Rahul, 42, manages a bank branch in Pune. For eight months he has faced heavy targets, late hours and little help at home. His heart races and his blood pressure has gone up. He keeps forgetting figures he read a few minutes earlier, and he has made two wrong loan decisions that cost the bank money. At home he swings from anger to sadness and has begun avoiding his friends, which makes him feel less sure of himself. His doctor finds stomach ulcers and frequent headaches, and notes that Rahul now catches colds and infections far more often than before.
Rahul's stomach ulcers and frequent headaches belong to which group of disorders linked with stress?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Psychosomatic disorders
Option (1) Anxiety disorders — Incorrect. Anxiety disorders are psychological disorders marked by constant worry and fear (taught in the chapter on psychological disorders). Ulcers and headaches are bodily illnesses, so they do not belong to this group.
Option (2) Cardiovascular disorders — Incorrect. Cardiovascular disorders are diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Rahul's raised blood pressure points that way, but ulcers and headaches are not heart problems.
Option (3) Immune deficiency disorders — Incorrect. These come from a weakened immune system, like the virus that attacks T-helper cells. They explain frequent infections.
Option (4) Psychosomatic disorders — Correct. Psychosomatic disorders are real bodily illnesses in which the mind, through stress, plays a large part. Ulcers and headaches are examples, along with asthma and allergies, so Rahul's doctor's findings fit here.
NCERT (2026-27): “Stress and Health … “Researchers estimate that stress plays an important role in fifty to seventy per cent of all physical illnesses. Studies also reveal that sixty per cent of medical visits are primarily for stress-related symptoms.” |