People’s beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness set the stage for how they interact with, provide opportunities for, and help support a person with mental illness. Attitudes and beliefs about mental illness are shaped by personal knowledge, knowing and interacting with someone living with mental illness, cultural stereotypes, and other factors.
When people understand the causes of mental illness,stigma and other related discriminating belief can be reduced.
These are common questions raised by people with co-occurring disorders and their family members.
What causes mental illnesses (psychiatric disorders)?
Why do some people develop a psychiatric disorder but others don't?
What affects the course of the disorder?
The stress-vulnerability model provides answers to these questions. This model can help in understanding the causes of psychiatric disorders, how psychiatric disorders and addiction can influence each other, and how co-occurring disorders can be managed and treated together.
In this model, two main factors are involved. "Vulnerability" refers to our basic susceptibility to mental health disorders. This is determined by our genetic makeup and our early life experiences. It is affected by our use of medications and our likelihood of using alcohol or drugs. "Stress" refers to the challenges faced in our lives. It is affected by our coping skills, social support, and involvement in meaningful activities.
We are all predisposed to mental illnesses,no one is spared. It depend on the interaction of the following factors
Biological Vulnerability
To be vulnerable it means that we are likely to be affected. Mental illnesses like other diseases like asthma run in families and make us vulnerable. Not only family history but also early life events like trauma,adverse life events sets us up for it.
Some people are biologically vulnerable to certain psychiatric disorders: bipolar disorder, major depression(sonona in kiswahili), schizophrenia, or anxiety disorders (panic, post-traumatic stress), for example. This vulnerability is determined early in life by a combination of factors, including genetics(disease run in families-inherited), prenatal nutrition,infections(influenza) and stress, birth complications, and early experiences in childhood (such as abuse or the loss of a parent).
This is why some families are more likely to have members with a particular psychiatric disorder.Although vulnerability to psychiatric disorders is primarily biological in nature, people can take steps to reduce their vulnerability, including taking medication and not using alcohol or drugs. It's also worth noting that the greater a person's vulnerability to a particular disorder, the earlier it is likely to develop, and the more severe it may become.
nice work...
ReplyDeletebut let me comment on the use of alcohol and drugs:
i've never come across a resource that says alcohol increases our vulnerability to mental illness though i know that if one is mentally ill,use of alcohol and other drugs increases the likelyhood of recurence.
it's true that susceptible individuals who use canabis can acquire schozophrenia but no one knows if it is the canabis that brings the illness or that those who are susceptible to aquire mental ilness are more likely to use canabis(and science is about facts)
Your concern will be answered in subsequent parts.........dont worry
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