This discussion post is an analysis of various aspects of mental health, including tertiary prevention, actions of mentally healthy adults, and the general adaptation syndrome. Tertiary prevention involves people already suffering from mental health illnesses and comprises improving their ability to function normally, diminishing the effects of the illness, and shelving further complications. It is not concerned with totally healing a complication but making the life of the patient maximally comfortable to prevent relapses. It serves to prevent complications such as disability, further morbidity, and mortality.
It includes relapse prevention for drug addicts to ensure that the drug abuse does not cause mental illnesses such as depression. Tertiary prevention for victims of mental health diseases such as dementia usually encompasses special psychiatric care that deals with memory stimulation to delay the occurrence of further complications.
Actions of Mentally Healthy Adults
- Adults with good mental health are capable of learning new concepts and ideas.
- These adults also feel, express, and manage both positive and negative emotions effectively.
- The ability of mentally healthy adults to form meaningful relationships with others is undamaged.
- Such people can also effectively cope with change and uncertainty that is the norm of life.
- Mentally healthy adults also take good care of their needs according to their ability to meet these requirements.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
GAS refers to the physiological stages that the body is subjected to in response to stress. This syndrome is composed of the three steps of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. The alarm stage is characterized by the activation of the sympathetic wing of the autonomic nervous system that stimulates adrenaline release. This causes changes to the body such as dilated pupils, increased heart rate, and rapid breathing. The resistance stage involves actions by the body to repair stress stage effects. Withdrawal of the stressful stimuli causes resistance, but the persistence of these stimuli causes sustained response by the body. Exhaustion is due to prolonged stress and enduring stressors that drain a patient mentally, physically, and emotionally. The body during exhaustion presents with fatigue, burnout, and decreased stress tolerance.