AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH - The Nossal Institute for ...

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At the end of each presentation ask the other participants to discuss and comment on whether they think the proposed MHFA action plan is likely to be a helpful or unhelpful way of interacting with the person in the case study. Activity 10 : Responding to a person with unexplained physical complaints Time : 20 minutes Purpose : To teach participants how to respond to and help someone who has unexplained physical complaints Materials : None required Directions : Step 1 Give a presentation based on the ‘Information for Presentation’ box INFORMATION FOR PRESENTATION Sometimes emotional distress can be expressed as physical complaints when there is actually nothing physically wrong with the person. A person with unexplained physical complaints Unexplained physical complaints with no clear physical cause are common 2 and may include: • weakness and tiredness • dizziness • headaches • aches and pains • palpitations • difficulty breathing. When to suspect that physical complaints are related to an underlying mental disorder: • The person has multiple physical complaints. • The complaints do not fit into any pattern associated with a physical disease. • The person has had the complaints for more that three months. • The person has consulted health workers many times for the same complaints. • The person has been examined and all tests results are normal. AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH 51
Reasons why a person with a mental disorder may have physical symptoms: • Worry causes a person to tense their muscles for long periods which makes the muscles tender and painful. • Chemical changes in the body related to mental disorders such as excess worry cause the heart to beat faster, the person may experience palpitations and chest pain. • A person with excess worry or panic may start to breathe rapidly leading to dizziness, tingling or a choking feeling. • A person with a mental disorder may prefer to see a health worker about a physical symptom rather than a mental one because of the stigma associated with mental disorders. • People with mental disorders may not realise they have a mental disorder but they do know that they are not feeling ‘their normal self’. How to help a person with multiple physical complaints 1. Assess the risk of harm to self or others • Make sure that the person is not suffering from a physical illness, if you have any concern that the symptoms may be caused by a physical illness, refer the person to a doctor. 2. Listen without judgement • Spend some time talking with the person to find out the type of complaints • It is helpful to use general questions such as “have you been worried about anything lately?” to find out if the person is having problems that may be contributing to their physical symptoms. 3. Give reassurance and information • Stress and worry often contribute to unexplained physical symptoms and if the person is able to reduce stress and worry this will help improve the physical symptoms. 4. Encourage the person to get appropriate help • Explain that emotional stress often leads to physical symptoms, which in turn can make emotional stress worse. • Treatment is needed to help the underlying problem and not just the symptoms, for example stress caused by money problems may contribute to headaches and body aches, finding a solution to the money problems will help treat the headaches and body aches. • Vitamins and pain killers will not help unless there is evidence of malnutrition or a painful physical illness. 2 5. Encourage self help treatments • Relaxation exercises such as slow breathing may help the person manage stress 52 AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH
Page 1 and 2: AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH Fa
Page 3 and 4: The development of this manual was
Page 5 and 6: T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S DAY T
Page 7 and 8: Contributors BasicNeeds: www.basicn
Page 9 and 10: Introduction Mental health is vital
Page 11 and 12: CHWs make a significant contributio
Page 13 and 14: Including representation of people
Page 15 and 16: Day Two Session 4 - Mental Health F
Page 17 and 18: Day Four Session 10 - Mental Health
Page 19 and 20: 1 DAY Session 1: Introduction to me
Page 21 and 22: To be a healthy person we need to h
Page 23 and 24: Appropriate treatment can help impr
Page 25 and 26: India. 8 These types of beliefs can
Page 27 and 28: Activity 4 : Symptoms of mental dis
Page 29 and 30: Symptoms of mental disorders table
Page 31 and 32: 7. Heart pounding 8. Muscle tension
Page 33 and 34: 19. Aggression 20. Believing others
Page 35 and 36: In this session we are going to dis
Page 37 and 38: Step 2 Divide participants into two
Page 39 and 40: INFORMATION FOR PRESENTATION Common
Page 41 and 42: ecome a disorder when the alcohol o
Page 43 and 44: Figure 2 - Some Common and Severe M
Page 45 and 46: 2. Mental disorders are a common pr
Page 47 and 48: have an important role to play in p
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Page 51: Step 2 - Case study and group work:
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Page 63 and 64: Ask each group in turn to call out
Page 65 and 66: Tiredness and fatigue may lead to o
Page 67 and 68: Poor sleeping is a common symptom o
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Page 71 and 72: 3 DAY Session 7: Mental Health Firs
Page 73 and 74: 9. Describe a good way to approach
Page 75 and 76: Provide the person with information
Page 77 and 78: • • • • • • • Stay ca
Page 79 and 80: • Empathetic - this means being
Page 81 and 82: INFORMATION FOR PRESENTATION Counse
Page 83 and 84: Diagram 4. The problem treatment cy
Page 85 and 86: Step 2 Ask participants to divide i
Page 87 and 88: • What type of problems might occ
Page 89 and 90: Step 2 Give a presentation based on
Page 91 and 92: • Like medications for physical i
Page 93 and 94: • • • Nausea or vomiting Slur
Page 95 and 96: 3. Name two skills required for cou
Page 97 and 98: INFORMATION FOR PRESENTATION As we
Page 99 and 100: How does stigma and discrimination
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Step 2 - How does gender relate to
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4 DAY Session 12: Presentation of g
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References 1. Herrman H, Saxena S,
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Appendix A : Introducing your other
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Appendix B : Factors affecting ment
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3. Hearing voices 4. Fear 112 AN IN
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7. Heart pounding 8. Muscle tension
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11. Mood swings 12. Lack of energy
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15. Thinking about suicide 16. Poor
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19. Aggression 20. Believing others
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Appendix D: Common and Severe Menta
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Case study E Ahanti is a 25 year ol
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Appendix F : Role plays Role Play 1
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and you say they are trying to harm
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Appendix H Counselling Skills Cards
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132 AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALT
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BasicNeeds 158A, Parade, Leamington
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