Module 1

Question 1

Wellbeing

Answer 1

An overall state of feeling comfortable, healthy and happy made up of many components, including mental and physical health

Question 2

Mental health

Answer 2

psychological, emotional and social aspects of thinking, feeling and behaving.
- prerequisite to realizing potential, being able to cope with normal life stress and being productive at work and school.

Question 3

Traditions in mental health and well-being throughout religions
Describe Africa AND BUDHISM

Answer 3

Different religions have different traditions in describing mental health and well-being.
Buddhism: balances harmony with self and environment
Africa: relationships with living and dead land and community members are important paths to wellness.

Question 4

Historical origins of mental health

Answer 4

Aristotle thought the goal of life was eudaimonia (happiness), the idea of being happy and flourishing
Various religious and cultural practices have also played a role in perpetrating injustice and isolation, marginalization and oppression. (colonialism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, sanism)

Question 5

Ubuntu

Answer 5

An African philosophy that shows that a person cannot flourish in isolation but can only grow in connection with others.

Question 6

3 components of wellbeing

Answer 6

Mental health, physical health, and supportive/ secure environment

Question 7

Mental health as a component of wellbeing

Answer 7

Mental health is not defined by the absence of mental illness it embodies positive physiological, emotional and social functioning

Question 8

physical health as a component of wellbeing, and what it requires

Answer 8

• more than being free of disease and illness
• refers to taking proper care of the body for optimal health and fucnitoning plus disease prevention
• closely related to mental health
  requires: good sleep, exercise, nutrition and mental health

Question 9

supportive/secure environment as a component of wellbeing

Answer 9

Your environment and past experiences affect your mental and physical health. A supportive and secure environment is one in which a person feels socially, emotionally and physically safe and valued.

Question 10

Contributors to mental health(4)

Answer 10

Realizing potential, emotional health, psychological health, and social connectedness

Question 11

How does realizing potential contribute to mental health

Answer 11

• The degree to which you are reaching your potential and making meaningful contributions to the world around you in a way that aligns with your interests and perspective affects mental health
• Are you achieving all you can and want to, as well as using talents and abilities in a personally meaningful way?

Question 12

How does emotional health contribute to mental health

Answer 12

Emotional well-being is made up of feelings and emotions. Feeling happy, secure, and confident, not overly anxious, upset or sad.
- Emotional well-being relates to your ability to regulate feelings across different challenge experiences and contexts

Question 13

How does social connectedness contribute to mental health

Answer 13

Social network or social connectedness involves creating and maintaining good relationships with others and behaving in a socially responsible and acceptable way (no bullying, violence or disruptive behaviour)
Also relies on the development of positive social skills like empathy

Question 14

How does psychological health contribute to mental health

Answer 14

How you think about things and manage and regulate your feelings. The ability to self-reflect, problem solve, manage emotions, be resilient, think and be attentive.

Question 15

WELL on the mental health spectrum

Answer 15

• reflected in feeling content, capable and happy. Stress and disappointment are normal in life, and someone who is well can manage discomfort that is short-lived and appropriate to the context or stressor.
• The person has a healthy lifestyle, good psychological coping and supportive relationships to maintain mental health and resilience

Question 16

Mental health spectrum

Answer 16

Mental health exists on a spectrum. You don’t have it or don’t. Based on certain defined thresholds. A triangle is often used to indicate the proportion of individuals likely to meet thresholds
Well, symptoms, concerns or problems, disorder or illness

Question 17

Symptoms on the mental health spectrum

Answer 17

A person has experiences that can be associated with some distress but may be situational and not necessarily indicative of a problem or disorder.
Symptoms can be temporary and go away when a stressor or disappointment resolves. They can also be helped through lifestyle changes, self-help and short-term problem-focused counselling. If they persist and are associated with distress, they may reflect a mental health concern or problem.

Question 18

mental health Concerns or problems on the mental health spectrum

Answer 18

Mental health problem is defined as: the presence of symptoms that persist and are associated with stress or difficulty, but are not severe enough to be considered a diagnosable mental illness, condition or disorder
Often relates to a persistent or new life event or stress.
May be uncomfortable or prolonged, but are not reflective of a diagnosable mental disorder
Often support and problem-focused counselling is helpful
ex.) Symptoms and emotional difficulty may occur in response to the death of a loved one or if uni transition is difficult.

Question 19

Mental disorders, conditions or illnesses on the mental health spectrum

Answer 19

mental disorders refer to: clinically diagnosed illnesses that require evidence-based treatments provided by health care professionals.
Disorders are comprised of clinically significant symptoms characterized by a disturbance in thought, feeling and perception that negatively affect day-to-day functioning and cause significant distress and impairment
ex.) Major depressive disorder and Generalized anxiety disorder

Question 20

Most common mental health symptoms in university students

Answer 20

Anxiety- overworry, difficulty relaxing, heart racing
Mood- feeling sad, negative thoughts, low energy
sleep- trouble falling or stayng asleep

Question 21

Mental health continuum as a graduated colour spectrum

Answer 21

Shows connection between mental health and wellbeing- they do not necessarily always align: you can have a mental health diagnosis but good wellbeing or no diagnosis but bad wellbeing or you could have poor mental health and wellbeing together it just depends

Question 22

Current state of Canadian students’ mental health

Answer 22

• as of 2016, over ¼ of students reported being diagnosed or treated by a professional for one or more mental health conditions within a 12-month period of starting uni.
• Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health issues in students
  -. Rates of students who reported experiencing mental health related symptoms has increased
• 46% reported experiencing symptoms of depression and said that it made it hard to function optimally. This is up by forty percent since 2013
• 65% reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, up 58 percent in 2013

Question 23

Mental health of students in the UK

Answer 23

19 percent of 16-24 year olds in england have a mental health condition
- increased from 15 percent in 2003

Question 24

Recent changes in reporting mental health, dropping out of uni and suicide amongst students

Answer 24

Reporting: 5-fold increase in the number of students reporting mental health problems from 2006 to 2015
- rates of probable mental disorders have increased since 2017
A survey of young adults (17 to 22 yrs) Found that 27.2 percent of young women and 13.3 percent of young men identified as having a probable mental disorder
Dropping out- significant increase in the number of studnts who have dropped out of univeristy due to mental health problems between 2009 and 2015
Suicide- Increase in student suicides in UK from 2007 to 2015 - simmilar trend in general population of uk people.

Question 25

Worldwide changes in students' mental health

Answer 25

RISING MENTAL HEALTH IS A CONCERN WORLDWIDE - urveys completed by students attending 19 colleges across 8 countries. ⅓ of of first year college students screened positive for a mental disorder specifically anxiety, mood, and SUD. Based on self-report survey - Majority of students with anxiety and depressive disorders had an onset prior to entering uni. SUD’s occurred after attending uni - the demand for support and mental hea;th resoruces ha sincreased since covid 19

Question 26

COVID X mental health

Answer 26

- Impact on mental health: huge increase in suicides, depression, self-harm and anxieties. Housing concerns, climate concerns, “who will I be?”, need for perfectionism Urgent need for more resources: emergency rooms with people sleeping on the floor and long waitlists. -pandemic taking a toll on mental health of univeristy students: Pass/fail grades, dropping class from GPA, Financial support for international students during covid struggling with tuition fees, then having to pay to quarantine in a hotel. - Demand for support and student mental health resources has increased since COVID-19

Question 27

Factors contributing to uni students' increasing need for mental health services (5)

Answer 27

RTV LS At risk age- ransition to university happens when the brain is undergoing accelerated growth and development, and has not fully matured Adult mental illnesses typically begin in adolescence and early adulthood. 75 percent of adult mental illness begins before 25 Transition period- University is a time of transition. Students encounter new academic, financial and social stressors: making new friends, being away from family, new routines, etc. Vulnerable brain- emergent adult brain is vulnerable to a stressful environment, and brains are undergoing accelerated growth and are more vulnerable when exposed to risk factors like poor sleep, drugs or too much alcohol. Lacking support- Resources to support student mental health are limited Used to only be short-term counselling and community services, not designed for uni students Need for reliable info on what uni student mental health services should include and how it can meet the needs of a diverse student population. Students often transition from home to uni. Decrease in sitgma- Increase in reported mental illness is also due to a decrease in stigma. Anti-stigma campaigns have encouraged struggling students to seek help. | S

Question 28

Stigma and mental health disclosure

Answer 28

s stigma around mental health diminishes, an increasing number of students are disclosing their mental health concerns. In the UK there is increasing number of disclosure of mental health conditions by students to higher education from 2006 to 2015 Stigma is still a problem, study also found that only one third of students entering uni with a mental health condition actually intend to disclose it.

Question 29

U flourish study- factors contributing to wellbeing mental health and academic outcomes (5)

Answer 29

FPEPL Family factors- Family relationships, parental mental health history, parent education Personal factors- Mental and physical health, age, gender, sexuality, socio-cultural background Early environment- childhood abuse, neglect, bullying, early loss/separation Psychological factors- emotional self-awareness, compassion, resilience, mental health literacy, stigma Lifestyle and behaviour- exercise and recreation, social connections, sleep quality, substance use Academic achievement and course outcomes- these factors all contribute to academic outcomes and influence mental health: level of symptoms, well-being, life satisfaction and personal goals, grades and completion of degree

Question 30

Wellbeing mental health goals (7)

Answer 30

Community, social, recreational, career, academic, relationships, cultural CSR CAR Community goals: be apart of a broader community, support/contribute to positive change for others in those communities Social goals: make new social connections and develop a broader social network Recreational goals: Maintain physical fitness, engage in recreational hobbies. cultural activity and achieve a healthy life-study balance career-work, and applied experience: look for enriched or applied learning experiences like volunteering or internships Academic- achieve and maintain good grades and self-directedness in learning Relationships- make new and keep existing persona meaningful relationships Cultural- l: Every culture has a diff way of thinking about well-being and mental health. Overcoming stigma and sharing your story with those who understand your specific concerns and experiences can be useful

Question 31

5 important factors influenced by mental health

Answer 31

ECSMB Energy levels and motivation- Mental health influences how you feel, if you are motivated and if you have energy to complete tasks Concentration and cognition -Mental health influences the mental processes of concentration and cognition( the mental processes involved in thinking, feeling, decision making, learning and comprehension). Are you able to concentrate on the task at hand? How do you perform in environments that involve thinking, learning, and comprehension? Self-efficacy- The extent to which you believe in your ability/ competency to complete/ achieve certain outcomes ex.) Someone with high academic self-efficacy would believe they have the ability to be good at school Do you believe you are able to succeed at your goals and cope with challenges Managing stressful situations- how do you cope and manage belonginess- fosters a pro-social dimension of feeling part of a learning community and collaborating with others on a learning journey.

Question 32

5 main mental health concepts

Answer 32

Risk factors, protective factors, stressors, resilience, signs and symptoms

Question 33

Risk factors

Answer 33

A biological, psychological, sociological characteristic or exposure associated with a higher likelihood of a negative outcome - sometimes modifiable sometimes not ex.) Not getting enough sleep, drug use, not having a reliable social network, history of emntal health condition, culture where you are seen as "other", overthinking, avoiding problems

Question 34

Protective factors

Answer 34

Characteristic or exposure that lowers the likelihood of negative outcomes or that reduces the impact of risk factors Examples: having reliable support, friends and family, A good study-life balance, healthy sleep schedule, feeling included, positive thinking, journaling, or talking to a friend

Question 35

Stressors

Answer 35

a person, place or situation that causes a state of psychological strain or tension. Stress is a psychological response to a stressor. ex.) upcoming midterm or final, relationship problems

Question 36

2 routes in response to a stressor

Answer 36

Resilience or signs and symptoms

Question 37

Resilience as a response to a stressor

Answer 37

- 1 way of responding to a stressor Develops if an individual learns to manage their stressors. Resilience= being able to adjust, adapt, overcome and cope with a disappointment, stressor, threat or adverse event.

Question 38

Signs and symptoms as a response to a stressor

Answer 38

Another way of responding to a stressor if an individual does not adapt they can develop signs and symptoms. . Signs= observable indicators symptoms= experienced indicators There are indicators which either distress the individual or impairs their ability to function emotionally, socially or academically . Signs and symptoms may signal the emergence of an illness or a problem, or may be circumstantial and short-lived

Question 39

Psychodynamic model of mental health

Answer 39

- developed by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century - proposes that the processes of the mind involve interplay of psychological forces and that distress arises because conscious interpretation of these forces (sadness, distress, anxiety) masks their true unconscious origin (supressed or repressed feeling or urges often from childhood) : you believe the feelings are due to something current but often come from unconscious repressed experiences in childhood - current emkotions can be rooted in unconscious old conflicts - Sees a relationship with a therapist as a place for unconscious feelings to be made clearer and believe it is ket to solving the inner mental conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind - no evidence that this is actually helpful for disorders and has been replaced

Question 40

Medical/disease mode, of mental health

Answer 40

- Aristotle, Galen and hipporcrates - 19th and 20th centuries - Emily Kraepelin was the founder of modern psychiatry - model believed that psychiatric illnesses were diseases caused by biological and genetic malfunction - noted how illness ran in families - differentiated dementia from mood disorders - Views problems of mental functioning (social emotional and psychological) from a disease perspective with biological basis at its core. - Emphasizes recovery through somatic treatment like medication and brain stimulation

Question 41

Behavioural model of mental health: describe how it relates to anxiety and depression

Answer 41

-1950's pavlov, watson, skinner - Says that how you behave day to day is “conditioned”/ learned due to reinforcement you receive for your actions: You are more likely to do things that have positive consequences and less likely to do things with negative consequences. - Says that in anxiety disorders: maladaptive learning has taken place and a harmless stimulus has become linked to extreme fear that causes avoidance of the harmless stimulus and prevents learning that it is safe States that in depression: the short term benefit of avoiding things when you feel low, tired and stressed becomes outweighed by reduction in positive experiences you are no longer having, worsening mood further and increasing desire to withdraw. Aims of behaviour therapy: reverse learning in anxiety disorders and phobias (counterconditioning) by creating a different, less negative association with harmless stimulus. In treatment of depression: focuses on overcoming avoidance and building up opportunities to experience positive reinforcement Forms basis of psychological approaches commonly used today 1970’s

Question 42

cognitive model of mental health

Answer 42

1970s Believes mental disorders are the result of errors in thinking or biases. Assumes perspective of self and world are result of your thinking and, errors or distortions in thought process can cause upset and mental disorders Making negative interpretations of situations, recalling negative memories, and focusing on negative info all contribute to increased anxiety and depression. Unhelpful thinking involves: dwelling, overthinking and worry about what didnt go right or what could go wrong in the future Cognitive model of disease was combined with behaviour model and became cognitive behaviour therapy/CBT

Question 43

CBT/Cognitive behvaioural therapy

Answer 43

CBT: widely used therapy protocol. Includes cognitive component: identifying and correcting errors/biases in thinking (distortions, overgeneralizations, negative automatic thoughts, worry and rumination) used in anxiety and depression Behavioural component: changing maladaptive behaviour and learning new behavioural responses (exposure, systematic desensitization) cognfitive= understanding errors behavioural= correcting behaviour

Question 44

Biopsychosocial model of mental health

Answer 44

1990s to 2000s - george L engel Emphasizes interacting roles of biological factors, psychological factors and social factors as contributors to mental illness Modern use emphasizes that these 3 are not always equal in role of determining mental illness, some mental disorders are more biological than others Biology- Physical health, genetic, vulnerabilities, drug effects Social- peers, family, circumstance, relationships Psychological- Coping skills, family, relationships, self-esteem, mental health

Question 45

OSLER medical humanist model

Answer 45

An alternative to the biopsychosocial model ather than adopting a singular reductionist approach or rigidly enforced multifaceted approach this model reminds us to take into account the whole individual when assessing for a diagnosis and developing treatment plan. Holistic approach incorporating all relevant medical/biological, social and psychological aspects.

Question 46

Recent social and cultural models

Answer 46

- focus on how social context can influence mental health focuses on broader holistic community based influences on mental health including social, cultural and environmental context. Emphasizes providing support through addressing contributing factors including work/study conditions, nutrition, housing and living conditions, socioeconomic, education and healthcare services. Cultural/minority models focus on voices of experience in response to feeling talked about in medical and social models. ex.) hearing voices network: seeks to reject the stigma often imposed on the experience and seeks to encourage a more positive response to voice-hearing and related experiences in healthcare settings and wider society.

Question 46

The mad movement

Answer 46

Led by those with lived experience and focuses on non-stigmatizing ways of approaching mental health experiences. The mad movement and mad studies arose in the 1960’s aligned to the civil rights movement. Michael

Question 47

Pathways to mental illness and mental health problems

Answer 47

- there is not one single cause Models that take into account the developmental stage and exposure to risk and protective factors help explain onset of mental illness. - Understanding models of how mental problems and mental illness develops is important for helping prevention ( taking steps to avoid emergence in first place) and intervention (providing support and treatment after problems emerge) - good models of mental health problems and illness incljude variety of interacting factors

Question 48

Distalrisk factors

Answer 48

a factor that represents an indirect cause orunderlyign vulnerability for a particular condition Family history and early life family environment during childhood in terms of family functioning and emotional support as well as degree to which adequate nutrition, housing and a safe nurturing environment was provided. Abuse, neglect and/or peer bullying can have negative effects on mental health later in development such as in transition to higher education. This is treatable

Question 49

Proximal risk factors

Answer 49

A factor that represents a direct cause or immediate vulnerability for a particular condition - choices we make such as using cannabis, binging alcohol, sleep patterns, exercise routine are all things that affect mental health. If initial symptoms of anxiety and depression are left untreated or unresolved they can develop into significant mental health problems. - distal risk factors can effecr proximal risk facots upon univeristy entry

Question 50

Genes as a risk factor for mental health

Answer 50

out temperament and predisposition to mental disorders is related to genetic makeup and family history

Question 51

Epigenetics

Answer 51

modification if gene activity or expression that occurs through certain exposure biological (hormones), environmental (famine) and psychological( stress abuse neglect)

Question 51

Environment as a risk factor for mental health

Answer 51

physical, psychological and social surroundings: emotional context at home or in class.

Question 52

Uflourish concdeptual model of mental health and academic outcomes in first year students

Answer 52

Looks at how distal risk facots in early life and adolescnece influence proximal risk factors through entry to univeristy and how that influences outcomes at the end of first year such as grades and mental health ex.) early abuse can lead to low self esteem lack of exercise, anxiety and lower grades

Question 53

Stress diathesis model-

Answer 53

aka predisposition or vulnerability to illness model based on interactions between genes and the environment, wear and tear effect of chronic risk exposure related to stress on your mind and body. Ability to cope and adapt is affected by this balance ex.) schizophrenia is a mental illness that is thought to have a relatively strong genetic component. Majority of children with parents with schizophrenia will not themselves develop this disorder Certain environment and lifestyle factors can further increase risk in individuals who are already vulnerable or at risk such as through regular cannabis use.

Question 54

Culture as a risk factor of mental health

Answer 54

ifferences in culture have a range of implications for mental health practice and risk. Ranges from ways people view health and il;nes ot treatment seeking patterns nature of therapeutic relationship and issues of racism and discrimination