NURS 267 Mental Health Unit 1

Mental Health Unit 1 (ATI AND Textbook) Mental Health – a state of well-being in which each individual is able to realize their own potential, cope with normal stresses of life, work productively, and make a contribution to the community  Provides people w/ the capacity for rational thinking, communication skills, emotional growth, resilience, and self esteem Psychieaty’s definition of mental health – shaped by culture and societal values; reflects changes in cultural norms, society’s expectations, political climates, and reimbursement criteria by third-party payers Mental illness – all mental disorders with definable diagnoses, manifested in significant dysfunction that may be r/t developmental, biological or psychological disturbances in mental functioning Contributing Factors Resilience – the ability and capacity for people to secure the resources they need to support their wellbeing  Closely associated w/ the process of adapting and helps people facing tragedies, loss, trauma, and severe stress  Recognizing feelings, readily dealing w/ them, and learning from the experience rather than falling victim to negative emotions  Characterized by: optimism, a sense of mastery, and competence  Resilience Factor Test BOX 1-1 Culture – mental health is culturally defined and based on interpretations of effective functioning according to societal norms Perceptions of Mental Health and Mental Illness  Mental Illness vs. Physical Illness – people commonly make a distinction between mental illness and physical illness that implies that psychiatric disorders are “all in the head” and therefore under personal control and indistinguishable from a choice to indulge in bad behavior  Nature vs. Nurture o Nature plus nurture (diathesis stress model) asserts that most psychiatric disorders result from a combination of genetic vulnerability and negative environmental stressors Social Influences on Mental Health Care Consumer Movement and Mental Health Recovery  Recovery – a consumer focused process in which people are able to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities; a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential  10 guiding principles of recovery: o Self-directed – consumers lead, control, exercise choice over, and determine their own path of recovery o Individual and person centered – recovery is based on unique strengths and resiliencies, as well as needs, preferences, experiences (including past trauma), and cultural backgrounds o Empowering – consumers have the authority to choose from a range of options, participate in all decisions that will affect their lives, and be educated and supported in so doing o Holistic – recovery encompasses an individual’s whole life, including mind, body, spirit and community o Strengths based – recovery is focused on valuing and building on the multiple capacities, resiliencies, talents, coping abilities, and inherent worth of individuals o Peer-supported – consumers encourage and engage each other in recovery and provide a sense of belonging, supportive relationships, valued roles and community o Respect – community, systems, and societal acceptance and appreciation of consumers – including protecting their rights and eliminating discrimination and stigma-are clinical in achieving recovery o Responsibility – consumers have a personal responsibility for their own self-care and recovery, for understanding and giving meaning to their experiences, and for identifying coping strategies and healing processes to promote their own wellness o Hope – recovery provides the essential motivating message of a better future: that people can and do overcome the barriers and obstacles that confront them; catalyst of the recovery process Decade of the Brain – go