What is health psychology?

Psychology 3121 - Chapter 1 + 2

Health psychology

• study of how psychological influences contribute to health, illness, and reaction to illness

Health

• combination of physical, social, and mental well-being

What do health psychologist do?

• promote regular exercise

• promote regular cancer screenings

• stress management strategies

• look at the origin of illness and how behavioral and social factors contribute to health, illness, and dysfunction

• analyze and improve the health care system and policies

Modifiable behaviors

• can put us at higher or lower risk for certain illnesses

  • screening

  • care-seeking

  • maintenance and adherence

Mind-body relationship

• does the mind and body operate as one or two systems?

Early records on mind-body relationship

• mind and body are one

• sickness was evil spirits inside the body

• trephination to get them out

  • small holes poked in head

The greeks on mind-body relationship

• came up with 4 humors theory

• thought disease came from imbalance in these fluids

• different personality types were tied to certain imbalances

4 humors theory

• Blood (sanguine)

• Black bile (melancholic)

• Yellow bile (choleric)

• Phlegm (phlegmatic)

The Middle Ages on Mind-Body relationship

• supernatural forces were responsible for disease

• beliefs have huge impact on body/health

• priests and physicians were interchangeable

Renaissance on mind-body relationship

• scientific view

  • cellular pathology, how problems with cells can lead to diseases

  • microscope to view lowing bacteria

  • associations between autopsy’s findings and diseases

• switched to mind and body and 2 separate units

Biomedical model

• physicians had control over body

• priests and philosophers had control over mind

Rise of modern psychology

• Sigmund Freud said body is physical symptoms of the unconscious conflicts in our mind

Psychosomatic medicine

• study of diseases caused by emotional conflict

  • personality patterns are linked to illness, not a single internal conflict

  • conflict - anxiety - physical toll on body - physical symptoms like ulcers

• interaction of factors lead to illness

  • genetics, learning experiences, unconscious conflicts, environmental stressors

Behavioral medicine

• looks at biomedical science and behavioral science to understand physical health

  • develops knowledge/techniques to prevent and treat

Mind-body relationship today

• health and illness can be influenced by psychological and social factors

• growing interest in holistic approaches

  • acupuncture, massage

• lots of consultations to begin

Differences between holistic approaches and medical approaches

• no pharmaceutical medicine

  • uses vitamins, herbal remedies

• everything is connected, physical effects mind and visa-versa

Biomedical model

• health is absence of disease

• psychological and social processes are independent of disease

Flaws of biomedical model

• does not consider social or psych factors even when we know multiple factors contribute to development of illness

• assumes mind and body and 2 separate things

Biopsychosocial model

• biological, psychological, and social factors are all involved in any state of health/illness

• process of diagnosis must consider bio, psych, socials factors, and how they interact with each other

  • changing lifestyle is just as important as medical care

Advantages of biopsychosocial model

• assumes chemical imbalances and presence of social support interact to produce our level of health

• mind and body both influenced by health

• health is something that must be achieved, not something we automatically have

Systems theory

• micro parts are connected to macro part

• change in one always changes the other

Micro parts

• small/inside

  • cells

  • brain chem

  • personal thoughts

Macro parts

• big/outside

  • family

  • job

  • healthcare system

Changing patterns of illness

• main cause of death used to be short term illness that could be cured

• now is long term illness that can only be managed

Why change in patterns of illness?

• psychological and social factors

  • smoking leads to lung cancer

Epidemiology

• study of frequency, distribution, and cause of disease based on physical and social environment

  • morbidity

  • mortality

Morbidity

• how many people have a certain disease at a certain time

Mortality

• how many people have died from a certain disease

What health psychologist can do to improve health and healthcare.

• design systems to increase likelihood that people seek treatment and follow treatment plan

• can lower number of people who develop illness

  • decreases burden on healthcare system

Health psychologists contributions to health

• many interventions have been implemented into healthcare systems

• simple to learn and have large impacts

• only takes few hours to implement but can have impacts that last years

What careers can you do with health psychology training

• medical

• research

• academic research

Medical careers

• understanding psych and social benefit of patients is awesome to know

  • physiotherapists

  • occupational therapist

  • social workers

  • clinical psychologist

Research careers

• public health research

  • focused to improve the health of general population

  • academic, medical, and government settings

Academic research

• working at an academic institution or healthcare center

  • conducting research

  • teaching new students

The nervous system

• network of nerve fibers that sent signals around the body to regulate important bodily functions

  • sensory nerve fibers

  • motor nerve fibers

Sensory nerve fibers

• provides info to brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors

  • hurt hand, sends oww to brain

Motor nerve fibers

• provides info from brain or spinal cord to muscles and organs

  • burn finger, brain tells hand to pull away

• controls voluntary and involuntary movements

Subsystems on the nervous system

• central nervous system

• peripheral nervous system

Central nervous system

• brain and spinal cord

• sends voluntary signals to skeletal muscles and skin

  • tells arm to move

• sends involuntary signals to muscles and glands

  • controls heart rate

Peripheral nervous system

• all nerves in your body

• 2 main parts

  • somatic nervous system

  • autonomic nervous system

Somatic nervous system

• controls voluntary movements

  • walking, throwing

• sends sensory info about those movements back to the brain

Autonomic nervous system

• connects brain and spinal cord to internal organs

• controls involuntary movements

  • heart rate, digestion

• has 2 sub groups

  • sympathetic nervous system

  • parasympathetic nervous system

Sympathetic nervous system

• prepares body for stress

• fight or flight response

• uses energy

Things that happen when the sympathetic nervous system is activated

• heart rate and blood pressure increase

• breathing and respiration increase

• more blood sent to muscles

• digestion and urination decrease

  • body putting more energy towards things to keep you going, not irrelevant things like these

• sweat glands are stimulated

Parasympathetic nervous system

• controls body when not in stressful situation

• helps body return to normal after stressor has passed

• conserves energy

Things that happen when parasympathetic nervous system is activated

• heart rate and blood pressure decrease

• breathing and respiration decrease

• digestion and urination return to normal

The brain

• takes info from body and interprets it

• sends back motor signals to internal organs to carry out the needed behaviors and movements

Afferent impulses

• arrives at brain

Efferent impulses

• exits the brain

Hindbrain

• medulla

• cerebellum

• pons

Medulla

• connects to spinal cord

• blood pressure, heart rate, breathing

  • when you inhale

Cerebellum

• maintains balance, posture, and muscle tone

Pons

• connects midbrain to hindbrain

• controls breathing

  • how long you inhale for

The midbrain

• pathing between forebrain and hindbrain

• carries signals between the two

• visual and auditory reflexes

The forebrain

• made up of 2 sections

• diencephalon

• cerebra cortex

Diencephalon

• thalamus and hypothalamus

Thalamus

• receives info about our sensory stimulation from environment and sends it to cerebral cortex

  • see, touch, hear, taste

    • NOT smell

Hypothalamus

• regulates important functions needed for survival

  • eating

  • drinking

• connects thoughts and emotions to physical body responses

Cerebral cortex

• has 4 lobes

  • frontal

    • memory storage

  • occipital

    • visual info

  • parietal

    • registers and interprets pain and touch

  • temporal

    • auditory and olfactory info

The limbic system

• amgydala

• hippocampus

Amygdala

• emotional processing

Hippocampus

• learning and memory

• episodic memory

  • specific life event

Neurotransmitters

• chemicals that help regulate how the nervous system works

  • epinephrine

    • adrenaline

  • norepinephrine

    • noradrenaline

• released when sympathetic nervous system is activated and these chemicals cause the changes we see

Nervous system disorders

• affects brain, spinal cord, or nerves and disrupts how the body functions

  • epilepsy

  • cerebral palsy

  • multiple sclerosis

  • parkinson’s disease

  • huntington’s disease

  • alzheimer’s disease

Epilepsy

• seizures

• no cause

• no cure but can be managed

• thought to contribute…

  • head injuries, some infections

  • genetics

  • nutrition problems

Cerebral palsy

• disrupts muscle control and brain function

• involves brain damage

  • lack of oxygen at birth

  • physical trauma

• symptoms

  • poor control over movements

  • hearing and vision problems

  • cognitive difficulties

Multiple sclerosis

• damage to certain nervous system tissues

• results in movement problems

• autoimmune disorder

• attacks myelin sheath and nerve signals traveling is disrupted

Early signs of ms

• numbness in limbs

• double vision

• trouble speaking

• very fatigued

Later signs of ms

• partial or total paralysis

• deafness

• bilndness

• mental/cognitive deterioration

Two patterns of multiple sclerosis

• progressive

  • gets worse over time

• relapsing

  • periods where symptoms improve/go away

  • followed by periods where symptoms worsen/return

Parkinson’s disease

• degeneration of basal ganglia (structure in brain that help control smooth movement)

• leads to movement getting harder

• symptoms

  • tremors

  • slow movements

  • stiffness

Huntington’s disease

• genetic disorder that causes mental and physical deterioration

• symptoms

  • muscle spasms

  • loss of motor control

  • personality changes

  • mental deterioration

• have identified ways to determine if someone will develop it and at what age they will die

Alzheimer’s disease

• affects the brains thinking and memory

• symptoms

  • problems with thinking and memory

• affects

  • older people and more common in women

Endocrine system

• works with NS to makes sure out bodies are functioning properly

• responsible for slow-acting responses and longer-lasting changes

• controlled by hypothalamus and pituitary glands

• series of glands

Series of glands

• produce hormones

• release into blood

• travel to specific parts of body

• cause targeted changes in those parts of body

Adrenal glands

• 2 small glands on top of kidneys

  • adrenal cortex

    • longer lasting stress response

    • releases steroid hormones

  • adrenal medula

    • immediate stress response

    • releases catecholamines (epine/norepine)

Endocrine system disorders

• diabetes

• hypothyroidism

• hyperthyroidism

Diabetes

• body does not properly use or make enough insulin

• type 1

• type 2

• symptoms

  • blood sugar problems

  • kidney problems

Type 1 diabetes

• does not produce enough insulin

• autoimmune disorder

Type 2 diabetes

• body does not properly use insulin

• related to diet and stress

Hypothyroidism

• thyroid is underactive

• low TSH production

  • fatigue

  • weight gain

Hyperthyroidism

• thyroid is too active

• too much TSH produced

  • excessive sweating

  • weight loss

  • fatigue

  • tremors

Cardiovascular system

• transports blood around body

  • oxygen

  • carbon dioxide

  • nutrients

  • waste

  • hormones

  • heat

• delivers what we need and removes what we don't

Blood vessels

• arteries

• veins

Arteries

• carry oxygenated blood away from heart to organs

  • capillaries

    • tiny vessel that reaches individual cell and delivers and exchanges things

Veins

• carries deoxygenated blood back to the heart

The heart

• pumps blood around our boddies

• lungs - left side - aorta - body - veins - right side - lungs

• oxygenated enters left side

• deoxygenated enters right side

Cardiac cycle

• contraction

  • blood pumped out

    • systole

• relaxation

  • blood taken in

    • distole

Blood pressure

• top number = systole

• bottom number = diastole

Cardiovascular system disorders

• atherosclerosis

• arteriosclerosis

• aneurysm

• phlebitis

• hypertension

Atherosclerosis

• plaque build up on the inside of arteries

  • reduces blood flow

  • damage artery walls

  • increases chance of blood clots

Consequences of atherosclerosis

• angina pectoris

• myocardial infraction

Angina pectoris

• chest pains cause by heart not getting enough oxygen

Myocardial infraction

• heart attack

• blood clots block blood flow to heart

Arteriosclerosis

• hardening of arteries

  • stiffer

• can cause increased blood pressure

Aneurysm

• bulge in weak part of artery wall

• if ruptures can cause internal bleeding and potentially death

Phlebitis

• inflammation of a vein wall

• causes pain and increased chance of blood clots

Hypertension

• high blood pressure

• caused from

  • heart pumping a lot of blood

  • blood has resistance to move through vessles

Managing hypertension

• depends on

  • diet

  • stress

  • physical activity

  • psychological factors

Blood

• 55% plasma, 44% blood cells

• white blood cells

• red blood cells