Psychology and Health

Several factors influence our vulnerability to disease. These factors are separated into six groups, which are biological factors, environmental factors, behavior, stressors, personality, and sociocultural factors. In today’s time, it is vital to consider all contributing factors to health and illness since there is no single answer that simplifies why an individual becomes ill or remain healthy. This is the basis of multifactorial model. It reflects how psychological factors can lead to physical disorders such as anxiety, weakening the immune system, and make the body susceptible to a viral infection. Nevid & Rathus said that the multifactorial model is “The belief that health and illness are a function of multiple factors involving biological, psychological, and cultural domains, and their interactions” (2005, p6). Taking drugs for an illness is not sufficient anymore since many of them have their own risk, so a deeper look into other factors could reveal a different diagnosis. Bottom line is that not all diseases are caused by genetics, physical or biological factors.

Psychology has made huge and significant contributions to understanding and managing several health problems. Stress related headaches is a common illness in the United States, almost 20% suffer from severe headaches (Nevid & Rathus, 2005). The two most common headaches are muscle-tension headache and migraine headache.

Muscle-tension headaches are the most frequent and usually happen in the “alarm reaction” and “resistance stage” of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). According to Nevid & Rathus (2005), the GAS is where a collection of changes in the body occurs due to stress. Muscles will contract in the shoulders, neck, forehead, and scalp. With constant stress, the muscles will continually contract causing a muscle-tension headache. Tension headaches usually come on slowly with a steady dull pain.

Migraine Headaches affects one out of every 10 Americans, approximately 28 million people, with stress being a major contributor to the onset of the headache (Nevid & Rathus, 2005). Migraine headaches differ than muscle-tension headaches. Migraines come on suddenly with severe throbbing pain on one side of the head. Migraine headaches can last for days and cause vision problems, sensitivity to light, nausea, vomiting, and loss of balance. Both psychological and physical factors can trigger migraine headaches such as stress, bright lights, pollen, or foods.

Migraine, muscle-tension, and other reoccurring headaches are consider stressors and without proper treatment could cause psychological and physical health issues. An individual could stop interacting socially, resort to drugs or alcohol, and develop heart disease. Psychology has made major contributions in understanding and managing severe headaches.

Psychology has revealed contributing factors that connect the different types of headaches and stress. Although medication can bring relief to headaches and in some cases prevent the onset especially in migraine headaches, but many medications have side-effects and can create a different set of health issues. Psychology health goes a step further and gets to the root of the illness. Psychology changes behavior and offer different treatment methods opposed to medication such as relaxation, changes in a diet, and exercise. In addition, with psychology people can learn to identify what triggers the headaches and attempt avoid the situations as much as possible.

Cancer is another disease that psychology has made significant contributions to the prevention, treatment, and coping with a killer illness. Cancer is distinguished by abnormal cells that can form and grow in the blood, bones, brain, respiratory and digestive organs, and genital organs (Nevid & Rathus, 2005). In the United States cancer is the leading cause of death in women and the second leading cause in men who accounts for approximately half a million deaths each year (Nevid & Rathus, 2005). Cancer can develop in one area and spread throughout the body establishing clusters of cancer cells in another place. The body can often develop cancer cells but the immune system destroys them before they can mature to tumors. Therefore, stress can weaken one’s immune system allowing cancerous cells to grow. Other behavioral factors such as smoking, drinking, high fat diets, and even sunbathing