Considering Wellbeing
Students complete an online survey that required responses to the following statements
I usually came though difficult times with little trouble
It does not take me long to to recover from a stressful event
These 2 statements were assessing the students level of ....
Resilience
How could you describe the mental wellbeing continuum?
A tool which tracks the progression of fluctuations in mental wellbeing
Stigma prevents many people from seeking
the treatment they need to address their mental health problems. According to the biopsychosocial approach to mental health, stigma is which kind of contributing factor?
Social
As a child, David would become frightened when he saw his mother Tracy scream and run away every time she saw a cockroach. Tracy always appeared relieved when she was no longer near the cockroach. David acquired the same phobia of cockroaches and also screamed and ran away whenever he saw a cockroach.
If David’s friends and family wanted to help him overcome his fear of cockroaches, they should…
Challenge David’s reasons for fearing cockroaches
The ability to be independent and effectively meet everyday demands within the environment is know as...
High levels of functioning
One advantage of looking at mental wellbeing on a continuum is that...
Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) dysfunction can be a biological contributing factor to specific phobia when...
there is a deficiency of this inhibitory neurotransmitter
Anxiety disorders can be managed with
a group of drugs known as benzodiazepines.
Benzodiazepines imitate the activity of the neurotransmitter, gamma-amino butyric
acid (GABA).
Benzodiazepines work by…
Inhibiting post-synaptic neurons in the brain to calm the body and reduce arousal.
The relationship between resiliance and coping is that...
Coping skills can increase an individual's resiliance in the face of stress
What is the differences between Stress, Anxiety and Phobia?
Stress and phobia have a known cause
Anxiety has no known cause
What is a biological, perpetuating factor for a specific phobia?
Long term Potentation
A psychologist treated a patient who suffered
a phobia of flying. During the therapy, the psychologist helped the patient to identify
his unhelpful thoughts about flying, and
to identify other helpful and more rational thoughts about flying.
The therapy that the psychologist used was…
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
What are the characteristics of a person with a high level of resiliance? (4)
Can meet the demands of eveyday life
Can recover from stress
Has social connections
Be able to express emotions appropriately
Harper has recently change her job and at this point in time, does not feel like she is coping with her job. She feels fearful with getting ready for work and often experiences tension headaches, high blood pressure and loss of sleep due to worry.
What is Harper likely to be experiencing?
Stress and Anxiety as her symptoms are persistant and maladaptive
What is the likely role of memory bias in the development of a phobia?
Everytime an individual recalls the phobic stimulus they seem more threatening than they actually were
Psychoeducation for family and supporters of a person with phobia works as...
a social intervention that teaches the importance of challenging unrealistic thoughts and not encouraging avoidance behaviours.
From a psychological perspective, being mentally healthy is best described as...
using one's cognitive, emotional and social abilities effectively
Despina’s mother recently passed away after being ill for a long time. She has taken some time off work to organise the funeral and is attempting to grieve while also being there for her kids. Despite these challenges, Despina has a strong support network of family and friends, and has still managed to find time to shop, take her kids to school, and complete household chores. Her sister Matisse has been unable to cope and has turned to alcohol in an attempt to cope with her loss.
In turning to alcohol in an attempt to cope with the death of her mother, Matisse is adopting which approach to deal with stress?
Avoidance coping
In terms of psychological contributing factors to phobia, behavioural models suggest that...
classical conditioning precipitates phobia while operant conditioning perpetuates phobia.
Eliza has had a phobia of cats ever since she was little. She always feels nervous when walking down suburban streets, and will cross the road if she sees a cat in someone’s front yard.
Explain how systematic desensitisation can be used to help Eliza overcome her phobia of cats.
Eliza should begin by learning relaxation techniques, such as breathing retraining
She should then develop a fear hierarchy, ranking experiences from least anxiety-inducing interactions with cats, to being in direct contact with a cat
She should then, under the supervision of a professional, gradually work her way through this fear hierarchy, pairing fearful stimuli with relaxation techniques
Eliza should continue this process until she is able to touch or be near a cat without producing the fear response