Psychology_and_Health_Problems

Psychology and Health Problems Brooke Huntley Mat/117 01/16/2011 Donna Volk Psychology plays a large role in understanding health problems and managing factors that influence these health problems. The psychological field has done numerous studies to better understand the cause and effects to these health problems. In the following paragraphs one will read about two different health problems, and how psychology has dug deeper to understand and manage them. Psychology looked into many different factors to understand the how, when, and whys. " There exist a variety of factors that determine one's susceptibility to illness; these factors are divided into six categories: biological, social cultural, environmental, personality, behavior, and stressors." (Tate, A. 2008) When looking into two different health problems; coronary heart disease and cancer; there are major risk factors and contributing risk factors. These risk factors explain problems. Knowing these risks can help people lessen their chance of having these health problems. When talking about heart disease one must know that coronary heart disease is the most common and also the leading cause of death. psychologist have researched and studied groups of people at a time to learn more about this disease. "Stress is a contributing risk factor for coronary heart disease. The effects of emotional stress, behavior habits, and social status on the risk of heart disease and heart attacks have not been proven."(, ) There are many reasons why this could be, but a major reason is because so many people go through stress everyday and not everyone has a heart attack. Now there are plenty of reasons why stress can cause heart failure and one of those are adrenaline. "These hormones raise blood pressure, which can injure the lining of the arteries. When the arteries heal, the walls may harden and thicken, making it easier for plaque to build up."(, ) Psychology has found that with practicing different calming techniques, one can lower their chances of heart failure. It is nearly impossible to eliminate stress and some stressors are a good thing. "One can utilize methods to reduce stress or reduce the impact of stress like practicing meditation, taking advantage of social supports, and developing other healthy ways to cope with stress." (Tate, A. 2008) Psychologist have researched other ways as well to reduce CHD. The simplest things one does in their life can be a cause or factor in the effect of CHD. "Even people with established heart disease can lower their risks of heart attacks by making lifestyle adjustments such as stopping smoking, exercising regularly, and following a healthier diet."( Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005) Now, focusing on cancer and how psychology has come to understand and manage this illness. "Cancer is the number-one killer of women in the United States and the number-two killer in men. Each year more than a million Americans receive the dreaded diagnosis of cancer and about half a million die from the disease." (Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005)Psychologist have researched how people contract this illness and better ways to understand the happenings and how to slow the process or stop it all together. Psychology has found that people can inherit this disease by certain gene factors. "Carcinogenic genes may remove the brakes from cell division, allowing cells to multiply wildly. Or they may allow mutations to accumulate unchecked. However, many behavior patterns markedly heighten the risk for cancer. These include smoking, drinking alcohol, eating animal fats, and sunbathing (which can cause skin cancer due to exposure to ultraviolet light)."( Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005)It is believed that psychological problems such as too much stress or falling into a deep depression can cause cancer as well. Many psychologist have the attention of how stress can affect the DNA now. With the new technology provided to make proper research, the studies are proven within the truth instead of just a hypothesis with possible outcomes. Some might be taken by surprise to find out that strands of DNA that are damaged can repair itself. "Research shows that defective DNA repair capacity is involved in the development of cancer and that DNA works hardest to repair itself during times of stress. Research also shows that long-term cancer survivors show relatively low levels of distress and tend to repress thoughts about their illness. Meaning they basically move-on and keep living their life instead of letting the burden of the news drag them down to giving up." (Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005) This is where psychologist play a major role in cancer patients. When a patient finds out this type of news, it is sometimes too hard to bare and will need to have someone there to talk them down from their panics. "People with cancer not only must cope with the physical effects of the illness itself. They also need to cope with many other challenges, including feelings of anxiety and depression, troubling side-effects of treatment, changes in body image after removal of a breast or testicle, and family problems. Health professionals recognize the cancer patients may benefit from psychological interventions, such as group support, encouragement, and assistance in developing coping skills and resources."( Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005)Although one must deal the burden of the news sooner than later, it also helps to lower stress levels by distracting them to have some fun. Get their minds on something other than the battle they are waging within them and let the take aggressions out another way. "Studies with children and adolescents find that playing video games also reduces the discomfort of chemotherapy. They focus on battling computer-generated enemies rather than the side effects of drugs."( Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005) Control is another factor that psychology helps people attain. Having cancer makes them feel like their life is spun on an axis and they are just teetering one way one day and the next day another way. Helping these patients find that control again helps them to move on with their lives and not stop living and simply giving up. "Control is a factor in psychological hardiness. A sense of loss of control can heighten stress and impair the immune system. Health psychology therefore stresses the value of encouraging people with cancer to remain in charge of their lives.( Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. 2005) Throughout this paper, how psychology understands and manages some health problems are covered. Taking from this, one should learn that psychology is not just for mental patients or people with depression. Psychologist can help turn someone's life around by just being there for them and helping through the real hard balls that life throws at them. Even when cancer strikes at the worst moment, or someone has fallen of a heart attack; psychologist can help those pick their life up and help them to get back on track. References  (). Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center. Retrieved from http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/heart-disease-causes.html Nevid, J. S. & Rathus, S. A. (2005). Psychology and the challenges of life: Adjustment in the new millennium (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Tate, A. (2008). Discovery Health. The Role of Psychology in Health Probelms, (), 5. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/629657/the_role_of_psychology_in_he alth_problems_pg3.html'cat=5