Impact of Life Events on Individuals and Supportive Measures

This article discusses the impact of life events on individuals and the importance of supportive measures. It explores the physical, psychological, and physiological effects of life events and provides insights into coping strategies. The article also highlights the role of healthcare policies and external sources of support in helping individuals overcome the challenges posed by life events.

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According to Nuske, Hoildsworth and Breen (2016 p.7-26), significant life events are the events
that occur in someone’s life with or without expectations. Such events usually have an impact on
the individual as they disrupt the usual activities causing a substantial change and readjustment.
They can have an impact on an individual either physically, psychologically or even
physiologically. Some examples of life events are divorce, illness, and injury, changing or losing
a job and even losing a loved one. These events can have a physical, physiological or
psychological impact on an individual depending on the type of an event but it can also have all
those impacts on an individual. For example, a person with a stroke or amputated body part will
have difficulties performing his daily activities as he usually does. He can also have
psychological stress on how he is going to adapt to the new life he is not used to (Baldwin 2017
p. 26). Impact also goes beyond this to the family members especially if the patient requires extra
care from them. In the case of fire tragedy at Grenfell Towers, most people lost their loved ones
and even family members. Coping with this unexpected tragedy could be very hard and therefore
they need support from multidisciplinary. Family members, the society and the government at
large have a role in helping these people overcome the losses they encountered. Although most
of the times, the focus on life events have focused on the negative side, there is a positive event
also. Such example is like receiving a job promotion, going on a trip, receiving an award or a
special price and also the birth of grandchildren.
Life events are the most common cause of stress in individuals. It is however believed that
certain events such as loss of a spouse causes a certain level of stress to individuals, it is how the
person copes with the stress that differs. This is mainly dependent on individual personalities and
how class the person was o the spouse. Holmes and Rahe (1967) developed a questionnaire
called the social readjustment rating scale to measure the level of stressful life events. The
questionnaire has 43 stressful life events which were awarded life change unit depending on the
trauma that was felt by a large number of participants used (Wethington 2016, p.103-108). For
example, a life event like the death of a spouse is given 100 life change unit, divorce 73 life
change units, responsibilities at work value of 29 and the lowest being a minor violation of the
law such as traffic tickets with a value of 11 life change units. The total scores of the change
units are added to get the level of stress basing on events experienced over a period of 12
months. If the total number for an individual is below 150 life change units, then the person has a
30% chance of suffering from stress. If the total is between 150 and 299, an individual has a 50%
chance of suffering from stress. Finally, a total of 300 life units and above indicates that an
individual has 80% chances of developing a stress-related illness. This scale is therefore
important in the management of patients with stress as the level of stress will determine the kind
of interventions to be used (Reddy et al 2017, pp. 1103-1123).
The life changes model stresses the fact that prolonged stress can have an impact on hour health.
They can be both positive and negative causes of stress. However, the possibility of a stressor to
cause illness is dependent on the level of the stress itself. According to Friedel et al (2017,
p.302), the life change model assumes that all changes in a person's life be it large or small,
desirable or non-desirable can be a stressor. Therefore, the accumulation of small changes may
cause an impact just as a major change could. Basing on the social readjustment rating scale that
was developed, the total life change units can be used to measure the possibility of an illness
occurrence and likely the number of health problems they are likely to be experienced. From the
research that was done, it showed that 93% of the infections diagnosed such as bone and muscle
injuries, psychosomatic illness and infections were from patients who had a total of 150 and

above life change units over the previous year. Therefore, this shows that there is a close
relationship between the level of stress and individuals health. The higher the life change score
the greater the chance of a person developing a more serious health condition (Praharso, Tear
and Cruwys 2017, pp.265-275). Moreover, the cumulative of minor crisis occurring over and
over can be a cause of a major illness. Even though stressful conditions have been found to
cause health issues, some individuals seem to be different. Personal characteristics and the
interpretation of the event may cause the difference. This is because some people have illnesses
which are not related to the stress of life events while others have a high value of life change unit
but they do not appear sick. Therefore, every individual should be handled differently depending
on their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.
There are so many stressors in the environment which may be very difficult to remove them but
can be managed to maintain good health. Human bodies respond to stress in a certain way.
According to Townsend and Morgan (2017), general adaptation syndrome theory shows that the
body goes through some physiological changes when under stress. The body undergoes three
stages of change; the alarm reaction stage, resistance, and the exhaustion stage. Understanding
these stages will help to know both acute and chronic symptoms of stress. In the alarm reaction
stage, the initial manifestations are evident. The body prepares itself for a fight or a flight to
protect oneself from dangerous situations. At this stage, the heart rate increases, adrenal gland
releases cortisol hormone, and adrenaline levels rises hence boosting energy. According to
Peterson (2018), the resistance stage is marked by self-body repair. The amount of cortisol
produced is reduced, the heart rate and blood pressure drop to normal levels. Even though the
blood pressure and heart rate have normalized at this stage, the body remains in an alert. If the
stressor is removed completely, the body continues to repair itself and the heart rate and blood
pressure come back to the normal level before the stress. It the stressor is not removed and the
stressful situation continues for an extended period of time, the body remains in high alert,
adapts and learn to live in a higher stress level. The person may think that he or she is managing
the stress well but the stress hormone remains elevated in the bloodstream which can lead to
exhaustion phase is it persists for a long period of time. The most common signs at this stage are
irritability, frustration and poor concentration (Marek, Schaufeli and Maslach 2017).
The exhaustion stage occurs due to prolonged stress period. The body at this stage has no
strength to fight stress as its physical, mental and emotional resources have already been drained.
The body gives up making the person hopeless. Fatigue, anxiety, burnout, decreased stress
tolerance and depression are the most common signs at this stage (Schaufeli and Maslach 2017,
pp.1-16). People at this stage also have low immunity and are therefore susceptible to infections.
Other signs and symptoms include acne, chronic pain, headache, appetite changes, and digestive
system problems. Although stress can be an unpleasant experience, is also important in training
the body to cope with a certain level of stress and improves how the body responds to stressors
especially in the alarm stage.
According to Glajchen, (2012, pp. 226-235) the role that family members and colleagues play in
supporting their members is very important. They can help with activities of daily living such as
cooking if the patient is unable to perform. Family members should therefore be involved or
encourage to always be supportive whenever there is any of their members who is facing a
problem. Social support and medical support by health professionals is also important. An
example is counseling. Counseling always give the members psychological support and relieve

anxiety. This also give hope to them in times of trouble or any situation that give them much
worry. Catering for the person’s basic needs can also be achieved from family members and
friends. Unity among all these people is important for the patient’s recovery. When the patient
experiences a loss, he undergoes five stages of grieving (Stroebe, Schut and Boerner 2017,
pp.455-473). The first stage is denial where the patient avoids the situation due to fear. The
second stage is anger and frustration from what happened. The third stage is depression where
the patient feels helpless. The fourth stage is bargaining where the patient is struggling to find
the meaning or reaching out to others. Finally, the stage of acceptance is where the patient is
exploring options to deal with the situation and putting new plans in place. Some of the coping
strategies that can be employed are appraisal focus strategies which focus on an adaptive
cognitive, problem-focused strategy which focuses on behavior and emotional focus and
occupation focus.
Any life event has an impact on the individual himself and other people interacting with him. In
the case of illness of a breadwinner, for example, the family at large will be affected as they have
to pave other ways of providing for the family. This extends to the society at large. It gives
healthcare professionals more work to do and increases the health-seeking behavior of the
individual. It can also impose stress on other people, for example, emotional and financial stress
to family members in the case of a chronic condition (Goldfsmith 2018). These people can easily
undergo hidden grief as they cannot change the situation. In the case of fire tragedy children can
undergo this kind of grief as their life will change and they have no control over it. However, it is
important for the society and caregivers to take into account this kind of grief and help the
affected to overcome it.
Organizations have formed many policies on the care of patients with life events. Treating each
patient following the policies is of great importance. For example, keeping the patient’s
information private and confidential is crucial to their health as they find it easy to open up more
making care to be easy. Many organizations have made this effective by ensuring that the
patients’ documents or files are handled only by health care professionals who have the
authority. They have also trained the personnel on how to break the sad news to the relatives and
family members in case of a loss. They have specialists in each field including social workers
who can help with the cultural needs of the patient (Forster et al 2017, pp.639-646). The policy
of providing care to the patient on an individual basis is also important. Most organizations have
counseling services that are offered. Students, workers, and even family members are constantly
exposed to stressors in their environment. Having a counselor in each organization that can be
reached too easily is very important. The clients visit the counselors privately making it easy to
open up and also the counselor has professional skills on how to help them. In the hospital
setting, some hospitals have implemented a policy of counseling patients and families especially
in chronic conditions such as cancer, any hereditary condition and lifelong diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and autoimmune diseases. These services are mostly free for individuals to attend.
People with life events need support from everyone who interacts with them. For example, in the
case of the fire tragedy, an individual needs family members to give them a sense of belonging
and to grieve together. This makes them feel loved and accepted which is an important factor in
relieving stress. Family members can also help in financial difficulties together with society as
they can raise funds to help the victim. Some other communities the community can even come
and grief together with the victim. The health care system has a role in supporting the victim by

treating their injuries and nursing them. They can also provide rehabilitative practices to improve
their functioning. Counseling services are also of great help to the individual. Social media and
other social services can provide information on how to solve a certain problem and it can also
help to find a specialist to solve the problem. Getting someone who has undergone the same
problem as the victim helps to lower stress levels and interventions may be provided on social
media (Liu, Gou and Zou 2016, pp.750-758).
External sources of support are also needed in the management of patients with life events.
Specialists within certain field play an important role. For instance, a cultural and religious
specialist is needed when managing a patient with strong cultural and religious beliefs. Most may
be depending on supernatural beings for intervention which may be needed especially with
stress. Some of these externals services are readily available while others are hard to find. Some
hospitals have places where people can go and practice their faith while sometimes it becomes
difficult especially to patients who are bedridden. Some organizations have made it possible by
providing those services in a ward setting. The National Health Service has covered spiritual care
for all workers and patients and therefore every individual has access for free without payment.
Palliative care has been provided to patients with diseases that cannot be cured. This helps to
improve their quality of life. Every health organization has palliative care principles to help the
patient have comfort and reduces suffering. It also reduces family suffering. Another external
support is on financial support. Most third parties and organizations provide medical cover to
their employees. This helps them afford medical bills when sick. An example of such parties is
NHIF (Davis and Loftus 2017, pp195-238).
Organizations have a duty to protect their employees when faced with life-changing events. For
instance, if an employee is bereaved, the organization should support him or her by giving them
leave for until the burial is over. Most organizations give unpaid leave. Paying the employees
during leave is a positive motivator and they will feel loved and belonging somewhere and is a
long term impact (Strollo et al 2016). Most organizational such as work-life support, University
College London and National Health Service have provided support to their employees. National
health services provide free counseling services to individuals and care quality commission
ensures that all individual received quality, safe and compassionate services wherever they
attended. All organizations should, therefore, train their managers to give their employees what
they need whenever they encounter life events. They should not only be given compassionate
leave but financial support, counseling and emotional support is needed. This support should be
provided to everyone equally without discrimination basing on the organizational policies.
Respect for individual cultures should also be considered appropriate possible support to the
individual.
Most life events face the healthcare professionals with the death of patients. One of the patient
had been admitted in the medical and surgical word. He had renal failure and had been in dialysis
on and off while still at home but his condition had worsened and therefore he was admitted. The
patient was scheduled to have three dialysis sessions in a week since his electrolyte levels were
higher than the normal range. When in the hospital, the patient went through two sessions of
dialysis but unfortunately the peripheral line was no longer patent and he needed a central line.
According to the hospital policy, the patient has to buy the items required to fix a central line. He
had no money and hence he was not able to purchase the equipment. The only close relative was

the younger brother and could not raise enough money to purchase the item. The patient ended
up missing two sessions of dialysis and ended up dying due to hyperkalemia.
Some improvements should be put into place to reduce the patient mortality rate and avoid
complications that could have been prevented. Some policies for example where the patient has
to pay or buy some items before a procedure is done. The patients should be provided with the
quality care they need and then pay the cost later when they feel better. Another recommendation
is that healthcare practitioners should work in unison in providing patient care rather than
everyone performing procedures where they have specialized only. The patient should be treated
in such a way that all specialists needed for the patient management should come together and
treat the patient as a whole. Every patient and caregivers have problems related to stressors.
Every organization should recognize the needs of their employees in order to increase its output.
They should be given allowances or a special day where they can celebrate together and bond as
a family. This will make them feel loved and supported in their work. Services provided by any
organization should be affordable to the people using their services and resources. It should,
therefore, cater to the needs of every individual without discrimination.

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