Transcript CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5
Toward Better
Health
Chapter Overview
Toward Better
Health
Body Image
•How We Feel About Our
Bodies
•Our Ideal Body
Psychological Factors
and Physical Illness
The Immune System
Personality
Lifestyle Choices
Environmental Issues
Chapter Overview cont’d
Toward Better
Health cont’d
Coping with Illness
Noticing and Interpreting
Symptoms
Seeking Help
Adhering to Treatment
Promoting Wellness
Taking Charge of Your Own
Health
Eating Sensibly
Getting Enough Sleep
Keeping Physically Fit
Finding Social Support
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Body Image
• How We Feel About Our Bodies
• Our Ideal Body
CHAPTER SUMMARY CONT’D
Psychological Factors and
Physical Illness
• The Immune System
• Personality
• Lifestyle Choices
• Environmental Issues
CHAPTER SUMMARY CONT’D
Coping with Illness
• Noticing and Interpreting Symptoms
• Seeking Help
• Adhering to Treatment
CHAPTER SUMMARY CONT’D
Promoting Wellness
• Taking Charge of Your Own Health
• Eating Sensibly
• Getting Enough Sleep
• Keeping Physically Fit
• Finding Social Support
Health Psychology
A subfield in psychology that is
concerned with how psychological and
social factors affect health, wellness,
and illness.
Body Image
Introduction
Body Image refers to the mental image we
form of our own bodies.
• Many people lack a clear body
image…fail to take care of themselves.
• …their “internal” body image may be less
well-formed.
• Some suffer from depersonalization (or
unembodiment), the sense of not being
intimately attached to our bodies.
How We Feel About Our Bodies
• Body image is part of self-concept
(covered in Chapter 4).
• American society places emphasis on
appearance; many Americans are
unhappy with their bodies.
• Women are less satisfied than are men.
• Overall dissatisfaction is increasing,
perhaps due to many of us being
overweight.
• The media, parental attitudes, and
teasing by others are cited as causes
for dissatisfaction.
Our Ideal Body
• … the body we would like
to have.
• Every society has had
different standards of
beauty.
• In American society,
standards are very
narrowly defined, i.e.,
thinness, symmetrical
face, youth.
• Standards for each sex
differ: men and women
misperceive what the
opposite sex desires.
Psychological Factors
and Physical Illness
The Immune System
A complex surveillance system that defends our bodies
by identifying and destroying various foreign
invaders.
• The brain and the circulatory system are vital
parts….
• The exact relationship between mind and body is
unknown; however, psychological factors such as
stress might weaken the immune system and make
us more susceptible to illness.
Personality
• Certain personality traits (Goodwin &
Engstron, 2002) are associated with
perceptions of good health:
– openness to experience
– extroversion
– conscientiousness
• Emotional instability is associated with
perceptions of poor health.
Personality cont’d
• An important
personality trait
related to actual
health is selfefficacy-• …the belief that we
can organize and
execute various
actions required to
produce given
attainments or
outcomes.
Personality cont’d
People high in self-efficacy:
• Feel they have control over their own
health
• Are motivated to maintain a healthy
lifestyle
• Participate in more preventive health
measures
• Generally better follow health
directives given by professionals
Personality cont’d
We can develop a sense of self-efficacy
by:
• Monitoring our own health behaviors
• Setting short-term, attainable goals
• Enlisting social support
• Imitating others who maintain a
healthy lifestyle
• BUT, becoming ill is not a sign of
personal weakness!
Lifestyle Choices
• Health choices we make (i.e., lifestyle
choices) affect our health.
• Obesity, smoking tobacco, and using
alcohol or illicit drugs are a few lifestyle
factors that influence health.
• Lifestyle choices kill more Americans than
any other factor.
• Lifestyle choices are almost completely
within our personal control!
Obesity
An excessive amount of body fat, usually
defined as exceeding the desirable
weight for one’s height, build, and age
by 20 percent or more.
• …associated with an
increased risk of illness
and death from diabetes,
high cholesterol, stroke,
coronary heart disease,
kidney and gallbladder
disorders, as well as some
cancers.
• It is currently surpassing
tobacco use as the leading
cause of death in America.
Obesity cont’d
• Psychological and physiological
factors contribute….
• Losing weight involves reducing
calorie intake AND exercising more.
• Self-mastery plays a role. Individuals
who feel they have control over
what/where/when they eat more
successfully manage their weight
after participation in programs.
Tobacco
Tobacco abuse--the abuse of tobacco to
such an extent that heart, respiratory,
and other health-related problems
develop.
• …remains a leading preventable cause
of death in the U.S.
• People today are more aware of the
dangers...
Tobacco Abuse cont’d
• Smoking is a difficult habit to break.
• Other activities (e.g., talking on the
phone, drinking coffee) become
conditioned to (paired with)
smoking.
• Withdrawal from nicotine produces
unpleasant symptoms.
• Relapse (return to the habit) among
former smokers is common.
From: http://www.4girls.gov/4girls.cfm?page=substance/tobacco.htm
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Dependence on a psychoactive
substance.
• Alcohol is widely used by
Americans.
• … a major health hazard:
highway deaths, kidney/liver
damage, poor nutrition, etc..
Alcohol and Drug Abuse cont’d
• Drug abuse: prescription drugs (e.g. pain killers)
OR illicit drugs (e.g. cocaine).
• Abusers build a tolerance for the substance
(require higher doses).
• Upon cessation, withdrawal is an unpleasant
consequence; may be a factor in relapse.
• To prevent relapse after treatment, health
professionals suggest avoiding high risk
situations (e.g. parties where the substance is
available).
Environmental Issues
Both the physical environment and the
psychological environment can be toxic.
Physical Environment
Air, water, and land pollution are
potentially toxic factors in the
built environment that
surrounds us where we live
and work.
Environmental Issues cont’d
Psychological Environment
Psychological (and social) environments may lead
to health problems and include situations that
are:
• ambiguous – a cause is not readily evident
• uncontrollable – the person has little control
• unpredictable – an individual cannot predict the
outcome
• unresolvable – no solution is apparent or
forthcoming
Coping with Illness
Noticing and Interpreting Symptoms
People vary on how attentive they are to
signs of illness.
• Hypochondriacs--people who habitually
complain of unfounded ailments or exhibit
undue fear of illness.
• …but health can be endangered by
completely ignoring symptoms.
Noticing and Interpreting Symptoms cont’d
Many cope with potential illness by
employing one of the following:
• Avoidance – minimizing or denying
symptoms
• Confrontation – dealing directly with
the symptoms
• Downward comparison – comparing
our health to others who are worse off
than we are
People from different cultures may notice
and manage symptoms differently!
Seeking Help
• Many people wait too long to seek
help.
• …women more likely to seek
professional health care.
• The health care provider plays a
role in our willingness to seek help
(e.g., women physicians spend
more time with patients,
encourage two-way
communication, and explain
better).
Adhering to Treatment
Adherence to treatment regimens-the degree to which a person’s behavior coincides
with medical advice.
• As many as one-half of all people do not follow
or complete prescribed treatments.
Reasons?
– dissatisfaction with the health professional
– misunderstanding of illness or instructions
– anxiety about drug dependence
How the instructions are framed plays a role:
Adhering to Treatment cont’d
• A positively framed message (about
potential gains) promotes preventive
practices.
EXAMPLE: If you exercise, you will live
longer.
• A negatively framed message (potential
costs) facilitates detection of symptoms.
EXAMPLE: If you don’t quit eating candy
and donuts, you’ll become obese.
Promoting Wellness
Taking Charge of Your Own
Health
Key factors in staying well:
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Understanding how your body works
Managing stress effectively
Knowing how the mind and body interact
Developing healthy eating and exercise
habits
Key factors in staying well cont’d
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Monitoring your own health periodically
Getting periodic medical checkups
Keeping your own medical records
Knowing the health risks of lifestyle,
heredity, and environment
• Participating actively with your doctor in
your own health care
Eating Sensibly
• …the kinds of foods,
how much we eat.
• A well-balanced diet
includes adequate
amounts of various
food groups.
• Drink water!
Go to:
www.mypyramid.gov
for an individualized plan!
Food groups, typical serving sizes:
Getting Enough Sleep
• Without adequate sleep,
people:
– make more errors
– tend to fall asleep
involuntarily
– interrupt their normal
sleep patterns
• The average adult
obtains about 7 hours of
sleep, but everyone
differs in how much
sleep they need.
Babies require lots more
sleep than do adults!
Getting Enough Sleep cont’d
We also need to dream, as Freud suggested.
• REM sleep is dream sleep
• NREM sleep is deeper, more restful sleep
Scientists are still unsure about why we
dream or what dreams signify.
REM and NREM
sleep vary over the
course of night.
Keeping Physically Fit
Physical fitness-our ability to function efficiently and effectively,
including both health-related and skill-related
fitness components.
Despite knowing that exercise is beneficial:
• 60% of Americans do not exercise regularly
• 25% do not exercise at all
Benefits of physical exercise:
• Reduced risk of early death
• Reduced risk of a number of diseases
• Improved or elevated mood
• Enhanced performance in daily life
Keeping Physically Fit cont’d
To improve your fitness:
• Identify your own personal needs
• Select personalized exercises to increase
enjoyment
• Vary your routines to prevent boredom
• Exercise regularly on a daily basis if possible
• Evaluate your routines and modify them accordingly
• Find someone to exercise with you
Finding Social Support
…affiliate with others such as friends and
family to find comfort and advice.
• People with strong social support networks
are healthier.
• Those who are isolated are at risk!
• But support may not be for everyone…