Know The Main Forms Of Mental Ill Health Essay

Mood disorders – People who suffer mood disorders suffer from severe or prolonged mood states that disrupt their daily living. Personality disorders- Personality disorders are conditions in which an individual differs significantly from an average person, in terms of how they think, perceive, feel or relate to others. Anxiety disorders- Anxiety is a feeling of anxiety such as worry or fear that can be mild or sever. Everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point in their life. For example you may feel worried and anxious about sitting an exam or having a medical test or job interview. During times like these, feeling anxious can be perfectly normal. However some people find it hard to control their worries. Their feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect their daily life. Psychotic disorders- Are severe mental disorders that can cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. People with psychosis lose touch with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinating. Delusions are false beliefs, such as thinking that someone is plotting against you or that the TV is sending you secret messages. Hallucinations are false perceptions, such as hearing, seeing, or feeling something that is not there. Substance related disorders- This is continued use of a substance legal or illegal. Substances include, alcohol, amphetamines, caffeine, inhalants, nicotine, prescription medications, such as sedatives, opioid’s (morphine, heroine) marijuana (cannabis), cocaine or hallucinogens. Eating disorders- Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental health condition. It is an eating disorder in which sufferers keep their body weight as low as possible. People with anorexia usually do this by restricting the amount of food they eat, making themselves vomit and exercising excessively. Bulimia is an eating disorder and mental health condition. People who have bulimia try to control their weight by severely restricting the amount of food they eat, then binge eating and purging the food from their body by making themselves vomit or using laxatives. 1.2 One strength of the DSM and the ICD is that individuals suffering from mental  distress can get some closure from a diagnosis. Patients may feel alone prior to diagnosis but can find people to talk to who may be suffering from the same illness. Furthermore, a diagnosis can help families understand what an individual is going through, helping them provide support. In addition, the DSM and ICD provide a consistent categorical framework so mental health professionals are able to make an accurate diagnosis after hearing about a patients signs and symptoms. On the other hand, both the DSM and ICD have many weaknesses. The first major weakness is that once people have been diagnosed with a mental health problem society stigmatises them leading to them feeling pushed out of the community, having trouble finding a job and makes their illness worse. In addition, the classification systems ignore social causes of mental illness. For example, an individual may feel depressed due to the loss of a loved one. Another weakness is that people can lie about their mental health leading to an inaccurate diagnosis. Rosenhan shown how perfectly healthy individuals can lie about hearing the words â€Å"thud, empty and hollow† to a psychiatrist and will be diagnosed with depression straight away. Finally, many psychiatrists and mental health workers have certain biases and this can affect how individuals are diagnosed. For example, men and women with the exact same symptoms can come away with a completely different diagnosis due to gender biases. Eg, woman are seen as more emotional and are more likely to be diagnosed with depression whereas men are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD due to their aggressive nature. 1.3 Biological and physical needs air, water, food, shelter, warmth, sleep, sex Esteem needs achievement, status, responsibility, reputation 1.4 Examples of signs and symptoms include: Feeling sad or down Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate Excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt Extreme mood changes of highs and lows Withdrawal from friends and activities Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping Detachment from reality (delusions), paranoia or hallucinations Inability to cope with daily problems or stress Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people Alcohol or drug abuse Major changes in eating habits Sex drive changes Excessive anger, hostility or violence Suicidal thinking Sometimes symptoms of a mental health disorder appear as physical problems, such as stomach pain, back pain, headache, or other unexplained aches and pains. 2- Know the impact of mental ill health on individuals and others in their social network.  People with mental health problems experience prejudice and discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives. Many have said the stigma of mental ill health is more disabling than the illness itself. Research has shown that people with mental health problems are pre-judged, find it hard to get jobs and sustain friendships and relationships. Research has also shown that ignorance, fear, and stereotypes presented in the newspapers, on the TV and at the cinema, all contribute to negative attitudes towards mental ill health. Most people have little knowledge about mental illness and their opinions are often factually incorrect. 2.2 A-Psychological impact can include erratic thought patterns, unexplained changes in mood, lack of interest in socializing, lack of empathy, inability to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Mental health problems can cause a wide variety of emotional symptoms, some of which include: Changes in mood Erratic thinking Chronic anxiety Exaggerated sense of self-worth Impulsive actions B- Unable to carry out day to day tasks such as tidying up, laundry, shopping, cooking and personal care. Find it difficult to have the energy to manage your finances, or to care about money at all. If your depression is  long-lasting, you may find it difficult to earn money through working. You may feel that you do not want to open letters from your bank or not have the energy to pay bills. Treatment for depression may also have an impact on how much money you have. You be prescribed anti-depressant drugs that can have unpleasant side effects meaning that you are unable to work. C- Unable to use services due to low self-esteem, lack of confidence, low energy levels, effects of medications, inability to commit. D- Withdrawing from activities, unable to maintain relationships, fear of going out, anxiety. E- resentment, anxiety, fear, dread, anger at feeling pressured into doing something you don’t feel you can do, resulting in a feeling of low self-worth and loathing. 2.3 A- Could cause families to break down, grieve for a life they could have had, fear of the impact the person with the mental health illness will have on their lives. Families could feel unable to voice their concerns or problems in case they upset the person suffering mental health. B- Taking the burden of all the finances, ensuring all bills are paid. The person with the illness might not be able to hold down a job putting more pressure on family members. C- Using services could give the family the support they need to cope with mental illness, provide information on services that are available to them, including groups and councillors. D- Families can feel very isolated, withdraw from socialising, feelings of guilt if they do go out socially, unable to make or maintain friendships. E- Positive impacts initially are often few and far between but once they access help and support there can be positive impact from support groups or NHH for both the client and their family. In order to promote good mental health, there must be action. Mental health promotion covers a variety of strategies, all of which have the aim of making a positive impact on mental health. Actions taken to promote mental health include strategies and programs to create environment and living conditions to support mental health and allow people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. There is no one-size-fits-all program for promoting good mental health. The range of choices available increases the chances for even more people to experience the benefits of good mental health – or improving  their mental health.