Grade 11

Health and Wellbeing

Academic Year 2021/2022 – Term 1

Unit-1

Lesson no. 1.5

Lesson name: Mental health

Learning outcome

By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to:

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Describe the factors that contribute to mental health.

Keywords

• Mental – relating to the mind
• Depression – a serious mental health condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant
• Stigma – a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something
• Discrimination – the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from others

Mental health

• The way in which we think, feel and behave show our level of mental well being
• The WHO stress that mental health is more than the absence of mental illness

Common mental health disorders include:

• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Anxiety disorders
• Eating disorders
• Dementia
• Developmental disorders (for example autism)

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Refers to the brain and how well it functions.

Causes of mental health disorders

The various causes of mental health disorders usually fit into one of three categories:

• Biological factors
• Psychological factors
• Social factors

There is no single cause of mental health disorders.

Remember: Your biological, psychological, and social factors are unique to you. Nobody else has experienced things in the exact same way as you have or felt the same way about each event in your life

Stigma and discrimination

• Stigma is when someone sees you in a negative way because of a particular characteristic, such as skin colour, cultural background, a disability or a mental illness
• Discrimination is when someone treats you in a negative way because of a particular characteristic
• For people with mental health issues, the stigma and discrimination they experience can make their problems worse
• Some people choose not to get the help they need because of their fear of being stigmatised

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Harmful effects of stigma

• Feelings of shame, hopelessness and isolation
• Refusing to ask for help or to get treatment
• Lack of understanding by family, friends or others
• Fewer opportunities for employment or social interaction
• Bullying or physical violence
• Self-doubt

Some of the effects of stigma include:

Dealing with stigma

• Do not let fear of being labelled with a mental illness stop you from getting help
• Mental illness is not a sign of weakness and it is not something that you can deal with along. Talk about your mental health with healthcare professionals
• Reach out to people you trust
• Connect with others who feel the same way as you
• Remember that others people’s judgements come from a lack of understanding of mental illness.

It is everyone’s duty to break down the stigmatization of mental illness.

Learning outcome

By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to:

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Describe the factors that contribute to mental health.

Conclusion

Questions

Recap