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Health Psychology and Awareness!
Currently health psychology has emerged as an important branch of psychology and a sister branch of clinical psychology. This emerging branch is devoted to understand how people stay healthy, why they become ill, how they respond when they are ill and finally how they can be made health conscious.
Thus, the purpose of health psychology is to develop health values and health awareness among people particularly in the developing and underdeveloped countries.
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Even some educated people in developed countries, sometimes neglect their health problems because of lack of awareness. Health awareness mentally sets one to take proper and timely care of one’s health. Dangerous diseases like T.B., cancer, cardiac arrest, various infectious diseases unless taken care of in the earlier stage, may lead to unnatural and untimely death.
The main purpose of health psychology is therefore to make people conscious that “prevention is always better than cure”. The various superstitions and false beliefs of people and by and large fear for routine health check up may lead to health risks.
This can be reduced by having knowledge of health psychology. Health psychology is also interested in the study of relationship between psychological variables and physical health.
Health psychologists can give counselling for a life style characterized by high levels of commitment, flexibility in attitude and a strong motivation to control one’s irrational and anti-health activities. Knowledge of health psychology makes one cautious of unhealthy habits and risks of unhealthy behaviour.
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Health psychologists provide counselling to take medical and clinical help, identify techniques to reduce unhealthy habits and promote healthy life styles. Since the W.H.O. defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being of the individual it cannot only be construed as absence of physical disease.
A four year old child who was not listening to his mama’s repeated warning to wash hand before taking food, obeyed her promptly when he was shown the picture of bacteria’s through a microscope.
Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists have tremendous role to play in the overall promotion of health psychology. They infact work in co-ordination with physicians and doctors to keep the physical and mental health of a person in sound condition.
For example, various psychosomatic disorders are usually caused by psychological dysfunctions. In respiratory, skin, muscular, skeletal, cardiovascular and endocrine disorders, psychological disorders play a major role. Anxiety, hypertension and stress play a significant role in causing many physical disorders.
A positive attitude towards development of health habits, sanitation and regular health checkups comes under the scope of health psychology. Health is wealth and/or healthy person is a wealthy person. The purpose of health psychology is to make every one understand and realize the essence of the above saying and work accordingly.
Mind and body, mental health and physical health are closely related. Mental activity largely depends upon the physical soundness and vice versa.
Though relationship between physical activities and mental activities are well established long since, the field of healthy psychology has received tremendous importance with the increasing attention towards good health and sound mind by the developing and under developed countries currently due to the activities of world health-organisation and various health awareness bodies and health psychologists.
Even children are now-a-days made conscious of health related habits through course contents and audio-visual aids. Unhygienic life styles can be changed by the counselling of health psychologists.
Health psychology also aims to maintain a harmonious and cordial relationship between the doctor and the patient. It is said that half of the patients pain in relieved when the doctor deals with him with patience, sympathy and understanding. A positive attitude towards development of health habits, sanitation, hygiene and regular health check ups come under the scope of healthy psychology.
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Many people are found to be capable enough financially for regular health check up and health care. But because of ignorance or negligence or both they fail to take care of themselves. This is because of a psychological attitude which should be changed by a health psychologist through regular counselling.
Many fatalists say “what is to happen will happen, if I am destined to die, nobody can save him, so why unnecessary botheration” ? This attitude should be changed. Such persons should be explained that one should live healthy as long as he is living since health is wealth and a healthy person is a wealthy person.
The health psychologists develop health care strategies that foster good emotion and physical health. Construction of individual toilets has shown a major improvement in health psychology of people.
To-day health awareness campaigns are being organised frequently by doctors, government and non-government organisations particularly for the rural areas. Electronic media, newspapers and other public opinion platforms have taken suitable steps to increase health awareness of people.
Several channels of TV have regular programmes on health and health care. UNICEF and WHO have also taken active interest to improve the health psychology of people. Finally people’s participation in improving health awareness is very urgent.
Health psychologists aim at improving the health awareness of people as well as try to maintain harmonious relationship between the doctor and patient for maintenance of good physical and mental health. They also aim at knowing how biological, social and psychological factors affect health and illness.
Regular awareness and sanitation programmes with specific thrust on the health measures of children, youths and adults should be taken up to boost health psychology in the coming days.