Earliest Theory of Mental Illness

Theories of Mental Illness

• The earliest theory of mental illness argued that mental illness was a punishment of the gods, or caused by evil spirits within the body.
• One way to rid the body of evil spirits was through trephination, a crude type of surgery that involved drilling holes in the skull to allow the spirits to escape.

Health Belief Model

• The health belief model suggests that health behaviors are predicted by four factors:
  • Perceived susceptibility to the health threat
  • Perceived seriousness of the health threat
  • Benefits and barriers of undertaking particular health behaviors
  • Cues to action
• This model helps explain why people engage in healthy or unhealthy behaviors.

Obesity in Australia

• 61 percent of adults in Australia are overweight or obese.
• Rates of obesity are increasing in children and adolescents.
• Indigenous females are more likely to be obese than non-Indigenous females.

Biomedical and Biopsychosocial Models

• The biomedical model reduces disease to biological causes at the individual level.
• The biopsychosocial model recognizes that psychology and physiology influence each other.
• The biopsychosocial model is a more comprehensive approach to understanding health and illness.

Aversion Therapy

• Aversion therapy is a technique that introduces something unpleasant to discourage negative health habits.
• For example, a drug like Antabuse is used to treat alcohol addiction, and causes severe nausea and vomiting if alcohol is consumed while taking the medication.

Leading Causes of Death in Australia

• The leading causes of death in Australia are circulatory disease and cancer.

Health Promotion and Clinical Health

• Health psychologists work in health promotion and clinical health, focusing on preventing illness and promoting healthy behaviors.

Genetics and Health

• Genetics play a role in health behaviors, such as smoking and alcoholism.
• For example, some people may be more susceptible to nicotine addiction due to their genetic makeup.

Stress and Immune System

• Stress can weaken the immune system, making us more susceptible to illness.
• Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of how psychological factors affect the immune system.

Type A Personality

• Type A personality is associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
• Characteristics of Type A personality include defensiveness, negative affect, and suppressed hostility.

Acculturative Stress

• Acculturative stress occurs when people adapt to a new culture.
• This type of stress can lead to physical and mental health problems.

Psychoneuroimmunology

• Psychoneuroimmunology examines the relationship between psychological factors and the immune system.
• Research in this field has shown that stress can weaken the immune system, making us more susceptible to illness.### Health Threats in Australia
• Tobacco is the primary health threat in Australia, while obesity ranks second, with around half of the adult population being overweight or obese.

Leptin and Obesity

• Leptin is produced by fat tissue and operates on the hypothalamus to regulate body weight.
• There is a positive correlation between BMI and the amount of leptin.

Gastroplasty

• Gastroplasty, or stomach stapling, involves reducing the size of the stomach to treat individuals who are at least 100% overweight.

Preventable Causes of Illness

• Smoking is considered the single most preventable cause of illness, disability, and death, with an estimated 19,000 people dying each year from smoking-related illnesses in Australia.

General Adaptation Syndrome

• The alarm phase of the general adaptation syndrome is associated with the release of adrenalin and the activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

Theory of Reasoned Action

• Attitudes represent beliefs that a particular behavior will produce a particular outcome.
• Subjective norms reflect how significant others will view the behavior and the motivation to comply with their desires.

Attitudes and Behavioral Change

• The theory of planned behavior takes into account all components of the theory of reasoned action plus the notion of self-efficacy.

Obesity and Prejudice

• Obesity may well be the last socially acceptable object of prejudice and discrimination.

BMI and Depression

• The correlation between BMI and depression depends on gender: women with higher BMIs have a higher frequency of major depressive episodes and suicidal ideation, while among men, lower BMIs are associated with depression and suicidal ideation.

Smoking and Chemicals

• Smoking increases levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine, producing improved mental acuity, reduces pain sensitivity, reduces feelings of anxiety, and creates feelings of relaxation.

Health Psychology

• Health psychology is devoted to understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they respond when they do get ill, and why people do not exercise or engage in other preventative measures.

Theories of Illness

• The humoral theory of illness asserts that disease is caused by an imbalance in the four fluids of the body: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.
• Galen argued that an excess of yellow bile resulted in an individual who angered easily.
• Hippocrates proposed the humoral theory of illness.