Introduction to Psychiatry and Mental Illness

What is health?

The state of being free from illness or injury

1 of 25

What is ill health?

Someone who has an illness, disease or keeps being ill

2 of 25

What is disease?

A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury

3 of 25

Describe neurological disorders of the brain structure

Developmental/damage (head trauma). Effects depend on extend/location of damage. Epilepsy/cerebral palsy are the result of cogenital/developmental damage. Degeneration. Characteristic diseases occur when specific parts of the brain degenerate

4 of 25

What is Parkinson's disease?

Degeneration of dopamine neurones in the nigrostriatal pathway

5 of 25

What is mental illness?

Health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behaviour (combination). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities

6 of 25

Describe features of disorders of brain function

Functional disorders. Structure of brain largely intact. Disorder due to abnormal function of key neurotransmitters. Biological model of psychiatric illness

7 of 25

What is the Psychosocial Model of Mental Illness?

Emphasises mental health disorders are due to experiences and learnt mechanisms of coping with adversity

8 of 25

What can mental illness affect?

Mood (affect), perception, thought, cognition (attention, memory, high level functions e.g. language, problem solving and decision making. How we feel, how we think, how we see the world around us

9 of 25

Describe features of disorders of mood

Changes in nature of mood (anxiety, depression, mania, anger). Abnormal fluctuations of mood. Total loss of emotion/inability to feel pleasure. Blunted mood (reduced variety of mood). Labile (rapid fluctuation). Incongruous (inappropriate emotion)

10 of 25

What is perception?

Awareness of what is presented through sensory organs. Compare with imagery. Experience within the mind, without any sense of reality

11 of 25

Describe features of disorders of perception?

Illusions - misperceptions of external stimuli, level of sensory stimulus is reduced. Hallucinations - percept experienced in absence of external stimulus, experienced from outside world not in mind as imagery, not restricted to mental illness

12 of 25

Give an example of auditory illusions

Shepard Scale: auditory illusion of tone continually ascending/descending in pitch but in reality change (Sonic Barber's Pole). Could be considered the auditory equivalent of impossible staircase (Penrose Stairs) - optical illusions

13 of 25

Describe features of disorders of thinking

Apparent from abnormal speech/writing, inferred from inability to perform tasks. E.g. delusions/obsessions, disorder of stream of thought (speed/pressure), disorder of form of thought (linking thoughts together), disorder of possession of thought

14 of 25

What is a delusion?

Belief that is firmly held on inadequate grounds. Usually false but not necessarily so

15 of 25

What is an obsession?

Persistent, repetitive and unwanted thought. Not eliminated by logic or reasoning

16 of 25

What are disorders of stream of thought?

Pressure of thinking, poverty of thought. Thought block - complete and abrupt interruption

17 of 25

What are disorders of form or thought?

Flight of ideas (thoughts/ideas move quickly), perseveration (persistent and inappropriate repetition), loosening of associations (loss of normal structure of thinking)

18 of 25

What are disorders of possession of thought?

Thought insertion, withdrawal or broadcast

19 of 25

Describe features of normal or not

Many symptoms of mental illness are part of normal experience (e.g. sadness, confusion, anxiety). Psychotic symptoms (hearing voices) may be more common than realised (1 in 20, delusional behaviour widespread e.g. astrology, telepathy, supernatural)

20 of 25

What is the Health Belief Model (used to explain/predict health behaviours)?

Based on understanding that a person will take a health-related action if the person: feels that negative health can be avoided, positive expectation by taking recommended action to avoid negative health condition, believes in success

21 of 25

What are the grades of insight?

Complete denial of mental illness. Slight awareness of being sick/needing help but in denial. Awareness of sickness but blames others. Intellectual insight (unable to apply knowledge to future), true emotional (fully aware/how it changes them)

22 of 25

What are the factors influencing insight?

Cultural models of illness, general intelligence and knowledge, doctor-patient relationship, symptoms (delusions, depression), denial/motivation (preservation of self-esteem, avoidance of stigma), personality (compliance non-conformity as a trait)

23 of 25

What is a stigma?

A strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something

24 of 25

Describe features of stigma in mental health

Myths (people are violent, less intelligent, rare, personal weakness). Media distorts truth about mental illness. Patients less likely to find work, have a steady relationship, have decent living, be socially included in mainstream society

25 of 25

Get Revising

Introduction to Psychiatry and Mental Illness

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Similar Pharmacy resources:

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Related discussions on The Student Room

Similar Pharmacy resources: