What are psychosocial factors?

The term psychosocial can be defined as the psychological and social factors that affects human mental and physical wellness. Social factors like parental support, peer pressure, religious and cultural background, interpersonal relationship and socioeconomic status all together influence psychological makeup and personality of person (Macleod & Smith, 2008). Person with the psychosocial issues face difficulty functioning around other people in any kind of social situation and may feel uncomfortable communicating with them.

Psychosocial factors like hostility, hopelessness, depression, stress and job control are associated with the physical health of any individual (Rosenblatt & Meyer, 2017). Psychosocial factors have influence on several types of mental illness like substance abuse, anxiety, somatoform disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders There are several causes of these psychosocial issues that triggers them.

Any kind of physical, emotional or sexual abuse perpetrated by one partner on another whether in current or past relationship is known as domestic violence. In other words, the abuse towards the children, women & elderly people of the family. Domestic Violence have profound effect on mental and physical well-being (Velea, et al., 2015). This trauma further triggers other psychosocial issues like depression and various mental disorder. It has been found that perpetrators of domestic violence are associated with drug use which father worsens the situation. The various types of domestic violence initiates when a person tries to control issues. The intensity of domestic violence further increases when involved people are addicted to substance abuse. In a Memphis study of night time arrests out of 72 cases, 92% of them were using alcohol and drugs, 67% used the combination of both cocaine and alcohol and approximately half of them were taking either drug or alcohol on daily basis for previous month prior to the origination of any violence. This further proves the statement that a person taking drug have higher chance of indulging in violence. But it was also found that 42% the victims were using alcohol or drug on the day they were assaulted. It was often found that, the assailant used violence only to control the victim’s unpredictable behavior because of the substance abuse.

 The person who are involved in substance abuse do not have control over their behaviour & hence often becomes violent in their action. As most often people do not share these issues outside their family which further increases their stress level & thus indulge themselves in substance abuse. This unhealthy environment affects other members of the family as well which further affects their mental health.

Psychosocial issues triggering mental illness

Depression is one of the major mental health issue in the world. It is a mental disorder but it also influences human wellbeing and physical health if it is left untreated. It is most widespread psychological disorder which can be caused by social factors like:

• Interpersonal relationship that includes relationship within family such as between parents and children’s and relationship between spouse.
• Social environment when there is difference between social class, race, ethnicity and culture.
• Marital issues, gender inequalities etc.

Depression is one of the top four leading cause of disability in the world. The World Health Organization has estimated that by 2020, depression will be the second most leading cause of disability (Ghadirian, 2015). Due to its adverse effect on individual psychological, physical and spiritual wellbeing, it distrusts quality of person’s life and impairs normal functioning. It results with negative health outcomes decreasing life expectancy, increasing suicidal tendency and cardiac diseases.

The most common psychosocial factor that triggers depression are crisis and stress. According to the recent study, it has been estimated that approximately 75% of people who have a major depression has experienced stressful life. These psychosocial and interpersonal stressors directly influence the brain and neurophysiological activities of person that leads to the depression.

There is also other psychosocial distress that leads to depression are poverty, discrimination, inequality, racism, violence, abuse, neglect etc. which are the major cause of depression in many countries. There are many side effects of depression that can be often seen at school, home, work and also affects persons personal relationship (Anon., 2017).

There are several signs and symptoms of depression such as feeling sad, tiredness, loss of energy, difficulty in concentration, loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, not able to enjoy pleasurable or interesting thing, always feeling anxious, feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, sleeping disorder, loss of appetite, strong feelings of worthlessness and guilt, physical pains and aches, ignoring friends and family, thinking about death and suicide and self-harm. Many depressed people start taking alcohol and drugs and shows aggressive and abusive behavior. They are also preoccupied with thoughts of hurting themselves or death.

There are other several factors that causes depression which are as follows:

• Physical, emotional and sexual abuse
• Personal conflicts and disputes with friends and family members
• Serious illness
• Substance abuse
• Sadness or grief
• Genetics

Depression directly affects how people feel, behave and reacts on any situation which have huge influence on their physical health. Major depression i.e. an advanced form of depression, is a serious condition that have dramatic influence on the quality of individuals life. Symptoms of depression includes sense of guilt, sadness and grief. They also have feeling of hopelessness and emptiness. It is also a big challenge for them to understand these symptoms of depression as it can cause physical reactions also (Sirey, 2013).

Impact of domestic violence on mental and physical health

• Central nervous system: Depression can affect central nervous system but many of the symptoms can be ignored and easily dismissed. Elderly people have difficulty in determining cognitive changes as it is related to a process of getting older. They face more issues with memory loss and other everyday activities in comparison with younger people with depression (Legg, 2017). People crying frequently can be symptom of depression but not everyone with depression cries. They also feel tired all the time and have problem sleeping at night. They also get irritated and angry easily and do not show any interest in the things that they used to like and brings pleasure to them, including sex and sports.
• Headaches, muscle aches and fatigue: It also causes severe chronic body aches, pain and headaches that may not respond to any medicines. They also have problem maintaining normal work life and fulfilling social commitment. This may be because of difficulties in remembering things, making decisions and inability to concentrate. Depression can also be seen in children. They show symptoms like persistent worry and clinginess and avoids to go to school. They may also be excessively negative and irritable. It increases the pain sensitivity in person. being depressed and taking antidepressant decreases interest in sex.

• Change in appetite:Depression has a huge influence on digestive system. Though it is thought to cause mental illness, it plans a big role in nutrition and appetite. Some depressed people tend to overeat and gain weight that tends to cause obesity related health diseases like type-2 diabetes. But some people lose appetite completely and do not eat right amount of healthy and nutritious food. This sudden loss of appetite may lead to geriatric anorexia in older adults. Eating problems can also show symptoms like cramps, malnutrition, stomach aches and constipations. If a person does not take a proper diet then these issues cannot be solved by taking medicines only. So, it is important to take proper healthy diet when person is experiencing depression. They should take essential nutrients to make sure the neurotransmitters in body are working properly. They should take proper amount of nutrition’s and vitamins like vitamin B, omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids and minerals.
• Cardiovascular diseases: Stress and depressions are closely related. The hormones that causes stress speed heart rate and tightens the blood vessels putting human body in a state of emergency that may lead to heart diseases. Depression should be treated on time as untreated depression increases the risk of dying due to heart attack. It is also triggered by heart diseases.

• Weakened immunity:It has negative influence on immune system that make health more vulnerable to diseases and infections (Ford, 2017). Depressed people have high inflammatory signals in their body than normal people. Because of this they get sick very often. It increases the level of stress hormones that affects every process of body from metabolism to blood pressure.
• Sleep problems: It directly affects human brain. They feel sad and emptiness always and feel guilt and hopelessness. Depression may lead to insomnia and make feel uncomfortable, restlessness and difficulties quieting their mind. They have constant random thoughts because of which they could not calm the mind.

Due to depression people experiences social effects that includes social and family withdrawal, substance use and abuse, decreased performance at school or work (Lerner, et al., 2014). Depression affects work life of a person a depression is a condition where person has a mood disorder. It affects persons emotions, thinking relationships and task performance. A working person may have large impact of depression on quality of work and satisfaction.

Most depressed employees do not seek treatment because of fear of affect it will have on job and due to concern about confidentiality. Depressed mood and unbalanced emotional level affects work life in

It decreases the task performance of depressed person. Due to depressed mood, people feel difficulties to manage their work responsibilities and could not deal with changes and extra work effort. they always feel sad, irritated and emotionally numb which makes harder for them to do work and enjoy it (Guardalabene, 2013). Depressed people have difficulties with concentration memory and decision making that has negative impact on work efficiency and accuracy. they avoid coworkers or have frequent conflicts with them due to mood disorders which prevents from efficient team work and leading to less supportive workplace (Netterstrøm, et al., 2008).

The impact of depression can be devastating in each area of a person’s life. People suffering from depression can face difficulty having even a simple conversation Since depressed people are going through several symptoms like chronic pains, digestive disorders, headache, decision making etc. then definitely it will affect individual social life (Tarcy, 2018). Depressed person has low confidence so they are always worried about that the approval from people around them. They stop attending social events and stay in their room, avoid talking to others and think about their sadness. Depressed people do not have a lot of energy and enthusiasm to socialize with other as socializing with other needs high energy level.

Due to depression people have difficulty connecting to others they have lost interest on hobbies and has difficulties being happy and excited about lot of things since they don’t find socializing a rewarding thing. This is the reason many employees lose their job because they don’t like talking to other people. social situation for depressed people can be very critical (Anon., 2011). Even a little sign of negativity can have big impact on depressed life. Their negative attitude may have big influence on other people around. Depression can come either as extreme sadness or extreme anger, so it is normal for depressed people to be down on everybody they socialize with. As their self-esteem is very low they cannot handle negative reaction from anyone which restricts them to socialize.

Depression: a major mental health issue

Depression disrupts every relationship of depressed person. Due to their mood swings, and irritability, whole members in family gets affected. They even show abusive and aggressive behaviors which sets off conflicts in relationships. Due to their negative thought patterns, people around them are influenced in negative way. Because of this they start to feel as if they are burden for the family and yet could not do anything to control it. They start to feel helpless and powerless and start to maintain distance from family and friends. They feel guilty and their self-esteem decreases even more.

Conclusion:

From the above paper it is evident that the psychosocial issues affect both mental and physical health of human being. Domestic violence, neglect or abuse, poverty, trauma, cultural and societal role, mental health, stress, disabilities, family dynamics are the risk factors that triggers psychosocial issues like depression, anxiety, stress etc. causing severe health issues in human body. The environmental, societal and biological factors also play important role in the individual behavior and health. Due to increasing work pressure, conflicts in relationships, mental trauma, people are more likely to suffer from mental diseases that influence functioning of entire body.

From this paper it is also obvious that depression is one of the most common mental illness found in people. By 2020 it will be the second most leading cause of mental health problem. Because of depression people are not able to live their life in normal way and function properly. They face problems interacting with others, performing daily activities and socializing with people. They prefer staying inside the room, thinking about their problems as they could not take any negative judgement from others. They are not able to manage their work life, relationships and even lose interest in most of the things, even their hobbies. They face hard time while concentrating, could not finish work on time, disputes with coworkers or they prefer to avoid them. Due to such issues most of depressed people end up losing their job. Depression has also adverse effect on human physical health. They have issues remembering, difficulty in concentration, insomnia, fatigue, weak immune system, mood disorders, increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Due to depression people suffers from many chronic diseases like gastritis, type-2 diabetes.

Hence from this paper it can be concluded that there are many social and psychological factors that influence human health both physically and mentally. Mental issues like depression can be controlled if treated on time. By the help of professional and family it can be treated. Social support, exercise, nutrient rich food, stress reduction, proper sleep, healthy relationship etc. helps to prevent depression.

References

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