Chapter 5 Mental and Emotional Problems - PowerPoint Presentation

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Chapter 5

Mental and Emotional Problems

What do you think?

Emotionally healthy people handle life’s problems without any help.

False: emotionally healthy people often benefit from professional help, and it is well worth seeking.

Anxiety is always a sign of a serious mental problem.

False: ordinary anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences from time to time.

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders.

True

Coping with difficult emotions

On any given day, you may experience a wide variety of emotions

Emotions are neither positive nor negative

Feelings such as anger or fear may be unpleasant, but that does not make them wrong

It’s the way you deal with these emotions that can be good or bad for your health

Emotions can be managed! Learning to handle emotions in a positive way will protect your physical, emotional, and social health.

Fear and anxiety

Fear

is a normal, instinctive response to a dangerous situation. It can trigger the stress response that we learned in chapter four.

Fear

is healthy when it encourages you to be careful in a dangerous situation.

Some things that frighten us may cause an unreasonable amount of fear. This is called a

phobia

(we will learn about these in the next section).

Fear and anxiety

Anxiety

-

an emotional state of high energy that triggers the stress response and is related to fear.

Anxiety

is natural and can either be helpful or harmful to us.

If you feel increased anxiety while taking a test, it may help you perform better.

Extreme anxiety can hurt your performance by making you feel overwhelmed and causing you to freeze up.

Dealing with anxiety or fear

1. Identify the cause. What do you fear? Write it down.

2. Deal with the cause if you can

3. If you can’t change the cause, let it go.

4. Try to envision a positive outcome. Focus on success

5. Use any extra energy for physical activity.

6. Practice relaxation techniques.

sadness and grief

Sadness is a NORMAL reaction to events in your life (bad grades, break-up)

Sadness can be mild and brief or deep and long-lasting

The deepest form of sadness is

grief –

the emotional response to a major loss, such as the death of a loved one

People who feel sad may say that they are “depressed”, but sadness and depression are not the same thing.

Sadness is a normal and temporary emotion, while depression is a serious illness that interferes with a person’s daily life.

anger

During your teen years, the increased levels of hormones in your body may cause you to become angry over small things

It is important to learn how to manage your anger so you do not risk damaging your relationships with others.

To control anger you must first recognize what is causing the anger, then you can think about ways to deal with the problem

It is important to first cool off before taking any action

Take a walk

Listen to music

Write down your thoughts in a journal

Guilt and shame

Guilt is the normal feeling that arises from the conscience when a person acts against internal values

The best way to deal with appropriate guilt is to admit you are wrong

Sometimes people feel guilty for things that are not their fault (divorce)

Shame is a feeling of being inherently unworthy

Shame means feeling bad about who you are as a person

Feelings of shame can be linked to serious mental problems

Remember: guilt is about what you do while shame is about who you are

Mental and emotional disorders

Everyone experiences difficult emotions from time to time, but when emotional problems interfere with daily life, that could be a sign of mental illness.

Mental illness

can interfere with work, personal relationships, and even basic daily tasks like bathing.

Warning signs of mental illness

Personality

Change

Inability to cope with problems

Difficulty performing daily tasks

Unrealistic Ideas

Excessive Anxiety

Prolonged

Depression or indifference to the world

Change in eating and

sleeping

Extreme highs and lows in mood

Excessive anger, hostility, or violent behavior

Thoughts of suicide or homicide (needs immediate help!)

Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders can be severe and disabling

Phobias- an extreme, irrational fear of an object or situation

Social Anxiety- extreme fear in the presence of other people

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- an uncontrollable fixation on specific thoughts and behaviors

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- serious stress reaction in response to a terrifying event

Panic Disorder- sudden, unexplained attacks of terror

Mood Disorders

Mood disorders involve extremes of emotion

Depression

Persistent feeling of apathy, hopelessness, or despair.

One of the most common mental disorders (one out of every ten people)

People who experience symptoms of depression for longer than two weeks should seek professional help

Bipolar Disorder

Extreme highs and lows of emotions

People with this disorder bounce back and forth from depression

Their mood swings can go from extreme happiness to extreme irritability or aggression

They also have difficulty concentrating and display poor judgment and reckless behavior

Other disorders

Schizophrenia

Severe mental disorder that causes people to lose touch with reality

Addiction

Physical or psychological dependence on a particular substance, habit, or behavior

Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa

Binge Eating Disorder

Emotional healing

Therapy

is any activity or treatment that helps a person cope with a mental or emotional problem.

Many teens seek therapy to help them through troubled periods in their lives.

Some examples include:

Depression, anxiety, or stress

Eating disorders

Learning or attention problems that affect school

Painful events (serious illness, death, divorce, etc.)

Substance abuse

Everyday problems like managing anger or coping with peer pressure

Types of therapy

Psychotherapy

Therapy in which the patient discusses problems with a trained therapist

Family Therapy

Members of a family meeting with a therapist to discuss problems that affect them as a group

Group Therapy

Several people with similar problems receive support from each other and from a counselor

Behavior Therapy

A therapist helps a person break an unhealthy pattern of behavior through a system of rewards and desensitization (overcoming fears)

Seeking help

If you feel like you may need help with a mental or emotional problem, there are several places you can look.

Your first step would be to talk to a parent or guardian

Other people who may offer help:

Teachers

Guidance Counselor

Religious Leader

Doctor

Community Health Centers

Crisis Hotlines

Support Groups

Seeking help

If you choose a therapist, it is important to choose one you are comfortable with.

During your first visit you may want to ask the following questions:

How long have you been practicing?

What are your office hours?

How much do you charge, will my insurance cover it?

Do you work with teens regularly?

Do you have experience helping people with problems like mine?

What is your basic approach to treatment?

If you are not satisfied with the answers you get, keep looking until you find someone who is a good fit for you.

Mental health professionals

People with these titles are qualified to offer therapy. Any others who claim to provide mental health services may not be trustworthy

Name

Services

Training

Psychiatrist

Can

provide medical and psychiatric evaluations and prescribe medications

Medical

degree and four years of specialized training

Psychologist

Perform psychological

testing and treat emotional and behavioral problems

Graduate degree

in psychology

Psychiatric

Nurse

May assess and treat mental illnesses

and in some states prescribe medication

College degrees ranging from associate’s to doctoral

Social Worker

Assess and treat mental illnesses and help people with everyday life issues

Master’s degree in social work

Counselor

Provide

counseling to individuals families and groups

Master’s degree in psychology or counseling plus a license from

the state where they practice

Helping others

Recognize when it is possible to help a friend and when professional help is necessary.

Some problems require a trained professional, an untrained person can cause more trouble by saying the wrong things.

Caring and support are important to those suffering from severe mental illness

Another way to help those who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder is to talk honestly about their condition

Do not judge or label those with a mental illness, treat them as you would treat anyone else with respect and consideration.