What is Mental Illness?

1
What is Mental Illness?

• A disturbance in thoughts and emotions that
  decrease a person's capacity to cope with the
  challenges of everyday life.

2
What is Stigma?

• A mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach
• How does stigma affect us?

3
Mood Disorders

• Persistent changes in mood caused by chemical
  imbalances in the brain.

4
Mood Disorders

• Major depressive disorder
• Depressed mood accompanied by symptoms such as
• loss of interest or pleasure in life
• irritability and sadness
• sleep or appetite problems
• lack of concentration
• sense of worthlessness, guilt
• in some cases thoughts of suicide.

5
Mood Disorders contd

• Bipolar disorder
• A cycle of depressed mood, normal mood and
  mania.
• Mania is an elevated mood accompanied by symptoms
  like
• inflated self-esteem and confidence
• increased energy and sexual drive
• poor judgment
• increased involvement in pleasurable and possibly
  dangerous activities.

6
Psychosis

• Active state of experiencing hallucinations or
  delusions and can be organic or drug-induced

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Psychosis

• Schizophrenia
• A disturbance involving
• Delusions (false beliefs or misinterpretations of
  situations and experiences)
• Hallucinations (can be auditory, visual,
  olfactory, gustatory, or tactile)
• Disorganized speech and or catatonic behaviour.

8
Anxiety Disorders

• Feelings of anxiousness, combined with
  physiological symptoms that interfere with
  everyday activities

9
Anxiety Disorders

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• marked by repeated obsessions and/or compulsions
  that are so severe they interfere with daily life

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Anxiety Disorders contd

• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• re-experiencing a traumatic event
• E.g battle situation or car crash
• accompanied by feelings of extreme anxiety.

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Anxiety Disorders contd

• Phobias
• Significant and persistent fears of objects or
  situations
• Exposure causes extreme anxiety that inteferes
  with daily life
• May be specific or social.

12
Personality DisordersA pattern of inner
experience and behaviour that is significantly
different from the person's culture and leads to
distress or impairment.

• Dissociative identity disorder
• Formerly known as multiple personality disorder
• The presence of 2 or more distinct identities
  that alternately control a person's behaviour
• Most individuals have a history of childhood
  abuse.

13
Eating Disorders Involve an obsession with food,
weight and appearance that negatively affects a
person's health, relationships, and daily life.

• Anorexia nervosa
• an intense and irrational fear of body fat and
  weight gain
• the strong determination to become thinner
• the refusal to maintain a normal
• a distorted body image

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Eating Disorders contd

• Bulimia nervosa
• Self-defeating cycles of binge eating and purging
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Feeling that your body is distorted and
  monstrous when it is normal
• Can lead to self-injury

15
Fact or Fiction?

• One person in 100 develops schizophrenia.
• Fact 1 of the general population develops
  schizophrenia.

16
Fact or Fiction?

• A person who has one or more parent with mental
  illness is more likely to develop mental illness.
• Fact Mental illness may be hereditary. If one
  parents has schizophrenia, 8 chance. Both
  parents, 37-46. Depression, 1/10 chance, but ¼
  chance if parents have experienced depression.

17
Fact or Fiction?

• Mental illness is contagious.
• Fiction It is not contagious. Heredity can
  play a factor in the development of mental
  illness.

18
Fact or Fiction?

• Mental illness tends to begin in adolescence.
• Fact First episode of a mental illness often
  occurs between 15 and 30 years. Early
  intervention is one of the most important factors
  for recovery, however, embarassment, fear and
  stigma often prevent young people from seeking
  help.

19
Fact or Fiction?

• Poor parenting causes schizophrenia.
• Fiction Childhood abuse or neglect does not
  cause mental illness. However, stressful or
  abusive environments may seriously impair a
  person's ability to cope with and later manage
  the illness.

20
Fact or Fiction?

• Drug use causes mental illness.
• Fact and Fiction Alcohol and other drugs
  sometimes play a role in the development of some
  symptoms and disorders, but do not usually cause
  the illness. However, long-term use can lead to
  the development of drug-induced psychosis. Drugs
  are also often used to cope, but can serve to
  make symptoms worse.

21
Fact or Fiction?

• Mental illness can be cured with willpower.
• Fiction Mental illness is associated with
  chemical imbalances in the brain and requires a
  comprehensive treatment plan.

22
Fact or Fiction?

• People with mental illness never get better.
• Fiction With the right kind of help, many
  people with a mental illness do recover and can
  lead healthy, productive lives. The illness may
  not go away, the symptoms can be controlled.

23
Fact or Fiction?

• People with mental illness tend to be violent.
• Fiction People who experience a mental illness
  acutely sometimes behave very differently. While
  behaviour may seem bizarre, people with mental
  illness are not more violent than the rest of the
  population.

24
Fact or Fiction?

• People who are poor are more likely to have a
  mental illness than people who are not.
• Fiction Income is not a factor in overall rates
  of mental health problems. However, people with
  lower incomes experiences slightly higher rates
  of depression. People who live with major mental
  illnesses often end up in lower social classes
  because the illness may interfere with their
  ability to hold a job.

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Mental Health Trends

• 22 of people in Ontario have experienced at
  least one mental health problem in their
  lifetime.
• Women are more likely than men to experience a
  mental health problem, specifically anxiety or
  depression.

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Mental Health Trends

• Men are more likely to experience antisocial
  personality disorder.
• Older people experience depression more often
  than younger people.

27
Mental Health Trends

• 31 of 15-24 year olds have experienced a mental
  health problem
• 27 have anxiety problems
• 7.5 have affective problems

28
Mental Health Trends

• 15-24 year olds are more likely to have social
  phobias and bipolar disorder.
• 52 of people in Ontario whose parents have
  experienced a mental health problem also
  experience a mental disorder.

29
Contributing factors

• Chemical imbalance in the brain
• Substance use not a causal relationship, but
  may be used to treat/relieve symptoms, however,
  drugs usually make things worse.
• Traumatic life events may make someone more
  vulnerable to developing a mental illness.

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Contributing Factors contd

• Heredity many are thought to have a genetic
  component, usually triggered by life events
• Other Illnesses Alzheimer's, Parkinson's,
  damage from strokes cause memory loss and
  confusion. Debilitating illness may also lead to
  chronic depression.

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Treatment Options

• Biological
• Medication
• Electroconvulsive therapy

• Psychosocial
• Psychotherapy
• Self-help groups
• Family support
• Community support

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Source

• Talking About Mental Illness A guide for
  developing an awareness program for youth.
• Teachers Resource
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2001