Psychology_of_Health_in_the_Workplace

Psychology of Health in the Workplace Nazirah Rajaa University of Phoenix 06/18/2012 HCA 250   Health and psychology, what links the two' Before an individual can answer that question one should understand there meanings individually. Let’s start off with health. Without an excessive amount of thought or research one would in all probability define health as how an individual feels or not being physically injured. That is somewhat correct, however there is so much more than the physical. Within the school text reading, health is defined as a ‘positive state of physical, mental, and social well-being.’ An individual can appear to be healthy as a result of their physical presences, yet suffer from a mental illness. He or she could also be also physically and mentally healthy however| they suffer socially. Psychology is defined in the encyclopedia as the study of the mind based primarily on how one acts or behaves. The mind is what links health and psychology. Sigmund Freud an Austrian neurologist had a concept| that unconscious emotions conflicts might cause physical symptoms. He labeled this “condition converse hysteria.” Patients who are suffering from this conversion disorder can| have symptoms such as| paralysis or blindness, however, they do not have any neurological cause. Concern which is psychological can cause negative effects to a person’s health. If an individual fears going to the doctor they are less likely to go and get regular check-ups. Failing to get their check-ups can leave unknown conditions from getting treated causing serious bodily damage later down the road. Heartbreak or disappointment which is emotions of the mind and will cause an individual to not feel hungry or to grave food. When women have men issues, we often turn to eating a pint of ice cream (butter pecan). After we consume the ice cream, we ask ourselves “why did I just do that' No idea. I just know in the past I’ve done it quite a number of times. It just feels good at that time. Placebos are another way| to prove that psychology and health are linked together. A placebo is a medication given to a patient without |the patient knowing it’s a fake| Scientist provides these patients placebos in an attempt to trick the mind into thinking it is being treated. My son who has too much| time on his hands actually did his own study using placebos. Of course he did not use medication instead he used non-alcoholic beer. He wanted to see if people thought they were drinking beer, would they get drunk. According to him they were all acting like fools typical sign of drunkenness. The pep-talk could be a way to link health and psychology together. Anyone who has ever played sports can back me that pep talks really work. Sometimes words can really give a| person physical strength or energy that they did not have before, Encouragement is a result from a pep-talk. Life decisions not only have an effect on the individual, those around them as well. An example: people who choose to smoke can make co-workers uncomfortable. Non-smokers tend to dislike the smell of cigarettes or cigars. Therefore this could cause them to avoid contact with smokers. It’s a known fact that cigarettes are addictive and can cause physical health risk such as cancer. Mentally smokers need to smoke on a regular base or they tend to get cranky, I know I did. Having this condition will have an effect on work performance if one must constantly run out to have a smoke break. Eating habits will also have an effect on health and psychology. Poor diets will cause |an individual to either be overweight or lack nutrition. Being overweight can cause a person to have low self-esteem making it hard to have a social life and perform certain job tasks. References: (2011, 2008, 2006, 2002). An Overview of Psychology. In Health Psychology (p.89). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons