Common-Sense Ruminations on Illness, Essay Example

Common-Sense Models (CSM) of illness are self-regulatory (Caltabiano et al., 2008). That makes sense on the face of it, because unless the problem is mental illness, each person will be the first to become aware of a symptom of illness, or the illness itself. We must each decide what to do or not to do. Even ignoring it requires a kind of decision, although it might only be a subconscious one. As self-regulators, we must think (or not) about what is causing a problem; find out what can be done and do it (or not); and then experience the results (if any).  There are five components to this process, given below. I will explain each by imagining two “ruminations” that might occur to Laura, a woman who has just discovered a lump in her breast.

Cognitive domain Ruminations/Thoughts

References

Caltabiano, M. L. (2008). Health Psychology: Biopsychosocial Interactions (2nd Australian ed.). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia.