PSC 126 Lecture 13: 5/22/18
“Doing Better, Feeling Worse”
● The Paradox of Health & Illness
○ By objective standards, our health is quite good today
○ Life expectancy: 47.3 yrs in 1900 vs about 78 today
○ Death rates for 12. 15 most frequent causes of death have dropped
○ In 1928, effective treatments for only 5% of 360 most serious diseases
■ Over 75% today
● Paradox: objectively healthier, but people say they feel worse
○ Subjective perceptions of health have not kept pace w/ technical developments
○ People report more & longer lasting illness episodes
○ 2.12 per year lasting 19 days today, 4.6 MD contacts
○ 0.82 per year lasting 15 days in 1920s, 2.9 MD contacts
○ More symptoms & more days of restricted activity compared to “old days”
○ Hospital stays are shorter
○ Elevated symptom reports
■ More pain reported
○ Why?
■ Less tolerance for pain/ discomfort
■ More likely to seek help than before
■ More sources available for help/ support
■ People live longer - more likely to suffer from a chronic illness
■ Heightened awareness of health
● More likely to notice symptom
● Healthification of culture
○ Events described in regards to health
○ Ex: was it healthy or not to get this job or do this action
○ Health seen as indicator of success of life
● Healthy patients who perceive poor health
○ Why are they worried sick?
○ Physician’s health rating & office visits
○ 3 groups of patients
○ Group A - sees themselves as healthy, & doctor agrees w/ them
○ Group B - sees themselves as unhealthy, but doctor disagrees & sees them as
healthy
■ “Worried sick group”
■ Resembles Group A, regarding physical health
■ Resembles Group C, regarding mental health (worry)
■ Mental health problems, financial strain, & social support accounted for
differences
■ More likely to have anxiety, depression, more stress, fewer resources
■ Potentially more sickness in future
● Risk of getting sick
○ Group C - sees themselves as unhealthy & doctor agrees
● Anxiety & the heart
○ 3x more likely to have heart attack
○ Anxiety can cause changes that increase risk of heart attack in future
● Fear - response to an external source
○ Phobia
○ Can identify what you’re afraid of
○ Ex: spiders, heights, public speaking etc.
○ If imagine being in presence of fear, will start feeling physiological response
● Anxiety - can be present w/o external source
○ May not pinpoint trigger
○ Perceive bad things will happen
○ Sense something will go wrong
● Worry - most common form of anxiety
○ Mental aspect of anxiety
○ Thinking about all the bad things that go wrong
○ Imagining bad things in past & amplify the negativity
● Worry: the cognitive core
○ Repetitive & non - productive thought
○ That does not resolve the situation or arrive at a solution
○ Not action based
■ Just there thinking a lot
○ “What if ---”
● The stressfulness of uncertainty
○ No knowing
○ Unpredictability
○ Lack of structure
○ Get info
○ Recognize change
○ Focus on the immediate
■ Too much focus on past or present
● Rescuing yourself from anxiety
○ Focus on what you have received
■ Anxiety focuses on what you have not received
○ Compare yourself to others less
■ Self comparison is deadly when it comes to mental health
■ “Other people seem they are doing better than me”
■ “I’m doing worse than everyone else”
○ Don’t isolate yourself from others
■ Anxious people often isolate themselves
■ Alone with their thoughts
○ Develop a sense of perspective
● The psychology of symptom perception
○ What causes people to notice their physical sensations?
Document Summary
By objective standards, our health is quite good today. Life expectancy: 47. 3 yrs in 1900 vs about 78 today. 15 most frequent causes of death have dropped. In 1928, effective treatments for only 5% of 360 most serious diseases. Paradox: objectively healthier, but people say they feel worse. Subjective perceptions of health have not kept pace w/ technical developments. People report more & longer lasting illness episodes. 2. 12 per year lasting 19 days today, 4. 6 md contacts. 0. 82 per year lasting 15 days in 1920s, 2. 9 md contacts. More symptoms & more days of restricted activity compared to old days . More likely to seek help than before. People live longer - more likely to suffer from a chronic illness. Ex: was it healthy or not to get this job or do this action. Health seen as indicator of success of life. Group a - sees themselves as healthy, & doctor agrees w/ them.
