Mental Health Issue Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Mental Health Issue - Coursework Example The concepts of media images and perceptions are also explored, offering the possible negative and positive effect of media perceptions. Interestingly, the legal aspect of this issue is also detailed in the guide. A Case Study of Mental Health Service User X Cindy has a responsible job as a software engineer in a multinational company but she feels she is unable to advance in her career because of her inability to contribute in group meetings. It’s almost more than what she could bear just to sit in on meetings, let alone offer her opinions. Yesterday, her boss approaches her about the possibility of giving a presentation about their latest product to some customers. At that point, she began to be nervous and could not open her mouth to talk at all. He walks out of her boss’s office with lack of self-confidence and later refuses to give the presentation. 3 Phobias Phobias can be defined as the persistent and irrational fears that affect some people when they come into c ontact with external factors (stimuli) (Morgan, 2003). There are different categories of phobias based on the sources of stimuli, to which the persons affected withdraw or move away from. Examples of these categories are:- (i) Agoraphobia:- this is irrational and persistent fears about being in a place crowded with many other people, and which might make escape impossible in case there is a sudden danger (Gray, 1994). This may happen with or without a panic attack. (ii) Social phobia:- This is irrational and persistent fears about participating in a social or public event. A chronic form of social phobia also leads to avoidance behavior as the affected person keep running away from social duties (Kleiman, 1988). Cindy is affected by this kind of phobia as she dodges her duties. (iii) Specific phobias:- These are irrational and persistent fears to some specific stimuli. Examples of these stimuli include but are not limited to animal types, natural environment types, situational types , blood-injection injury etc. (Lefton, 1997). 4 Causes of Phobias Several researches have been conducted on the issue of phobias in order to detect their main causes. Although it is not quite certain what is responsible for one particular phobia; however, it has become known in recent years that phobias could occur based on (i) genetical factor—that is, certain fears may affect some families consciously or unconsciously; for example, twins that were raised in different environments still show fear for a certain object or condition; (ii) cultural factor—owing to their cultures, different people entertain different kinds of phobias; (iii) personal experiences—it is also believed that personal experiences constitute mainly the cause of phobias people have today; past unfavorable experiences may beat fear into people’s hearts that would last forever (Gray, 1994); (iv) uncertainty—it is also considered a fact that people tend to exercise some fears to u ncertain conditions or things they could not control like their future, job interviews and meeting new and unfamiliar people (Lefton, 1997). Symptoms of Phobias The symptoms exhibit by patients affected by phobias depends on the types of phobias and their severity. For those suffering from blood-injection injury, they do not normally feel afraid but experience disgust at the sight of needles (Morgan, 2003). However, there are some general symptoms of phobias, which include but are n