Mental Health

Definition and Importance of Mental Health

So many things have been said about mental health. It is the key to wholesome
adjustment; It denote a sound state of mind; and it means facing and accepting the facts
squarely. The United States National Committee for Mental Hygiene defines mental health
as The adjustment of individual to themselves and the world at large at maximum
effectiveness, satisfaction, cheerfulness and socially considerate behavior and the ability to
face accept the realities of life.
Factors Affecting Mental Health
Mental Health aims primarily to the attainment and preservation of ones personality and
behavior. It scope goes beyond our homes, and includes the school, church, hospital and
other institutions that helps develop stable emotional reactions and desirable behavioral
pattern in individual of all ages.
There are three factors affecting mental health. These are
(a.) Hereditary Factors
(b.) Physical Factors; and
(c.) Socio-cultural Factors.
The Importance of Emotions to Mental Health
Emotions are feelings of love, excitement, anger and frustration. When you respond to a
negative or positive situation you are experiencing emotions. These are five basic emotions:
love, happiness, anger, fear and sorrow. When you are exposed to a situation, you assess it
as either helpful or harmful, good or bad. Your assessment and response is called emotion.
Sometimes you are confronted w/ certain situation or problems and you respond to them in
order to prevent, avoid or control emotional distress. There are many ways of attempting to
resolve problems of living w/c are called coping strategies or skills. Here are some ways
of coping w/ emotional problems: 1) you can try to change the situation that causing the
emotional distress., 2) you can try to change the Interpretation of the situation so that it
has less importance and is not so distressing, or 3) you can try to change the negative
feeling w/o changing the situation or how you think about it. There are also some intelligent
ways of handing your emotions. Here are some of them.
Negative Feelings and Attitude
when social and emotional needs are not met, some negative feelings and attitude are
develop. These are loneliness, alienation and emptiness, mild depression and mild anxiety.

Coping w/ Emotional and Mental health

Defense mechanism are ways of deceiving yourself and others about your real conscious
desires, reactions and emotions. Defense mechanism are constructive ways of dealing w/
some situations and their uses are considered normal. They are not signs emotional
disorder; however, an excessive use of your defense mechanisms.
1. Rationalization
2. Sublimation
3. Regression
4. Projection
5. Repression
6. Fantasy and day-dreaming

Responsible for the Prevention of Mental Illness
Philippines Mental Health Association Inc.
The Philippines Mental Health Association (PMHA) is a private, nonprofit and nonsectarian
organization located at 1s East Avenue, Quezon City. It is the only association of its kind at
the level in the Philippines.

5 Basic Emotions: Love, Happiness, Anger, Fear and Sorrow
Mental Disorder/Illness

Mental Illness - is a state of being in which the person is uncomfortable meeting everyday
events and relating to orders.
Psychosis
Psychoses are major serious forms of mental illness, whose behaviors are unpredictable.
The psychotic person is characterized by a wholly unrealistic interpretation of himself and
the life around him His ego has lost control over the personality. Psychotic persons may be
quiet and docile at one time and hyperactive, and even violent in another. They are socially
inept.
Psychoses may be classified as organic or somatogenic and functional or
psychogenic
1. Organic Psychoses are those ailments caused by changes in the brain or
central nervous system like senile dementia w/c is attributable to deterioration in the
aged, psychoses due to disturbances of circulation, trauma, drugs and intoxication,
disturbances of metabolism, growth nutrition, or endocrine dysfunctions. Psychoses due to
new growth and psychoses due unknown or heredity cause buy associated w/ organic
changes.
Organic psychoses mat stem from a wide variety of cause, but damage or injury to the brain
or other parts of the central nervous system is always involved.

2. Functional Psychoses are serious mental disorder involving the total personality w/ no
Observable tissue damage.
If emotional stress is not given proper management. It may result to abnormal behavior
such as:
a. Personality Aberrations. The behavior shown in the mild forms of maladjustment
deviates from
what is normally acceptable to society.
b. Psychosomatic Disorder. (psycho physiological reaction). These are disorder pertaining
to the relationship of
bodily symptoms w/c arise on the basis of psychological factors.
c. Neurosis is a disorder of behavior of behavior due to emotional tension resulting from
frustration, conflict,
depression or mark insecurity. Neurosis is classified into group.

1. Anxiety Reaction manifest itself principally in diffused and consciously.
Experienced feelings of anxiety and apprehension for w/c there seems to be no specific
basis reality.
1.a. Neurasthenia is a psychoneurotic condition involving chronic fatigability, chronic
irritability to concentrate.
1.b. Hypochondria is the outstanding manifest of Neurosis in all dominatingpreoccupation
w/ the bodily processes, and complaints of specific and nonspecific aches and pains.
2. Hysteria Psychoneurotic condition characterized by symptoms of organic
Disorders, as blindness, deafness. Uncontrollable emotional excitement.

Impulse-Control Disorders cannot control an impulse to engage in harmful behaviors,
such as explosive anger, stealing (Kleptomania), setting fires (Pyromania), gambling, or
pulling out their own hair (Trichotillomania).

Anorexia Nervosa compulsive dieting associated with un realistic fears of fatness.
Anxiety Disorder Excessive apprehension worry and fear.
a. Phobias are fears of specific object, situations or activities.
b. Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder in w/c people experience sudden, intense Terror
such physical symptoms as rapid heart beat and shortness breath.
c. Obsession people w/ obsessive compulsive disorder experience intrusive thoughts or
Images.
d. Compulsion feel compelled to perform certain behaviors.

Mood Disorder also called affective disorder, create disturbances in a person emotional
life.
Example: Depression, Mania, and Bipolar disorder.
Symptoms: Feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, physical pain changes
In appetite, sleep patterns, and energy level.

Schizophrenia Experience delusion of persecution-false belief that other people are
plotting against
them.
Symptoms: Delusion and hallucinations, disorganized, thinking and speech, bazaars
behavior.
Cognitive Disorder
Example: Alzheimer Disease Memory Loss.

Bulimia Nervosa (Eating Disorder) Repeatedly engaged in episode of binge eating, usually
followed
by self induced vomiting or the use of laxative, diuretics or other medication to
prevent weight gain.
Ways of preventing Mental Disorder/Illness
The promotions of mental health is not the sale of medical profession or its branch of
psychiatry alone but of all organized social activities and institution, such as family,
employment, church, the educational system, the recreational outlets and the special
protective services. Different professionals and services may help such as:

1. Psychiatrist are physician or medical doctors who have at least 3 years special
training in the theories and techniques of psychoanalysis.
2. Psychoanalysis have background in psychology. Strives to expose the ego in
the treatment situation and the original emotional conflicts w/c it could not solve in the
past.
3. Group Therapy a form of psychotherapy wherein 6 to 10 person meet once or twice a
week under the is direction of a train leader or therapist.
4. Psychotherapy is a method of verbal treatment w/c has been labeled, the talking
cure the aim of w/c is to free or to alleviate the clients mental illness.
5. Psychologist are person whose academic training have been on the study of human
behavior.
6. Psychiatric nurses are registered nurse who have a masters degree in an appropriate
program and one and a half to two yrs. In psychiatric settings.
7. Clinical Mental Health Counselors are person who have a masters degree and 2
yrs. Of counseling experience.

AGING
Definition of terms:
1. Aging - Normal development factor or a continuous life-long process that begins at birth
and death.
- irreversible biological changes that occur in all living things w/ the passage of time.
2. Young ushers in the first or relatively early stages of life, growth and development.
3. Old age The final stage of life span.
4. Gerontologist are medical doctors who specialized in the study of aging and care of
the elderly in society.

Sign of Aging
A. Physical Changes
B. Psychological or mental Changes
C. Sociological Changes
Biological and Social Theories of Aging
1. Wear and Tear theory
2. Waste product theory
3. Mutation and Auto-Immune theory
4. Free Radical theory
5. Cellular error in copying or error catastrophe theory
6. Genetic of Pacemaker theory
7. The DNA Tumor Viruses theory


Death Education
Death - the irreversible cessation of life and the imminent approach of death.
- the departure of soul from the body.
- in modern times, death has been define as occurring when the vital function case and the
person stop
breathing.
Thanatology is the study of death. It is a relatively new field but much progress in the
study has been made.

In death education, you are encouraged to identify inaccurate or harmful
perceptions about death. You should be able to describe death-related anxieties
and overcome denial of death. You have to accept the realities about death, such
as:
1. every living thing must and will die
2. death is final and irreversible
3. grief responses are normal and necessary
4. certain cultural activities and rites may follow after death
5. individuals need social support during bereavement