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Essay Unit 20 - Understanding Mental Wellbeing assignment 1
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unit 20 mental wellbeing assignment 1 distinction grade
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Page 1 of 45Unit 20 Assignment 1
Contents page
Page 2: Introduction
The meaning of mental health
Page 3: Factors that affect and influence mental health (P1 & M1)
Page 20: Mental health conditions
Page 21: How mental health is classified and diagnosed (P2, P3, M2)
Page 39: Evaluation (D1)
Page 45: Bibliography
, Page 2 of 45
Introduction
In this report I will be exploring the importance of understanding mental wellbeing and the
various aspects that impact it. As mental wellbeing consists of social, emotional and
psychological wellbeing, I will be investigating how they can be better understood in health
and social care. I will be looking at what mental wellbeing is and how it can be achieved to
prevent mental illness. Not everyone achieves mental wellbeing and I will discuss the
factors that affect it, such as social inequality and genetic factors.
Furthermore, I will be exploring the classification methods used by psychiatrists to
diagnose and treat mental health conditions. I will examine the advantages and
disadvantages of these systems and how they can be used in conjunction with other
methods. I will look at the different types of mental illnesses and how they are classified,
including autism which is not a mental illness. Also I will reasearch the topic of mental
health awareness and what people working in health and social care are trained to do and
the link between physical and mental health.
For this study I will use three main illnesses, autism, OCD and eating disorders. I have
chosen these as I am most interested in finding out more about them. Through this study I
will gain a better understanding of mental health, and how it is diagnosed and treated.
, Page 3 of 45
Learning Aim A
Understand different views on the nature of mental well-being and mental health
P1 Explain factors that influence mental wellbeing and mental health.
Difficulties defining mental health
As mental wellbeing is personal to each individual there is no agreed universal definition.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental wellbeing may have various
definitions, such as: “the notion of happiness or contentment” or “the absence of disease”
or the “absence of negative determinants in the life of an individual” (World Health
Organisation, 2009). Mental wellbeing also includes cognitive, social, emotional,
behavioural, and psychological responses displayed by an individual in certain situations.
Furthermore, the World Health Organisation also state that mental wellbeing “should be
considered as a continuum and as operating within a spectrum, rather than a state that is
present or absent” (World Health Organisation, 2019) due to its complexity and lack of
universal definition. As mental wellbeing can vary from day to day, it is a dynamic concept.
Mental health is defined as a state of well-being that all individuals have and is influenced
by various factors in an individual's life. If an individual has good mental health, they are
expected to be able to “cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and
fruitfully, and are able to make a contribution to their community” (World Health
Organisation, 2014). Similarly to mental wellbeing, mental health can be seen as being
within a spectrum due to having different perceptions within both society and health and
social care settings. At different points in someone’s life, they may have a different state of
mental health due to health physically changing, as well as the individuals perception of
the meaning of mental health.One person's idea of being happy or coping in life may be far
different to another's.
History of mental health care
Mental health has often had a reputation of being misunderstood throughout history as it is
difficult to diagnose and treat. Society's perception of those who are suffering from mental
health conditions has a big impact on the treatment that is available and depends on the
accepted sociological perspectives of the time. Research into neuroscience allows
scientistis to get closer to understanding the brain but it is nowhere near fully understood
and the brain is the organ of the body that is most unknown because of what exactly
happens in the 'grey matter'. Medical understanding of the brain can only go as far as
science and technology allows.
Throughout history, our society's perspective on mentally ill individuals has changed
drastically. In the 1900s, mentally ill individuals were held in asylums to be kept away from
society. Admissions to asylums were often involuntary as individuals were forced by their
families to stay in the institution and receive treatment for their mental health. Despite
reasons for admissions often being for trivial reasons such as being socially inept,
admissions often lasted for long periods of time due to the individual being unable to cope
in the community without support, and often becoming worse throughout their stay. Inside
asylums, therapy was limited which contributed to the length of admissions as there was
no support for individuals to recover, instead they were often left to their own devices and
, Page 4 of 45
subsequently relapsed. Care in psychiatric institutions before 1948 consisted of
straitjackets, intramuscular injections, padded cells and restraints; treatments were equally
brutal and electroconvulsive therapy, as well as insulin induced comas and frontal
lobotomies which were commonly used to manage the symptoms of those with mental
disorders.
In 1948 when the National Health Service started out, it took responsibility for over 100
asylums in the UK and mental health based care was all funded by the government.
Shortly after the creation of the NHS, the Mental Health Act was created in 1959, allowing
for patients to be kept in hospital involuntarily, meaning that even if a patient wanted to
leave, the law stated that they could be kept locked up until deemed safe. Despite the
creation of the NHS and 1959 Mental Health Act aiming to reduce the amount of
individuals inside asylums and allow for more community care, instead it did the opposite.
By the mid 1950s, there were over “150,000” (People's History NHS, 2018) individuals
kept inside and the number was expected to continue to grow due to their being no
adequate community care available.
Difficult to diagnose and treat
An individual's mental health can be negatively affected if they experience stress or mental
illnesses which have different symptoms in each person can impact people’s lives very
differently. Mental illnesses can have a range of severities and symptoms and each
person's experience with a mental illness may be unique. Due to there being so many
types of mental illness and each one having the possibility of impacting someone
differently, it is often difficult to identify when someone is suffering from a mental illness
which can cause challenges within social networks, as well as within health and social
care. Treatment for mental health conditions includes a combination of medication and
talking therapy.
Factors that affect and influence mental health and wellbeing
According to the Charity 'Mind' there are various reasons why someone develops a mental
health problem. Normally there is not just one factor but a complex combination of two or
more temporal factors as well as other deeper underlying reasons, such as hereditary
reasons or a learning disability. Mental health problems can be mild, moderate or severe,
They can be short term or long lasting depending on the severity.
People with learning difficulties, such as autism or ADHD, are more likely to experience
long term mental health problems as they find it harder adjusting and fitting into society.
They are more likely to be misdiagnosed and misunderstood by others or have issues with
eduation, employment and relationships. It can be difficult to determine which symptoms
are caused by ADHD and which are caused by poor mental health. Poor mental health can
be a result of not receiving the proper treatment you need.
The following causes are listed on Mind as being the most common causes of mental
illness: (www.mind.org)
1. childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect
social isolation or loneliness
2. experiencing discrimination and stigma
3. social disadvantage, poverty or debt
4. bereavement (losing someone close to you)
5. severe or long-term stress
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