MENTAL FITNESS

Just as physical fitness and exercise helps us to

keep our body strong, mental fitness helps us
maintain good mental health. It is important for us
to think about and monitor our mental and
emotional health regularly, consider our stresses
and demands and how they impact us.

1
 SCREENING FOR MENTAL FITNESS

1. Anxiety disorders
2. Bipolar disorder
3. Depression
4. Eating disorders
5. Post-traumatic stress disorder

2
 1.ANXIETY DISORDER

The term "anxiety disorder" refers to specific psychiatric

disorders that involve extreme fear or worry, and includes
• Panic disorder. You feel terror that strikes at random. During a
panic attack, you may also sweat, have chest pain, and feel
palpitations (unusually strong or irregular heartbeats).
Sometimes you may feel like you’re choking or having a heart
attack.
• Social anxiety disorder. Also called social phobia, this is when
you feel overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about
everyday social situations. You fixate about others judging you
or on being embarrassed.
• Specific phobias. You feel intense fear of a specific object or
situation, such as heights or flying. The fear goes beyond
what’s appropriate and may cause you to avoid ordinary
situations.
• Generalized anxiety disorder. You feel excessive, unrealistic 3
 SCREENING
To: help diagnose an anxiety disorder, your mental health
provider may:

• Give you a psychological evaluation. This involves

discussing your thoughts, feelings and behavior to help
pinpoint a diagnosis and check for related complications.
Anxiety disorders often occur along with other mental
health problems — such as depression or substance
misuse — which can make diagnosis more challenging.
• Many doctors use the criteria in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published
by the American Psychiatric Association, to diagnose an
anxiety disorder.
• The DSM–5 defines and classifies mental disorders in
order to improve diagnoses, treatment, and research. 4
 2.BIPOLAR DISORDER

• Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression,

is a mental illness that brings severe high and low
moods and changes in sleep, energy, thinking,
and behavior.

• People who have bipolar disorder can have

periods in which they feel overly happy and
energized and other periods of feeling very sad,
hopeless, and sluggish. In between those periods,
they usually feel normal

5
BIPOLAR DISORDER

6
SCREENING:

• If you or someone you know has symptoms of

bipolar disorder, talk to your family doctor or a
psychiatrist. They will ask questions about mental
illnesses that you, or the person you're concerned
about and any mental illnesses that run in the
family. The person will also get a complete
psychiatric evaluation to tell if they have likely
bipolar disorder or another mental health
condition.“

7
• Diagnosing bipolar disorder is all about the person's
symptoms and determining whether they may be
the result of another cause (such as low thyroid, or
mood symptoms caused by drug or alcohol abuse).
How severe are they? How long have they lasted?
How often do they happen?

• The most telling symptoms are those that involve

highs or lows in mood, along with changes in sleep,
energy, thinking, and behavior.

• Talking to close friends and family of the person can

often help the doctor distinguish bipolar disorder
from major depressive (unipolar) disorder or other
psychiatric disorders that can involve changes in
mood, thinking, and behavior.
8
 3.DEPRESSION
Depression is a mood disorder that causes a
persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.

9
SCREENING:
Your doctor may determine a diagnosis of depression based on:

• Physical exam. Your doctor may do a physical exam and ask questions
about your health. In some cases, depression may be linked to an
underlying physical health problem.

• Lab tests. For example, your doctor may do a blood test called a
complete blood count or test your thyroid to make sure it's
functioning properly.

• Psychiatric evaluation. Your mental health professional asks about

your symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns. You may be
asked to fill out a questionnaire to help answer these questions.

• DSM-5. Your mental health professional may use the criteria for
depression listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association.
10
 4.POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
(PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental

health condition that's triggered by a terrifying
event — either experiencing it or witnessing it.
Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and
severe anxiety, as well as uncontrolled thoughts
about the event.

11
SCREENING:

To diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder, your

doctor will likely:

• Perform a physical exam to check for medical

problems that may be causing your symptoms
• Do a psychological evaluation that includes a
discussion of your signs and symptoms and the
event or events that led up to them
• Use the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

12
 5.EATING DISORDERS:
Eating disorders are a group of conditions marked by
an unhealthy relationship with food. The three main
types are anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.
Eating disorders are a serious medical problem that
can have long-term health consequences if left
untreated.

 Anorexia nervosa
 Bulimia nervosa
 Binge eating disorder

13
 ANOREXIA NERVOSA

• This is characterized by
weight loss often due
to excessive dieting
and exercise,
sometimes to the point
of starvation. People
with anorexia feel they
can never be thin
enough and continue
to see themselves as
“fat” despite extreme
weight loss.
14
 BULIMIA NERVOSA

The condition is
marked by cycles of
extreme overeating,
followed by purging
or other behaviors to
compensate for the
overeating. It is also
associated with
feelings of loss of
control about eating.
15
 BINGE EATING DISORDER

• This is characterized by regular episodes of

extreme overeating and feelings of loss of control
about eating

16
 SCREENING:
Eating disorders are diagnosed based on signs, symptoms and eating
habits. If your doctor suspects you have an eating disorder, he or she will
likely perform an exam and request tests to help pinpoint a diagnosis. You
may see both your primary care provider and a mental health professional
for a diagnosis.

• Assessments and tests generally include:

• Physical exam. Your doctor will likely examine you to rule out other
medical causes for your eating issues. He or she may also order lab
tests.
• Psychological evaluation. A doctor or mental health professional will
likely ask about your thoughts, feelings and eating habits. You may also
be asked to complete psychological self-assessment questionnaires.
• Other studies. Additional tests may be done to check for any
complications related to your eating disorder.
• Your mental health professional also may use the diagnostic criteria in
the (DSM-5)
17
 SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SCREENING
EATING DISORDERS:
• Eating in secret or leaving meals to go to the
bathroom
• Expressing guilt about eating habits
• Constantly talking about weight or losing weight
• Being extremely focused on eating healthy
• Consistently skipping meals
• Exercising excessively
• Frequently checking the mirror or scale
• Using dietary supplements or laxatives

18
 STRESS

Stress is a necessary part of our lives and can have both

beneficial and negative effects. The stress response is
primarily determined by our perception of an event,
transition, or problem. Finding a balance in our lives and
managing our stress can be a challenge. An important
first step is recognizing the degree to which we are
affected by the stress in our lives and then move toward
strategies to make it better.

19
 PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS)

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a classic stress

assessment instrument. This tool, while originally
developed in 1983, remains a popular choice for
helping us understand how different situations affect
our feelings and our perceived stress. The questions
in this scale ask about your feelings and thoughts
during the last month.

For each question choose from the following

alternatives:

0 – never 1 - almost never 2 – sometimes 3 - fairly

often 4 - very often 20
• ____ 1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of
something that happened unexpectedly?
• _____ 2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were
unable to control the important things in your life?
• _____ 3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and
stressed?
• _____ 4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about
your ability to handle your personal problems?
• _____ 5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were
going your way?
• _____ 6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could
not cope with all the things that you had to do?
• _____ 7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control
irritations in your life?
• _____ 8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on
top of things?
• _____ 9. In the last month, how often have you been angered
because of things that happened that were outside of your control?
• _____ 10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were
piling up so high that you could not overcome them? 21
 FIGURING YOUR PSS SCORE:

• You can determine your PSS score by following these

directions:
• First, reverse your scores for questions 4, 5, 7, & 8. On
these 4 questions, change the scores like this:
• 0= 4, 1 = 3, 2 = 2, 3 = 1, 4 = 0.
• Now add up your scores for each item to get a total. My
total score is ______.
• Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with
higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.
• from 0-13 would be considered low stress.
• from 14-26 would be considered moderate stress.
• from 27-40 would be considered high perceived stress.

22
THANK YOU

23