Understanding Mental Health and Illness

• Mental health involves the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects of a person's well-being
• Mental health is a state of well-being where individuals understand their capabilities, manage daily stress, work effectively, and contribute to their community
• Mental health enables emotional well-being, good behavior, freedom from anxiety, and the ability to form relationships and handle life's demands

Alternative definition of mental health: M.C. Townsend

• The successful adaptation to stressors, shown by congruent thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and personality

Understanding Mental Illness

• Mental illness manifests with a range of problems and diverse symptoms
• Characterized by a combination of disturbed thoughts, emotions, behavior, and relationships with others
• In 2017 it was estimated that 792 million people lived with a mental health disorder
• This is slightly more than one in ten people globally (10.7%)

American Psychiatric definition of mental illness

• Health conditions affect emotions, thinking, or behavior (or a combination)
• These can interfere with social, work, or family activities
• Mental illness is a maladaptive response to stressors from the internal or external environment
• It becomes evident through thoughts, feelings, and behaviors conflicting with local norms and interfering with social, occupational, or physical functioning

The influence of culture on defining mental illness

• The definition varies across cultures due to cultural influences

• "Normal" vs "abnormal" behavior depends on cultural and social norms

Statistics for the Phillipines

• One in five Phillipinos suffers from a mental health problem
• There are 700 psychiatrists and a thousand psychiatric nurses for a population of 100 million
• Between 17 and 20 percent of Filipino adults experience psychiatric disorders
• 10 to 15 percent of Filipino children, aged 5 to 15, suffer from mental health problems
• Mental health problems are widely under-reported and receive less attention and treatment, particularly in lower-income areas

Key dates to remember

• September 10: World Suicide Prevention Day
• October 10: World Mental Health Day
• Second week of October: National Mental Week

List of mental health conditions and numbers

• Anxiety disorder: 301 million people w/ 58 million children and adolescents
• Depressive disorder: 280 million people, 23 million children and adolescents
• Bipolar disorder: 40 million people
• Schizophrenia: 24 million people (1 in every 300); life expectancy is 10-20 years below average
• Eating disorders: 14 million people, 3 million children and adolescents
• Disruptive behavior and dissocial disorders: 40 million people (including children and adolescents)
• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): 27.6% increase in cases

Policies and Laws

• DOH Administrative Order No. 8 Series of 2001, also known as The National Mental Health Policy
• DOH Administrative Order No. 2016-0039 is the Revised Operational Framework for a Comprehensive National Mental Health Program
• Republic Act No. 11036 is the Mental Health Act

Basic principles in psychiatric nursing

• Accept all patients as they are
• The aim is to treat each patient with respect as a person
• Uphold the dignity of individuals

How to communicate acceptance:

• Maintain non-judgmental and non-punitive relationships
• Do not punish a person directly or indirectly for expressing behavior
• Communicate with them like any other human being
• Do not reduce the relationship to the diagnosis
• Explain what the client is being exposed to
• Do not laugh at their fears
• Ensure the hospital routine is not more important than they are
• Showing interest in the patient as a person and not as a case or clinical problem
• Develop an understanding of behavior patterns by studying patient charts and textbooks
• Develop an awareness of the patient's likes and dislikes
• Listen to client's expressions and complaints
• Accept the fears of patients as a real emotion

Recognizing the feelings that patients express

• Focus attention on what the feeling means to the patient
• Use open ended questions
• center discussions on patient and ensure that nurses use understanding reflection and open-ended questions

Listening techniques

• Proper interpretation and selective responsiveness

Patient care

• Encourage patients to talk through non-directive comments, demonstrating interests in what they are saying
• Tolerated expressions when anxiety, fear, hostility and anger are expected
• Ensure there is no physiological or physical danger

Maintain contact with clients reality

• Do not support unrealistic ideas
• Bring the client back down to earth

Seek Validation

• Check against the nurse's opinions on how certain things occurred

Nurse Self-Understanding

• Understand the behavior and mental illness
• Must understand stereotype's to avoid danger
• Reduce the nurse's decisions to a consistent manner

Nurse's Personal Contribution

• Nurse needs to understand how they feel

Behaviors

• Important to look at the expectations of behavior for growth
• The expectations makes the nurse active
• Important to be consistent in psychiatric hospitals

Reassurance

• Giving attention to matters that are important
• Allow the patient to be as sick as they need to be
• Ensure there are complete acceptance of what the patient is going through

Changing emotional expression

• Patient expresses their feelings
• Patient can develop a new range of motion

Increased anxiety

• Do not insist that a patient should be one way or another
• Do not be careless in conversations
• Focus on patience

Important to consider behavior for specific reasons

• View the patient as an objective human
• Not going to act on personal feelings

Stimulations

• The patient is able to release energy effectively
• This helps the nurse find a relationship with their patient

Cerebral Hemispheres

• Frontal Lobe affects reasoning skills
• Occipital Lobes help coordinate visual representation
• Parietal Lobes help describe the senses
• Cerebellum helps coordinate movements

Neurotransmitters

• Chemical subsances that affect transmission and relay information
• Can excite or inhibit reactions
• Stress, anxiety, impulsive behavior and chemical in the brainstem influence the transmission, synthesis and manufacture of neuron activity

-The Limbic System controls anger and rage -The disturbance of this effects a variety of mental illnesses

Hippocampus and Amygdala

• Involved in memory and arousal

Scans:

• CT shows structural view with x-rays, 20-40mins
• MRI shows structural view with radio waves 45 mins
• PET shows functional view with radioactive tracer 2-3hrs

Historical Overview

• In prior times people believed mental wellness was a result of the return of the soul
• Ritualistic exorcism was used to purge the body

17th Century

• It was beleived that mental illness would be caused by the lack of a moral compass or connection

Hippocrates

• stated that the body functions through 4 fluids that when unbalanced, would cause sickness or illness

Mental Health Act

• 1946 recognized need after WW2
• 2018 mental wellness for every citizen

Family Dynamics

• Affects well being, the lack there of affects disease and depression

Functional Family requirements

• Unity, safety and respect within the household
• Rules are being set with limitations

Dysfunctional Family

• Quarrels and grudges that have lasting effects

Single Parent household

• Headed by one person
• Reliability depends on stability
• Only Child Family

Causes for estrangement:

• Abuse, betrayal and bullying

Family Dynamic Therapy

• Helps address all situations and causes for bad situations, grief, anger
• Helps connect loved ones

Patterns of behavior

• Concerned with algorithms/functions of responsibility to objects
• Affects the ability of communication amongst patients

Self awareness:

• Process of understanding ones own values and beliefs, including how they affect other

Jowari Window

• Allows for individual perception of others
• Requires trust to be able to learn from feedback

Human behaviors

• Actions due to influence by gender, culture and ethics

Different human natures:

• Overt: open and honest
• Covert: reserved and kept the self

Maslows Hierarchy of needs and Fruistrations

• Physiological: air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, reproduction
• Safety needs: personal security, employment, resources, health, property
• Love and belonging: friendshi

Explore the definition of mental health, encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well-being. Learn about mental illnesses, which involve disturbed thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, affecting millions worldwide. Discover key insights into mental health and mental illness.