Understanding Behavioral changes in Mental Distress.pdf

Sometime ago, I had the privilege of hosting a LinkedIn webinar focused on understanding behavioral changes in individuals experiencing mental distress. I broke down this complex topic into easily understandable segments, and the positive feedback was overwhelming. Many attendees found the information incredibly valuable and requested access to the presentation slides.

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve now made these slides available for free on SlideShare. Whether you're in the medical field or not, these resources can help you better understand and support someone going through a mental health crisis.

You don’t need to be a healthcare professional to make a difference.

2. Friendly Reminders
While waiting for others to come in, here
are some rules and reminders to keep in
mind
01feel free to type your
questions in the chat box
02questions will be
entertained at the live Q&A
after the presentation
03if you need to access the slides,
send a mail to me after this webinar

3. ABOUT MEAdejorin Adetayo O.
Graduate of the great University of
Lagos, Nigeria with BSN-RN, RM
Qualifications. Worked across
various settings including Federal
Neuropsychiatric Hospital Yaba,
Lagos, Nigeria and currently works
as a Registered Nurse in Lagos
University Teaching Hospital, Lagos,
Nigeria. She has also obtained
various certifications in mental
health care including Psychological
First Aider at
John Hopkins University SAIS
Online.

4. Warning signs of Mental Distress:
Identifying Abnormal Behaviours.
1Stress & Coping
Responses.
2Mental Distress, Signs &
symptoms, Aetiology.
3Behaviours associated
with mental distress
4Exacerbation of mental
distress during COVID
19 pandemic
5Suicide & Societal
Perception
6.Case study
7.Coping with a loved one in
distress
8.How to seek for
professional help
9.Helping Sufferers & The
role of therapy
10. Cognitive coping skills &
positive coping
11. Conclusion
12. Refrences

5. Objectives
This webinar intends to help;
•Improve public understanding on the significance of
mental health
•Identify the causative factors of mental distress
•Identify the behaviours associated with mental distress
before a crisis.
•Learn how to seek professional help for individuals in
distress.
•Create plan for maintaining mental wellness

6. •There are times life just doesn’t seem to worth the agony
and pain it forces us to endure. Strong feelings of
hopelessness seem to be a fleeting impulse, a lot of us
suffer from psychological distress but we re still enduring .
While some people don’t give in to these pressure,
others do. Mental Distress is a vast topic that is real to
everyone . If not affected directly, we all have a relative
struggling with it. This webinar would break this
phenomenon down and teach us how to help humanity,

7. Stress and Mental Distress
Mr A and Mr B are both preparing for a art exhibition
Mr AMr B
I am
stressed

8. Mr AMr B•Adores art,
incredibly inventive
and creative with
his artwork. He
anticipates every
opportunity for him
to show off his skills.
He attends
conferences and
regularly visit his
mentor. He sees art
as fun and part of
his way of life.
•Was born in a family of artists. His
grand dad was both a member of the
Top Artist society of Ireland and a staff
at Dublin National College of Art and
Design. His father and brother are
professional artists. They motivate him
into becoming world-class renowned
artiste. They occasionally assess and
criticize his artistic creations. When it
comes to showcasing his talents, Mr B
is frequently overwhelmed. He
frequently vomits several times before
performance and falls ill after every art
presentation

9. •For Mr A, who has happy recollections and a lot of self
admiration toward his artworks, every art display is
something to look forward to.
•While for Mr B, he sees every presentation as a measure
of is value as a individual, thus, developing anxiety
towards it.

10. •This is due to the fact that every person is unique in their
own way due to difference in background, culture,
upbringing and other variables.
•As a result, how something is perceived and interpreted
is what gives it stress.

11. •Stressful situations could involve losing a job, caring for a
sick relative, losing a loved one, unmet expectation.
•Stressors have a major impact on mood, sense of
wellbeing, behaviour and health.
•Acute stress response in healthy individuals may be
adaptive and typically do not pose a health burden.
However, if threat is unremitting, particularly in older and
unhealthy individuals, the long term effect could damage
health ( Schneiderman, Ironson, & Seigel, 2008).

12. Coping Responses
•Thoughts and actions used to deal with stressful
situations
•adaptive or maladaptive.
•Adaptive coping help the person to deal with stress in an
healthy way. E.g talking to someone, yoga, listening to
music.
•Maladaptive; these relieve stress temporarily , but also
cause harm. It includes substance abuse, worrying,
binge eating.

13. Coping strategy
•Based on appraisal of perceived stress , humans adopt
coping responses.
•Various situations & Individual differences elicit different
pattern of stress response.
•Coping techniques used at the wake of a threatening
situation.
•These coping strategies include;
.

14. •Denial, repression, rationalization, fantasy, projection,
overcompensation, conversion, identification, regression,
emotional insulation, reaction formation, ritualistic
behaviour and negativism.
•Exposure to intense and chronic stressors puts an
individual at risk of mental distress or mental disorder

15. Mental Distress
•Mental distress is a syndrome characterized by a
clinically significant disturbance in cognition, emotional
regulation or behaviour , accompanied by psychological,
biological, or developmental processes dysfunction
(Tesfaye, Bayray & Ahmed, 2020).
•There are several possible explanations for the cause of
mental distress in an individual.

16. Signs and Symptoms of
mental distress
•High levels of psychological distress could be indicative
of impaired mental health and could reflect common
mental disorders like depressive and anxiety disorders.
Individuals could also have somatic symptoms such as
fatigue, headache, sleeping problems, loss of appetite.

17. S & S
•It could be occur in a previous mentally ill individual or a
previously well individual.
•Among undergraduates, symptoms such as impaired
cognitive functioning, learning disability and poor
academic performance could be evident ( Mboya et al.,
2020).

18. Aetiology
•Situational Crisis such as, work demands, adverse
school experience, bullying,
•Medical condition.
•Neurological Disorders
•Trauma.
•Mental illness.
•Marital and family problems; divorce, child rearing
problems, social isolation, financial problems, debts.

19. Behaviours associated
with mental distress
•Manner in which an individual acts or functions
•Society define behavioural norms

20. Normal behaviour
•Capable of changing actions as situation requires
•Has insight into the cause and effect of an action
•Orientation of time, place and person.
•His perception of reality is intact
•His motivations are purposeful
•Able to identify needs, major plans and immediate plans

21. Abnormal Behaviours
•Marked personality change
•Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
•Strange/ grandiose ideas
•Prolonged depression and apathy
•Marked changes in eating and sleeping patterns

22. •Abuse of drugs or alcohol
•Excessive anger, hostility and violent behaviour
•Thinking or talking about suicide or harming self
•Extreme mood swings – high or low

23. Exacerbation of mental;
distress during COVID 19
pandemic

24. Suicide
•Intentional taking of one’s life
•Suicidal behaviour is broken down into four types
•Suicidal threats, suicidal attempts, suicidal gestures and
died by suicide.
•Suicidal threats – take care of my family for me, I just
cannot take this anymore.
•Suicidal gestures is a really cry out for help to be rescued
from suicide. It may include to call a friend, to talk about
suicidal attempts- cutting my wrist.

25. Actions related to
potential suicide
•Behavioural signs- a thrifty person starts spending
money than he earns.
•No longer find joy in the things he loves. Lack of interest
in work
•Fear, tearfulness, blank facial expression, guilt, self-
condemnation, hopelessness, disorders of eating and
sleeping disorders,
•Crisis: the point at which the usual decision making
methods are no longer adequate. He is so overwhelmed
and think of suicide as the only option.

26. A moment of silence for a friend of A moment of silence for a friend of A moment of silence for a friend of
mine who passed on in medical mine who passed on in medical mine who passed on in medical
school.school.school.
Rest in Peace, Dear Friend. Rest in Peace, Dear Friend. Rest in Peace, Dear Friend.

27. suicide
52%
motor vehicle
accident,
crashes and
falls
23%
medical
causes
18%
homicide
1%
others
6%
Monasterio et al., 2018Global statistics of deaths related to mental illness

28. Myths of Suicide
•People who talk about suicide do not commit suicide.
( 80% commit).
•All suicidal individuals want to do die and there is nothing
anyone can do about it ( Most people are indecisive).
•Suicide is an impulse, there is no previous plan
( Carefully planned and thought about for weeks).
•A person who attempted suicide and fail will not try it
again (majority who commit have tried before).
•Suicidal people are mentally ill ( not all suicidal
individuals are mentally ill)

29. Coping with a loved one in
Distress
•Communicate and reassure that help is available
•Understand what mental illness is to the individual
•Nil stigmatization
•Keep ends opened for a conversation
•Do not leave an individual in distress alone at any time.
•If behavioural and verbal symptom are evident, discuss
the situation with a medical personnel.

30. •Seek help from a qualified health practitioner .
Psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurses, social
workers, mental health counsellors, general practitioners,
family physician, family nurse practitioner, paediatric
consultants.

31. The brain is the largest and most complex organ in the
human body.

32. How to seek professional
help
•Varies across borders.
•Ask for help with your mental health. Talk to relative or
family about signs and symptoms you are experiencing.
•In some countries , you can put a call through the mental
health emergency team.
•In Nigeria, depending on the signs and symptoms you
are experiencing. You can visit a psychologist that would
refer you to a mental health professional/ psychiatrist.
•You would be assessed in the emergency department
before admission.

33. In Crisis
•In crisis situation, contact information of the nearest
hospital.
•Crisis lines
•Police department ( U.S Police department).
•Family Physician/ Family Nurse Practioner/ Child care
provider
•Contact Family members and friends.

34. Cognitive Coping skills
•Task oriented coping. Assess situation. Understanding
task is important, deep breaths before presentation.
•Problem solving strategy : Assess problem, analyse
problems, think of ways to deal or cope with it.
•Emotion focused strategy: focus on the actual problem
rather than the distress of the situation.
•Mental health care. Yoga, Meditation, taking a walk,
exercise, Reflection practices, Self care, Medical check.

35. Positive Coping
•Start off with an optimistic outlook.
•Adjust expectations to reality.
•Taking one step at a time. Break a huge task into small
parts and tackle it.
•Smile when anxious
•Learn from mistakes and success
•Evaluation

36. There is no
health without
mental health

37. References
•Monasterio, E., McKean, A., Sinhalege, V., Frampton, C.,
& Mulder, R. (2018). Sudden deaths in patients with
seerious mental illness. The New Zealand Medical
Journal, 131(1487), 70-79.
•John Hopkins Medicine (2022). Brain Anatomy & how the
brain works. The John Hopkins University
•Tesfaye, K.R., Bayray, K.A., Ahmed, K.Y., (2020).
Prevalence of mental distress and associated factors
among samara university students, Northwest Ethiopia.
Depression Research and Treatment.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7836296

38. References
•Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Seigel, S.D., (2008).
Stress and health: Psychological, behavioural, and
biological determinants. Annual Review of Clinical
Psychology.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141.
•Mboya, I. B., John B., Kibopile, E.S., et al., (2020).
Factors associated with mental distress among
undergtraduates in northern tanzania. BMC Psychiatry
20 (28). https://doi.org/10.1186/s1288-020-2488-1

39. References
•Viertio, S., Kiviruusu, O. , Piirtola , M ., et al ( 2021).
Factors contributing to psychological distress in the
working population, with a special reference to gender
difference. BMC Public Health. 21, 611.
https://doi.org?s12889-021-10560-y

40. Thank you for listening.
[email protected]