The Effect of Social Support or Dislocation on Mental Health
‘The effect of social support or dislocation on mental health’
This essay will look at the effect of dislocation on mental health, what factors contribute to poor mental health from biological and psychosocial perspectives. We begin by looking at what factors promote positive mental health before looking at the role of social context and the environment in negating these very factors. We look at an example where the environment can make a negative contribution to mental health. Moving the focus to a more biological perspective we examine how an individual might be genetically more predisposed to depression and poor mental health via the serotonin transporter gene. Stress as a precursor to poor mental health is then explored in relation to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and then in the wider psychosocial context of hierarchy and inequality in society. Finally we look at some case studies that underpin how an individual becomes isolated after experiencing poor mental health and how can serve to reinforce dislocation and serve as an obstacle to recovery.
Social context and dislocation
Individuals who report good subjective well being demonstrate a lack of negative emotion such as hostility, they cope with the everyday hurdles such as stress (Blaumeister and Leary, 1995) and they also demonstrate relatively good health (Marks and Shah, 2005). Positive psychology also cites the importance of purpose in an individual’s life-a sense of engagement (Marks and Shah, 2005) with a lack of materialist values-those in pursuit of materialist gratification purport lower well being (Kasser, 2002). The role of individual differences and how we interact with the environment is offered as a key influence of well-being. Lately, social cohesiveness-each person forms part of a social network, experiences the feeling of belonging to a greater good (Post 2007). The key aspect here is belonging. In dislocation an individual experiences a loss of identity in becoming
This essay will look at the effect of dislocation on mental health, what factors contribute to poor mental health from biological and psychosocial perspectives. We begin by looking at what factors promote positive mental health before looking at the role of social context and the environment in negating these very factors. We look at an example where the environment can make a negative contribution to mental health. Moving the focus to a more biological perspective we examine how an individual might be genetically more predisposed to depression and poor mental health via the serotonin transporter gene. Stress as a precursor to poor mental health is then explored in relation to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and then in the wider psychosocial context of hierarchy and inequality in society. Finally we look at some case studies that underpin how an individual becomes isolated after experiencing poor mental health and how can serve to reinforce dislocation and serve as an obstacle to recovery.
Social context and dislocation
Individuals who report good subjective well being demonstrate a lack of negative emotion such as hostility, they cope with the everyday hurdles such as stress (Blaumeister and Leary, 1995) and they also demonstrate relatively good health (Marks and Shah, 2005). Positive psychology also cites the importance of purpose in an individual’s life-a sense of engagement (Marks and Shah, 2005) with a lack of materialist values-those in pursuit of materialist gratification purport lower well being (Kasser, 2002). The role of individual differences and how we interact with the environment is offered as a key influence of well-being. Lately, social cohesiveness-each person forms part of a social network, experiences the feeling of belonging to a greater good (Post 2007). The key aspect here is belonging. In dislocation an individual experiences a loss of identity in becoming
Bibliography: Alexander, B.K. (2000) as described in Toates, F. (2010) ‘The nature of addictions: scientific evidence and personal accounts’ in Addictions (1st ed), p18 The Open University, Milton Keynes Baumeister, R.F Drevets, W.C. (1998) as described in Datta, S. (2010) ‘Towards Understanding the Aetiology of Depression and Anxiety’ in Mood & Well Being (1st ed.), p 49 The Open University, Milton Keynes Gilbert, P Kasser, T. (2002) as described in Toates, F. (2010) Explanations in Mental Health. In Core Concepts in Mental Health (1st ed), p18 Milton Keynes: The Open University Klenecky, A.K., Salvi, S Peele, S. and Degrandpre, R.J. (1998) as described in Toates, F. (2010) ‘The nature of addictions: scientific evidence and personal accounts’ in Addictions (1st ed), p18 The Open University, Milton Keynes Marks, N Post, S.G. (2007) as described in Toates, F. (2010) Explanations in Mental Health. In Core Concepts in Mental Health (1st ed) p9 Milton Keynes: The Open University