Individual health and wellbeing
Introduction
This paper aims at discussing the health and wellbeing of an individual and highlights how the physical, mental, social and emotional aspects. A plan on how the health and wellness of a person can be promoted is discussed with support from theoretical firework on the same. Using the scenario provided, the paper uses a theoretical perspective to highlight how the conditions of individuals can be improved and hence, achieve optimum health and wellness. The paper consists of a literature review on benefits of promoting individual health, bio-psychosocial factors contributing to James wellbeing an activities and strategies that can promote his health and wellness.
Literature review
Individual health promotion involves a process of enabling a person to improve control over his or her health. It involves moving beyond the behavior of an individual towards a broad range of interventions including environmental and social interventions. Maintaining the health and physical wellbeing of an individual is important since it helps in mitigating or reducing burdens related to unhealthy conditions which include inability to function properly at work, schools and performing normal responsibilities expected (Jetten, Haslam &Alexander, 2012,1). It also helps in reducing or preventing burden related to health care provisions including financial, social and mental burdens that not only affect the patient but people close to them and care givers (Loewenstein et al. 2017, 53). The most important reason for maintaining personal health and wellness is to prevent any case of deaths from communicable and non-communicable illnesses and diseases. Physical wellness ensures that an individual has proper care of his or her body for best health and functioning (Edwards et. al 2016, 4). The promotion of physical health involves encouraging physical activity, good nutrition, while mental wellness keeps the body of a person at its prime working condition. When a person achieves optimal level of physical health, they are able to nurture the responsibility for their health (Brownie, 2006, 113).
The benefits of physical health include normally functioning body organs and tissues, reduction in risk of diseases and increased energy in the body. Social health ensures that an individual ensures that the ability of a person’s interaction with others and environment is maintained and this builds satisfactory interpersonal relationships (Cowley, Kiely & Collins, 2016, 373). Mental health ensures that a person’s learning ability and intellectual growth is maintained and the person is able to take on life experiences, formal structures like school attendance and related learning (Thornton &Brunton, n.d, 10). The life experiences and formal structures ensure that mental health is enhanced. Emotional health gives someone the ability to control their emotions, so that amidst various challenges they encounter in life, they can remain calm while looking for solutions. Moreover, one is able to express such emotions in the right way which is important in achieving comfort (Pockett, R., 2013, 123).
Bio-psychosocial factors contributing to James’ wellbeing
In the case, James health concerns relates to psychosocial factors brought about by the failure to find a job close to Molly so that he can offer the right support. The increasing worries, low mood, irritability and loss of temper may have led to increased to alcohol intake and smoking. The changes seen in James relate frustrations to get a suitable job and inability to offer support to his pregnant wife as he could wish. His health problems could be viewed from the bio-psychosocial approach. The bio-psychosocial approach involves a framework that is integrative and comprehensive and whose aim is to understand the health and function of a human (Velupillai, 2008, 126). The basis of this approach is that human beings as organisms are considered innately bio-psychosocial whereby the psychological, biological and their social dimensions are inseparably intertwined. In this case, the psychological, socio-cultural and biological approaches affect the health outcome and behavior of a person (Kivimäki, 1997, 858). The health outcomes as indicated in the behavior James portrays can be attributed to social and psychological factors including the health status of molly, his wife, and inability to find a suitable job which means he cannot relocate. For James, these factors represent pathways which have led to his increased alcohol consumption and the new desire to resume the smoking habit. Many psychosocial aspects mutually influence one another to cause alcohol abuse and such causes should not be viewed as independent from the biological factors. Hence, increased alcohol intake is best perceived as resulting from various bio-psychosocial influences combined together (Sundin et. al 2014). The psychosocial factors that have lead to the worries, irritability and mood disturbances for James includes the lack of suitable job, anxiety about Molly’s health and pregnancy and the feeling of inability to provide the necessary support. These factors are most possible culprits of the new behavior, increased alcohol intake and even smoking. Mood disturbances have been related to increased alcohol intake especially during withdrawal, so that when one is not drinking, they report cases of irritability, depression, poor concentration and even anxiety (Moksnes, U.K., Espnes et.al Haugan, 2014, 33). The challenges affecting James are psychosocial stressors since they involve strains and negative life experience.
Psychosocial stressors have been known to be risk factors for smoking tobacco including the relapse behavior, through various mechanisms. A person may result to smoking as a coping behavior and in this case, nicotine acts as self-medication for the stress. Increased exposure to psychosocial stressors may lead to reduced self-regulation necessary in controlling the urge to engage in smoking (Heaney, Carroll & Phillips, 2014, 466). In the past, observational studies have shown that stressful events linked to relationships or work can results to high prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption (Niaura, 1988, 133). This is in comparison to people who have not experienced the life stressors. In this case, James may have resumed smoking as a way of coping with inability to find suitable work or to support his wife. In addition, the health and wellness of his children may have acted as a psychosocial factor by piling pressure on him to maintain the wellbeing of the entire family members. In addition, stressful events life has been related to increased intake of alcohol among the adults. The stressful life experience related to work or biological factors of a close family member have been shown to lead to alcohol disorder or over-consumption (Brown, 2002, 180). The use of alcohol as a way of coping with or reduce stress is a major cause of drinking since it has been found to capable of minimizing tension state when not overly consumed. Stress as a psychosocial factor has, therefore, been given as a reason for increased drinking habit. In addition, increased alcohol use can lead to increased mental health factors such as irritability. In this case of James , whereas failure to find suitable work and the condition of his wife may lead to stress and hence the drinking behavior , the alcohol and related withdrawal may be the cause for low mood and irritability. The worries that he may harbor inside may be the cause of increased drinking since more pressure to provide health and wellness care for his family results to more pressure and hence, stress. The exposure to the psychosocial stressors is the main culprit in poor health and wellness for many people (Schofield & Beek, 2005, 1285).
Activities for health and wellness plan
To improve the health and wellbeing of James, it is necessary for him to engage in activities that will reduce the impact of psychosocial stressors, so that to reduce or eliminate the stress levels and hence, smoking and alcohol consumption. Meaningful activities should aim at improving the wellbeing of people and should go beyond pleasure to meet the psychological needs that are fundamental in individual health and wellness (Sudlow, 2015). A health plan should keep a person physically active so as to deal with and mental problems since those with such health issues are likely to engage in excessive alcohol drinking, smoking and even poor diet.
The activities include engaging in physical exercises consisting of gyms, volunteering and walking groups. Engaging in excises help helps an individual to remain active, reduce anxiety and feeling of isolation (Trost et. al 2014, 1). The other activity is sporting, which involves activities that James would do on his own or in a team for fun or competition. Sporting helps in improving body energy and reducing the chances of developing various diseases related to overweight and inactivity (West &Griffin, 2017, 1). The two activities help in improving the tolerance of the body to stress given that exercising acts as a stressor. As a stressor, sports induce the production of adrenaline and cortisol which are stress hormones (Millington, 2014, 491). By purposely making the body to experience stress through regular physical activities, one is able to build resilience over a period of time (Osborne, 2017, 1). The health benefits for the physical activities include reduction in anxiety and hence, happier mood, reduction of stress feelings, an improved sense of calm and clear thinking (Ryan, 2015, 8). The volunteering and sporting activities will assist James socially by increasing connection with people and this may provide an opportunity for finding work in nearby place and hence, be able to care for Molly and the family.
In addition, a program on alcohol and smoking reduction will be important in helping James to abandon the behavior. The program should involve intervention and counseling which are important in sensitizing the negative effects of smoking and excessive drinking. The program will help James to make a decision to quit which is the first step in stopping the behavior.
Strategies for promoting individual health
The strategies to be used in promoting and improving the health of James should focus preventing and treating the effects of bio-psychosocial factors including work related stress , worries and anxiety related to his wife’s and family’s wellbeing. These strategies include clinical interventions, encouraging adherence and addressing the behavioral and psychological risk factors. The clinical intervention approach involves counseling and education whose aim is to primarily prevent the effects of negative behavior (Biron & Karanika-Murray, 2014, 85). Through this approach, James can be made to understand the risks resulting from high alcohol intake and smoking and this can lead to reduction of the behavior. Clinical psychological interventions are also helpful in promoting the coping skills of a person, providing the necessary emotional support and this improves the quality of life (Cacioppo et. al 2015). Encouraging adherence as a strategy is important since it provides an opportunity to match the provided counseling or advice and the general healthcare outcomes (Watkins and Scaturo, 2013, 75). For instance, failure to take any medication that may ease the effects of alcohol intake may be shown through the resulting symptoms. A person should be made to understand the consequences of non-adherence or failure to follow the recommended healthcare advice.
The other strategy involves dealing with the various psychosocial factors that poses health and wellness risk to James. The psychosocial factors involves offering the appropriate treatment to stress and depression including psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatments which are necessary in enhancing coping and reduction of the effect of life stressors or any medical condition emerging from such (Amsterdam, Hornig & Nierenberg,2007, 264). Dealing with behavioral factors that expose would expose James to health risks involve offering advice which health behaviors to engage in. Addressing the behavioral factors may involve providing some cues that will keep an individual on toes or even remind them of their needed efforts to abandon their risky behavior. This involves offering the right support to ensure that a person is totally committed to change their behavior and embrace behavior that will promote their health outcomes (Amsterdam, Hornig & Nierenberg, 2007, 264).
Conclusion
Individual health promotion involves a process of enabling a person to improve control over his or her health and wellness. The bio-psychological factors relate from internal and external stressors that and such factors mutually determine the health and wellbeing of a person. They may lead to negative behavioral change and poor outcomes such as excessive drinking and smoking as an individual tries to cope with the situation. Engaging in physical activities comes with physical and mental health benefits since it reduces health risks and enables one body to cope. The strategies adopted for promoting individual health should focus on prevention and treatment. There is a need for further research so as to assess how bio-psychosocial factors relate in bringing about poor individual health outcomes.
References
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