Psycology_an_Health_Problems

| Psychology and Health Problems | PSY 210 week four assignment | | Stevan Martinez | 12/16/2010 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | The Multifactorial Module The multifactorial module is a belief that there is no single cause for a person to have certain health problem. It states instead, that there are many psychological, as well as physical reasons for health problems such as Heart attacks, Cancer, and even headaches. In this paper, the aspects of the multifactorial module will be explained, as well as how psychology has played a part in understanding and managing certain health problems. The multifactorial module has six factors that are believed to be responsible for certain health problems. These factors range from biological to stress, and the module holds that they not only a person’s health, but also how susceptible people are to sickness. One of these factors is the Biological factor. This factor covers a person’s age, gender, and ethnicity, as well as other things like, whether or not a person has been inoculated, or if a person has hypertension. In other words the biological factor covers anything that can cause illness on a biological level, that is, anything that is in a person’s body. The sociocultural factor covers causes of health problems that can be caused by a person’s society. This includes things such as a person’s economic status, the size of a person’s family, and the availability of health care. Also covered by this factor are things like a person’s religious practices, do they have to go periods of time without eating, or do they have to consume things that they are allergic to. Does a person work in a place that promotes health by having them wash their hands, or providing them with the proper protective equipment' All of these things can affect a person’s health. Environmental factors are factors that involve the world a person lives in. These may be things that are largely outside of a person’s control, such as, global warming, pollution, and ozone depletion. These are things that happen in the world that a single person has no real way of changing. If a person gets sick because a company dumped hazardous waste in the towns water supply, it is not something that person can control. However; environmental factors also include things that a person can control, such as vehicular safety. A person may not be able to control traffic, but they can choose to be safe in the way they drive. A person’s personality is another of the factors on the multifactorial module. Personality covers the way a person acts. Is a person angry all the time' Are they depressed' Do they think that they are going to catch every sickness they come in contact with' If a person tends to hold in their feelings' Does a person avoid finding information about health risks' In other words the factors in this category are really all in a person’s head. Behavior is the factor in which a person has the most control over. This category covers health factors that involve the way a person conducts his or herself. Included in this section of the module are things like, a person’ diet, smoking, sleep patterns, and whether or not a person is active enough. Does a person practice safe sex or do they expose themselves to STDs. Other behavior factors are the safety practices that a person uses, like, do they wear seat belts, or do they get regular checkups. Of all of the factors on the module, this is the only one in which people are in complete control. The last category of the multifactorial module is Stressors. This category includes factors like daily hassles. Does a person have trouble with time limits' Are they having problems at work' Do they need money; are they lonely, do they need to find day care for their children' This category also include more complex stressors like life changes like divorce, death of a loved one, and losing a job. Frustration, pain and discomfort are also on this list. As much as the behavioral factors are in people’s control, the factors in the stressors category are out of a person’s control. It is a hard fact of life that people are going to face stress, there is absolutely no way around it. Psychology and Health Problems It is plain to see that psychology has played an important role in the figuring out why people get some illnesses and why some people are more likely to get sick than others. Now let’s discuss it has played a role in understanding and treating certain health problems. Psychology has played a role in managing and understanding many health problems, but this paper will only discuss on minor problem and one major problem. The first is a health problem that people consider a minor issue, unless they are dealing with it at the time. This problem is headaches. Headaches are something that everyone gets at one time or another, they are also one of the most common stress related illnesses in the world, and the most common of these are muscle tension and migraine headaches. These headaches can be so severe that people can become sensitive to light and sound. Treatment for headaches on the psychological level includes relaxation training. The major health problem this paper will discuss is the leading cause of death in America, Coronary Heart Disease, or CHD. Heart disease has been linked to stressors such as anger and frustration. Stress from work and home are also linked to the causes of heart disease. The more stressed out a person is, the more likely they are to develop CHD. Psychology has helped by discovering some of the causes for people getting CHD, making it easier to treat. If a person knows what causes CHD, then they can work on finding ways to eliminate or reduce these causes. This does not mean that a person can totally eliminate the risk of developing CHD; there are physical factors as well as psychological ones, but knowing the causes that people can stop helps greatly reduce the overall risk of developing this disease. In conclusion, psychology has played a very important role not only in understanding the causes of illnesses, but also in the treating of them. The Multifactorial module and the health problems discussed are only a few examples of how psychology has helped, and can continue to help people understand and manage health problems