Small Group Mental Health Night

Alias Small Group- Friday, May 18, 2007

Mental Health and Crisis Management

Tonight, we will examine what mental health is about and what we can do to help people that suffer from mental illnesses.

What is mental illness?

- Emotional, spiritual, mental disease, disease of the brain

- Can manifest as physical pain

- can’t control certain actions

- alteration in the brain, affects their behavior

Do you know anyone with a mental illness?

- can’t carry a convo, won’t remember what you said

- developed it later stages of life, almost became a kid, mumbled things she didn’t understand.

What is discrimination?

- think negatively about someone because of something

- We think they’re not normal

- associated with the word prejudice, doesn’t always have to be negatively?

-

What is stigma?

- False beliefs

- Negative associations that come with being labeled as something

What are some stigma’s associated with mental illness?

- Retarded

- Dysfunctional

- Extremely dependent

- Should be locked- danger to society

- Psychotic

- Crazy

Can one recover from mental illness?

- Treatable

- Controlled

What is recovery?

- Getting better

- When the symptoms are lessened

- When they are able to acknowledge it

- Control symptoms

Today we will look at:

Anxiety disorders- OCD, PTSD, GAD

- Nervous

- Worried about something

- Constant

- Can’t overcome it on their own

- Affects their social life

Depression

- Someone that’s always sad

- Never see the positive

- Difficulty in social situations

- Suicidal

- Lost the will to live

- No goals

- Antidepressants

Bipolar disorder

- Manic / depression

- cycles

Schizophrenia

- auditory hallucinations-

What do you know about these disorders?

How can we help these people?

- Want to hear what they say- listening to them

- Knowing what it is

Crisis Management

What is distress?

- Pain

- Worried

- Panic- SOS

- Flailing their arms

- Stressed- bad stress, makes you worse than you were before

- Helplessness

- In stress

- Loss of control

What is crisis?

- State of distress

What are feeling associated with distress and crisis?

How do people end up in a crisis state?

- Traumatizing experience

- Failure

- Brought on by themselves- don’t prepare for something

o Not studying for an exam

o Not doing well at work

o Someone in a family dies

- Last straw- put them over the edge

How can we help these people?

- Listen to them

- Encourage them

Why do you think people call DC?

What is listening?

What is the difference between listening and hearing?

What is befriending? What does it entail?

What is validation? Belittling?

People that call suffer from?

What is loneliness?

- Donald Miller- astronaut?

What is abuse?

What is addiction?

Terminal Illness?

Suicide? How do you handle it?