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What is mental health

Human mental health is, according to the WHO definition, a state of a person in which he does not have any mental abnormalities, and also successfully realizes his own potential, successfully performs the necessary activities and makes a contribution to the development of society.

Norm and pathology, illness and health. What is this?

Even modern psychiatry, being one of the fields of medicine, still does not provide comprehensive standard indicators of the activity of the human psyche, by which one could clearly say - this is a normal person, and this is abnormal. Of course, there are obvious indicators of personality pathology. When even the people around you understand that a person is not just strange, but mentally ill.

But when it comes to less clear-cut cases, things become much more complicated. Returning to physical health, we can say that when a person feels well and does not experience discomfort, he is healthy. But people with manic disorders also feel great and do not experience the slightest discomfort from their condition. Although their psyche is undergoing severe changes.

There are no clear dependencies on social adaptation, performance or functional preservation of mental characteristics. Some alcoholics are quite successfully socially adapted, for example. There are even many brilliant people who suffer from mental illness. Therefore, the concepts of norm and pathology are blurred and unclear.

In psychiatry, the concepts of normality and health are close, but still differ in qualitative criteria. Just like the concepts of disease and pathology. For example, a child with mild mental retardation has pathologies in the development of thinking and memory, but is he sick because of this? He “loses” certain functions, but the presence of such a developmental pathology does not guarantee the presence of the disease. Clinical manifestations of these pathologies can be blurry and indistinct.

But when we talk about the concepts of pathology and disease (from the point of view of mental illness), everything changes. Mental illness, its severity, prognosis, nature of the course, severity of consequences are determined precisely by the specificity of the pathological process in the psyche.

Criteria for mental health of an individual

In a narrow sense, mental health should be characterized by the absence in a person of signs of mental disorders, among which, according to the German psychiatrist E. Kraepelin, are psychoses, psychopathy, dementia and neuroses.

In a broader sense, according to the WHO concept, the following indicators can be classified as criteria for individual mental health:

awareness of the uniqueness and constancy of one’s own “I”;
constancy and identity of mental reactions to similar situations;
criticality towards one's own mental activity and its results;
adequacy of reactions to the frequency and strength of environmental influences on the psyche;
the ability to manage one’s own behavior in accordance with the rules established in society;
the ability to set goals, build an activity plan and bring the work started to fruition;
the ability to change one's behavior depending on a changing situation.

Mental health concept

It is worth saying right away that even specialists do not have a specific, clear description of psychological health. There are no strict criteria for either psychological well-being or ill-being. There are no completely healthy or sick people in this sense, except for fairly deep deviations in the form of already known diseases and mental conditions.

In general, this combination means the following:

Psychological health is a feeling of integrity of oneself as an individual, mental comfort, an adequate attitude towards the world around us, the ability to develop both internally and externally, and the absence of painful mental phenomena.

Let us highlight several main criteria for psychological health:

the ability to determine goals and life plans in specific periods and create new ones;
be able to overcome life's difficulties;
develop awareness and an adequate attitude towards the world around you;
take responsibility for your actions and actions.

In addition, psychological health includes the following concepts that are important for the life of any person:

Own importance and the desire to preserve it. Often we are accustomed to sacrificing ourselves, our feelings, emotions, sacrificing them to someone else. That’s why we are so often unsure of ourselves. Always follow your goal, results, dreams. Don't pay attention to the little things. Persistence and concentration are the ingredients for a spiritual core.
Self-love . By respecting ourselves, our feelings, desires, we begin to respect the people around us. By infringing ourselves, we cannot fully engage in dialogue with people.
Love of a loved one. Important aspect. If, for example, a woman feels a chill in her relationship with her husband, then dissatisfaction with the relationship, soul-searching, and humiliation of herself appear. Slowly, negativity accumulates, resulting in a depressive state and distance from a loved one.

Levels of mental health

The World Health Organization also defines basic levels of mental health.

So, the first and highest level is the ideal mental and physical health of a person. Harmonious development, all criteria for mental health are present, no prerequisites for the development of mental illness.

The second level is average. This, one might say, is the “norm”, which is characteristic of the population, age group, gender, social status and conditions in which a person finds himself.

The concept of mental health norms. Basic approaches to the dichotomy “norm - pathology”.

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The content of the concept of “mental health”, mental and personal development, as a condition of mental health (MH).

Mental health (MH) is a state of well-being in which a person can realize his or her own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community.

PP criteria: adequate perception of the environment, conscious action, activity, efficiency, determination, the ability to establish close contacts, a full-fledged family life, a sense of affection and responsibility towards loved ones, the ability to draw up and implement one’s life plan, focus on self-development, integrity personality.

Approaches . The traditional medical model considers health as a measure of the likelihood of developing mental illness (health as the absence of illness) - health from the standpoint of mental disorders and personality anomalies as deviations from the norm

.
Personal health cannot be reduced to a state of mental well-being - subjective self-esteem
.
“ Norm ” cannot be a full-fledged criterion for PP simply because it is a consequence of the culture and traditions of a certain society or historical period.
Psychology: 1960s - “ positive mental health”

“—an analysis of the healthy functioning of the individual as a positive process that has independent value and is meaningfully described through the concepts of self-realization, self-actualization, full human functioning, and the pursuit of meaning.

Conditions for mental health: normal mental and personal development.

Mental development is a natural process of development of HMF (socialization), the result of which is normal adaptation to society.

Personal development is the process of development of individuality (individualization), the result of which is adequate adaptation to one’s self. These two processes - socialization and individualization - begin at birth and, normally, balance each other due to the different vector of their orientation. The predominant development of one of them leads to the weakening of the other. Extreme variants of such development can be, for example, conformism and negativism.

The question of the criteria for the norm of mental development has been considered quite fully in both domestic and foreign psychology. Much more difficulties arise when determining the criteria for the norm of personal development, since the very concept of “personality” presupposes the properties of individuality. As such a unit, the phenomenon of self-identity can be considered - the process of a person experiencing his Self as belonging to him, that is, the experience of identity with himself, his Self.

2. Mental health criteria. Hypothesis about levels of mental health (Brother):

2 levels of manifestation of mental health : external (doctor, psychologist); internal ( positions of research and research, object and subject).

External level

- absence of manifestations of the disease - symptoms, syndromes, which makes up the picture of the disease.

Internal level

— a complex of a person’s experiences that make up his internal picture of the disease (IP).

G.S. Abramova, Yu.A. Yudchits - criteria for PP: external criteria - adaptation, socialization, internal. – individualization. The criterion for assessing the PP is adaptation - the process and result of adapting the system to external conditions. and internal environment. K.K. Platonov

— 3 types of adaptation – physiological, psychological, socio-psychological.
I.P.
Pavlov: every disease is a violation of the interaction between the body and the environment.
J. Piaget
: adaptation is what ensures the balance between the body’s impact on the environment and the reverse impact of the environment (between assimilation and accommodation)

WHO - criteria for mental health: a sense of continuity, constancy and identity of one’s physical and mental “I”; constancy of experiences in similar situations; criticality of oneself and one’s mental products; correspondence of mental reactions to the strength and frequency of environmental influences; the ability to self-manage behavior in accordance with social norms; the ability to plan life activities and implement plans; the ability to change behavior depending on changing circumstances.

Levels of mental health: 1) psychophysiological

(state and functioning of the central nervous system);
2) individual - psychological
(state and functioning of mental activity); 3)
personal
health (correlation of human needs with the capabilities and requirements of the social environment).

Each level has its own criteria for normality and abnormality. Negative changes can occur at one, two or all three levels. Violations of the psychophysiological level of health - in the form of nervous diseases that occur both in the central nervous system and in the peripheral (migraine, neuralgia, neuritis, polyneuritis, etc.) . Violations of the individual psychological level - the appearance of mental illnesses (disorders of perception, thinking, memory, emotions, etc.). Personal level disorders - changes in personality orientation (alcoholism, drug addiction, maniacs).

Hypothesis about the levels of mental health (Brother) : Multilevel mentality. He identified personal-semantic , individual-psychological , psychophysiological ). The highest level in the structure of mental health is the level of personal-semantic health, which regulates subordinate levels - individual psychological and psychophysiological. Each of the identified levels has different manifestations, mechanisms of adaptation and regulation by the individual of her relationships with the world: mental health and ill health at each level.

MH is not the absence of symptoms of a disease, conflicts, problems, etc., but maturity, the activity of personal self-regulation mechanisms that ensure full human functioning.

The concept of mental health norms. Basic approaches to the dichotomy “norm - pathology”.

There is no consensus on the norm of PP. 3 groups of concepts:

1) Panpsychiatric:

all are mentally abnormal, suffer from psychopathological conditions (each is a deviation from the norm).
Document
: alienation from oneself, from others, from the world in general, conflict, decreased social support, crime, war, the threat of global self-destruction.

2) Antipsychiatric: denies the legitimacy of the question of mental norm and pathology. Everyone is mentally normal, there is no pathology. Negative relationships between people are normal, this is the nature of people. Psychiatry is a pseudoscience, a means of suppressing non-standard individuals. Mentally ill people are victims of a pathogenic society - a madman is someone who does not agree with the dictates of religion and the state.

3) Clinical: separates mental norm and pathology. Health and disease are polarities; between them there are a number of clinical forms of varying degrees of pathology. Norm and pathology are a dichotomy (two opposite poles).

The concept of PP through the idea of a norm is formed by the social environment, social foundations.

In any state of health, elements of ill health can be found and vice versa.

E. Kraepelin: the norm as a diluted pathology. Z. Freud: “psychopathology of everyday life.”

G.S. Abramova: there is no longer a division into clearly mentally ill and mentally healthy.

Yu.A. Aleksandrovsky - borderline mental disorders as not clearly expressed disorders that border on the state of health and separate it from the actual pathological mental manifestations.

I identified 5 health groups.

I - healthy children with normal physical and mental development, without anatomical defects, functional and morphofunctional abnormalities.

II - children, without chronic diseases, but there are some functional and morphofunctional disorders; survivors of severe and moderate infectious diseases; children with general delay in physical development without endocrine pathology (short stature; retardation in the level of biological development); children with underweight or overweight.

III - children with chronic diseases in the stage of clinical remission with rare exacerbations, preserved or compensated functionality in the absence of complications of the underlying disease; children with physical disabilities, consequences of injuries and operations, subject to compensation for the corresponding functions.

IV - children with chronic diseases in the active stage and in the stage of unstable clinical remission with frequent exacerbations, with preserved or compensated functionality or incomplete compensation of functionality; children with physical disabilities, consequences of injuries and operations with incomplete compensation of the corresponding functions, which to a certain extent limits the child’s educational and work opportunities.

V - children with severe chronic diseases with rare clinical remissions, frequent exacerbations and a continuously relapsing course, with severe decompensation of the functional capabilities of the body, the presence of complications of the underlying disease, requiring constant therapy; disabled children; children with physical disabilities, consequences of injuries and operations with pronounced changes in the compensation of impaired functions or significant limitations in learning and work opportunities.

A pediatrician assesses the health status of children.

Clinical research method. Clinical diagnostic methods. Requirements for them

The selection of the necessary techniques is carried out depending on the goals of the psychological examination; individual characteristics of the mental and somatic state of the subject; his age; profession and level of education; time and place of the study. Clinical psychology borrows methods for studying the mental characteristics of somatically ill people from psychodiagnostics and general psychology; assessment of the adequacy or deviance of human behavior in psychiatry, developmental psychology and developmental psychology. The study of clinical psychology is impossible without medical knowledge, in particular from the field of neurology, neurosurgery and related disciplines.

Research methods in clinical psychology can be divided into three groups: 1) clinical interviewing, 2) experimental (patho-)-psychological research methods, 3) assessment of the effectiveness of psychocorrectional influences.

A clinical interview is a method of obtaining information about the individual psychological properties of a person, psychological phenomena and psychopathological symptoms and syndromes, the internal picture of the patient’s illness and the structure of the client’s problem, as well as a method of psychological influence on a person, carried out directly on the basis of personal contact between the psychologist and the client. One of the main goals of clinical interviewing

is the assessment of the individual psychological characteristics of the client or patient, ranking the identified characteristics by quality, strength and severity, classifying them as psychological phenomena or psychopathological symptoms.
The functions of interviews
in clinical psychology are: diagnostic and therapeutic.
The principles of a clinical interview
are: unambiguity, accuracy and accessibility of question formulations; adequacy, consistency (algorithmic); flexibility, impartiality of the survey; verifiability of the information received.

Paraclinical methods are an extensive set of methods for assessing brain activity. Each of them represents the tools of a particular field of science. As a result, mastering all paraclinical methods and diagnostic methods is not within the competence of clinical psychologists. But the ability to select the paraclinical methods necessary for a specific clinically identified pathology, justify the need for their use, and correctly interpret the results obtained with their help is considered an integral component of the work of a clinical psychologist. The main tasks of pathopsychological methods
in clinical psychology are to detect changes in the functioning of individual mental functions and identify pathopsychological syndromes.
Pathopsychological diagnostics uses a battery of experimental psychological test methods, with the help of which it is possible to assess the functioning of both individual spheres of mental activity and integrative formations - types of temperament, character traits, personal qualities. The choice of specific methods and methods of pathopsychological diagnosis in clinical psychology is based on the identification of cardinal psychopathological deviations in various types of mental reactions in certain areas of mental activity.

The sphere of mental activity where disturbances	Pathopsychological technique
Attention disorders	Schulte tables proof test calculation according to Kraepelin Münsterberg technique
Memory disorders	ten word test pictogram
Perceptual disorders	sensory excitability of Aschaffenburg, Reichardt, Lipmann tests
Thought disorders	tests for classification, exclusion, syllogisms, analogies, generalization, association experiment, Everrier problem, pictogram test for discrimination of properties of concepts
Emotional disorders	Spielberger test Luscher color selection method
Intellectual disorders	Raven's test Wechsler's test

One of the important methodological problems of clinical psychology is the problem of assessing the effectiveness of psychocorrectional and psychotherapeutic influences . For these purposes, BD. Karvasarsky proposed a clinical scale, which proposed to include 4 criteria: 1) the degree of symptomatic improvement; 2) the degree of awareness of the psychological mechanisms of the disease; 3) the degree of change in disturbed personality relationships and 4) the degree of improvement in social functioning.

Along with the clinical scale, to assess the effectiveness of psycho-corrective and psychotherapeutic interventions in clinical psychology, indicators of the dynamics of the mental state of patients according to various psychological tests are used. More often than others, MMPI and the Luscher color selection method are used for these purposes.

Schizophrenia: types of course

The disease most often begins between 15 and 25 years of age; its onset can be acute or gradual. The manifestation of the disease is preceded by a prodrome (a harbinger of the disease) in the form of anxious confusion, unreasonable fears or depression.

When diagnosing schizophrenia, it is important to determine the form of the course.

1) schizophrenia with a continuous course - within the type one can also distinguish separate forms of the course, determined by the degree of malignancy of the process: paranoid and sluggish.

2) sluggish - features: typical changes appear clearly more slowly and not so pronounced, productive painful manifestations appear in an inhibited form. A number of disorders already include obsessions, hysterical disorders, and some cases of paranoid disorders.

3) Periodic (recurrent) schizophrenia - in the form of attacks of varying duration (from several weeks to several years). The number of attacks in patients during their life varies from 1-2 to 10 or more. In some patients, each attack is provoked by an exogenous moment. Remissions are of high quality. The absence of changes in the patient's personality after the first attacks allows us to talk about interremissions. After repeated attacks, patients experience a change in personality: asteric, hypersthenic with increased performance, but with a decrease in creative efficiency and a slight depletion of emotional manifestations. Usually changes after 3-4 attacks. Then the activity of the process decreases: attacks become less and less frequent, personality changes seem to freeze at the same level. One of the important features of patients is that they always have a critical attitude towards the psychotic state they have suffered and clearly distinguish between health and illness.

4) Paroxysmal schizophrenia.

The form is characterized by worsening attacks against the background of a continuous ongoing disease that is productive and increasing negative symptoms. Attacks in this form of schizophrenia are varied. Characterized by extreme polymorphism and unequal duration. They are less acute than attacks of recurrent schizophrenia. In the structure, paranoid and hallucinatory manifestations have a large share. Sometimes productive symptoms in paroxysmal progressive schizophrenia are noted not only during the attack, but also in the interictal period. The age of onset of paroxysmal progressive schizophrenia varies.

Course and forms of epilepsy

The course and outcome of epilepsy are very diverse. In some cases, the disease process becomes progressive, and sometimes ends in dementia. However, there are also relatively favorable options with long-term remissions, and sometimes with practical recovery. Depending on the rate of increase in paroxysmal activity and the deepening of mental changes, slow and acute forms were distinguished. slow, subacute, combined and remitting types of course; continuously progressive, remitting and stable type of course

The severity of an epileptic disease is determined by the interaction of 3 groups of factors: 1) localization and activity of the epileptic focus; 2) the state of the protective and compensatory properties of the body, its individual and age-related reactivity; 3) the influence of external environmental factors. The course of the disease is largely determined by the time of its onset, the regularity and adequacy of antiepileptic treatment and rehabilitation measures.

The localization of the epileptic focus is of great importance for the formation of the clinical picture and course of the disease. In accordance with this, some clinical forms of epilepsy are distinguished - temporal = “psychomotor epilepsy” (pronounced aura, non-convulsive paroxysms with twilight states), diencephalic (vegetative), etc.

Some, in addition to temporal and diencephalic, distinguish special forms of epilepsy, which include reflex epilepsy, oligoepilepsy, latent epilepsy and pseudoepilepsy. In addition to the forms of epilepsy given in this chapter, there are Kozhevnikov epilepsy, myoclonus epilepsy, and choreic epilepsy described by Bekhterev, which are essentially unrelated to epilepsy and are manifestations of organic brain lesions.

Reflex epilepsy is a relatively rare type of disease in which epileptic seizures or various types of non-convulsive paroxysms occur due to irritation of the visual, auditory, olfactory analyzers, interoreceptors of internal organs (pleura, gastrointestinal tract), as well as peripheral nerves of the limbs and torso.

Oligoepilepsy is a disease with rare attacks observed at certain periods of life and passing without special therapy.

With latent (so-called bioelectrical) epilepsy, there is a certain focus in the brain, recorded electroencephalographically, but there are no paroxysms.

Pseudo-epilepsy is understood as an incorrect diagnosis based on erroneous interpretation of clinical data or electroencephalographic findings, for example: syncopal cerebrovascular, tetanic, psychogenic seizures, and in childhood - respiratory convulsions.

Late-onset epilepsy is a favorable variant of the disease with a mild progression, occurring in people over 30 years of age. Many researchers associate the onset of epilepsy in middle or late age with injuries, vascular pathology, and especially with arterial hypertension and degenerative atrophy of the brain.

Latent (mental) epilepsy has long attracted the attention of psychiatrists. The term “latent epilepsy” was proposed by V. Morel (1860) to designate cases of epilepsy in the form of acutely beginning and ending short-term attacks of mental disorder with confusion, sudden motor excitation with destructive tendencies, as well as vivid, frightening hallucinations and delusions.

Data from many authors indicate that the course of epilepsy can change at different stages. Systematic adequate treatment can stop the disease process with complete or partial restoration of the patient’s social adaptation (therapeutic remission).

Stages of the disease

Dysmorphomanic - thoughts about one’s own inferiority predominate, due to imaginary completeness. Depressed mood, anxiety, looking at yourself in the mirror for a long time. The first attempts to limit oneself in food, the search for the ideal diet.

Anorectic - occurs against the background of persistent starvation. A weight loss of 20-30% is achieved, which is accompanied by euphoria and a tightening of the diet, “to lose even more weight.” At the same time, the patient actively convinces himself and others that he has no appetite and exhausts himself with great physical exertion.

Cachectic is a period of irreversible degeneration of internal organs. It occurs in 1.5-2 years. During this period, weight loss reaches 50 percent or more of its mass. This stage is usually irreversible.

Signs for diagnosis:

a) body weight remains at least 15% below expected;

b) weight loss is caused by the patient himself by avoiding foods that “fatten”, and one or more of the following: inducing vomiting, taking laxatives, excessive exercise, using appetite suppressants and/or diuretics;

c) fear of obesity persists as an obsessive and/or overvalued idea and the patient considers only low weight acceptable;

d) a general endocrine disorder, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and manifested in women by amenorrhea, and in men by loss of sexual desire and potency;

e) when it begins at prepubertal age, maturation is delayed (eg growth stops, girls do not develop mammary glands).

Behavioral psychotherapy

leads to weight gain. Cognitive psychotherapy is aimed at correcting distorted cognitive formations in the form of perceiving oneself as fat, determining one’s own value solely depending on the image of one’s own body.

Family psychotherapy

It is especially effective in people under 18 years of age. Aimed at correcting relationship disturbances in the family, leading to the development of the disease in the child.

Internet addiction.

Internet addiction is an obsessive desire to connect to the Internet and a painful inability to disconnect from the Internet in a timely manner (not a mental disorder according to medical criteria).

but: Dependence (drug addiction) in the medical sense is defined as an obsessive need to use a familiar substance, accompanied by an increase in tolerance and pronounced physiological and psychological symptoms. Increasing tolerance means getting used to larger and larger doses.

Internet addiction is a non-chemical addiction - an obsessive need to use the Internet, accompanied by social maladjustment and severe psychological symptoms.

According to various studies, about 10% of users worldwide today are Internet addicts. Despite the lack of official recognition of the problem in Russia, Internet addiction is already being taken into account in many countries around the world. In 2009, the first clinic dedicated to the treatment of “Internet addiction” appeared in the United States.

The main 6 types of Internet addiction are:

Obsessive web surfing - endless travel on the World Wide Web, searching for information.

Addiction to virtual communication and virtual dating - large volumes of correspondence, constant participation in chats, redundancy of acquaintances and friends on the Internet. Gaming addiction.

Obsessive financial need (shopping on the Internet). Addiction to watching movies over the Internet. Cybersex addiction.

Internet addiction and family problems (teenagers).

The simplest and most accessible way to solve an addiction is to acquire another addiction (healthy lifestyle, communication with wildlife, creative applied hobbies).

The emergence of Internet addiction does not obey the patterns of addiction formation, derived from observations of smokers, drug addicts, alcoholics or pathological gamblers: if the formation of traditional types of addictions takes years, then for Internet addiction this period is sharply reduced.

conclusions:

1. Internet addiction, or Internet addiction, is a real phenomenon. There is currently insufficient clinical data to consider it a disease.

2. If Internet addiction is subsequently recognized as a disease, then the number of people suffering from it will be significantly less than it currently appears. Expanding the symptomatology is convenient at the moment for mental health specialists and researchers of this phenomenon.

3. A number of effects considered to be manifestations of the phenomenon of Internet addiction can presumably receive an alternative explanation - for example, within the framework of the psychological concept of “flow”.

4. Manifestations of Internet addiction often hide other addictions or mental disorders.

5. The phenomenon of Internet addiction is constantly changing along with the rapid development of the Internet and deserves a thorough study.

Drug addiction

Motivation for drug use:

1.Ataractic – elimination of emotional discomfort.

2. Hedonistic – improving mood.

3.Motivation with hyperactivation of behavior - the pursuit of activity and speed.

4. Submissive – “like everyone else”, conformism.

5. Pseudocultural – involvement in “tradition, culture.”

Stages of drug addiction:

1 - mental dependence on the drug is formed.

2 – physical dependence is formed (withdrawal syndrome – “withdrawal”).

3 – rare, due to frequent stage 2 mortality. Incapacity due to extreme exhaustion.

Interest is narrowed to the “production” of the drug.

Drug addiction is a chronic progressive disease caused by the use of narcotic substances. The term “substance abuse” is also used - usually this means dependence on substances that are not legally classified as drugs.

Characteristic is a phasic course with the presence of several stage-by-stage developing syndromes: syndrome of altered reactivity, mental dependence syndrome, physical dependence syndrome, these three syndromes are combined into a general narcotic syndrome, a syndrome of the consequences of chronic anesthesia.

The predisposition to addiction may be of a genetic nature, associated with the inheritance of structural features of the brain.

Main groups of narcotic substances: Opiates, Stimulants, Depressants, Marijuana, Psychedelics, Dissociatives, Anticholinergics, Volatile solvents.

The most common types of drug addiction are substance abuse (use of medications not considered drugs, chemicals and plant substances) and use of cannabis (hashish, marijuana).

Development of drug addiction: At the first stage, mental dependence occurs. It develops after the first use. After 1-2 months, the addiction becomes physical (second stage). After 6 months of regular drug use, the third stage begins, such people are already dangerous to society. They do not control their actions and act solely for the purpose of obtaining drugs.

Psychotherapy of post-trauma.

One important treatment for PTSD is psychotherapy. It is aimed at correcting painful forms of behavior, getting rid of obsessions, teaching a person relaxation techniques and restoring normal mental processes. Using other techniques of this kind, the clinician and patient explore the patient's environment to determine what may aggravate PTSD symptoms and work to desensitize them or teach the patient self-control skills. It is also used by psychiatrists and other psychotherapeutic techniques. The goal is to resolve conscious and unconscious conflicts that have been created as a result of the trauma experienced. In addition, a person works to develop self-esteem, self-control, and personal responsibility.

Doctors may also recommend family psychotherapy, during which the doctor, if necessary, makes changes in family relationships.

29. Forensic psychological examination.

(SPE) is a system of psychological studies of the personality and activities of the defendant, convict, witness and victim to clarify information that helps the investigation, trial, and re-education of those being witnessed. Forensic psychological examination is carried out by specialist psychologists

Reasons for assigning SPE:

1. Circumstances related to the stable personality characteristics of the defendant, victim or witness. These include deviations in mental development not associated with mental illness (mental retardation) and character anomalies.

2. Circumstances related to age-related psychological characteristics (old people and children).

3. Circumstances related to the mental state of the person at the time of the commission of the crime. (Possibility of affect, emotional outburst, etc.).

4. Circumstances associated with the unusual behavior of a person during the investigative action (turning himself in - refusal; gullibility - aggression).

5. Circumstances related to the “man-machine” interaction.

6. Circumstances conducive to or predisposing to committing suicide.

Types of forensic psychological examination: Establishment of individual psychological characteristics of a person. Examination of emotional states. Examination of minors. SPE ability to correctly perceive the circumstances that are important to the case and give correct testimony about them. Suicide SPE. SPE in cases of rape. PSE of psychological causes of accidents, catastrophes, traffic accidents, etc.

Types of attitudes towards illness.

The content of the concept of “mental health”, mental and personal development, as a condition of mental health (MH).

Mental health (MH) is a state of well-being in which a person can realize his or her own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community.

Conditions for mental health: normal mental and personal development.

Mental development is a natural process of development of HMF (socialization), the result of which is normal adaptation to society.

2. Mental health criteria. Hypothesis about levels of mental health (Brother):

2 levels of manifestation of mental health : external (doctor, psychologist); internal ( positions of research and research, object and subject).

External level

- absence of manifestations of the disease - symptoms, syndromes, which makes up the picture of the disease.

Internal level

— a complex of a person’s experiences that make up his internal picture of the disease (IP).

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Mental Health Factors

When assessing mental health, it is necessary to take into account the conditions in which the person is located and what surrounds him.

Thus, one of the main factors influencing a person’s mental health is the favorable socio-economic situation in the place where he lives. If an individual feels safe, has enough money to live and is relatively free in his life and activities, then his mental state is most likely about normal.

Another factor is a high level of intelligence. Here, mental health is considered as a factor in effective activity. A person must understand the causes and consequences of various events, be able to make predictions about what is happening depending on the situation, think through decisions and analyze the results.

The level of education is also a significant factor. The more social rules a person learned in childhood, the more stable his psyche will be.

Individual personality characteristics are determined by the speed of impulse transmission along nerve fibers and determine human behavior in stressful situations.

The hereditary factor is the basis of mental health: the more stable it is in the parents, the stronger it is in the child.

Portrait of a mentally healthy man

A healthy person is excellent at building relationships with people, regardless of differences in interests or social status. He accepts people with all their strengths and weaknesses, and knows how to maintain a balance between “taking” and “giving” in relationships with others.

Such a person wants and can work, engage in professional activities and be successful in them. He knows how to play with children and adults, in serious and playful games, and knows how to play with words and metaphors. This is a creative person with his own hobbies and interests.

Psychological and mental health of a person: what is the difference?

Mental and psychological health are different things. Psychological health is a state when mental well-being is combined with personal well-being. It not only covers different areas of life (emotional, cognitive, motivational, volitional), but brings harmony to them. The power of psychological health lies in seeing reality as it is and reacting “correctly” to this reality.

We tried to answer the question: what qualities does a psychologically healthy person have:

He is self-sufficient. He has a developed sense of his own “I”, which helps him not to depend on other people’s opinions and not to succumb to manipulation and outside control.
Has healthy self-esteem. This is not narcissism, not pathological insecurity. This is the ability to realistically assess your strengths, accept your strengths and weaknesses.
Understands responsibility for his life . He knows that passively waiting will not change anything. Therefore, in difficult situations, he analyzes all possible options for action and makes a decision. He perceives his mistakes not as a disaster, but as an experience.
Lives in the present. He sees reality without distortion and is guided by common sense, logic, and reason.
Adapts to difficult life situations. He is not afraid of unexpected turns in life, because he is confident in his abilities. In an unpleasant or unexpected situation, he remains calm and quickly adapts to changes.
Respects all points of view . He sees not only white or black, but notices other shades. After an argument, he is able to tell his opponent “we were both wrong”, and in a difficult situation think “this is terrible and instructive at the same time.”
Controls his emotions during communication. To communicate with an opponent respectfully, he can curb his anger, dissatisfaction, irritation, anger.
Knows himself well. He understands the reason for his reactions, knows how to analyze actions, draw conclusions from mistakes, knows his talents, and is aware of mental trauma.
Feels comfortable alone. He does not cling to a toxic relationship with a partner who suppresses or destroys his self-esteem. He may go to the cinema or to a cafe alone, just to think.
Empathizes. A psychologically strong person understands himself and knows how to understand others. Empathy does not force him to agree with everyone, but it helps him to impartially evaluate people’s actions.
Ready to take risks. He knows that stepping out of your comfort zone takes courage. Therefore, he realistically assesses his strengths in order to take informed risks.
Proves nothing to anyone. Everyone lives in their own mental reality, which is created from their experience. He knows he can't please everyone, and he doesn't have to like everyone.
Loves his family with unconditional love. His love does not depend on circumstances, advantages and disadvantages, successes or failures of his family.
Communicates. He values live communication, so he does not replace it with electronic correspondence.
Respects healthy lifestyle. Sports, proper nutrition, active recreation - his lifestyle is organized taking into account personal characteristics, so it can be called tonic.

This self-test should not be taken as an accurate diagnosis. But the more points that raise doubts, the more reasons there will be to think about mental health.

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Mental health of children and adolescents

Children, and especially teenagers, are characterized by an unstable psyche and the presence of character accentuations. Depending on the type of accentuation, children and adolescents may experience various mental health problems. For example, with the schizoid type there is often excessive isolation and obsession with something, with the cycloid type there is a constant movement in a circle of emotions from euphoria to apathy and back, with the hysterical type there is an excessive need for attention from others. With growing up and gaining life experience, the corners of character are most often smoothed out, but in an unfavorable situation, for example, emotional violence in the family or due to serious traumatic shocks for the psyche, mental illness may occur.

Signs of decreased mental health in adolescents include excessive isolation, aggressiveness, tearfulness, irritability, a tendency to deviant behavior or crime, and the presence of various types of addictions.

Mental health care and treatment

In the context of national efforts to develop and implement mental health policies, it is critical not only to protect and promote the mental well-being of citizens, but also to address the needs of persons with specific mental disorders.

Over the past decade, understanding of what needs to be done to address the growing burden of mental disorders has improved significantly. There is growing evidence that key interventions for priority mental disorders are effective and cost-effective in countries at different levels of economic development. Examples of such actions that are cost effective, feasible and affordable include:

treating depression with psychotherapy and, in cases of moderate or severe depression, antidepressants;
treatment of psychosis with antipsychotic drugs in combination with psychosocial support;
taxation of alcoholic beverages and restrictions on their sale and advertising.

In addition, there are a number of effective interventions for suicide prevention, prevention and treatment of mental disorders in children, prevention and treatment of dementia, and treatment of substance use disorders. The WHO Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) has developed evidence-based guidelines for lay people to identify and manage a range of priority mental health disorders.

Ways to maintain mental health: my tips

How to maintain a person's mental health? To do this, it is important to follow simple rules that affect not only mental, but also physical health.

The first thing is to eat right. Too sweet and fatty foods in excessive quantities lead to changes in the functioning of the hormonal system. As a result, the state of the psyche also changes. It is also affected by a lack of useful microelements and vitamins.

The second is to be physically active. During physical education and sports, the brain is saturated with oxygen, beneficial hormones are produced and negative thoughts are eliminated.

Mental health prevention

Prevention of any type of mental health disorder is to create a comfortable environment for the child or for yourself in which you do not have to constantly experience severe stress. Even under serious stress at work or school, a person should have a place where he can put his thoughts in order, and people with whom he can share painful things without fear of being judged. Daily work on yourself to develop your own personality is the best way and means of maintaining mental health.

Definition of terms

In order to answer the question of how mental health differs from psychological health, it is necessary to first understand both of these terms.

Mental health is certain characteristics that allow a person to behave adequately and successfully adapt to the environment. This category usually includes the extent to which the subjective images formed in a person correspond to objective reality, and also evaluates the adequate perception of oneself, the ability to concentrate on something, the ability to remember certain information data and the ability to think critically.

The opposite of good mental well-being are deviations, as well as a variety of disorders and diseases of the human psyche. At the same time, if the psyche is in order, this is not at all a guarantee of mental health.

With a full-fledged psyche and complete adequacy, a person can have severe mental illness. Simply put, a person does not want to live. It may be completely the opposite: a wonderful state of mind, combined with mental disorders and inadequacy.

The definition of psychological health includes not just mental well-being, but also the state of the individual. That is, this is a certain type of well-being in which the mental and personal are combined, a person is doing well in life, while his personality is in a state of growth and readiness to move forward.

Psychological well-being describes the personality as a whole; it relates to several areas at once: cognitive, motivational, emotional, as well as volitional areas. In addition, this includes various manifestations of fortitude.