Chapter Two: Achieving Psychological Health

1. Chapter Two: Achieving Psychological Health

2. Psychological Health • Also known as emotional wellness • A broadly based concept pertaining to cognitive functioning in conjunction with the way people • Express emotions • Cope with stress, adversity, and success • Adapt to changes in themselves and their environment

3. Psychological Health • Biopsychological model • Biological factors • Psychological factors • Social factors • Positive self-concept • Positive self-esteem • Higher level of emotional intelligence

4. Characteristics of Psychologically Healthy People • Accept themselves and others • Like themselves • Express a full range of emotions • Give and receive care, love, and support • Express full range of emotions (positive and negative) • Accepts life’s disappointments • Accept their mistakes

5. Characteristics of Psychologically Healthy People (cont.) • Express empathy and concern for others • Take care of themselves • Trust others as well as themselves • Establish goals • Can function both independently and interdependently • Lead a health-enhancing lifestyle

6. Self-Esteem • Having pride in yourself • Treating yourself with respect • Considering yourself valuable, important, worthy • Feeling good about yourself • Having self-confidence, being self-assured • Accepting yourself

7. Emotional Intelligence • Ability to understand others and act wisely in human relations • Five primary domains: • Know your emotions • Manage your emotions • Motivate yourself • Recognize emotions in others • Handle relationships

8. Personality • Specific patterns of behavior and traits that identify and characterize an individual • Thoughts • Feelings • Behaviors • Motivation • Instinct • Temperament • Two factors that can influence personality: • nature (innate factors) • nurture (environmental factors)

9. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

10. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Self-actualization: The highest level of psychological health at which one reaches her or his highest potential and values truth, beauty, goodness, faith, love, humor, and ingenuity • Basic needs: Essential and fundamental needs • Metaneeds: Secondary concerns that can be addressed only after basic needs are met

11. Other Characteristics that Influence Psychological Health • Normal range of emotions • Creative expression • Nonconformity • Independence • Motivation • Curiosity • Persistence

12. Other Characteristics that Influence Psychological Health • Spiritual health • Sense of purpose, direction, and awareness • Morals, ethics, intrinsic values, and beliefs

13. Keys to Psychological Health • Cultivate a sense of humor to build a positive outlook on life

14. Keys to Psychological Health • Develop communication skills to foster improved social relationships • Verbal communication—be a skilled sender and listener • Nonverbal communication—facial expression, eye contact, personal space, body posture • Managing conflict • Listen • Focus on what to say and how to say it • Use assertive communication with “I” statements

15. Optimistic Approach to Life • Learned helplessness (Pavlov) vs. learned optimism (Seligman) • Three key factors • Permanence—“never,” “always,” “forever” • Pessimists view causes of bad events as permanent and tend to give up easily • Pervasiveness • Universal explanations vs. situation specific explanations • Personalization • Internal vs. external explanatory style

16. Optimistic Approach to Life • Building optimism—reframe thinking about events • Change thoughts and beliefs • Create strategies for solving problems • Be persistent, work to overcome obstacles

17. Proactive Approach to Life • Proactive approach promotes better control of one’s overall life • Construct mental pictures • Accept mental pictures • Undertake new experiences • Reframe mental pictures

18. Psychological Disorders • Mood disorders • Anxiety disorders • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) • Schizophrenia

19. Mood Disorders: Depression • Affects about one in ten Americans • Symptoms include • Depressed mood • Lack of motivation, lack of interest in usual activities • Social withdrawal • Disturbed sleep, eating habits • Risk factors • Family history • Environmental factors

20. Mood Disorders: Depression

21. Mood Disorders: Depression • Treatments • Counseling • Medication • Herbal supplements? • Exercise • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

22. Mood Disorders: Seasonal Affective Disorder • Develops in response to changes in the seasons • Treatments • Counseling • Antidepressant medications • Light therapy

23. Mood Disorders: Postpartum Depression • Affects women in the weeks and months following childbirth • Can last from a few days to more than a year • Different from postpartum psychosis, which is marked by hallucinations and delusions

24. Suicide • Third leading cause of death for young adults • Men have higher rates of suicide than women • Risk factors include • Little or no social support • Family history of mental illness and/or suicide • Problems with drugs or alcohol • Possession of a firearm

25. Mood Disorders: Bipolar Disorder • Characterized by alternating episodes of depression and mania • Symptoms of mania • Excessive energy • Racing thoughts and rapid speech • Impulsive and/or reckless behavior • Treatment • Psychotherapy • Mood stabilizing medications

26. Anxiety Disorders • Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) • Intensity and frequency of worry that is excessive and out of proportion to the situation • Panic disorder • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) • Phobias (social phobia, specific phobia) • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

27. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • An estimated 15 million Americans suffer from ADHD • Symptoms often seen in adult cases: • Difficulty getting organized • Chronic procrastination • Frequently searching for high stimulation • Low tolerance for frustration • Low self-esteem

28. Schizophrenia • Characterized by profound distortion of thinking, emotion, perception, and behavior • Symptoms may include • Delusions • Hallucinations • Disorganized thinking and speech • Catatonic behavior • Treatment with antipsychotic medications and psychotherapy

29. Health Providers for Psychological Disorders • Psychiatrists (MDs) • Treatment often focuses more on medical management and less on talking through problems • Psychologists • Includes a variety of subspecialties • Treatment generally focuses on behavior therapy and problem solving • Counselors • Social workers

30. Approaches in Treating Psychological Disorders • Dynamic therapy • Focuses on forces underlying an individual’s problems; may look at early childhood experiences • Humanistic therapy • Client-centered approach based on idea that people can naturally grow in positive and constructive ways • Behavior therapy • Focuses on behavior modification • Cognitive-behavioral therapy • Focuses on changing cognitive patterns in order to change behavior and emotional state

31. Approaches in Treating Psychological Disorders (cont.) • Solution-focused therapy • Goal-oriented approach that stresses looking for solutions rather than dwelling on problems • Couples and family therapy • Group therapy • Provides support; group members can also learn from one another’s experiences

32. Chapter Two: Achieving Psychological Health