What causes mental health problems?

We know very little about the causes of mental health problems compared
to what is known about physical health problems. It is an area that causes much discussion among professionals and is constantly being researched.
It is generally believed that it is not just one factor that causes someone
to develop a mental health problem, but a combination of factors. These
factors can be broken down into biological, psychological and social
factors. People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to be affected
by these vulnerability factors (be more vulnerable/at risk) by virtue of their
disability.
Many of us will have or will encounter these vulnerability factors
throughout our lives. It just means that we are more vulnerable because of
them. It does not definitely mean that we will develop a mental health
problem.

Biological factors
BRAIN CHEMICALS
There are many chemicals in the brain that carry different messages from
brain cell to brain cell. For example the chemical ‘serotonin’ carries
messages about your mood. It is suggested that if we have too little ‘serotonin’ going between brain cells then we are more likely to become
depressed. Another chemical called ‘dopamine’ carries messages about the way we see the world around us. If we have too much ‘dopamine’ being passed across brain cells then we are more likely to have psychotic
symptoms as in schizophrenia.
RUNNING IN THE FAMILY
It has been found that some types of mental health problems can run in
families. However, just because a relative has a mental health problem it
does not mean that you will definitely develop it as well; there is just a
slightly increased risk. It should also be remembered that there are other
factors that will have a great impact on whether or not someone develops a mental health problem.
SENSORY IMPAIRMENTS
People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to experience sensory
loss such as poor hearing and vision. People with sensory impairments are mmore vulnerable to mental health problems, especially those with hearing loss. Sensory impairments can be very difficult to pick up, especially in people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. This will result in extra stress on the person.
CHRONIC PHYSICAL DISABILITY
People with chronic physical disability are more vulnerable to depression.
There are higher rates of physical disability in people with intellectual disabilities.

PHYSICAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to develop physical
health problems. They are also less likely to seek medical advice about
these problems sometimes due to a lack of understanding and communication difficulties.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
People who abuse drugs and alcohol are more at risk of developing mental health problems.
Psychological factors
LIFE EVENTS
There are events throughout life that may cause us stress. Such events
include the death of a family member or close friend, unemployment, a
relationship ending. It has been found that in some cases such life events
can make us vulnerable to developing a mental health problem.
There are other life events that may affect people with intellectual disabilities.
These include:
Changes in the family home, such as a brother or sister moving
out
Key worker, social worker or outreach worker leaving their job
Going into hospital
Any type of assault or abuse
These can be made even more difficult by the person’s lack of ability to
understand what has happened to them or around them.
SELF-AWARENESS
The person may be very aware of their disability and how other people
view them. They may have difficulty coming to terms with their intellectual
disabilities. The person may also be aware of the things that tend to
happen at certain times in life. For example people tend to have their first
boyfriend or girlfriend in their teenage years, leave the parental home in
their twenties or get a full-time job after leaving school or college. People with intellectual disabilities may very well have these goals, but it will
probably be more difficult for them to achieve them.
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
The experiences we have in childhood tend to shape our personality in
adulthood. People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to have
negative learning experiences in childhood, such as failing to keep up with
other children at school, failing to do things that their brothers or sisters
can do and sometimes not being able to communicate their needs.
Social factors
SOCIAL NETWORKS
People with intellectual disabilities may have limited social networks
outside of their home and limited personal resources to increase these
networks. This may affect their mental health.
DEMANDS
Sometimes we may place too high or too low demands on people with
intellectual disabilities. If demands are too high, we are setting people up
to fail; if they are too low, we are decreasing their independence. Both will
have an effect on the person’s self-esteem.
LACK OF ACTIVITY
Just like anyone else, people with intellectual disabilities need a varied life
with different things to do. More often than not they have very little to do,
which can have a detrimental effect on their mental health.