Psychology and Peoples Physical Health - Essay Example

Assessment People often think that going to a psychiatrist means that a person is mentally disturbed or is a lunatic, although that’s not the case, because going to a psychiatrist means getting mental relaxation. Psychology has been concerned with people’s physical health almost from the starting of the 20th century. A large part of psychology’s participation in health care is a commitment for keeping people healthy rather than waiting to treat them after they get ill. A college friend of mine told me that she had been experiencing from severe acute anxiety which in psychology can be described as health psychology, it is the branch of psychology that is concerned with a person behaviors and lifestyles disturbing a person’s physical health. Matarazzo (1980) defined health psychology as “Interdisciplinary subspecialty within behavioral medicine specifically concerned with the maintenance of health and the prevention of illness and dysfunctional in currently healthy persons” (pg-15). Health psychology contains psychology’s contribution to the improvement of the health, the avoidance and treatment of disease, the recognition of physical condition risk factors, the development of the health care system, and the determining of public in relation to health. Specifically it engrosses the request of psychological main beliefs to such physical health areas as lowering high of blood pressure, controlling of cholesterol, managing stress, lessening pain, stop smoking, and moderating other risky behaviors. A person suffering from palpitations, dizziness, dry mouth, tremors, feelings of unreality, and an intense urge to escape, may have a lot of reasons behind it. It maybe because of an incident, which a person saw or went through which caused him/her to have certain effects on their mind. A person who is afraid of driving may have a reason that she saw a really bad accident or had a minor accident herself, which caused her mind to go into such a phase that while driving the person is afraid that either he/she might have an accident, in such cases a psychiatrist must be consulted, because the doctor would examine as to why such things happen and the doctor might suggest some medical tests like MRI and Citi-scan, other situations like wanting to stay away from home or the need to run away from home, may be due to the reason that the person feels uncomfortable in the house or it may due to some reasons which maybe financially instability, parents fighting or any number of reasons. If asked from a physiatrist he may suggest that something terrible might have happened in that persons life which make him feel or act in different ways. Like when that person was young he might have seen an accident etc. Parents’ separation or divorce also affects a person minds a lot especially when he/she is at an age where their minds are not ready to accept the fact that they cannot see their parents together. A person who feels dizzy and goes through other kinds of feeling have a lot of cures. Dizziness is a word that is frequently used to explain two different feelings, first is lightheadedness it is feeling when a person feels that he/she is going to faint and the second one is Vertigo it is a sensation where a person feels that the surroundings are stirring even though there is no real movement, it feels as if a person is spinning, whirling, falling, or tilting. If a person who is suffering from dizziness goes to a physiatrist, he/she will be examined first, and questions like when or why this happens, it maybe because of tension, stress or lowering of blood pressure. Another serious reason of lightheadedness is bleeding. Majority of the time, the place of the bleeding and necessitate to seek out medical care are clear. The solutions the physiatrist may give are, getting up slowly from the bed or chair and sitting or standing up slowly to shun abrupt changes in blood flow in the head that can cause the feeling of lightheadedness. Palpitations are extremely widespread and are frequently the basis a lot of nervousness in those who are familiar with them. The dilemma is that palpitations can be entirely risk-free or they can be life threatening. A Holter monitor is a nonstop electrocardiogram that records each and every heartbeat throughout the instance a person is wearing it. The objective is to know of when the palpitation occurs with the help of electrocardiogram, which records the heartbeat at that time. This will allow the doctor to decide if the palpitations are something to be worried on or not. A thallium stress test is intended to calculate how much blood stream the heart gets in the period of the exercise. If at present there is a major quantity of obstacle in the coronary arteries, in that case the heart might not receive adequate blood flow throughout the exercise. A thallium scan is a non-enveloping technique of permitting the doctor to settle on it. In a number of cases, palpitations could be a sign of inadequate blood flow to the heart; the test would be able to find out the exact solution to the problem. It is better to get rid of caffeine, as well as coffee, chocolate, and nearly all types of teas other than caffeine-free herbal teas. Caffeine might add to the rate of recurrence of palpitations. Uncontrollable shaking, or “tremors”, in different parts and on different sides of the body, differentiates a person suffering from a nerve disorder. If a person is caring from him/herself then it is not a critical anarchy. Essential tremor is a postural tremor, so symptoms are usually relieved with rest. Except the anarchy proceeds, the nerve disorder may start to take place when the muscles are stress-free. The nerve disorder may lead to panic attacks If a person is suffering from panic attacks, it would be difficult for him to know at the time when it comes because it comes without warning, along with extreme uneasiness or terror, a person usually experiences the subsequent physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, panic, squatness of breath, dizziness, nausea, feelings of unreality, numbness, chest pain, fear of dying, and fear of going insane etc. Most people with panic disorder don’t get professional help. A lot of people feel healthier simply understanding the fact that they are not losing their intellect and that a lot of people are going to the same thing. A very common type of psychotherapy known as cognitive-behavioral therapy that teaches people how to outlook fear attacks in a different way and the ways to diminish anxiety. A therapist might also recommend meditation or additional ways of relaxation techniques to assist the person in keeping the panic attacks away. Particular workouts whose focal point is on breathing can be very helpful in view of the fact that breathing has a propensity to get faster before and throughout an attack. After a few weeks of therapy the majority of people suffering from it show considerable improvement degeneration may take place, but they can be efficiently taken care of just like the first incident. Not all of these cures are promised to make the fears go away entirely. A person may still experience the pulsation speeding up in crowded elevators or being frightened on the airplanes. In very nerve-racking state of affairs, a person may yet have another fear attack. But if a person gets the accurate assistance for this dilemma, he/she will most probably get to the position where panic or fear of anything will no longer control their life. Bibliography Brannon Linda and Feist Jess (2000), Health Psychology An introduction to behavior and health (pg 15-17) Webmd (2006), Psychology and symptoms. http://www.webmd.com/ Word Count: 1,252 Read More