CRISIS- IN MENTAL HEALTH

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Welcome to today's mental health session. Today in mental health, we are going to look at crisis and we'll go straight to look at the definition of crisis.

[00:00:13]So, we can define crisis in mental health as this is a sudden, disruptive event or situation that overwhelms an individual's normal coping mechanism and leading to emotional, psychological, or behavioral distress.

[00:00:36]So, crisis we experience different types of crisis.

[00:00:41]However, in mental health, there's also a form of crisis that we talk about that individuals may experience and this may cause distress in this particular individual. And when we talk of a crisis, the first thing we are saying it is a sudden. Sometimes this person may experience a sudden situation, maybe a sudden loss. This person will still go into a crisis. Sometimes it could be a disruptive event, something just suddenly occurs as an event in this person's life. Or it could be a situation that overwhelms this individual, meaning that this situation is so big such that it is difficult for them to handle it and this disturbs their normal coping mechanism. But whatever the case is or the the the the cause of the situation is, this always leads to an emotional, psychological, or behavioral distress because of the nature of the situation that they are going through.

[00:01:40]Now, when you look at a crisis, the person feels unable to manage or function effectively and they often require immediate support or intervention just to help them go through the particular crisis that they are experiencing.

[00:01:57]>> [snorts] >> Now, in terms of types of crisis that we can talk of, amongst the types of crisis that we have, the first one is what is known as developmental crisis.

[00:02:09]In developmental crisis, these occur as part of the process of growing and developing through various periods of life.

[00:02:18]And sometimes this type of a crisis is predictable in in one's life cycle.

[00:02:26]Uh and such as the crisis, for example, that are described in Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. You already know that this particular child will go through this particular stage. At this particular stage, they'll be attached to this one. At this stage, this will happen. And if there's a disruption in those developmental stages, then this child may easily experience a particular crisis because their normal stages have been disturbed and these are what I refer to as developmental crisis because the crisis are affecting the normal developmental phases of this particular child.

[00:03:05]The other type of a crisis is what is known as existential crisis.

[00:03:11]Now, with existential crisis, this is where there is inner conflicts that are related to things such as life purpose, direction, or spirituality.

[00:03:22]Now, here we talk of a midlife crisis is one of an example of a crisis that is often rooted in existential cri- in existential, of course, anxiety. So, existential crisis, these are just conflicts that are occurring and affecting an individual's life purpose or direction or spirituality.

[00:03:45]This person finds themselves with conflicting ideas and then we'll say this person has gone into a midlife crisis, meaning that this person is experiencing existential crisis. Crisis about their purpose of existence and they don't even know the will or why they even exist. Or they don't even know the direction where they are going. Or they don't even know what they are supposed to do at that particular moment in life. And then this person ends up having a mental breakdown or a psychological breakdown because of existential crisis.

[00:04:21]The other type of crisis is what is referred to as situational crisis.

[00:04:27]Now, with situational crisis these are sudden and unexpected crisis including accidents and natural disasters. And for example, getting in a car accident, experiencing a flood or earthquake, or being the victim of crime are just a few types of situational crisis. Situational crisis, just like the name itself, it means that this person has gone into a crisis because of a particular situation or incidence that experiencing at that particular moment. Now, when you look at a crisis itself, a crisis can sometimes be quite obvious such as a person maybe losing his or her job, maybe getting divorced, or being involved in some type of accident. So, some of these may be quite obvious based on the behavior that you have seen prior to the actual crisis before it takes place. But also in other cases, a person's crisis may be less apparent but can still lead to dramatic changes in behavior and mood. Meaning that sometimes these crisis, you may not expect them to occur. They just occur.

[00:05:38]But whatever the case, whether you were expecting such to occur based on the prior presentation of behavior from an individual or situation, or they just occur abruptly, these they still affect our behavior and mood and they may cause cause psychological problems which may require crisis intervention.

[00:06:02]Of course, when we talk of signs of a crisis, the first sign is change in weight.

[00:06:11]For example, this person goes through a situation of crisis, they are just divorced abruptly. This person may lose the appetite to eat which may contribute to their loss of weight because they are trying to understand what they are go- what they have gone through and also how they are going to survive because sometimes it could be this person who has left them was the breadwinner.

[00:06:36]Uh the other symptom is, of course, decreased performance at school or work.

[00:06:42]If this is a particular school-going child who has gone through a crisis, they have reduced performance at school because they are thinking about what they are going through at home. If it is at work, the same thing will also happen.

[00:06:57]Because this person will not have a peace of mind at work because they have problems that they are experiencing where they are coming from. The other one is dramatic shifts in sleeping habits. Uh sometimes it could be where this person goes into extreme insomnia. They can't find sleep and this is because they are thinking about the problems that they are going through.

[00:07:22]Uh apart from that, neglect of personal hygiene.

[00:07:25]Uh this person may not uh perform activities of daily living to improve their personal hygiene because they maybe they are in a state where they don't care anymore because of the problems that they are experiencing.

[00:07:41]Sudden changes in mood. Sometimes a person may become very aggressive.

[00:07:46]Sometimes they may become so isolative depending on how they how they have reacted to that particular crisis that they have experienced. Also, withdrawal from normal activities is another sign that we can see.

[00:08:02]This person withdraws from previously play- pleasurable activities and it is because of the problems or situation that they have gone through and they don't feel interested in activities anymore and they may become isolative.

[00:08:19]But some individuals may also become very aggressive. It could be maybe this person has gone through a personal situation, maybe they are raped. This person will become very aggressive even to other individuals or other male individuals. If it's a female that have raped this person, this person may also become aggressive to other females because they are always relating uh them to the experience they have gone through leading to the crisis. So, this may cause them to withdraw from uh certain normal activities.

[00:08:55]When you talk of the general management that we can apply to a patient who is going through a crisis, of course, in in terms of aims, you can say to promote rest, to promote the nutritional status, to prevent injuries, and to relieve symptoms of a crisis.

[00:09:13]Of course, on safe environment, you can ensure that you admit the patient in the psychiatric ward for specialized care.

[00:09:21]You can say I'll ensure the environment is clean to prevent nosocomial infection. I'll [snorts] ensure that the room is well ventilated to promote comfort. I'll ensure that the room is is well lit to prevent injuries and for easy observations.

[00:09:38]On rest, you can say I'll perform the following interventions uh such as I'll ensure the room is free from noise to promote rest. I'll do all procedures and perform uh in blocks to promote rest. You can talk of administering medications that will help the patient have enough time of rest such as diazepam.

[00:10:00]You can also talk of ensuring that the room supports both mental and physical rest.

[00:10:08]Psychological care, of course, you can talk of performing the following interventions such as talking to the patient in a calm way so that they find it easier to understand, avoiding whispering when talking to others in the presence of the patient so that you don't instill fear in the patient or resentment.

[00:10:28]You can explain the patient's condition to the family to promote family-centered care. You can explain the patient's condition also to the family. Of course, we have said to promote family-centered care and also give unbiased information about the patient to the family to earn their trust. You can also allow the patient to be part of the care of the uh the patient. And this will promote the sense of belonging. You can allow the the patient and the family to ask questions pertaining to the condition to reduce anxiety. So, all those points, you can put them on psychological care.

[00:11:09]And certain observations that can be done, of course, observe the feeding pattern. If poor, prepare meals that uh that are specific to the patient. You can observe signs of social withdrawal and engage the patient in activities.

[00:11:26]You can observe the patient's sleeping pattern and this will be done to promote rest. You can still observe the general condition of the patient. You can also observe the patient's mental state by using performing a mental state examination as this will help promote full recovery or monitor the patient's mental state.

[00:11:50]In terms of nutrition, of course, you can monitor the feeding pattern, encourage a normal but balanced diet to promote good nutritional status, uh encourage oral fluids for hydration.

[00:12:03]You can have feeding charts and record food intake. You want to monitor the nutritional status of the patient.

[00:12:11]In terms of communication, of course, use simple words when talking to the patient for easy understanding.

[00:12:19]Always face the patient when passing a message to ensure the message is clearly understood. Consider the language of the patient uh for easy communication. Also, give patient tasks to ensure that the patient is understanding and stay is staying oriented.

[00:12:38]Hygiene, of course, you can talk of performing interventions such as changing soiled linen uh to prevent, of course, skin excoriation.

[00:12:49]Uh doing hair care to promote self-esteem, performing nail care to prevent self-injury, uh encouraging frequent bathing to promote hygiene, encouraging the patient to perform oral care to prevent halitosis.

[00:13:06]So, these are some of the points that you can put on hygiene.

[00:13:13]Apart from hygiene, the next heading that you can talk of is, of course, rehabilitation.

[00:13:19]And on rehabilitation, you can say can say I'll involve the patient in everyday activities to promote mental development.

[00:13:30]You can also talk of involving the friends in the care of the patient and those of his or her age group, especially those that have suffered from the same illness so as to share the experience and this will promote recovery. You can use a variety of modality including arts, crafts, drama, music, dancing, sports, and games as well as community outings to help the patient maintain or improve their physical, social, and emotional well-being. So, all these points can be used uh for rehabilitation purposes of the patient.

[00:14:06]Uh apart from that, you can ensure that the patients with mental emotional disorders are treated by teaching them to function within their community. So, you teach them how to function within their community so that they become part of the and parcel of the community and so that they don't feel isolated.

[00:14:26]Apart from that, you can talk of uh encouraging family members. You educate them on the patient's condition so as to accept the patient's condition and also accept them as part of their family.

[00:14:43]So, in terms of um in terms of crisis, that is what we can talk about uh as crisis in mental health.

[00:14:56]So, till next time, uh goodbye. Next time, we are going to look at anxiety.