Sociological Theory to Promote Well-Being - Essay Example

? Case Study: Sociological Theory to Promote Well-Being Introduction Different sociological theories discuss the way in which humans interact and how they gain a sense of personal image and self. While some of these theories may differ in terms of explaining human behaviour, they all seem to point to one important factor that humans achieve a sense of self from other people around them. In this regard, how people treat a person, how they respond to other people will affect the way such a person develops his or her feelings and about the way they are also going to act and behave (Moskowitz, 2013). This is the basis of the dramaturgy theory which explains that people are almost always in character, acting to put forward a character of themselves that will be most accepted by others. These theories are particularly valuable especially in taking care of people with disorders or with illnesses. While taking care of people suffering from a serious disease, it is necessary to understand that while it may not be possible to deliver the health of these individuals, it may be necessary to offer them well being. Wellbeing can be achieved even in the absence of health (Alan, 2005). However, for this wellbeing to be achieved, it is of concern to help the unhealthy individual to have a better sense of their selves and to have a better way to understand that they are loved. For such sick persons, they are much more sensitive, and this can harm their well being. In this case study for instance, the persons are two adults who have been taking care of themselves and find themselves in a cases in which they have to look up on another person to be survive. Alzheimer’s disease can be highly dangerous in affecting a person’s wellbeing in that a number of ways; It takes away the person ability to take care of their selves Alzheimer’s disease takes the person’s ability to take care of their selves because they become physically incapable as well as having an impaired memory. Because of these two factors, a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease can have a bigger burden of emotion in terms of how they relate with other people (Lu and Bladau, 2011). This may explain why Betty is getting easily irritated. Alzheimer’s disease affects memory which is part of a person’s personality The personality and character of a person is made of their memory, and it is important in order to be able to retain these memories. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease impairs the memory, and this affects the way that person perceives family life (Lu and Bladau, 2011). When memory is lost, it becomes harder for the person to share the good past memories they have accumulated about those close to them. This will definitely affect the wellbeing of the person, and it is highly important for the person not to lose her memory. In order to take care of Betty and help her maintain her wellbeing even as she fights Alzheimer’s disease, it will be necessary for Charlie Andrews to be able to help Betty achieve the following; Help Betty to feel loved and that her health issue is not a problem People need to be reassured that those close to them are not tired of supporting them. This is even more so with regard to invalids with chronic and terminal illnesses. Charlie Andrews needs to be able to act in a way that reassures his ailing mother that her disease is not an inconvenience to his life. This way, he will be able to help the person to calm her frustrations and thus help her to retain her wellbeing (Boniwell, 2004). Help Betty be able to overcome part of her problems People feel better if they can be part of the solution to their own problems. Given the problem Betty is going through the, there are at least two ways in which Charlie Andrews can help her solve most of her problems. Set the house to help Betty to overcome her memory problem Setting the house to help her overcome her memory problems will aid in a number of things. First of all, Betty will no longer be feeling like she is a burden to other people because she will be able to take care of her basic needs. This achievement will help her to solve her problems and help her to be able to feel better about herself thus increase her wellbeing (Eid and Larsen, 2008). Secondly, helping her to be able to overcome her problems will also be an indication of care and love from her son. This will make her feel loved thus increasing her happiness and well being. At the same time, as already discussed, people are made to be able to react to situations and actions of others. By talking the time, effort and resources to help her to overcome her problems it will change Betty’s attitude and help her to deal with her irritation. Wellbeing is directly affected by thoughts of a person and may not be related to physical and physiological health (Jonathan, 2006). Making Betty feel better about herself and feel loved will help her retain her wellbeing and possibly also improve her health. Feeling loved will reduce her feelings of frustrations and irritations and this will help her to calm down and relax which will make her have better wellbeing (Shara, 2011 et al). The same case will apply Charlie Andrews’s father who, although is not suffering from a serious disease as Betty has also suffered a broken hip. It is also good to note that Arthur, being the primary care taker to Betty will also affect her health. For instance, it is necessary to understand that his wellbeing will directly affect Betty’s health and well being. Charlie Andrews will therefore be able to be concerned about the wellbeing if his father first because even if he is not as needy as Betty, he needs to be well in order for that wellbeing to be transferred to her. In this regard, Charlie Andrews would have to make sure that his father can look after Betty in the best way he can. Sociological theories postulate that a person’s health is rather subjective and that it is determined by an individual’s outlook on life. This argument has been supported by a number of scholars who believe that individuals and societies can achieve more happiness through subjective manners (Baltatescu, 2004). Although there has been those who argue that subjective wellbeing is impractical and that it should be able to take consideration of objective factors that affect the health and wellbeing such as environment, subjective wellbeing is a recognised method to help individuals to achieve well being. With this regard, it is necessary to note that wellbeing is not necessarily heath and can in fact be independent of health; heath however can increase the wellbeing of a person. Andrew can help her mother achieve wellbeing by considering the principles of subjective well being. A number of subjective wellbeing factors may therefore include the following; Negative affect Negative affect or affectivity refers to negative emotions that an individual may have, these negative affections reduces a person’s wellbeing and therefore the less of these that an individual has, the more he or she will archive wellbeing(Turner, 2006). These negative affected includes Fear Fear is a strong emotion, and it is also a negative emotion that can affect not only the wellbeing of a person but also their health (Shirocore, 2008). Betty must be facing a lot of fear on a daily basis, and it is of note for her to be able to overcome her fear. Having such a terminal disease is like facing death on a daily basis and being reminded of it every minute. In this regard, it is possible to create a process to ensure that Betty does not get engulfed in fear of death and that she can live her life positively regardless of the disease (Kroll, 2011). Andrew must be able to come up with ways to help her to be able to forget her condition and be able to live a much positive life (Chida et al, 2010). If Andrew is able to help her become engulfed in other positive things and forget her worries, this will increase her fear of death and will increase her well being. Sadness Sadness is not a particularly strong emotion, but when left to stay on for a long time, it leads to stress and eventually depression (Lang, 2003). It is easier for Betty to feel sad because of her situation and therefore her health and wellbeing will be affected. In that regard, it becomes necessary for her to be able to overcome her sadness and be able to get along with her new way of life. Sadness in Betty may be caused by the fact that she is missing her older life, the times she used to be strong and able to do her own things without having to depend on other people. The disease may make her feel like she has become a burden and that her life has not been satisfied (Linda, 2011). In this regard, the best way to help her would be to treat her in a way she will not feel that she has failed. This is a highly serious aspect of subjective wellbeing, and if Andrew is able to help her understand that her life has been well lived, she may be able to overcome this (Blasi, 2011). Andrew can do this for example by making a point of letting her remember the positive actionsshe has done to her family in the past. Andrew can for instance remind her mother of the way she has always been a good mother to him and how she did a great job. This will help to eliminate any sadness in her and make her feel better about herself, regardless of the disease. Guilt Guilt can be part of Betty’s life if she feels that she is a bother to her family. This is the point where Andrew will need to do the most work in order to help his mother have a high quality life and be able to come up with ways in which to maintain her wellbeing even as she goes along the difficult times of having to deal with a serious disease. Hostility Hostility is a major source of negative affectivity and must be taken care of (McGregor, 2010). In the case study, it becomes clear that Betty is easily irritated which is a sign of agitation and hostility. Hostility may be caused by a feeling that other people are against her or that life has not been fair to her. She could also be feeling that other people don’t understand her pain and this makes her hostile to them. Whatever the cause of the irritability and hostility, it is clearly not good for her wellbeing and also to her health (Whang, 2012). In this regard, Andrew will need to be able to calm her down and be able to let her experience the better emotions by pointing her attention and memory towards the positive events which have occurred to her in the present as well as in the past. This is because positivity helps in increasing both health and wellbeing of a person, especially for the elderly (Ong, 2013). There will be a number of other negative emotions that Andrew will need to look at in order to be able to develop a method of helping her mother be able to overcome the challenges of her disease and achieve personal well being. Apart from helping Betty to get rid of negative affective, it will also be necessary to help her increase her scale of the positive affect which is a combination of positive emotions. This includes happiness which comes from the thought or knowledge that one has managed to reach their goals in life (Zhemng, 2012). Andrew for instance can come use this by reminding her mother that without her dedication, he (Andrew) could not have made it in life. As a mother, this can give a sense of accomplishment which can increase her happiness and therefore increase her happiness. Conclusion Positive psychology can be used to help an individual get better health and also to achieve well being. Well being although related to health, is different from health and can be achieved independent of health. In this regard, it is possible for an individual to achieve wellbeing even if their health is not good. Wellbeing has to do with emotion and therefore independent of health which is a physiological and physical phenomena. Unhealthy people may need more attention from those around them in order for them to achieve well being. This is because wellbeing is affected by sociological factors. Factors that affect a person’s happiness and other emotions can directly affect their wellbeing and in turn their health. In this regard, it will be necessary for the person taking care of such people to understand the emotions that these people may be dealing with so as to aid them achieve well being. According to the case study, it will be necessary for Andrew to understand that her mother will need close attention in order to help her to achieve good health. He should therefore be able to help her overcome negative emotions and help in achieving positive emotions, and this will help to have her well being, regardless of the health issue he is having. Bibliography: Alan, K., 2005. 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