Essay on Psychosocial Issues and Their Impact on Health

This essay examines the significant impact of psychosocial issues on human health, emphasizing the influence of social factors, stress, depression, and anxiety. The essay uses the case of a 70-year-old man, Jim, admitted with an acute chest infection, to illustrate how psychosocial factors contribute to health problems and inequalities. It defines psychosocial health, discusses the different types of stress (eustress and distress), and explores the physiological and behavioral changes associated with stress. The essay also delves into the cognitive, emotional, and physical dimensions of depression, its symptoms in men and women, and the link between depression and impaired psychosocial functioning. It highlights the importance of stress management techniques and psychological support for individuals experiencing psychosocial challenges, such as Jim, and the role of factors like alcohol and smoking. The essay references various studies and theories to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the complex relationship between psychosocial issues and health outcomes, emphasizing the need for understanding and addressing these factors to improve overall well-being.

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THE PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES
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Psychosocial issues in health
In the last few decades, the influence and the impact of psychosocial issues on the health of
human beings has received a lot of attention in research and policy development across the
globe. The epidemiology investigates how the interpersonal relationships and the interactions of
the people with the environment can influence the health of people both either indirectly or
directly. Some psychosocial theories have encouraged and impacted the people in charge of
developing the policies to come up with some public health strategies that value the security,
networks, and support of the people as well as the degree of participation in the local community
and civil society.
Psychosocial can be defined as something that pertains the impact of social factors on the
behavior or mind of an individual and to the interrelations of social factors and behavioral. It is
the study of how the actions, feelings, and thoughts of people are determined by the implied,
imagined and the real, actual presences of the others.
Jim a seventy-year-old man is admitted in hospital with acute chest infection. A number of
psychosocial issues may be named as the potential contributor to his health problems and
inequalities. There is some evidence which describes the environments in which they occur as
well as the demographics of the people who are affected much by the risky psychosocial factors.
The proofs also facilitate the acquisition of different resources which are used to determine and
measure the health problems it causes to the entire community (Ahmed, P.I. ed., 2012)
Psychosocial issues are very much associated with both the mental and physical disorders. Some
of the most common psychological factors that affect the majority of the people around the globe
are hopelessness, depression, anxiety, stress, and unemployment. Psychosocial health can be
defined as a state of emotional, spiritual, social and mental wellbeing .it is set and determined by

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how different people deal with situations which cause them stress and how they view and think
about themselves. Psychosocial health is divided into three major parts. Mental health, emotional
health, and social health. Psychological health deals with the pattern and direction of thinking of
an individual.
Emotional health is meant to address different issues to do with the feelings of individual they
may include things such as happiness, love, anger, and hate. Psychosocial health addresses how
people interact and relates to the society. It is the ability to develop and maintain healthy
relationships with other people. Problems that come with an in a person's life as a result of
psychosocial factors are known as psychosocial morbidity or dysfunctions. It refers to lack of
development of the psychosocial self which in most cases co-occurs with other malfunctions that
may be emotional, physical or cognitive (Aldwin et al. 2017).
Human beings experience some threatening situations, pressure, and stress in most cases because
they believe they do not have the resources that are quite essential for helping to cope with life.
The funds that they have do not meet the demands of their circumstances. For example, after the
factory where Jim was working closed down his life changed utterly. For over the last thirty
years he has not had any other job. He is much into alcohol and smoking which are signs that he
may be undergoing stress (Bernstein et al. 2013)
There are different types of stress. They include the positive stress also known as eustress and
the lousy stress which is also referred to as distress. The excess amount of stress is called hyper
stress while the low levels of stress are called hypo stress to avoid a lot of stress in life, people
should adopt productive lifestyles which is always very important. It helps people to enjoy what
they do instead of living a life full of distress (Bisson et al. 2013).

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Stress is highly linked to many different diseases both physical and mental. Various theories
suggest that both the chronic and acute stress can lead to the development of different disorders.
In respect to this theories, two types of stress can cause a variety of changes to the behavior and
physiology of individuals. The behavior changes may be smoking habits, alcoholism, eating
problems and low physical activity. Examples of physiological changes may include
hypothalamic or sympathetic activation, immunological functioning, etc. (Breslau, N., 2012)
In most cases stress causes an individual to be more susceptible to physical injuries and diseases.
Jim's wife died recently and the stress he is experiencing as well as the smoking habit may be
associated with the acute chest infection he is suffering. Some other stressful situations and
circumstances that we have to deal with daily include changes in the job which can cause
insomnia, impaired sleep during the night and so many others.
People with chronic stress and lack the needed resources to cope with the reality can easily
experience psychological problems such as anxiety, fear, and depression. This conditions may
not be as severe as those experienced by the people who have acute stress due to major accidents
and natural disaster, but they prevail for long periods of time especially when there is no way to
avoid them (Dew & Jacobs, 2012).
Though the psychologist stress is associated with different illnesses, most of the healthy people
remain without diseases even after coping and handling the events that caused them stress.
According to studies, people who are adamant to believe that stress can affect them have
decreased possibilities of illness or even death. The studies, therefore, suggest that there exists
some individual vulnerability to the pathogenic consequences of stress. The difference in
susceptibility come as a result of both genetic and psychological factors. Also, the age at which
different people experience stress can determine its effect on health. Research has revealed that

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chronic stress at a tender age can have a lifetime impact on the biological, behavioral as well as
psychological responses to stress later .due to the physical effects of stress to the body, some
individuals may fail to realize the difference between the symptoms of stress and those of other
serious diseases. Psychological stress affects many people around the globe. It developed from a
cognitive appraisal of matters that causes some threat to an individual. It emerges when we look
at a perceived social risk in our lives, and we realize it may need some resources that are not
accessible to us. Examples of psychosocial stress which translate to a perceived threat to our
lives are social esteem, social status as well as acceptance of the group (Barlow et al. 2012).
In cases where psychosocial stress facilitates stress response, the body releases some hormones
such as epinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol. It causes a significant number of changes in the
body including the bursting of energy. This stress hormones have both the short term and long
term benefits but eventually cause severe damage to the body tissues. E.g., through the hormone
cortisol improves the operations of the body increases the amount of energy, it can also cause the
suppression of the immune system. The hormone epinephrine can help in mobilizing power but
on the other hand, create adverse physical and psychological outcomes with long periods of
exposure. These outcomes are the reason why managing mental stress is essential. The response
to stress is initiated only when it is necessary .it is necessary for the individuals to learn the
techniques of stress relief, in order to effectively and efficiently reverse the stress response. The
techniques will help people avoid experiencing chronic stress or prolonged periods of stress
(Desrosiers et al. 2013)
With the kind of Jim's life for over thirty years, there is a possibility he may be suffering
depression. According to the World Health Organization, depression is listed among the leading
cause of disability and other chronic diseases like diabetes. The cognitive, emotional and

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physical dimensions of recession lead to a significant impairment of psychosocial function. The
psychosocial functioning reflects the ability of a person to undertake all the activities of the day
and also be in a position of interrelating with others in a way that gratifies him\her and the others
in the society (Tiller, J.W., 2013). Additionally, individuals must meet the demands of the
community in which they live. There is a relationship between symptoms of real depression, and
the impaired physical activity can be associated with the fact that some episodes of depression
are defined by some signs which are critical to the physical activity. They include the low
interest or pleasure in most of the material activities throughout the day, fast loss of energy and
fatigue daily and the psychomotor retardation and agitation (Glasgow et al. 2012)
The cognitive symptoms of depression distract how the work is done. Three main ways interfere
with how the work is performed. They include the productivity, safety, and interpersonal
relations. Safety deals with the high risk of injuries and accidents among the people who are
experiencing depression. Richness suggests that depressed people are less productive because
they lack concentration, poor decision making, and constant daily fatigue. Interpersonal relations
implies that people who are depressed are viewed as pessimistic, withdrawn and irritable. Jim is
removed from people, his productivity is very low, and his decision to go into drugs may suggest
he is suffering depression.
In most occasions, depressed people depend on their friends or loved ones for emotional
strength and reassurance of better things as well as good life at the end. Just like any other
disease, depression comes in different forms. The forms vary in features, severity and the pattern
in which the episodes occur (Guadamuz et al. 2014)
Currently, there are only very few studies that have assessed the nature and the impacts of
psychosocial deficits that are noted among the depressed people who have bipolar and unipolar

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depression. The signs and symptoms of depression differ in men and women. Women use
different skills from men to deal with pressure and stress situations. The both manifest some
signs of distress differently, but there is a high possibility that the life experiences, hormones,
and brain chemistry are involved. Men with depression tend to feel very tired, empty hopeless
and experience some difficulties in sleeping. They may show some escapist behaviors such as
engaging in alcohol and substance abuse, spend some considerable time at work or sports
controlling of abusive, violent behavior, irritability, etc. (Frankenhaeuser, Lundberg & Chesney,
2012).
Often, men experience depression in the form of hostility, anger, and irritability without
considering the circumstances and feelings of the others around them. It is important to note that
depression is not the same as the mental condition. The extent to which it affects somebody
varies with the usual emotional state of an individual. A person experiencing some symptoms of
stress and depression as a result of grief after the loss of a family member or close friend cannot
be said to have clinical depression unless the condition continues for several months (Pizzi, &
Vroman, 2013).
If one is depressed as a result of losing a job or an ended relationship, there exists a connection
between the emotions and the actual event, though the emotional state eventually comes to an
end. In clinical depression, the daily activities of the depressed seem very hard, and the moods
seem permanent. Using drugs and heavy consumption of alcohol is the simple way that people
go for to help them deal with the overwhelming sense of emptiness and hopelessness and pain
that one goes through when having the depressive disorders (Post & Van Leeuwen, 2012.)
Jim is experiencing a lot of stress and depression. He needs psychological and emotional support
to help him stop drugs and live a healthy life. Taking alcohol does not reduce stress and

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depression, in fact it makes the condition worse. Although treating dual diagnosis is a little bit
hard it is good to note that a trained and equipped psychiatrist can help the victims deal with their
condition through proper detox counseling.
An integrated dual diagnosis program entails peer support, education, counseling as well as
relapse prevention of both drug abuse and depression. In respect to the substance abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, the integrated treatment plan should aim at achieving
some specific goals. For instance, they should help understand how depression affects people,
teach them that it is possible to deal with grief, give the client skill to deal with negative
thoughts, etc. (Schetter, & Tanner 2012.)
Medication therapy should be considered an essential component of the recovery process for any
person suffering from depression. Antidepressant drugs should be used to help the people who
battle with the condition cope with the struggles and pressure they face daily. The psychiatrist
should find the right pharmacological treatment to help the client (Sørensen et al. 2012).
The relationship between the society and an individual is free strong since a person’s character is
formed and shaped by the society they live in. The people in the society should intervene to help
Jim who is suffering depression by being close and talking to him. The talking should be aimed
at helping him understand what causes stress to him and learn to avoid them. The society should
provide a social, cultural duties efficiently in order to keep individuals active in the matters of
the community.
In conclusion, each person has his \her bad days. Some problems may cause the sick days at the
workplace, home, or general relationships in the society. During this period's people experience
have very low moods .these periods come and go, but the organization should be keen to help the
people whose stress develops to depression. These should be given some different tension and

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services to help them gain back their normal lives through assisting them to have some meaning
of life. Since there is a close connection between an individual and the society, people who have
depression should be helped to reform and shape themselves again according to the norms of the
society in which they grow. The necessary resources of life should be availed to the community
to help the people utilize them in the best way possible in order grow emotionally, spiritually,
economically and politically. The society should also offer moral support, encouragement, and
motivation since they are some of the essential tools that can help people deal with depression.
Everybody in the society as a role to play in assisting others to feel strong and face all challenges
of life.

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References
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Science & Business Media.
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