Discuss about the Psychosocial Issues And Their Impact.
For any traumatic situation, there is a significant impact of the trauma on the psyche of the different individual. It has to be understood in this context that psyche of different individuals are unique and hence the impact of any traumatic situation varies depending on the psyche of that individual: regardless of the fact that whether it is an accident causing physical harm to the patient or any life event that had a severe psychological strain on the patient. The impact of the trauma can alter the thought process and response pattern of the victim and derail their lifestyle.
On a more elaborative note, it has to be mentioned that, with respect to the different kinds of the psyche in the different people, they react or respond to different traumatic stimuli in a unique manner. Now, in order to address the psycho-social issues plaguing the different individual, it is very important for the care professionals to have a clear idea regarding their psyche and how the traumatic impact of any of their life events have affected their behavior, thought process and response life (Fergusson, McLeod and Horwood 2014). This assignment will attempt to focus on the adverse life events of a patient named Jim and how it has given rise to different psychosocial issues that have impacted the lives of the patient, the paper will also formulate a set of different strategies to help the group of consulting care professionals better understand the patient and be able to address his issues in a more efficient and effective manner (Barry and Yuill 2011). The assignment will progress with taking the assistance of a case study involving a patient named Jim.
The case study or trigger chosen for the assignment focuses on a victim named Jim, a 70-year-old man, living in the housing estate in Glasgow. It has to be mentioned that population in the Glasgow city is expanding and with the low employment, the percentage of homelessness in expanding every day. The unemployment rate in the city is the last five years has enhanced by 11 % which has further contributed to the homelessness and addiction rates. The had not been working since the local factory he had been employed in had closed off 30 years ago, resulting in his immediate and irrevocable unemployment. The case study further revealed that the patient had been a smoker and an alcohol addict, and was associated with binge drinking at a local pub on a regular basis. Along with that, his wife had also died recently hence it has had a significant impact on Jim as well. He was not seen by the neighbors and close relative for days and his beloved dog had been wandering around scavenging for food, indicating that he had not been paying attention to his beloved dog either. He had not been answering his phone either. Presently the patient had been reported to the local health care facility with a number of different health adversities. Jim had been showing signs of acute chest infection and had been showing external appearances of being dirty, smelling of stale cigarettes and whiskey, and along with that, he had been swearing at everybody without any provocation either. Hence, with respect to the different signs and symptoms that the patient is exhibiting, it can be mentioned that the patient had been going through two major psychosocial triggers in his life. The first psychosocial trigger had been the unemployment 30 years ago, which had affected him profoundly and has altered his lifestyle and living conditions as well. The second psychosocial trigger identified in the case study chosen for the assignment is the bereavement of his wife the loss of the only family he had left had been an ultimate impact on his psychological condition of the patient completely derailing the living condition and willingness to entertain healthy living.
Psychosocial issues associated with any patient is known to have a singular impact on their mental condition, and along with that, how the impact will be perceived by the patient also has an altering impact on the response of the patient. According to Cooper and Marshall (2013), there is a strong and influential relationship between the mental or emotional well-being of an individual and how they respond to the different environmental triggers. According to the theory of Erik Erikson, there are 8 distinct stages of psychosocial development and each of the developmental stages affect the linear relationship between cause and effect of a life event by the means of a diagnostic process. Hence there is a significant relation between the emotional wellbeing and the resultant health status of a particular individual. Moreover, the altered emotional wellbeing also has the power to effect behavioural patterns by impairing cognitive response pattern.
In this case, the first psychosocial issues that can be discussed in the assignment can be the unemployment that Jim had been facing since the past 30 years of his life. On a more elaborative note, drawing reference from the case study, the patient had been 70 years old and he lost his job at the age of 40, after which attaining another financially secure job can be very difficult, and the patient in the case study could not get another job as well. And as a result that had been a significant impact on his psychological health. According to Griep et al. (2015), unemployment has been discovered as a significant psychosocial issue affecting the lives f the victim, especially when the unemployment is unexpected. As the company or factory that the patient had been working on closed abruptly and as a result, Jim lost his job very abruptly and unexpectedly. It has to be mentioned that such as unexpected loss of financial security at the age of around 40 or older must have taken a huge toll on his mental health and sanity.
On a more elaborative note, researchers have uncovered convincing evidence over the years that the unemployed individuals have been reported to manifest lower levels of psychological well-being and health than the employed individuals. There are various psychological impacts of unemployment on a normal individual, such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Along with that, it has to be mentioned that the psychosocial impact of the unemployment can also propel the victim towards lethal behavioural disorders such as violence and even suicidal or self-harming tendencies. Exploring the underlying reasons behind the profound impact on the behavioural pattern and psychological health of an individual it has to be mentioned that the unemployment is associated with commensurate loss of income. As per the article by Milner, Page and LaMontagne (2013), for the sole earner of any family, the impact of the loss of income for the indefinite future leads to an immediate drop in the socio-economic stature. Along with that, the inability to provide the family with the financial security or the ability to provide standard quality of life and basic necessities can lead to severe break down of the psychological or mental sanity of the individual leading the victim astray. In case of Jim as well, the loss of financial power to sustain himself and his family affected him terribly and caused him to adopt different stress reducing addictions.
The relation between addiction and unemployment has been studied extensively as well, and this factor on its own contributes substantially to unemployment becoming a serious public health priority in the world. Elaborating more, according to the recent survey reports on the alcohol and drug use, one among unemployed individuals have been reported to be associated one or the other type of addiction, whether it is tobacco addiction, alcohol or recreational drugs. As opined by the Strandh et al. (2013), the construct of unemployment is associated with extreme distress and loss of sense of self-worth. The addiction has been reported as the stress relieving mechanism for the unemployed to avoid or escape the harsh realities they are living in. in case of Jim as well, the impact of prolonged unemployment had been a source of extreme distress and lack of self-worth; the inability to provide his wife or family with the basic necessities of life had been culmination of a social issue that had served as a significant push, propelling him towards excessive smoking and binge drinking. Lastly, unemployment as a psychological issue can also affect the normal behavioural patterns, hence for the irritability and irrational behaviour that the patient had been exhibiting can also be directly or indirectly facilitated by the long-term impact of unemployment (Sousa-Ribeiro, Sverke and Coimbra 2014).
Another massive life-altering incident in the life of Jim had been the recent death of his wife. It has to be mentioned in this context that death has a significant impact on the sanity and mental health of an individual. Death represents a distinct pathology in the grief that it imparts. Now it has to be mentioned that grief can impact mentally, emotionally and psychologically. And similar to prolonged unemployment, if not more, a loved one passing away unexpectedly can even affect the relationship of an individual with others and can have a massive effect on the behavior and response. As opined by Currier et al. (2013), grief, facilitated by the bereavement of an individual losing their loved one, can serve as a huge psychosocial trigger leading to e distinct pathology of chronic emotional pain in the victim.
On a more elaborative note, considering the impact of this particular psychosocial issue on the life, there are three characteristics manifestation of the grief in the psyche of an individual. First and foremost, according to Feather (2012), bereavement grief can lead to immense depression and a sense of emptiness in the victim coming to terms with the death. In this case, the patient had been dealing with the death of his better half, hence the impact of the depression and isolation on Jim had been magnified as well. Another very common impact of this psychosocial issue is anger, the inability to save the loved one or escape the inevitable separation from the loved one can turn into an explicable rage towards each and every aspect of life. This rage can be expressed by the victim to anyone that the person comes in context with and as a result the victim can misbehave or appear rude and harsh to anyone he comes in contact with. Exploring the underlying pathophysiology behind the rage, the association of fear and uncertainty can be discussed (Parkes and Prigerson 2013). It has to be mentioned that after the loss of spouse the member left behind can feel a terrible and overwhelming feeling of loss of control which further manifests as the rage and volatile behaviour. In this case, Jim had no financial independence and had no means to save his wife, hence the impact of the loss is magnified several folds due to the added burden of unemployment and lack of financial independence. Hence, coupled with the lack of self-worth due to the unemployment, the impact of the bereavement grief led to Jim becoming overtly volatile, verbally abusive and irrational (Buckley et al. 2012).
In order to understand a particular patient and the issues that they are facing it is crucial for the care professional to assess the situation of the patient. In this case, Jim had been a patient who was under paramount stress due to the recent loss of his wife and was not in his senses due to being heavily drunk, the psychosocial stress of being unemployed and not being able to save his wife contributed to his volatile and abusive behavior. The care professionals will first have to approach the patient very carefully and engage in a therapeutic and mundane conversation with the patient to calm him (Kristensen, Weisæth and Heir 2012). While performing patient assessment and different care activities that patient might easily become violent and abusive, in order to avoid such conditions, the carers will have to be very careful while approaching the patient and practice active listening to provide the patient with the sense of being valued. Given the psychological state of Jim, taking informed consent before approaching the patient is crucial as well. The care providers will have to be mindful of not aggravating the patient any further. Jim should be provided with a warm and comfortable environment to help him relax. Shared decision making is known to empower the patients and help them recover from the psychosocial issues. In this case, as well, Jim should be given the decisive power in planning his care so that the sense of inclusion and empowerment can help him look past the sense of negligence and social rejection. Lastly, in order to better understand the choices and demands of Jim better, the care providers can take the assistance of behavioural therapies to establish better engagement with the patient and nurture a mutually respectful relationship; so that Jim can freely and comfortably share his preferences and grievances with the care providers (Currier et al., 2013).
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, it can be mentioned that psychosocial issues are intricately associated with the different aspects of life. As per the construct of mind-body wellness, the impact of emotional or spiritual health has decisive power on the health status of the patient as well. In this case, the two of the most important psychosocial issues discovered in the case study had been unemployment and the death of his wife. Each of the psychosocial issues had a tremendous impact on the living condition of the patient and the lifestyle choices as explored in the assignment, the patient lost the will to continue with his standard lifestyle and drowned himself in alcohol and tobacco and become increasingly bitter and abusive. Handling patients with such severe psychological trauma can be very difficult. Although. With the strategies outlined in the assignment, the care professionals would be able to understand the patient better and be able to provide safe and effective patient-centered care while addressing each and every concern of the patient.
References:
Barry, A.M. and Yuill, C., 2011. Understanding the sociology of health: An introduction. Sage.
Buckley, T., Sunari, D., Marshall, A., Bartrop, R., McKinley, S. and Tofler, G., 2012. Physiological correlates of bereavement and the impact of bereavement interventions. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 14(2), p.129.
Cooper, C.L. and Marshall, J., 2013. Occupational sources of stress: A review of the literature relating to coronary heart disease and mental ill health. In From Stress to Wellbeing Volume 1 (pp. 3-23). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Currier, J.M., Mallot, J., Martinez, T.E., Sandy, C. and Neimeyer, R.A., 2013. Bereavement, religion, and posttraumatic growth: A matched control group investigation. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(2), p.69.
Feather, N.T., 2012. The psychological impact of unemployment. Springer Science & Business Media.
Fergusson, D.M., McLeod, G.F. and Horwood, L.J., 2014. Unemployment and psychosocial outcomes to age 30: a fixed-effects regression analysis. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(8), pp.735-742.
Griep, Y., Hyde, M., Vantilborgh, T., Bidee, J., De Witte, H. and Pepermans, R., 2015. Voluntary work and the relationship with unemployment, health, and well-being: A two-year follow-up study contrasting a materialistic and psychosocial pathway perspective. Journal of occupational health psychology, 20(2), p.190.
Kristensen, P., Weisæth, L. and Heir, T., 2012. Bereavement and mental health after sudden and violent losses: a review. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 75(1), pp.76-97.
Milner, A., Page, A. and LaMontagne, A.D., 2013. Duration of unemployment and suicide in Australia over the period 1985–2006: an ecological investigation by sex and age during rising versus declining national unemployment rates. J Epidemiol Community Health, 67(3), pp.237-244.
Parkes, C.M. and Prigerson, H.G., 2013. Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life. Routledge.
Sousa-Ribeiro, M., Sverke, M. and Coimbra, J.L., 2014. Perceived quality of the psychosocial environment and well-being in employed and unemployed older adults: the importance of latent benefits and environmental vitamins. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 35(4), pp.629-652.
Strandh, M., Hammarström, A., Nilsson, K., Nordenmark, M. and Russel, H., 2013. Unemployment, gender and mental health: The role of the gender regime. Sociology of health & illness, 35(5), pp.649-665.
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