Welcome. I'm thrilled that you've decided to join me in this course, Mental Health and social determinants of health. My name is Barbara Peterson and I'm the instructor. I'm eager to teach this course because I've witnessed firsthand the impact of social determinants of health on mental health in the people in the urban cities where I have lived, the rural state where I was born, and the places across the globe where I have traveled as a student, teacher, and visitor. This course is designed for all those who are willing to examine the impact of social determinants of health on mental health, and who are considering or are already working with people to achieve skills in this deeper understanding. Learning objectives for this course is to describe the mental health across the lifespan to better understand the factors that impact mental health and mental health problems. We're going to focus on this learning objective during this first lesson. Also in the module, we'll examine the impact of social determinants of health and mental health and substance use to increase understanding of actions that can be taken to improve mental health outcomes. Then lastly, we're going to examine strategies that improve social determinants of health to identify and implement actions to improve mental health outcomes. Are you ready? Let's get started. We're showing you this model that you may have already seen in this course. The data to action model. This model is aligned with the data to action model in identifying and naming ways in which mental health and social determinants of health are interconnected and through sharing and incorporating knowledge about mental health. Lastly, this module will identify ways that systems across the globe are creatively addressing mental health problems in their communities. What's meant by mental health? Is it the presence of something or is it the absence of something else? Can we separate mental health from health in general? The definition of mental health is difficult to articulate, yet most people share a common concept of what it looks like. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps to determine how we handle stress and relate to others and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescent through adulthood, and later years. This definition of mental health I particularly like, it's a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stressors in life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community and that's the World Health Organization. Mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, and earn a living and enjoy life. People with good mental health experience times of sadness, anger, feeling unwell and this is part of a fully lived life for human beings. But in spite of this, mental health has been often conceptualized as a purely positive effect, marked with feelings of happiness and a sense of mastery over environment. Importantly, the absence of a mental health disorder does not necessarily mean the presence of good mental health, which raises significant important issues in managing mental illness as well as mental well-being. We know that there can be no health without mental health. Mental health is fundamental to overall physical health. Success in life and general well-being, yet across the globe, gaps exist in understanding mental health and mental health problems, as well as substance use problems. The prevalence of mental health problems is astounding. Mental health disorders really still remain widely under-reported. This is true across all countries but particularly in countries that have lower income and where data is scarcer and where there is little attention and treatment for mental health disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five adults in the United States experience mental illness on any given year. Between four and five percent of US adults have a serious mental health problem. What are some of these mental health disorders? Well, anxiety. Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the world affecting 285 million people. Anxiety disorders are characterized by persistent worry, fear, and stress that interferes with one's everyday life. Then we think about depression. Depression affects 264 million people. This is a persistent low mood, fatigue, profound sadness. These are common symptoms in major depression. Then we look at bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder consists of radical shifts in depression, or low moods, and then shifts to manic or high moods that can last for weeks long. We look at substance use disorders, alcohol use disorder. 1.4 percent of the global population suffers from substance use or alcohol disorders. The frequent use of alcohol or drugs that interferes with the person's behavior in day to day life. Excessive use of substance, alcohol, drugs results in failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school or home. It's also physically hazardous because people driving while intoxicated or causing legal problems or interpersonal problems. Then we should look at COVID-19 and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. The emerging literature measures the impact of various traumatic stressors related to COVID-19. COVID-19 has already led to diverse mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other trauma and stress-related disorders. Studies are exploring other stressors that add to an individual's emotional burdens related to COVID-19, such as social isolation, unemployment, economic losses, and working from home while caring for children and other family members. Definitely there's been an impact globally on mental health related to physical, economic, social, and emotional problems. Thinking about suicide. Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. It may be as a result of a serious mental disorder or substance use disorder, or could be an impulsive act due to stress. Every single suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities, and entire countries and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. Eight hundred thousand deaths by suicide every year, one person in every 40 seconds. It's an astounding number of deaths by suicide, in fact, the leading cause of death in youth. We know that there are higher rates of suicide in older males and males also commit suicide twice as high as women. Please know that if you are dealing with suicidal plots, you can receive immediate help by visiting resources such as suicide.org or by calling the 1800 number on the screen. If you are dealing with suicidal thoughts, please stop now and call for help. Thinking about the burden of mental health problems. People with serious mental illness die an average of 25 years earlier than the general population. These deaths are not necessarily due to suicidal violence but people with serious mental illnesses often die of the same causes as everyone else but just earlier. In addition, there's a personal burden of mental health problems such as stigma. Stigma is a prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness. It can be subtle or it can be obvious. But regardless, it leads to harm for people who suffer from mental illness. People with mental illness are marginalized and discriminated against in various ways. Understanding what that looks like and how to address and eradicate it can help. At times, people with mental illness are not allowed to make their own decisions or enjoy the rights that other people in society enjoy. Many areas of the world have limited access for people to be able to obtain adequate mental health services. In summary, good mental health is integral to human health and well-being. We must remember there's no health without mental health and mental illnesses are major causes of morbidity and mortality. Mental health and substance use problems are public health problems. I hope that you'll enjoy the readings and activities during Lesson 1. You'll be watching videos and doing a few readings. You'll also watch another video lecture by me that focuses more on substance use and substance use problems. This next screen is a screen of references that you'll see in your lesson plan. Thank you very much.
