I figured I could't make it through an entire semester of health psych without touching on stress at least once. But I am not going to take the angle that you might expect. Many people view stress as negative, and long-term chronic stress is indeed harmful to your health. But a small amount of stress, over a short period of time, can have benefits.
I choose stress this week because tomorrow I have my first medical school interview, which (as you can imagine) is very stressful. But I am glad to feel the stress; it forced me to focus this weekend on getting ready for the interview instead of going out or trying to get ahead on other coursework. It is what will let me actually wake up at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow (along with my three alarm clocks) so I can be on time. I know that if I were completely relaxed and not stressing about the interview (or any other part of the med school admissions process) then I would not be working as hard to prepare myself and hopefully impress the admissions people enough to let me in. Keeping in mind, of course, that I am also not allowing myself to be consumed by stress, which would have those negative consequences both physiologically and (probably) how I perform at an interview.
When actually looking into some health benefits of stress, I was surprised that there are positive, measurable physiological effects of stress on the immune system. The number of leukocytes is boosted in mice following a stressor, which could be helpful in fighting infections and other diseases. Other studies in mice have shown a benefit in terms of resistance to cancer and the flu after being exposed to an experimental stressor, some of which lasts for weeks.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/the-surprising-benefits-of-stress-1285344/
http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20050328154440_health_news.shtml
http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20050328154440_health_news.shtml
And now that I've finished this last bit of work for the weekend, I am going to try to go to bed to get plenty of sleep for tomorrow as well. Hopefully stressing about the interview won't keep me awake too long...
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Smoking
After all the talk about smoking and using it as an example in class this week, I thought I'd use it as my blog topic. Not so much the actual health problems associated with smoking (because I am sure we are all familiar with them) but the amazing lengths smokers will go to in order to justify or downplay their habit.
First of all, a disclaimer. I have been known, on occasion, to smoke a cigarette. I won't go into the circumstances/social influences at the time, but it has happened. It's definitely not something I'd pick up as a habit, partly because of the health risks and partly just because I think it is disgusting (and thought so even as I was doing it). So I am not just criticizing smoking from a perspective of someone who has absolutely zero experience with it.
I have been lucky enough (or unlucky enough?) to grow up with two great case studies about smoking-related behaviors. One one hand, there is my father, who did smoke for years but who quit sometime when I was in middle school....and then again when I was beginning high school. The second time stuck, and now he is completely disgusted by the smell/sight of cigarettes. In terms of the factors for behavioral change we talked about in class, I think it was mostly personal factors that led him to quit. He did it on his own and to me it seemed like one day he just woke up and decided he was done. I don't think he has ever explained a reason (at least not to me), but maybe have two teenage kids helped; he may not have wanted to be a role model for that kind of behavior.
On the other hand, there is my mother, who smokes about a pack a day. I am not kidding when I say that I go home in the winter and see visible tufts of smoke wafting around my living room. It's especially bad when some of my friends from high school come over (who also smoke) or my sister is home (...who also smokes). I usually end up outnumbered in the corner breathing through a sweatshirt. Her attitude toward smoking reminds me of the "precontemplation" stage (or some distant stage before that one...). For years my sister and tried to get her to quit, before she apparently gave up and joined her.
My mother is smart; she knows the health risks and says all the time that she wishes she had never started smoking. She'll say this while lighting up a cigarette with her morning coffee, and then proceeding to heave and cough in that way only TB patients and chronic smokers can. She accepts that it is an addiction (both physiologically and behaviorally in her case) and just continues doing it. When I was growing up she always told me not to smoke, partially because of her own experiences not being able to quit later. And she still tells my sister to quit...even when loaning her cigarettes.
It's just interesting to me, to talk about theories that try to explain why people change their behavior. Why people decide to quit something like smoking and stay quit. But I always have to go back to my own experiences; listening to my mother have negative opinions of smoking, voice those opinions, and yet continue to smoke (somewhat hypocritically). A lot of the theories talked about attitudes and motivations as beginning the change process...but if there is already dissonance between the attitude and the behavior what else could possibly cause it to change?
First of all, a disclaimer. I have been known, on occasion, to smoke a cigarette. I won't go into the circumstances/social influences at the time, but it has happened. It's definitely not something I'd pick up as a habit, partly because of the health risks and partly just because I think it is disgusting (and thought so even as I was doing it). So I am not just criticizing smoking from a perspective of someone who has absolutely zero experience with it.
I have been lucky enough (or unlucky enough?) to grow up with two great case studies about smoking-related behaviors. One one hand, there is my father, who did smoke for years but who quit sometime when I was in middle school....and then again when I was beginning high school. The second time stuck, and now he is completely disgusted by the smell/sight of cigarettes. In terms of the factors for behavioral change we talked about in class, I think it was mostly personal factors that led him to quit. He did it on his own and to me it seemed like one day he just woke up and decided he was done. I don't think he has ever explained a reason (at least not to me), but maybe have two teenage kids helped; he may not have wanted to be a role model for that kind of behavior.
On the other hand, there is my mother, who smokes about a pack a day. I am not kidding when I say that I go home in the winter and see visible tufts of smoke wafting around my living room. It's especially bad when some of my friends from high school come over (who also smoke) or my sister is home (...who also smokes). I usually end up outnumbered in the corner breathing through a sweatshirt. Her attitude toward smoking reminds me of the "precontemplation" stage (or some distant stage before that one...). For years my sister and tried to get her to quit, before she apparently gave up and joined her.
My mother is smart; she knows the health risks and says all the time that she wishes she had never started smoking. She'll say this while lighting up a cigarette with her morning coffee, and then proceeding to heave and cough in that way only TB patients and chronic smokers can. She accepts that it is an addiction (both physiologically and behaviorally in her case) and just continues doing it. When I was growing up she always told me not to smoke, partially because of her own experiences not being able to quit later. And she still tells my sister to quit...even when loaning her cigarettes.
It's just interesting to me, to talk about theories that try to explain why people change their behavior. Why people decide to quit something like smoking and stay quit. But I always have to go back to my own experiences; listening to my mother have negative opinions of smoking, voice those opinions, and yet continue to smoke (somewhat hypocritically). A lot of the theories talked about attitudes and motivations as beginning the change process...but if there is already dissonance between the attitude and the behavior what else could possibly cause it to change?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Health Benefits of Pets
I'm pretty sure that each week I am just going to write about something different, and completely random. In keeping with that "theme," my roommates and I bought an 8-week old kitten today. We had been talking about getting a cat for our house after we started caring for a stray cat in the middle of the summer. But then that cat, who still went outside frequently, was stolen by a spinster neighbor and we were left with a litter box and tons of other cat supplies. So after talking about it for the last few weeks, we finally went online and found a way to get a cat (from someone who did not want to come look at our house first...because I live with five other guys and it is never really in a state to receive visitors). Surprisingly, it was relatively easy to find and now we have a cute female kitten whose name is still to-be-determined.
Even though it didn't factor into our reasoning to buy a cat at all, I was sure that there had to be some research on the health benefits of owning pets. I was surprised at the scope of different benefits that have been found. First of all, most people (including my two unfortunate roommates) think of pets as causing allergies, and try and avoid them or at least their hair. But research has shown that children growing up with pets are less likely to have allergies and tend to have stronger immune systems than those who do not grow up with a pet at home. I guess it is similar to the idea that children should be exposed to other children, so that they can exchange germs and build their immune systems as well.
A lot of research points out health benefits in the elderly. Pets are often described as companions, which can have a calming effect as well as provide a routine for physical exercise (i.e. walking a dog). Lower heart rates and blood pressure have also been associated with pet owners, as well as longer survival after a heart attack.
While I hope that my roommates and I won't have any of these problems any time soon, pets also can help reduce stress (which we will be experiencing plenty of in the next few months). So maybe taking some time to play with our kitten will make finals week a little more fun. Finally, one last "health" benefit (that might be relevant for my roommates and I) involves using pets to get dates. Apparently pets are often conversation starters, and help overcome shyness or awkwardness in social situations. I'm not sure how much I believe this last one, but I guess I'll have to see how it works...either way I'm glad we finally got a kitten and look forward to having it around.
Even though it didn't factor into our reasoning to buy a cat at all, I was sure that there had to be some research on the health benefits of owning pets. I was surprised at the scope of different benefits that have been found. First of all, most people (including my two unfortunate roommates) think of pets as causing allergies, and try and avoid them or at least their hair. But research has shown that children growing up with pets are less likely to have allergies and tend to have stronger immune systems than those who do not grow up with a pet at home. I guess it is similar to the idea that children should be exposed to other children, so that they can exchange germs and build their immune systems as well.
A lot of research points out health benefits in the elderly. Pets are often described as companions, which can have a calming effect as well as provide a routine for physical exercise (i.e. walking a dog). Lower heart rates and blood pressure have also been associated with pet owners, as well as longer survival after a heart attack.
While I hope that my roommates and I won't have any of these problems any time soon, pets also can help reduce stress (which we will be experiencing plenty of in the next few months). So maybe taking some time to play with our kitten will make finals week a little more fun. Finally, one last "health" benefit (that might be relevant for my roommates and I) involves using pets to get dates. Apparently pets are often conversation starters, and help overcome shyness or awkwardness in social situations. I'm not sure how much I believe this last one, but I guess I'll have to see how it works...either way I'm glad we finally got a kitten and look forward to having it around.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Health and Healthcare
I've never had a blog before, or anything similar to this, so I was not sure what topic I wanted to start the semester off with. But the suggested topic "What do I want from healthcare?" does have some personal meaning to me and can serve as a pretty good intro into who I am.
I have always had a slightly different view of healthcare from anyone else I know. I was born with a congenital birth defect, tracheo-esophageal fistula (TEF). Basically, the upper end of my esophagus ended in a blind pouch, while the lower end connected the top of my stomach to my trachea. After two and a half years of surgeries, over a year of which I spent living in the hospital, my pediatric surgeons fixed the TEF by removing a part of my large intestine and using it to connecting the top of my stomach and the back of my throat. Because of how the surgery was done, and the fact that intestinal tissue can be destroyed by exposure to stomach acid, I have taken prescription antacids my entire life (and will have to continue doing so).
My personal definition of health has thus always been skewed; I do not get sick a lot, I have never broken a bone, and I have no other problems with my health. But am I really "healthy" when I need medication every day just to make it possible to eat and drink normally? I know that if I stopped taking antacids the stomach acid would eat away at my de-facto esophagus and I would have to be placed back on a feeding tube. (What time frame this would occur over I am not sure- I have never wanted to test the idea!)
One problem I have experienced in dealing with our healthcare system is getting insurance to cover the antacid medication I need. Many times growing up I watched my mom argue with insurance companies who did not understand why a young child needed "heartburn medicine," despite the fact that all my paperwork explained my unusual situation. After I turned 18 I began taking them on myself, and once again have been frustrated. Every six months or so I need to re-justify both why I need the medication and why my part-time income is insufficient to pay for it myself.
The worst time was when I changed insurance companies. My doctor currently prescribes Nexium, which is rather expensive. So the insurance company wanted documented information about me trying other, less expensive medications and some kind of proof that they did not work. To me, it just seemed insane and ignorant. First of all, my doctor explained the various mechanisms of action of a few different drugs and decided what was best. Why does some phone bank worker at an insurance company have the authority to question or overrule that when they cannot even pronounce the name of the medical condition I have? And second of all, the medication "not working" for me could result have huge negative consequences...all to save them a couple bucks. Forgive me if I'd rather be safe than sorry, and still be able to swallow my dinner.
I am sorry that kind of turned into a rant, but what I want most from healthcare is for it to take care of people's health without always first checking the dollar signs attached to it.
I have always had a slightly different view of healthcare from anyone else I know. I was born with a congenital birth defect, tracheo-esophageal fistula (TEF). Basically, the upper end of my esophagus ended in a blind pouch, while the lower end connected the top of my stomach to my trachea. After two and a half years of surgeries, over a year of which I spent living in the hospital, my pediatric surgeons fixed the TEF by removing a part of my large intestine and using it to connecting the top of my stomach and the back of my throat. Because of how the surgery was done, and the fact that intestinal tissue can be destroyed by exposure to stomach acid, I have taken prescription antacids my entire life (and will have to continue doing so).
My personal definition of health has thus always been skewed; I do not get sick a lot, I have never broken a bone, and I have no other problems with my health. But am I really "healthy" when I need medication every day just to make it possible to eat and drink normally? I know that if I stopped taking antacids the stomach acid would eat away at my de-facto esophagus and I would have to be placed back on a feeding tube. (What time frame this would occur over I am not sure- I have never wanted to test the idea!)
One problem I have experienced in dealing with our healthcare system is getting insurance to cover the antacid medication I need. Many times growing up I watched my mom argue with insurance companies who did not understand why a young child needed "heartburn medicine," despite the fact that all my paperwork explained my unusual situation. After I turned 18 I began taking them on myself, and once again have been frustrated. Every six months or so I need to re-justify both why I need the medication and why my part-time income is insufficient to pay for it myself.
The worst time was when I changed insurance companies. My doctor currently prescribes Nexium, which is rather expensive. So the insurance company wanted documented information about me trying other, less expensive medications and some kind of proof that they did not work. To me, it just seemed insane and ignorant. First of all, my doctor explained the various mechanisms of action of a few different drugs and decided what was best. Why does some phone bank worker at an insurance company have the authority to question or overrule that when they cannot even pronounce the name of the medical condition I have? And second of all, the medication "not working" for me could result have huge negative consequences...all to save them a couple bucks. Forgive me if I'd rather be safe than sorry, and still be able to swallow my dinner.
I am sorry that kind of turned into a rant, but what I want most from healthcare is for it to take care of people's health without always first checking the dollar signs attached to it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)