Mental Health Practice

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Discussion of three factors that are responsible behind the mental illness of the client

Meaning of depression and suicide.

Examples of depression and suicide.

Discussion on Mental Health Act 2014 with respect to the case study.

Signs and symptoms of depression in context to the case study.

Nursing interventions with respect to the case study.

Conclusion.

References.

Introduction to Mental Health Practice

Depression and suicide are two parts of the same coin. The case study has described the lifestyle of an elderly woman, Mary who is a 55-year-old Caucasian female. Her mental health was not good which had been reflected through her movements and the way of talking. After having an interview with her, it has been found that she had lost her appetite for many days and had lost her concentration from the work (David, 2008). Recently she got her humerus bone fractures which were found that she had made that incidentally to commit suicide. Her way of speaking was also monotonous by nature which has been reflected through her words. Through the entire case study, the three responsible factors will be discussed behind the client’s mental illness and also, the meaning of depression and suicide will get highlighted along with certain examples. Along with this, the discussion of the Mental Health Act 2014 concerning the case study will also be discussed along with the depression’s signs and symptoms with the nursing interventions (David, 2008).

Discussion of Three Factors that Are Responsible Behind the Mental Illness of The Client

Some of the important factors which will be discussed in the context of the case study are:

  • Poor housing: Housing, as well as mental health, are linked with each other. Poor mental health often makes the things problematic for the individuals to cope up with different housing problems which will ultimately lead to the worst mental condition(medicinenet, 2016). Gain any form of the mental problem generally occurs due to the genetic disorders and in many situations, the mental health problems become highly personal by nature which cannot be shared with anyone. According to Eleanor (2018), mental illness and violence are intertwined with each other. It has been found that neglect is getting increased towards elderly women and this is the reason, their daily living tasks are getting disturbed which will ultimately lead to unsustainable living. In many cases, it has been observed that the elderly parents are often getting neglected psychological like non-verbal emotional abuses which also hampers the mental stability of the elderly persons (Philip, 2020).
  • Withdrawal from society: Most elderly people try to avoid mixing with the people and they also did not have much close friends. In these cases, mostly they are not being encouraged to join the social interactions and this automatically creates a mental distance between the society and the elderly people(Veress, 2020). They often feels monotonous which often leads to the relational aggression and the people became shy most of the time. Gradually, people often gets rejected by their peers and have been kept lonely in the house. This kind of loneliness often turns out to be neurotic and might cause psychological imbalances. This way certain violence gets developed which also hampered the personality of the elderly people (Zuzana, 2013).
  • Fears: Especially for the widowed persons, their fear from being neglected, fear from death have generally occurred as she began to think other than her husband , there are not any other persons including children who will be taking care of her. The financial problems also are one of the important factors behind the cause of mental illness among the elderly as being highlighted by (Bella, 2018) It also involves the constant worry regarding the unknown future which might affect the daily functioning of the individuals

Meaning of Depression and Suicide

In most of situations, individuals feel down at certain times. In the context of the medical terms , depression is defined as one sort of mental illness which readily involves mind, body and soul and it also affects the way an individual can think about himself and also think regarding different aspects of life. As per Philip (2020), depression shows signs of personal weaknesses and without the proper treatment,most of the individuals cannot be treated well with depression. The different depressive symptoms include loss of interest from the activities, loss in appetites and weights, weight gain, and at the same time also loss of the emotional expressions. The other symptoms also involves some of the chronic as well as the digestive disorders which are ultimately leading to the bipolar diseases (Parliament of Australia, 2011).

Gradually the individuals who are suffering from depression for longer time periods ultimately develops the suicidal attitudes and now a days , the death rates of the individuals have been found higher that is more than twice which have created lifetime risk of suicide due to the depressive mentalities of the individuals (medicinenet, 2016). The data highlights that 60 percent of the people who actually commits the suicide is basically suffering from mood disorders. Like depression, beside suicidal attempts, some factors are also found to be responsible. Some studies have shown that the person who are having the mental health issues have some family history in the context of the mental health issues, family history of violence etc (mayoclinic, 2020).

Examples of Depression and Suicide

As per the data on 2016, around 2866 people have died from suicide in Australia. As per the WHO, the Australian suicidal rate have been estimated at 10.4 percent per 10,000 individuals every year. In 2016, the standard rate of male death was around 17.8 per 10,000 deaths and for females, it was 5.8 deaths per 100,000 people (mayoclinic, 2020). Every year, it has been found that around 65,000 Australians are trying to commit suicides and around more than 3000 Australians have died by suicidal attempt during 2017. During 2017, it has been found that suicide is one of the primary reasons behind the leading death cause of Australians whose age lies between 15 and 44 years. The causal symptoms of suicide are huge which involves stressful evens of life, traumas, physical illness , drug as well as the use of alcohols and poor living conditions (medicinenet, 2016).

Discussion on Mental Health Act 2014 Concerning the Case Study

In the context of the case study, Mental Health Act 2014 of Victoria is having the aim of successfully placing the people with mental illness in the centre of decision making so that effective treatment and care can be provided to them (Eleanor, 2018). With the help of the Mental Health Act , the psychiatrists actually gets encouraged along with other mental health practitioners so that strong relationships can be developed easily and the decisions regarding the intend choices can be made within a proper amount of time. Through the Mental Health Act, voluntary treatment is being carried out which is known as the compulsory treatment through which the citizen’s dignity, rights as well individual’s autonomy can be well protected (ucsc, 2020).

In this context, the primary aim of the Act will be to promote the decision making and this way the mental ill patients like Mary can be able to heal up quickly. The strong communication between the health PR actioners and the patients’ needs to be protected and encouraged in the context of the treatment decisions by considering certain preferences and views (David, 2008). The certain principles as well as objectives of the Act involves protection of the individual rights, autonomy and dignity regarding the decisions of treatment and care. As per the New Mental Health Act 2014 , the framework have been set in order to make the promotion of the recovery oriented practices through which the compulsory treatment can be easily minimised and this way the right of the people can also be protected and supported like Mary (Health and Human Services, 2020).

For Mary, in the context of the Act, there need to be proper treatment order that is the requirement of the authorised psychryatist and the requirement of community health centres who will be responsible in taking care of the medical treatment of the patients. Like other patients, the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner needs to make the proper assessment and the acceptance and management need to resolve any form of the complaints regarding the public mental health care providers. In this regard , some of the effective requirements and the criterias that need to be meet necessarily in order to treat Mary are the involvement of the private communication , making of the advanced statements and creation of the psychryatist opinions and information about treatment through a proper statement of rights (David, 2008).

Signs and Symptoms of Depression in Context to The Case Study

According to the medical definition, depression is characterised as one of the persistent depressed mood as well as loss of interests in the activities which ultimately causing the impairments in the daily lives of the individuals. The basic causes behind the impairment of the mental disorders are certain combinations of biological, social as well as the psychological forms of distresses which is actually causing the changes in the brain functions of Mary in this regard and this is the reason , it have been found that Mary had gone through different psychological and behavioural changes. In many situations depressions is often gets associated to the suicidal cases according to the highlights by (Eleanor, 2018) In this context, the mainstay treatment involves medication , talk therapy which will help in normalising the changes in the brain associated with depression. The other signs of depression which have been found among Mary is fatigueness through the entire day and also at the same time the guilty feeling , worthlessness and helplessness. Irritability and insomnia along with forgetfulness are also some of the major symptoms that have been found among the mental patients and it was also common among Mary. The other important symptoms involves to be sad always, anxious and always having the empty feelings. This had actually created suicidal attempts among the mentally ill patients which was also found among Mary (Debbie, 2005).

Nursing Interventions with Respect to The Case Study

In relation to the case study, it will be the responsibility of the nurse to first of all monitor the mental state of the patient, Mary after communicating with her for the long time. According to (Veress, 2020) it is also important for the nurses to know the past or any history of the patients so that the diagnosis can be made easily. In addition to this, the nurse at the same time also need to be friendly with the patients so that the positive and good communication can be established with the patients very easily.

Again along with this, the consultation with the knowledgeable health care professionals is necessary o that the patents like Mary can be easily admitted to the local community services (webmd, 2020). It indicates that there need to be proper involvement of the nurses where she would proactively follow up all the patients details along with their details fitness and their past history. The patients adherence to both the psychological and pharmacological treatments needs to be assessed well through which the patient progress can be monitored easily along with the delivery of the psychological support (mayoclinic, 2020).

Discussion of difficulties with the patient like Mary and the problem solving co-ordnance issues to be solved needs to be well handled. The behavioural activation along with the medical management is likely to be involved through which the reliability as well as the minimal clinical support can be highlighted well as a measure of preventing the depression from the individuals (Debbie, 2005). The major depression on the other hand also carried out and characterized by the disturbances in mood regulation, behaviour with which the normal fluctuations among the people can be detected well. In case of Mary, unipolar major depression have taken place. Suicide is often regarded as one of the most serious form of complications with untreated amount of depression (mayoclinic, 2020).

From the statistical data , it have been found that during 2009-2 , 7.6 percent of the Americans aged 12 and above that was suffering from major unipolar depression. Hence here, the nurse will be responsible enough in undertaking toxicological screening and undergoing the dexamethasone suppression test based on which the depressed patients can be treated well (medicinenet, 2016). The other forms of the mental illness treatment for the patients involves psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy and the involvement of the simulation techniques like the patients should respond to the medication an ECT treatment regimes. Some examples of the medical treatment involves the inclusion of amitriptyline and amoxapine so that the risk factors among the patients can be adequately minimised and the dangerous interactions with foods and medications can be well detected. According to David (2008), educating patients regarding the depression is also important so that the patients instead of getting frightened can engage in some of the constructive works and can do some pleasurable activities.

In this situation , the patient’s long term needs as well as the responsible actions needs to be undertaken fast through which the patients like Mary can respond well to the nursing treatment. All the observations regarding the behaviour of the patient Mary needs to be recorded by the nurse on the pad so that ready treatments can be given to patients through the establishment of constant conversations and treatments (Philip, 2020). Here the patients also need t be involved with the nurse to help her in different medical activities like supporting other patients of mental disorders through constant communication. This is also one of the important and practical treatment for the patients like Mary to get heal soon. The social support for the patient is also very essential and hence the locality and the neighbourhood of Mary should be motivated and encouraged to give time to Mary and also encouraging her in getting involved in other works. Proper sleep will also help in reducing the stress and will gradually develop the health relationship between the patient and the family persons (Debbie, 2005). If required , the nurse should also intervene in the personal life of the nurses so that the life’s challenges as well as the problems can get well handled. Listening to peers and becoming obedient is also important for the nurse through which the self-esteem can be developed easily. The group discussion and the online conferencing with the doctors living abroad is also one of the effective signs for the patients to get healed within a short span of time (Veress, 2020).

Conclusion on Mental Health Practice

To conclude, in order to make the patient heal and to regulate her life, the major intervention by the nurses are highly essential based on which the long term distress problems can be declined and the problematic mental situations can be handled well. This way , the depressive disorders can be maintained well and along with that the patient can be able to lead the healthy life without remembering the past which might affect her life negatively.

References for Mental Health Practice

Bella, D. (2018). Why 5 Types of People May Withdraw From Social Life. Retrieved from Loners come in different varieties, including healthy ones. : https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-single/201804/why-5-types-people-may-withdraw-social-life

blackdoginstitute. (2020). Facts about suicide in Australia. Retrieved from Facts about suicide in Australia: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/clinical-resources/suicide-self-harm/facts-about-suicide-in-australia

David, E. (2008). Depression case management by practice nurses in primary care: an audit. Journal on Depression case management by practice nurses in primary care: an audit, 111–119.

Debbie, P. (2005). Families’ Attitudes and Mental Illness. International Journal on Families’ Attitudes and Mental Illness, 85-86.

Eleanor, B. (2018). Depression and suicide among medical practitioners in Australia. Internal Medicine Journal, 254-258.

Health and Human Services. (2020). Does depression increase the risk for suicide? Retrieved from Does depression increase the risk for suicide?: https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/does-depression-increase-risk-of-suicide/index.html

health.vic. (2020). Mental Health Act 2014. Retrieved from Mental Health Act 2014 : https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/mental-health/practice-and-service-quality/mental-health-act-2014

helpguide. (2020). Depression in Older Adults: Signs, Symptoms, Treatment. Retrieved from Are you an older adult with depression?: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-in-older-adults.htm

legalaid. (2020). Introduction to the Mental Health Act 2014. About the Mental Health Act, 10-15.

mayoclinic. (2020). Overview. Retrieved from Overview: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/symptoms-causes/syc-20374968

medicinenet. (2016). Learn to Spot Depression: Symptoms, Warning Signs, Medication. Retrieved from Learn to Spot Depression: Symptoms, Warning Signs, Medication: https://www.medicinenet.com/depression_overview_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

Parliament of Australia. (2011). Suicide in Australia. Retrieved from Suicide in Australia: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2011-2012/Suicide

Philip, B. (2020). Challenges in detecting and treating depression and a glimmer of hope in suicide prevention. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 341-343.

ucsc. (2020). Counseling & Psychological Services. Retrieved from Depression and Suicide: https://caps.ucsc.edu/resources/depression.html

Veress, A. (2020). Evidence and controversy in the relationship between depression, suicide, prevention and crisis intervention. Journal on Evidence and controversy in the relationship between depression, suicide, prevention and crisis intervention, 2.

webmd. (2020). Symptoms of Depression. Retrieved from Symptoms of Depression: https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/detecting-depression#1

Z, R. (2012). W03-01 - Depression, suicide and suicide prevention in hungary. European Psychiatry, 1.

Zuzana, N. (2013). Mood changes, depression and suicide risk during isotretinoin treatment: a prospective study. International Journal of Dermatology, 163-168.

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