Health and Illness Behavior - Essay Example

? Individual in Society Health and Illness Behavior I will analyze the issue of health and its applications in daily life. I will also discuss the relationship between health and illness behavior, and I will relate this with what has been studied throughout the whole. The WHO definition of health refers a state of physical, mental and psychological normalcy of an individual denoting the absence of disease in the individual. Therefore, it is important to understand that health not only refers to our bodies, but it can also refer to our mental aspects. Leading a healthy lifestyle is very important for all human beings since our life span is controlled by our health status. There are various healthcare programs in almost all governments of the world. This is because healthcare is a reality; hence governments have been forced to invest in health care programs. Apart from government, even the community is investing in healthcare programs so that community habitants are able to experience noteworthy health care facilities. It is the obligation of every nation to provide health care to its citizens since health care is a basic necessity. Provision of health care has even become a campaign pledge by most political leaders since it is a reality. Health facilities are a challenge especially in third world countries, but this is not the case in developed countries. This is really astonishing since there are various health conditions in developing countries as compared to those that are found in developed countries. As a result of this inadequate healthcare in developing countries, infant mortality and morbidity are both high in these countries. This is because children as opposed to adults have poor bodily immunities which require constant health care. Various factors affect a person’s health and wellbeing. Some of these factors are dietary factors, environmental factors, personal factors and genetic factors. Some conditions attack individuals as a result of not having a balanced diet. These are referred to as nutritional conditions. Nutritional diseases may be as a result of mineral disturbances, vitamin imbalances, protein imbalances and carbohydrate imbalances. Diseases that are as a result of nutritional derangements are very serious illnesses especially in children. This is because children require enough nutrients to kick-start their growth. Dietary conditions include scurvy, marasmus, kwashiorkor, obesity, pellagra etc. This indicates that when it comes to nutritional conditions, it would be on the upper quartile generating conditions like obesity or it it may be in the lower quartile when describing conditions like marasmus and kwashiorkor. Environmental factors also contribute to the health of an individual .Some areas are endemic to some disease attacks. Personal factors also play a role in health and well being since one’s hygiene may determine conditions that attack a personal. However, there are various diseases and illnesses that have a genetic predisposition. A majority of mental disorders are genetically determined, together with other common illnesses. From this, I have learnt that health care is very important in society, and all people need to ensure that they have exposure to potent health care programs. References Link, B. G. (2009). Social Conditions as fundamental causes of Disease. London: Routredge. Weil, A. (2008). Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health. 2007: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Life Course and End of Life Life course refers to the different health risks that we are all exposed to from birth and how these risks contribute to health conditions. I will discuss these risks in detail and then I will highlight what I have leant in this module concerning life course and end of life. There are various risks that an individual faces in the course of life, and this starts in childhood into adulthood and finally it ends in old age. All these three different age groups have different health risks, and, hence, the countermeasures are also different. A person’s health is affected by various factors throughout the different stages of life. This may be nutrition, social factors, economic factors, environmental factors and personal factors. These factors may either impact negatively or positively on a person’s health. For instance, mothers have the responsibility of feeding their infants and young children appropriately or else they face the risk of nutritional diseases like malnourishment, obesity, kwashiorkor etc. A mother who feeds her baby appropriately enhances the survival rates of this baby since the baby’s nutrition is sufficient enough to support the massive growth that is occurring during this whole period. A mother may also overfeed her baby and this leads to incidences of fat babies, which is always considered unhealthy. Social and economic factors are perhaps the most common reasons for health disparity between various families. Children who hail from rich families are well and appropriately fed which ensures that they are free from nutritional disorders. These children are also exposed to better a healthcare facility which implies that they are able to access health care facilities with ease. As a result of this, children from rich families have better survival chances as compared to those who hail from poor families. In poor families, sanitation is poor; hence people are prone to sanitary problems and waterborne diseases. People in poor families are also not able to feed in a balanced manner; hence they are prone to nutritional disturbances. Apart from this, people who hail from rich households are the ones prone to the so called lifestyle diseases due to the type of lifestyle they lead. Lifestyle diseases include diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity etc. This is because; the nature of the foods these people take predisposes them to these conditions. Personal lifestyles are also implicated in a variety of health conditions. For example smoking, drinking, lack of regular exercise and irresponsible sexual behaviors. This is true because, people who do not smoke or drinks are unlikely to have respiratory diseases. The same can be said concerning sexually transmitted Infections. These infections are only acquired by those who take part in irresponsible sexual behaviors, as compared to those who do not take part. From the course therefore, I have found out that there are some factors that affect the life of a human being from the start of conception to the end of one’s life. References Jeylan T. Mortimer, M. J. (2008). Handbook of the Life Course. New York: Springer Social Causes of Disease In this section, I will discuss the various social causes of diseases and health disturbance. Various social factors affect health and these can be social standing, social standing exclusion, poverty and work life. These factors will imply that while other groups of people receive health services adequately, others struggle to receive these services. There is social stratification in life; hence, people of a low social class receive poorer health services as compared to those of of a higher social class. People of a lower social class are always worried and strained concerning acquisition of basic services in life; hence they are prone to diseases. This is because their mental health is affected by constant thoughts concerning their basic necessities. Apart from this fact, people of a low social class do not have job security; hence, their job could end any time. As a result of this also, their mental aspect is also affected terribly. One way that people can reduce these situations is through creation of support networks and community programs. Social interactions with people are the best way of ensuring that people lead normal lifestyles. It becomes almost impossible to lead a normal lifestyle if at all there is no interaction with other people in the surrounding community. Inter-communal relationships are a way of showing solidarity in community and they are also a way of ensuring that people who are faced with stress do not get overly affected by the stress. When one is alone with no family members, associates and the community support, one is likely to suffer from many illnesses and mental disturbances. The other issue is when one works extremely hard for a few pennies. This is a very stressful experience and it may culminate in a mental condition. Normally, people of a low social class are exploited in the sense that they work a lot for only a meager salary. Such situations may lead to hopelessness as a result of frustrations derived from the exploitation. It is also important to note that poverty amongst people in the society maybe absolute or relative. The former denotes a situation whereby one lacks the basic needs and commodities for life while the latter foes an extra mile to explain about the presence of free education and good housing. Therefore, it is evident that disease can also be caused by social factors. Wen all need to interact with others in the surrounding community if at all we are expected to lead a normal lifestyle. While people of a higher social class do not have a problem in their lives, poor people are normally stressed concerning various issues. Hence, as a way of solving this stress, these people normally need companionship and social support. On my reflection, I belief that people who lie at the lowest position in the social ladder are the ones that are most likely to suffer from ill health due to their economic situation as compared to those of a higher social class. References Cockerham, W. C. (2009). Social causes of health and disease. California: Polity. Stress In this section, I will analyze stress, a fairly common term in the community. People of various traits; the rich, the poor, the old, the young, the tall, the short, and many more all experience stress. Stress is as a result of many frustrations and difficult situations, and it denotes mental disturbances that one faces when faced with difficult situations. The word has been used for centuries, and scientists use it to imply that the mental health of an individual has been compromised. Stress is of various degrees. It may be acute stress or chronic stress. Acute stress occurs over a short period of time as a result of a sudden traumatic experience. One example of this is post traumatic stress disorder that one experiences after a particular traumatic experience, for example, after the loss of a relative or after witnessing a disturbing incident. Chronic stress on the other hand occurs over a long period of time. This may be as a result of successive acute stress episodes or as a result of an accumulation of many disturbing episodes. Neither of these two forms is favorable to an individual since they both disorient one’s mind and ensure that there is ill mental health. Stress not only affects one organ of the body, but includes various organs of the body; hence chronic stress always leads to signs of ill health in individuals. Once the brain is affected, the other systems of the body are going to be affected starting from the cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, urinary system and gastro-intestinal system. Therefore, from a very small issue, various complicated issues are likely to emerge from stress; hence, it is an issue that needs to be affected in all. Stress is caused by a variety of stimuli; hence it is preventable and controllable in people. The best way to mange stress is to identify the causative agents, and after doing this, it becomes easier for one to alleviate the stress. People should ensure that they avoid any form of stressful situations since stress affects how we eat, relate with other sand how we work. Sharing one’s problems with the rest of the society is one way of controlling stress; however, it is important to note that society itself may be the genesis of stress. Neighbors, colleagues, friends or even relatives can stress you; hence, it is important for one to be wary of the community. The best method of controlling stress comes on a personal basis. We should all ensure that we are not in situations that may lead us into stressful situations. When faced with difficult issues, it becomes important to seek distractions that would lead you away from the stress. I have leant that stress is a form of mental illness, which may be acute or chronic in nature. I have also leant that stress is of different magnitudes and it varies from one person to another. We should, therefore, avoid any situations that may cause stress. References Dirk Hellhammer, J. H. (2008). Stress: the brain-body connection. New York: Karger Publishers. Fontana, D. (2008). Managing Stress. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. Biopsychosocial model In this section, I will describe the biopsychosocial model and its relevance in clinical practice today. This model of mental health asserts that mental health encompasses biological factors, psychological factors and social factors. Psychological factors include emotions, behaviors and thoughts while social factors include traditions, family and culture. This model has been around for years. People have applied this model since the 1970’s. However, the biopsychosocial model has received its fair share of criticisms because it is vague and overly broad. The model is both used as a philosophical tool for clinical care and also as a practical tool for clinical purposes. The model has enabled clinicians understand how disease is affected by various levels of organizations; from the molecular to the societal level. When used practically, the model understands patients better, in terms of their management, diagnoses used and the health outcomes. The biopsychosocial model has brought about a successful clinical method of discussing about mental disorders. The relationship between physical and mental aspects of health is extremely complex and it requires subjective experience. Many have proposed that clinical practice needs to be oriented towards the biosychosocial model, and its pillars should be self awareness, active cultivation of trust, emotional trust that has emphatic curiosity, self calibration, use of informed intuition and communication of clinical evidence to all quarters so that dialogue is fostered. Emerging scientific viewpoints illustrate that the mind can be reduced down to the molecular level, hence amplifying our understanding of mental health. Modern psychotherapy has adopted this view point over the past 50 years or so, and as a result of this, psycho-pharmaceuticals have grown over the past few years tremendously. For many years, people would not correlate the mind and the body people would become physically ill and then they would seek the help of physicians. From the physicians, people understood that these two concepts were very different. However, the creation of the biopsychosocial model in 1977 revolutionalised the understanding of physical health and mental health. From this model, people were indeed able to discover that the mind and the physical body are both related. That when the mental aspect of a person is not well, this is transmitted to the physical effect. The biomedical model on the other hand asserts that the mind and body are separate entities. This theory was advanced by French Philosopher, Rene Descartes; however it contrasts with the biopsychosocial model. As part of my reflection, I have leant various issues concerning the biopsychosocial, and its application in clinical practice. It is evident that the body and mind are connected entities, hence when one has a physical condition; this is transmitted into the mind. The mind is equally affected. The reverse is also true in that whenever the mind is affected, one’s physical activities are extremely derailed unless there is recovery. This method if effectively used well in clinical practice, would lead to many clinical success and better management of infections. It would also lead to better control of mental diseases. References Frederic P. Miller, A. F. (2009). Biopsychosocial Model: Biology, Psychology, Social, Disease, Reductionism, Biomedical Model, Developmental Abnormality, Medicine, Nursing, Health Psychology, Sociology, Psychiatry, Chiropractic. New York: Alphascript Publishing Ghaemi, S. N. (2009). The rise and fall of the biopsychosocial model: reconciling art and science in psychiatry. NJ: JHU Press. Read More