Psychology and Physical Illness
Human being with highly developed
frontal cortex can engage in high order cognitive activities such as meditation
etc. that helps in self-actualization and highest level of psychological
contentment. Evidences suggest that mental activities have significant role in
the overall health and illness of an individual. The illness can be
psychological as well as physical but usually manifested through physical
symptoms. The illness, irrespective of its intensity or type is somewhere have
some contribution of psychological factors. These factors interfere at pre and
post illness stage i.e., they can initiate and/or aggravate the illness.
Theoretical
Contribution
1. The psychodynamic theory suggests that
repressed desires and unconscious conflicts leads to certain physical diseases
such as ulcer, numbness, pain in the neck, Gastro-Intestinal problems etc.
2. The certain personality types with some
traits are prone to migraine, severe headaches, muscular weakness etc.
3. The specific emotional states are
important contributors in development and/or aggravation of physical illness
such as of chest pain, shaking, heart diseases, asthma etc.
Psychological Factors
(i) Stress
(ii) Clinical depression
(iii) Emotions
(iv) Beliefs
(v) Personality
(vi) Anxiety
(vii) Mood
(viii) Perceived availability of social support
(ix) Interpersonal relationships
(i) Stress – The response to psychological
stress negatively affects the cognitive and emotional states (Cohen &
Herbert, 1996). Long term stress negatively influences immune system leading to
increasing vulnerability to physical illness. It is known to affect the health
even after removal of stressors. Stress can cause hypertension, heart related
diseases, respiratory diseases etc.
(ii) Clinical Depression – The clinical
depression correlates negatively with immune system sometimes due to
behavioural factors such as poor sleep, less exercise, poor diets, smoke more,
and use alcohol and other drugs more often (Cohen & Herbert, 1996). The
depression leads to increased risk of conditions like stroke, diabetes and
rheumatoid arthritis (MacMillan, 2017).
(iii) Emotions – The mind and body interact
instantaneously. The emotional arousal (positive or negative) has direct and
similar effect on the physical state. Negative emotions are known to influence
the development of cardiovascular fitness. Diseases such as cancer are associated
with a variety of emotional symptoms, including anxiety and depression. The
emotions affect healthy individuals and that this influence is instantly
evident even in the absence of awareness of a patient (Lee et al. 2017).
(iv) Beliefs – Beliefs are pre-existing
notions. Beliefs remain crucial components of personality and the sense of
identity used to define the way others see us. The beliefs of individuals about
the nature of their illness and its presentation affects how they cope and deal
with it (Halligan, 2007). Beliefs are the underlying components of cognitive
neuroscience that have significant effect on the health.
(v) Personality – Personality types has been
found to have susceptibility to various diseases. Personality types were
classified into Type A, B, C and D based on specific traits and their proneness
to personality specific physical illness.
Type A – Prone to
heart related ailments.
Type B – Lethargic and
slow moving.
Type C – Prone to
cancer.
Type D – Prone
Depression.
(vi) Anxiety – Anxiety is a normal part of life. Anxiety increases breathing
and heart rate, concentrating blood flow to the brain, for usage. This very physical
response is preparing to face a situation. An excessive or persistent state of
anxiety can have a devastating effect on physical health (Healthline.come).
Effects of anxiety on human health can been seen on next slide.
(vii) Mood – The positive mood is known to
improve the level of antibodies (Cohen & Herbert, 1996) that are
instrumental in fighting the invading pathogens and vice versa. People with
frequent swinging mood are at increased risk of getting ill faster than the mood
stable individuals.
(viii) Perceived availability of social support – This psychological
factor is important aspect of individual temperament. An individual with social
orientation tends to have optimistic attitude towards social support. It has
also been associated with immune function and that perceptions of available
support protect persons from the pathogenic effects of stressful events (Cohen
& Herbert, 1996).
(ix) Interpersonal
relationships
– The belonging to a strong social network is associated with longevity. The
loneliness, separation and dis-closure of traumatic events have negative effect
on the on immunity (Cohen & Herbert, 1996). Because poorer interpersonal
relations cause psychological distress which have negative affect on the health.
Psychological Factors
and Immunity Model
References:
1. Cohen, S., & Herbert, T. B. (1996).
Health Psychology: Psychological Factors and Physical Disease from the
Perspective of Human Psychoneuroimmunology. Annual Review of Psychology, 47(1),
113–142.
2. Lee, Y.-S., Jung, W.-M., Jang, H., Kim,
S., Chung, S.-Y., & Chae, Y. (2017). The dynamic relationship between
emotional and physical states: an observational study of personal health
records. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, Volume 13, 411–419.
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5308597/
4. https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-20/edition-6/belief-and-illness.
5. http://time.com/4679492/depression-anxiety-chronic-disease/.
6. https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/effects-on-body#1
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