Summary: Mental Health and Mental Illness Fundamentals: Part 1 Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes, PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC Executive Director: AllCEUs Counselor Education Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox, Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery, Addiction Counselor Exam Review Objectives ~ Explore the neuroscience of mental health ~ Explore how mental illness manifests itself ~ Learn about the prevalence (epidemiology) and costs of mental illness ~ Explore the biological, psychosocial and individual risk factors for mental illness and review the difference between correlation, causation and consequences Neuroscience of Mental Health ~ Creation of emotions and our ability to think and perceive things occurs in the brain ~ The workings of the brain depend on the nerve cells being able to communicate with each other ~ Structural ~ Nutritional ~ Each neuron makes over 1000 connections ~ The frontal lobe is involved with motor behavior ~ The prefrontal cortex is responsible for planning and integrating cognitive and emotional streams of information ~ The brain continues to develop until about age 25 Neuroscience Cont. ~ Electrical signals from the neuron are converted to chemicals called neurotransmitters ~ Neurotransmitters are released from the sending neuron into the space between neurons. They attach like a key into a “lock” called a receptor. This triggers the receiving neuron to pass on the signal. ~ The more receptors that are stimulated the more intense the reaction ~ Excitatory Neurotransmitters include norepinephrine and glutamate ~ Inhibitory neurotransmitters include GABA and to some extent serotonin (14). ~ Other neurotransmitters include dopamine (5), acetylcholine, endorphins (natural opiates), substance P (pain, anxiety, stress) Neuroscience cont… ~ Neurotransmitter availability is impacted by ~ The presence of other neurotransmitters and hormones ~ Quality and quantity of the neurotransmitter ~ Vitamins and minerals help break down amino acids (proteins) to make neurotransmitters. ~ Without proper nutrition and adequate stress management the neurons will not be able to function effectively. Manifestation of Mental Illness ~ Rapid heart rate ~ Muscle tension ~ Light headedness ~ Fatigue ~ Appetite changes ~ Dysregulation of mood ~ Fear/anxiety ~ Irritability/anger ~ Depression ~ Cognitive dysfunction (difficulty with memory or concentration as in depression or dementia) ~ Disturbances of thought and perception (hallucinations and delusions) Anxiety ~ Triggers the fight or flight response ~ OCD, panic disorder and phobias are in this family ~ OCD has components of ~ Anxious emotions ~ Obsessional thinking ~ Behavioral compulsions Epidemiology ~ About 20% of the US struggles with a mental illness in any given year (both adults and children). ~ In 1996 over 100 billion dollars was spend as a direct cost of mental illness in the US ~ It is estimated that >45% of people will experience an addiction in their lifetime ~ Risk and protective factors ~ Individual ~ Biological ~ Psychosocial ~ Correlation, causation leading to consequences Epidemiology cont… ~ Causes of health and disease are generally viewed as a product of the interplay or interaction between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors ~ Biopsychosocial model ~ One factor by itself may not weigh heavily, but the combination of factors are exponentially additive Biological Factors ~ Mental disorders arise in part from defects not in single genes, but in multiple genes ~ No single gene or even a combination of genes dictates whether someone will have an illness or a particular behavioral trait. Rather, mental illness appears to result from the interaction of multiple genes that confer risk ~ No gene is equivalent to fate for mental illness. This gives us hope that modifiable environmental risk factors can eventually be identified and become targets for prevention efforts ~ Even with a high level of heritability, however, it is essential to point out that environmental factors (e.g.,
