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Mental Health
Mentally Healthy People
and
Mental Illness
What is mental health?
A capacity to use the abilities we have in ways
that allow us to function in a state of mental
and emotional well-being.
What is mental illness?
Statistics
Behaviour that is characterized by
Irrationality
Persistent personal suffering
Interpersonal maladjustment
An inability to function in society
Antisocial behaviour that harms
others or myself
Statistics for youth
3.2 million 12-19 yr olds are at risk for developing
depression
only 1 out of 5 children who need mental health
services receives them
1 in 5 Canadians suffer from mental illness at
some point in their lives
40% of visits are for emotional, not physical,
problems
Only about 1/3 of people will seek help for
serious depression
7% of teenage girls and 2.4% of teenage boys
suffer from depression
10% - 25% suffer from anxiety disorders
1% of the population suffer from schizophrenia
1% are bipolar
Changing views of mental illness
80% of people treated for depression are able to get
back to their regular activities
Suicide is among the leading causes of death in 1524 year old Canadians, second only to accidents
Observe and understand what is going on around
them
Judge their own capabilities realistically
Are aware of their emotions and can control their
behaviour
Can restrain their impulses when necessary
Behave deliberately and reasonably
Appreciate their own worth and feel accepted by
others
Are capable of forming close relationships and
are sensitive to others' needs as well as their
own.
Middle Ages – caused by evil spirits
− Exorcism was used, as well as prayer,
fasting and vomiting
− Accused of being witches and warlocks who
had made a pact with Satan
18th century – confined to asylums
− Nothing was done to help people with
disorders
− Kept in chains
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Late 20th century
− New medical drugs provide
assistance
− More widespread availability of
psychoanalysis or talk therapy
Today
− There is still little community support
− The stigma that surrounds mental
illness continues
− People with mental illnesses live
marginalized lives
Two major categories of
psychological disorders
What causes such disorders?
A complex interplay of genetic, biological,
personality and environmental factors
causes mental illnesses
A chemical imbalance in the brain
(depression)
Genetic component (schizophrenia)
The environment, such as serious abuse
(multiple personality disorders)
Anxiety Disorders
A. Neurosis (anxiety disorders)
− Extremely anxious and tense
− React with fear and dread to
situations others consider nonthreatening
− May encounter difficulty in life, but
are generally able to manage their
daily affairs
1. Panic Attacks
− Characterized by fear and intense
physical and emotional suffering
− Occur without any obvious reason
− Sufferers feel overwhelmed and cannot
function
researchers argue women are
more prone
Nature vs Nurture?
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Some research suggest panic attacks may
be linked to subtle imbalances in the brain
Other researchers suggest not to jump to
conclusions
Panic attacks may be a combination of
biological, psychological and social factors
Treatment
− Combination of therapy and drugs for
treatment
Agoraphobia (fear of public places)
− Some
The genetic makeup of women is more
susceptible to anxiety and depression
Hormonal changes
2. Phobias
An intense irrational fear out of proportion to the
danger involved
These fears are debilitating, directly interfering
with our enjoyment of life
Many psychologists believe the cause lies in a
combination of genetic predisposition mixed with
environmental and social causes
Often result from negative experiences
Treatment through conditioning techniques –
exposure therapy and relaxation techniques
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Too Ugly To Love
Match that phobia
Acousticophobia
−
Fear of noise
Arachibutyrophobia
Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your
mouth
Bibliophobia
−
Fear of books
Claustrophobia
−
Fear of confined spaces
Dipsophobia
BDD – I believe I am ugly...
BBC documentary (20 minutes)
−
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUKlLpMgeM&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b97j2szXVqI&feature=related
−
Fear of drinking
Entomophobia
Tachophobia
Fear of insects
Heliophobia
Testophobia
−
Fear of the sun
Homophobia
Wiccaphobia
−
Fear of sameness
Musophobia
Xenophobia
−
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Fear of mice
Noctiphobia
−
Fear of the night
Pharmacophobia
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Fear of speed
Fear of taking tests
Fear of witches
Fear of strangers
Fear of taking medicine
3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- persistent and unwanted thoughts that you
know are unreasonable but you cannot get rid
of
- with a tendency to perform an act repeatedly in
order to relieve the anxiety
- the obsession is the recurring thought
- the compulsion is the uncontrollable behaviour
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Obsessive Personality
OCD - I've got jews at my table
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah1FbPVsXkI&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safet
y_mode=1&safe=active
OCD – personal story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4sadYeLHKU&feature=related
New waitress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezRrQZnuCNM&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mod
e=1&safe=active
Door scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3pl7Psb5ic&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=a
ctive
Causes
- genetic component increases the likelihood of
development
- chemical imbalance in the brain (serotonin)
- some causes have been linked to head injuries
and infections
- some life stressors (abuse)
- about 20% with OCD have tics which suggests
OCD may be related to Tourette Syndrome
Treatment
- crippling and difficult to treat; requires
medication, cognitive behaviour therapy
[exposure therapy] or pyschotherapy
Abnormal Psychology – major disorder #2
Mood Disorders
B. Psychoses – general characteristics
1. Major Depression
- more debilitating forms of mental illness
-sufferers lose touch with the real world
- may experience delusions: belief in
something despite rational evidence to the
contrary
- may experience hallucinations: seeing or
hearing something that is not really there
Causes
• deeply unhappy, little pleasure in life
• anxiety sleep problems, change in
appetite
• at times – suicide attempts
• can be treated and never have it recur
• or can recur several times over a
lifetime
Treatment
i. genetic predisposition
i. psychotherapy and counseling (behavioural therapy)
ii. stress induced – deaths, divorce, loss of employment
ii. anti-depressants
iii. developmental problems – abuse as a child or
personality problems
iii. In extreme cases doctors may use
iv. females and those with a family history of depression
are also at risk
electroconvulsive therapy
• this involves passing electrical currents
though the brain to trigger seizures
• cause changes in brain chemistry that can
immediately reverse symptoms of certain
mental illnesses.
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2. Bipolar Disease – extreme mood swings
MPD / bipolar
Characteristics
- a psychiatric disease characterized by extreme mood
swings of both depression and mania.
What is multiple personality disorder?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0LNyXsErb8&feature=related
Manic
Depressive
i. grandiose thoughts/fearless
i. extreme fatigue
ii. one is all important and powerful
ii. sadness
iii. unlimited energy
iii. sense of futility
iv. difficulty sleeping
iv. extremely withdrawn
v. spending sprees/substance
Borderline Personality Disorder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liBJhHDw3o8&feature=related
v. low self-esteem
abuse
3. Schizophrenia - a chronic, severe, and disabling
Causes
- chemical imbalances in the brain
- genetic component – having a parent with bipolar
disorder may increase the chance of having children
with this condition
Treatment
brain disease.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvF4-C1EuJU
Nobel Laureate for economic science John Nash Jr.
- started experiencing episodes related to paranoid
schizophrenia in the late 1950s.
- the goal of the treatment is to stabilize mood and
restore one's normal state
Characteristics
- the two medications most commonly used for this
are depakote and lithium
- symptoms – hearing internal voices not heard by others,
or believing that other people are reading their minds,
controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them.
- medication is administered under supervision of a
psychiatrist
- distortion of reality
- the above results in social withdrawal
- psychotherapy is also recommended
- disturbed behaviour
•
•
•
apathy
confusing, or even shocking, changes in
behavior
hallucinations and delusions
Causes
- schizophrenia runs in families
- research is revealing that the convergence of biological and
environmental factors (stressors – especially in
infancy/childhood) can influence the onset of schizophrenia
Treatment
-there is no cure
- one may experience “episodes” of schizophrenia and
may live normally in between
- anti-psychotic drugs and therapy
- “acute” or “severe” episodes usually result in
hospitalization
- such episodes can lead to permanent damage to the brain
- genetic component
- chemical imbalance in the brain
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Personality Disorder - patterns of behaviour, mood,
social interaction, and impulsiveness causing distress
- difficulty relating to others
- loners, suspicious and mistrustful
- lie, break laws, feel they are being persecuted
Treatments
- psychotherapy, combined with antidepressants
- such individuals are difficult to treat as they continue to
have difficulty relating to others including the one
treating them
- view themselves as perfectly normal
Causes
There are various and numerous types of personality
disorders one of which is Anti-social personality
disorder (ASP)
- early life experience and learned behaviours, social
environment, biological make up and genetics.
Antisocial Personality Disorder – sociopathy
Symptoms
What? Chronic behaviour that manipulates, exploits
or violates the rights of others
- breaks the law repeatedly
- this behaviour is often criminal
- disregards the safety of self and others
- chronic troublemakers
- lack of guilt/remorse
- lies, steals and often fights
- inability to feel empathy
Causes: genetic predisposition
- child abuse
Treatment
- far more men affected than women [ y chromosome?]
- one of the most difficult of all personality disorders to
treat
- further research = disease of the brain?
- early signs – fire setting, cruelty to animals in
children
- individuals rarely seek treatment
- therapy
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