Task 1
Biological Aspects: Mr De Jong is 67 years old, 1.72 m tall and weights
89kg. Based on his weight and height he is severely obese. However,
given the amount of physical activity that he is getting, that isn’t normal.
We can assume that before retiring 2 years ago, he wasn’t that physical
active and maybe his work was sedentary.
Psychological: Before retiring he was very stressful. However, now he
has little to no stress, he enjoys life and we can assume that he is happy
and content.
Social: Mr De Jong has a very close relationship with his wife as they
spend many hours during the week walking and they make wonderful
memories going on vacations 3 times a year. Moreover, he spend time
with his grandchildren, meaning that he and his family are very close.
Finaly, Mr De Jong socialize with people near his age too as he trains
with several seniors in a gym once a week.
Behavioral pathogen factors of Mr De Jong:
He had a stressful job
He left his physical condition to deteriorate
Behavioral immunogen factors of Mr De Jong:
Walks a lot
Trains in the gym
Not stress anymore
Enjoys life
Spend time with his family
Task 2
Physical and Psychological conditions are inextricable and often one can
influence the other. The same can be applied with stress. Stress can
create numerous physical problems to a person. The most obvious
example are psychosomatic conditions, physical conditions that have
been created by the body because of a person’s bad psychology.
Furthermore, in order to coop with stress, many people turn to bad
habits that may offer a short term relief such as smoking, alcohol and
excessive food consumption. Finally, a stressor might make someone to
neglect regular hygiene, which can lead to many physical problems too.
1. Reducing harmful external conditions: A patient tries to discard any
harmful condition from his environment. Mr De Jong retired from his
job, consequently reducing his stress.
2. Maintain a positive self image: The patient doesn’t allow the stressor
to influence their opinion about themselves. Mr De Jong enjoys life to
the fullest.
3. Maintain a satisfactory relationship with the environment or with
others: The patent doesn’t allow stress to interfere with their social
relationships. Mr De Jong has a wonderful relationship with his wife and
family.
4. Tolerating or adjusting to negative events: The patient learns to
essentially live with the stressor or changes the condition. Mr De Jong
waited until he retired.
Two years ago, I was deeply immersed in preparing for the final exams in
Greece. These exams held immense importance within the Greek
educational system, and understandably, I felt an overwhelming amount
of stress. It had been three long years of dedicated preparation leading
up to those two crucial exam weeks. During that time, I faced numerous
challenges, including panic attacks, persistent headaches brought on by
stress, and moments where I struggled to catch my breath. My sleep was
consistently less than six hours a night, and I was relying on four cups of
coffee daily just to keep myself going. The stress I was grappling with
seemed insurmountable, and at times, it felt like I was just existing in a
constant state of anxiety until the end of the exam period. Looking back,
I regret deeply that I didn’t do anything to actively deal with that state.
Task 3
Based on Erikson’s theory I am in the 6th stage (Intimacy vs Isolation) as I
have found my identity and I fit the age group.
Task 4
Phsiotherapists show an active listening attitude by having a relaxed and
slightly lining forward body posture, maintaining eye contact, using
encouraging gestures, by not interrupting or rushing the patient and
having the patient at the center of the discastion.
From the lesson…
Attribution style: Attribution style refers to the way individuals explain
or attribute the causes of events, behaviors, or outcomes in their lives. It
is a psychological concept that helps us understand how people
interpret and make sense of the world around them.
There are typically two main attribution styles:
Internal attribution style: The patient perceives the cause to be
within themselves.
External attribution style: The patient perceives the cause to be
outside of themselves.
Locus of control: Locus of control is a psychological concept that refers
to an individual's belief or perception about the underlying causes of
events in their life. It's a fundamental aspect of personality and can
influence how people perceive and respond to situations.
There are two locus of control types:
Internal locus of control: The patient perceives that they can take
the problem into their own hands.
External locus of control: The patient perceives that they cannot
take the problem into their own hands (no influence).
Stress definition: Stress is a state of worry or mental tension caused by a
difficult situation. It is a natural human response to perceive threat
and/or challenges.
Stressor: The cause of stress.
Coping definition: How we deal with stressor.
Coping styles: There are different ways to deal with stress:
1. Problem focus: Solving the problem is central. The efforts are
focused either on reducing the demand or increasing the resources.
2. Emotional focus: Changing the feelings that come with the problem
is central. All efforts are focused at managing the emotional
response to the stressor.
Active coping: Active, cognitive or behavioral ways to manage the
stressor.
Passive coping: Avoiding or minimizing the threat of the stressor and
done by avoidance, or distraction/disengagement.
Five coping functions that contribute to the successful adaptation to a
stressor:
1. Reduce harmful external condition
2. Tolerate or adjust to negative events
3. Maintain positive self image
4. Maintain emotional equilibrium and decrease emotional stress.
5. Maintain a satisfactory relationship with the environment or with
others
