What do your body’s systems have to do with chronic stress and health psychology? Well, a lot. However, before I delve into them, it’s probably a good idea to give you an understanding of the different types of psychologists and their respective roles.
It’s amazing how many people think that all psychologists sit in an office and write notes while their clients explain specific behaviours, thoughts, feelings and emotions. We call this ‘talking therapy’, and yes, many psychologists do listen and take notes; attentive listening and note taking are important tools used by mental health counsellors, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and couples and family therapists.
It’s how all public-facing mental health practitioners guide their clients to identify and change specific thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours that interfere with their daily lives, causing them distress.
However, various psychologists don’t sit in offices listening to clients and taking notes. These are the psychologists that operate behind the scenes in universities, hospitals, institutions, organisations and governments. They focus on a range of human behaviours within specific areas of research that either help us understand human behaviour or influence it. The latter is not always beneficial for us humans.
When it comes to public-facing mental health practitioners, psychiatrists hold the highest position in the hierarchy. They are qualified medical doctors trained in the medical sciences, biology, physiology, psychology, and behaviour. They do valuable work in diagnosing and treating mental illness with medications and therapies. Psychiatrists understand how brain and body systems interact; unfortunately, many still prescribe SSRIs for depression, anxiety, and other illnesses, despite evidence that they harm crucial brain-body systems.
In contrast, psychologists focus on how specific emotions, thoughts, feelings, behaviours and social issues influence mental functioning and contribute to mental illness. They deal only with the mind and behaviour. All psychologists are educated and trained in communication skills and mental health issues.
They do not prescribe medications, but make valuable contributions by specialising in certain areas, approaches and techniques.
While they hold an important place in the mental health practitioner hierarchy, only some will have done extra training in personal development. Consequently, few psychologists focus on how the mind impacts the body’s systems and how mental illness can lead to physical illness and vice versa. When choosing a psychologist, it’s vital that you select one educated and trained in your specific area of distress.
Finding the right psychologist can be a difficult task; the following short list of public-facing mental health practitioners may help make it easier.
Clinical psychologists and counselling psychologists overlap in some areas. Both evaluate, diagnose and treat psychological distress and mental illness. Clinical psychologists work in hospitals and private practice and deal with severe mental illness. Many specialise in specific areas such as substance abuse or child, adult or geriatric mental health.
Counselling psychologists generally work in the public arena. They use a variety of different therapies and techniques, including psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, person-centered and general counselling, to alleviate specific mental issues. Their goal is to give you psychological tools for life.
Your local psychologist and therapist will most likely fall under one of these categories. The school psychologist helps both parents and students with academic, emotional, behavioural and social issues in school settings.
Last but not least, founded about 20 years ago in the UK, the US and most EU countries, the newest branch of psychology, health psychology. The study of biological, physiological, psychological, behavioural and social factors that influence health, illness and healthcare.
Health psychologists are educated and trained in brain-body systems and the connections between physical and mental illness and health. They use behavioural science to help change attitudes and behaviour about health, illness and healthcare, to produce better health results. They focus on mental and physical “illness behaviours” that damage organ systems and work to provide better health approaches to improve quality of life.
With excellent research and practical skills, they work in public, corporate and government arenas conducting assessments, gathering evidence, analysing medical records and investigating the effects of medications on brain-body systems.
The word “health” in “health psychology” is not merely for show. It exists because health psychologists assess both the physical and psychological aspects thoroughly, recognising that all physical and mental illnesses stem from chronic stress and alleviating this stress is crucial for an improved quality of life.
These are the psychological, biological, physiological and behavioural health detectives, trained in all organ systems, bridging the gap between psychiatrists and psychologists.
The following are some of your body’s systems. Your cardiovascular system: heart, blood and blood vessels. Your respiratory system: lungs, trachea (windpipe) and airways. Your endocrine or hormonal system: all glands that secrete hormones into your bloodstream. Your lymphatic system: lymph vessels, nodes, ducts and various glands. Your digestive or gastrointestinal system: mouth, esophagus (food pipe), stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. Your urinary system: kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Your nervous system: central, peripheral, somatic, and autonomic nervous systems. Your immune system: lymph nodes, bone marrow, adenoids, tonsils and spleen, and last but not least, the male and female reproductive systems.
All these systems are made of atoms that, together with molecules, cells, tissues, organs and organ systems, are the building blocks that work together to activate specific functions of all your body’s structures. They carry out or instigate the carrying out of all bodily activities that provide the vital physiological needs of your body, thus your life.
From the tiniest atom to the largest organ and the longest organ system in your body, these building blocks are the foundations your brain and body are built on. These must be kept in optimum working order; if not, the systems that depend on them will collapse. Chronic stress damages all these systems, and you are the creator of your own chronic stress.
In the following months, we’ll focus on how chronic stress damages these major organ systems, and, in turn, your physical and mental health … and how to avoid this.
