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Unlock This CourseA significant mental health problem does not stay inside one person's head. It can change how they live, how they get on with others and what they need from the people around them. When many people are affected, whole communities feel it too. The specification asks you to know effects at two levels: on individuals and on society.
Key terms:
Three effects are given in the specification. Each one is a different part of daily life.
A person who feels very low or very anxious may stop replying to messages, avoid friends or become short-tempered. Friends and family may not understand and may drift away, or arguments may grow. The person can end up lonely just when they need support most.
Everyday tasks can feel too hard. A student may struggle to concentrate or to get to school. An adult may find it hard to keep a job. Self-care, such as washing, tidying or cooking, can slip.
Mind and body are linked. Sleep can be disturbed, so the person is tired all the time. Appetite can change, so diet gets worse. Long periods of stress can make people more likely to fall ill.
Sam has an anxiety problem. He is scared of crowds, so he stops going to football with his friends (relationships). He starts missing lessons because the bus is busy (coping with school). He lies awake worrying and eats very little at breakfast (sleep and diet). One problem has affected three parts of his life, and each part can make the others worse.
When lots of individuals are affected, the cost spreads to everyone. The specification gives three social effects.
People who struggle to cope may need support from the NHS, councils and charities. This could be therapy, a place in supported housing or regular visits. The more people with significant problems, the more services are needed, and the more staff and money they require.
This point needs care. Most people with mental health problems are not criminals, and they are more likely to be victims of crime than to commit it. The link is with some problems that are not treated, and with addiction. For example, a person with an addiction may steal to pay for a substance. A person in crisis who gets no help may also act in ways that break the law. Better treatment can reduce this risk.
Mental health problems affect money in several ways:
Relationships, coping with school, work and self-care, and physical wellbeing.
Social care needs, crime rates (in some untreated cases and addiction) and costs to the economy.
The best exam answers show that an effect on one person can grow into an effect on society. Use a chain: effect on the person, then what that leads to, then the effect on society.
Priya has depression and cannot sleep. She is too tired to concentrate at work (individual effect: coping and physical wellbeing). She takes many days off and does less when she is there (lost productivity). Her employer loses work, and she may need NHS treatment and benefits (cost to the economy). Many people in the same position add up to a large cost for society.
(a) Describe one effect of a significant mental health problem on an individual. [2 marks]
(b) Explain how an effect on an individual could lead to an effect on society. [3 marks]
(a) A mental health problem can damage a person's relationships (1). For example, they may stop seeing friends or argue with family because they feel too low to talk (1).
(b) A person with a mental health problem may find it hard to cope at work (1). They may take many days off and get less done (1). This leads to lost productivity and costs for the economy, and the NHS or benefits may have to pay for their support (1).
In part (b) the marks are for the link. Use a joining word such as 'this leads to' so the examiner can see you moving from the individual to society.