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VCE Stuff => VCE Science => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Psychology => Topic started by: lleeea on September 13, 2018, 09:51:46 pm

Title: Mental health continuum
Post by: lleeea on September 13, 2018, 09:51:46 pm
hey peeps,

what is the mental health continuum and how does it fluctuate overtime?
Title: Re: Mental health continuum
Post by: Poet on September 13, 2018, 09:57:05 pm
Hi!

The mental health continuum is just a sort of graph (a continuum) that ranges from ‘mentally well’ to ‘mentally unwell’. Think of it like a switch on a sound board- it can slide from unwell to well and back again, or stay in the middle. As we go about life, our mental well-being will get better or worse depending on situations, relationships, body image, etc. This is the fluctuation.
Title: Re: Mental health continuum
Post by: lleeea on September 13, 2018, 10:01:52 pm
Hi!

The mental health continuum is just a sort of graph (a continuum) that ranges from ‘mentally well’ to ‘mentally unwell’. As we go about life, our mental well-being will get better or worse depending on situations, relationships, body image, etc. This is the fluctuation.

Hope this was helpful. :)
Yes it was helpful. Thankyou for taking out your time to respond
Title: Re: Mental health continuum
Post by: Bri MT on September 13, 2018, 10:06:31 pm
Hi!

The mental health continuum is just a sort of graph (a continuum) that ranges from ‘mentally well’ to ‘mentally unwell’. As we go about life, our mental well-being will get better or worse depending on situations, relationships, body image, etc. This is the fluctuation.

Hope this was helpful. :)

To expand on this, in VCE psych we examine it as ranging from mental healthy > mental health problem > mental health disorder
It's important to realise that there are no definite boundarys between these categories, but you should familiarise yourself with the descriptions associated with each. Eg. if a person is feeling down for a few days and isn't being very productive after  relationship breakup this alone wouldn't be sufficient to catergorise them as having a mental health disorder, but if weeks after the break up they have withdrawn from their family & friends, still aren't being productive (not going to work/school) low mood etc. then they may have a mental health disorder. (Note: VCE psych does not teach you diagnostic criteria, and certainly doesn't qualify anyone to cary out diagnosises)

As Poet said, our positions on the continuum fluctuate overtime