physical health conditions

how physical and mental health are linked?

• cross sectional studies report that physical health problems are associated with an increased risk of mental health disorders (chou et al., 2013)

• mental health problems being associated with greater odds of co-morbid physical health conditions (rodrigues et al., 2021)

what is the relationship between mental and phsycial health?

• they share common causes (stress, poverty)

• they share biological mechanisms

• they have bidirectional effects - each influences the other

how do physical and mental health influence each other directly? (8)

• mental illness may weakne or alter immune responses

  • there is evidence that stress leads to decreased immune functioning

• immune responses impacts how we feel

• mechanisms of physical illness (thyroid functioning, brain chnages)

• effects of medication

• sleep disturbance

• chronic pain

• disability

• impact energy and fatigue levels

what are 5 indirect effects linking physical and mental health ?

• reduced physical activity

• reduced social interaction

• social isolation

• stress caused by condition

• lifestyle factors - diet, smoking, alcohol or drug use

should we really separate physical and mental health?

• high levels of comorbidity

• biopsychosocial factors important for mental and physical health difficulties

• some research suggests that same mechanisms underlying mental/physical health difficulties

• all mental health difficulties are in some way biological, although we dont know mechanims yet

• some conditions we used to consider mental health now have clear biological mechanisms

how do physical conditions affect us psychologically ?

• physical aspects of illness can be stressful or directly impacy how we feel - pain, fatigue, and different symptoms

• worries about apsects of illness, treatment, outcomes, prognosis, impact on family

• change in structure of day and actvities

  • loss of valued activities or loss of independence

• stressors related to the impact of illness: financial, change on relationships, caring need

• impact on self identity other challenges to beleif systems

• change in relationships

• feeling powerless or out of control

what four things can physical health conditions be?

• one off event requiring recovery

• specific illness

• long term chronic illness

• deteriorating condition

what does it mean by one off event requring recovery?

• may have long term impact or may recover to previous level of function

• can be an illness or injury, which may result in long term disability

how can physical health be a specific ilness?

• a confirmed diagnosis with possible of recovery

• recovery may be uncertain

how can physical health conditions be a long term chronic illness?

• lifelong condition that have to live with, may detoriate across the course of life

• usually associated with some level of medical regme

• may be life limiting

• how managed may impact deterioration

how can physical health be a deteriorating condition?

• prognosis might vary but deterioration is a part of the condiotns

what are the 6 different ways in which c;inical psychologists work with physical health conditions ?

1. working with distress/ mental heath difficulties associated with illness that impacts n life

2. supporting with treatments/treatmnet adherence

3. preparedness or suitability for treatment

4. part of rehabilitaion process

5. support managing symptoms/illness/ impact of illness

6. support at end of life

what is leventhal’s self-regulation model?

• people from beliefs about illness

• these guide coping strategies

• which influence physical and emotional outcomes

• outcomes feed back to update beliefs

what are they key components of illness representations

• identity

• cause

• timeline

• consequences

• control.cure

how do ilness beliefs affect health outcomes?

beliefs → coping strategies → outcomes → updated beliefs

why are health beliefs important in physical illness?

• adherence to treatment

• health behaviours

• emotional responses

how are health belifs about illness formed?

• shaped by previous experiences of ilness/injury

• influence long-term health behaviours

• affect how we respond to new health information

what is adjustment?

• adjustment can be defined as a response to a change in the environment that allows an organism to become more suitably adapted to that change

what is adjustment to illness?

• can be viewed as the process to maintain a positive view of the self and the world in the face of a health problem

• many people do adjust to illness and some people decribe post traumatic growth after ill health

what happens when individuals do not adjust ?

• when indviduals are unable to use processes to develop more helpful views of the illness. their world or themseves, poor psychological function may result

what is coping theory (Lazarus & Folkman)?

• explains how people respond to stress/helath threats

• coping depends on how demands are appraised vs resources

• aims to reduce stress when situations feel overwhelimg

what are two main types of coping?

• problem focused coping : tackling this issue directly

• emotion focused coping: managing emotional responses

what are examples of healthy vs unhelathy copinh?

healthy

• positive self talk

• mindfulness/breathing

• exercise

• social support

unhealthy

• rumination

• supprrssio

• substance abuse

• social withdrawal

why can coping stratgies sometimes be uhelpful?

• some strategies (denial, repression) reduce distress hort term but may worsen outcomes in long term

why might problem-focused coping not always work in health contexts ?

• some illnesses cannot be controlled or fixed

• so emotion focused coping may be more appropriate

what is disability

• defined as any impairment of the body or mind that limits a persons ability to partake in typical cativities and social intercations in their environment

how do negative attitudes affect people with disabilities?

• lead to disempowerment

• cause social exclusion and isolation

what is self-concept and why is it important in disability?

• includes self-esteem, identity and self efficacy

• influences how individuals cope with disability

how does negative self-concept impact disability ouctomes?

• makes coping more difficult

• may lead to indviduals to internalise disbaility

• affects emotionla wellbeing

what is the difference between the social and medical model of disbaility

• the social model of disability is people are disabled by the barriers

  • these include no ramps, special schools, few sign language interpreters, inaccessible transport and public venues

• the meical model is when people are diabled by medical conditions

  • these include cannot work, dependent, cant walk, cant see or hear, looking for a cure