Mental Health and Mental Illness

Unit 1: Mental Health and Mental Illness

• Unit 1 Revisits and reviews mental health and mental illness.
• Touches on mental health versus mental illness, protective and risk factors, and common warning signs of mental health challenges

Mental Health vs. Mental Illness

• Mental health is defined by the WHO (1999) as a state of well-being where individuals realize their abilities, cope with life's stresses, and contribute to their community.
• "Lusog-Isip" translates to a state of well-being where an individual understands their talents, can cope with life’s challenges, works effectively, and contributes to the community
• Having the ability to realize individual abilities, cope with normal stresses, work productively, and contribute to the community indicates a mentally healthy individual
• A mental health condition is a diagnosable illness affecting a person's thinking, emotional state, and behavior
• It disrupts the ability to work, carry out daily activities, and maintain relationships
• Mental health conditions can be common or uncommon, and may cause severe disability

Mental Distress vs. Mental Disorder

• Mental distress is common and often stems from a specific problem or event that feels overwhelming.
• Mental distress may or may not be severe, is usually short-lasting, and might not need professional help
• A mental disorder is less common, often arises from a vulnerability triggered by stress, and tends to be severe and long-lasting.
• Mental disorders usually require professional help and diagnosis
• Diagnosis is not needed for distress but is for disorder

Mental Health Continuum Model

• The Mental Health Continuum Model includes self care, social support and professional care
• The continuum stretches from healthy to reacting to injured to ill

Relationship Between Mental and Physical Health

• High rates of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, asthma and diabetes can result from significant emotional distress
• Links exist between depression and illnesses like anxiety, heart disease (Kuper, Marmot & Hemingway, 2002), stroke (Carson et al., 2002), diabetes (Anderson et al., 2001), asthma (Goldney et al., 2003), and cancer (De Boer et al., 1999)

Prevalence and Impact of Mental Health Conditions

• WHO (2007) reports that about half of mental disorders begin before the age of fourteen.
• WHO (2008) says that 1 in every 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder
• Approximately 13.9% of the world's population experienced mental disorders as of 2021
• It is estimated that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience major depression in their lives
• Mental disorders account for 17.2% of the total years lived with disability worldwide
• Depression and anxiety disorders result in a loss of 12 billion working days annually, costing the global economy $1 trillion each year
• In 2024, an estimated 970 million people worldwide will be living with a mental disorder, or one in eight people
• Common mental disorders include anxiety (284 million people), depression (264 million people), alcohol use disorder (107 million), drug use disorder (71 million), bipolar disorder (46 million), schizophrenia (20 million), and eating disorders (16 million)
• 3.6 million Filipinos are suffering from at least one type of mental, neurological, or substance use disorders, according to a 2020 DOH study

Mental Health Stigma

• Stigma around mental health arose from fear and a lack of understanding, tracing back to ancient and medieval beliefs about the devil, possessions, and moral punishment

Kinds of Stigma

• Social stigma involves prejudiced attitudes from others toward mental illness.
• Self-perceived stigma involves internalizing negative beliefs about oneself due to mental illness.
• Institutional stigma is a systemic issue where policies and organizations limit opportunities for individuals with mental illness

Effects of Stigma

• Effects include lack of understanding from others, feelings of pain, invalidation, shame, isolation, discrimination, bullying, and difficulty seeking help that exacerbates symptoms

Four "Ds" of a Disorder

• Deviance signifies a notable departure from the norm within a cultural context
• Dysfunction is significant interference with an individual's life across major domains
• Distress is the extent to which the issue troubles the individual, and not an objective measure of severity
• Danger is the risk of an individual harming themselves or others

Protective and Risk Factors

• The Biopsychosocial (BPS) Model (George Engel) examines biological, psychological, and social factors affecting an individual, to examine how and why disorders occur.
• Bio (physiological pathology)
• Psycho (thoughts emotions and behaviours such as psychological distress, fear/avoidance beliefs, current coping methods and attribution)
• Social (socio-economical, socio-environmental, and cultural factors such as work issues, family circumstances and benefits/economics)
• Protective factors are associated with a lower likelihood of negative outcomes
• Risk factors are associated with a higher likelihood of negative outcomes

Common Warning Signs of Mental Health Challenges

• Sudden, unexplained mood changes
• Inability to handle minor problems and daily activities
• Loss of interest in hobbies and social withdrawal
• Excessive use of drugs or alcohol
• Unexplained physical changes
• Loss of confidence
• Strange or overelaborate ideas
• Unorganized thinking
• False beliefs, delusions, or hallucinations

Importance of Referral

• A referral for counseling should be considered when you believe a friend’s problems go beyond your own control and expertise or when you feel uncomfortable helping him/her/their with some issue.
• A referral may be made due to how the person's problems interfere with academic work or concerns raised by observation of the person's personal behavior apart from academic work.