dynamics/interpersonal
  relationships)
• Community and Environmental factors (adequate
  resources available to sustain a form of
  stability)

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Mental Disorders

• According to the DSM a mental disorder is a
  pattern of behavior in an individual that is
  associated with distress or disability or with
  significantly increased risk of suffering, death,
  pain, disability, or loss of freedom
• Mental disorders are qualitatively different from
  a psychological problem that can be considered
  normal, and can be diagnosed from a set of
  symptoms
• Deciding when a psychological problem becomes a
  mental disorder is not easy and is meant to be
  applied by people with professional training

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Mood Disorders

• Known as depressive or affective disorders
• Considered the most common mental disorder
  experienced by people around the world
• More than 18 million adults in the United States
  suffer from a depressive illness, affecting more
  women than men
• Mood disorders are likely caused by a combination
  of genetic and environmental factors
• Examples include
• Major depressive disorder (depression)-five or
  more symptoms for a two-week period.
• Dysthmic disorder (low grade chronic depression
  of 2 years or longer )
• Bipolar disorder (manic episodes)

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Anxiety Disorders

• Along with depression, anxiety disorders are the
  most common mental disorders affecting Americans
• Almost 19 million Americans (aged 18-54) have
  this disorder
• Many anxiety disorders can be treated with
  medications and various forms of psychotherapies
• Examples include
• Panic disorder (unexpected panic attacks that
  reoccur), at least one month of concern about
  having an attack.
• Phobias (intense fear of an situation/object,
  invoking immediate anxiety)
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (persistent,
  intrusive thoughts, impulses or images that cause
  intense anxiety ordistress.

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Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders

• Disorders characterized by hallucinations and
  other signs that the person has lost touch with
  reality
• Schizophrenia
• Delusional disorders
• Brief psychotic disorder
• Symptoms at least 1 month over a 6 month period
• In most cases, symptoms of these diseases can be
  controlled with medication along with the
  involvement of a case management team of experts

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Personality Disorders

• Disorders characterized by long-standing
  maladaptive personality traits that are pervasive
  across most or all areas of the persons life
• 10-13 of the worlds population suffer from this
  disorder
• Examples include
• Antisocial personality disorder (show disregard
  for the rights of others)
• Narcissistic personality disorder (lack of
  empathy)
• Histrionic personality disorder (want to be the
  center of attention)

See Table 3.3 for an Overview of Personality
Disorders
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Mental Disorders and Suicide

• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death among
  all Americans, 3rd leading cause of death in
  people aged 15-24
• In Canada, it is the 11th leading cause of death
  in the general population, 2nd leading cause of
  death in people aged 10-24
• The rate of suicide has tripled in the past 50
  years in young people, with 10 of college aged
  students reporting thoughts about suicide

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What leads to Suicide?

• As many as 90 of those who commit suicide are
  suffering from a mental disorder, often
  depression
• The symptom linking depression and suicide is a
  feeling of hopelessness
• Depression and alcoholism may be involved in
  two-thirds of suicides
• Substance abuse can be another factor
• Sometimes there is no apparent precipitating
  event or problem

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Potential Signs of Suicide

• Comments about death/threats of suicide
• Increasing social withdrawal and isolation
• Increase in risk-taking behaviors
• Sudden improvement in mood, accompanied by such
  behaviors as giving away possessions

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Treating Mental Disorders

• Psychotherapy and Counseling
• Psychodynamic therapies
• Behavioral therapies
• Cognitive-behavioral therapies
• Pharmacological Treatments
• Anti-psychotic medications
• Anti-depressants
• Anti-anxiety drugs

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Chapter Three

• Mental Health
• Creating a Balance