Question

Chapter 15 HDEV really shifts the focus to physical development and highlights many important changes that impact our perception of us and how we interact with the world around us. Here, I'd like to consider how psychology and health interact. What harm can stress potentially do to the immune system of the middle-aged adult? What types environmental and social factors contribute to an increase in stress during this period in life? What do you believe to be the state of health and physical well-being of middle aged adults in the United States? Please make sure to provide support for your perspective. How does the text suggest that people can maintain good health during middle adulthood? What are some of the major factors that seem to contribute to poor health during this stage in life?

Answer 1

Stress tends to release certain hormones in the body that are essentially harmful for the physiology. These include cortisol. It is a hormone that tends to negatively impact very many factors in an individual. For instance, it tends to store more fat in the body and make an individual prone to issues like obesity. In this case, wherein middle aged adults are being talked about, stress is likely to impact the entire immune system since the body may be deteriorating in this phase of life. Any physiological disruptions and stress induced tension in the body is likely to have devastating impacts. Environmental factors that are stressful such as lack of hygiene, poor availability of resources, lack of belongingness and lack of societal connections, poor relationships and lack of self-growth opportunities may have an individual become more prone to succumb to stressors. Moreover, the diathesis stress model may play a vital role, wherein the innate genetic predisposition to succumb to stress may interact with the stressors in the environment in order to lead to stress induced impact in a person's life. In the US, the mental health of individuals may be reduced due to the increased stress inducing factors that prevail in the society today. Some of them are peer pressure including the one initiated by social media, etc. In order to maintain good health in the middle adulthood, it is important to embrace the age gracefully, while still focusing on the opportunities rather than the stressors. For this, one must have a certain path or a direction where one is led.Some factors that lead to poor heath in this stage are ignoring one's health and well-being (poor nutrition and lack of physical exercise), avoiding the importance of sleep cycle, in case of women issues related to menopause may be intrusive and also use of substances or maladaptive measures in order to deal with stress, may actually end up escalating the matter.