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Allan Lin

Sarah Summers

English 137H

23 October 2012

(Title)

Doctors used to believe that all disease was caused by a particular virus, bacteria, or physical injury. However in recent years, the field has moved to incorporate the relatively nascent field of psychology in a shift towards what is known as the biopsychosocial model of medicine. This is a new method of looking at patients and focuses not only on the physical well-being, but also their psychological and social health. The increased levels of social connectivity and dramatic increase in stress have caused many doctors to notice and treat patients in new ways beyond simple biological methods. These changes have dramatically improved the state of American health care and show the necessity for advancement in the field of medicine.

During the mid-1900s doctors began to focus on the biomedical aspect of medicine where the focus was entirely based on the biology and physiology of the body. However, the shift in modern medicine can be seen through the influx of new psychiatrists over the past 40 years. According to Scully, “Since 1970, psychiatry has grown 86.7%, while child psychiatry has grown 194.6%.” (Scully N.P.) The new modern focus on health encourages people to be healthy with regards to their body and mind. The demand for psychologists has been expanding at a very rapid pace and provides an accurate depiction of Americans’ perception of what they need in order to stay healthy. Most of the time doctors whether on television or on real life are the ones who inform the public about maximizing health which shows that this shift towards mental health is very strong and prevalent.

Americans today are much more stressed and overworked than their counterparts thirty years ago. They have to do longer hours to work every day, the economy is doing poorly, and people are much more aware about stressful news and events in the world around them. According to a stress done by Carnegie Mellon increased stress levels are extremely harmful to health, Cohen states that “But, it’s clear that stress is still very much present in Americans’ lives, putting them at greater risk for many diseases such as cardiovascular, asthma and autoimmune disorders.” (Cohen N.P.) Cohen’s research shows that there’s an emphasis on preventing physical diseases by using mental and psychological methods of reducing stress. It shows that there’s a growing concern towards how there are different ways to get heart disease or lung disease than simply through eating unhealthily or breathing bad air. Obviously doctors are working towards improving both, but they also show that they are committed to finding every method they can to prevent disease including psychology.

Working Americans are not the only people who have more to worry about today. Many students are also forced to deal with an increased workload and the stress of growing unemployment numbers after college. With a bad economy and increasing competition from foreign nations, many students have to put themselves through more strain and effort in order to keep up and succeed. Even children in elementary school are seeing the effects of intense focus on the education system. In an article, Marcia Clemmitt states that schools are pushing harder and harder in order to keep up with government tests and standards for their students to read and do math at earlier ages. She says, “The average homework load for first-through third- graders has doubled over the past two decades, even though research shows homework doesn’t benefit such young children.” (Clemmitt N.P.) Even though there really isn’t any necessity for more work at this age, children are being forced to think about school when they should be focused on playing and having fun. By forcing younger and younger children to do more and more work, they will only know stress in the future and this will lead to many health complications that the future doctors and researchers have to account for. Child psychology jobs have almost doubled from 30 years ago and shows a growing health model more oriented towards ensuring that the children are mentally adjusted to their newfound workload.

Society today is much more connected than ever before and maintaining a healthy relationship with everybody online has become difficult and there is almost never any time to be alone. Every person is forced to constantly find ways in order to maintain their relationships and balance their work. If people are forced to work too much, their social life will take a hit and according to the new model of health, social well being is integral to leading a healthy lifestyle. According to an article from “The Telegraph” This increased level of interaction with peers has forced people to talk more and to think about the right thing to say with everybody. Personally I don’t want to get a smartphone because there is just too much connectivity and I have to constantly know about what my peers are doing.

 

 

Works Cited

Clemmitt, Marcia. “Students Under Stress.” CQ Researcher 17.25 (2007): n. pag. CQ Researcher. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2007071300&type=hitlist&num=52>.

Green, Alexander R., J. Carillo, and Joseph R. Betancourt. “Why the Disease-based Model of Medicine Fails Our Patients.” Western Journal of Medicine 176.2 (2002): 141-43. Print.

“Popular Facebook Users ‘feel More Stress'” The Telegraph. N.p., 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <Popular Facebook users ‘feel more stress’>.

Rea, Shilo. “Press Release: Who’s Stressed in the US? Carnegie Mellon Researchers Study Adult Stress Levels From 1983-2009-Carnegie Mellon News – Carnegie Mellon University.” Press Release: Who’s Stressed in the US? Carnegie Mellon Researchers Study Adult Stress Levels From 1983-2009-Carnegie Mellon News – Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon, 12 June 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2012/june/june12_stressstudy.html>.

Scully, James H., and Joshua E. Wilk. “Selected Characteristics and Data of Psychiatrists in the United States, 2001-2002.” Academic Psychiatry 27.4 (2003): n. pag. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=47874>.


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