1. What are the major causes of stress in your life? What coping strategies do you use, and what could you do to deal with stress more effectively?
I recognize that I am someone who is under a great deal of stress and does not deal with it well. I suffer from stress because of schoolwork, the demands of extracurricular activities, social life, and family life. When I encounter a lot of stress in one of those areas it is usually pretty manageable for me. However when coming to school is frustrating and stressful and I return home to the same type of atmosphere, that's when i have difficulty coping. The best thing for me to do when I become overwhelmed with stress is go for a run. I run through all three seasons of the year and it is something that I truly have a passion for. I run every day after school and I think it provides a nice break between school and going home to do all my homework and studying. Although I am still stressed I don't know where I'd be without that daily jog.
2. Examine your film notes and homework notes. After watching the film and reading the article about stress, explain why stress is so dangerous to your health in a variety of ways. Why do you think America leads the world in stress-related diseases?
I have learned that stress can do terrible things to your body like cause ulcers, high blood pressure, clogged arteries, diabetes, and possibly even cancer. I have also seen that too much stress can cause the immune system to shut down. This is one system that I found very interesting because throughout my high school years I have gotten very sick for fairly long periods of time. It got me a little concerned and now I realize I really need to get my stress level under control. I think America leads the world in stress-related diseases because we are the country that is most advanced in everything from technology to government. We live in a society where people always tell us what we don't have or what we need to live up to. Too much of trying to reach such high standards leads to a significant amount of stress.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
10/12 "The Brain: A User's Guide"
Prompt: Imagine that you are writing several paragraphs in a book called "The Brain: A User's Guide." What are the three most important insights about the early development of the human brain (from birth to the teenage years) that you would include? Explain each of your choices in detail, and why these ideas were of particular interest to you.
I think that there is an important insight that comes from each stage of life: baby, child, and teenager. For a baby I think it is most important to realize that vision is the last thing to develop in a human. I think everyone around a newborn must understand that at first babies see the world through what looks like a foggy photograph. This is something that parents and other family members must take into account when they interact with their child or try to teach them new things. It is also very important that because vision is the something so important to detect issues with because any damage done could become life-long.
The most important thing to understand about a child is the extreme plasticity of the brain at a young age. It is so important for parents to know this because this aspect of a child's development can either work for or against them. If parents provide a loving environment for the child to grow up in, he will develop properly. However, if parents fail to care for their child in a compassionate, welcoming world, that will serve as a huge detriment for the future of the child.
Finally, the most important fact to be understood about a teenager is that every single one's brain is not yet fully developed. I think teenagers are often misunderstood because it is expected that they can all make adult decisions. It is very interesting to learn that it's not that teens choose not to make appropriate choices, they are physically incapable because their frontal cortex (the station for proper decision making) is not fully developed. This leaves adolescents most susceptible to diseases like schizophrenia.
I think that there is an important insight that comes from each stage of life: baby, child, and teenager. For a baby I think it is most important to realize that vision is the last thing to develop in a human. I think everyone around a newborn must understand that at first babies see the world through what looks like a foggy photograph. This is something that parents and other family members must take into account when they interact with their child or try to teach them new things. It is also very important that because vision is the something so important to detect issues with because any damage done could become life-long.
The most important thing to understand about a child is the extreme plasticity of the brain at a young age. It is so important for parents to know this because this aspect of a child's development can either work for or against them. If parents provide a loving environment for the child to grow up in, he will develop properly. However, if parents fail to care for their child in a compassionate, welcoming world, that will serve as a huge detriment for the future of the child.
Finally, the most important fact to be understood about a teenager is that every single one's brain is not yet fully developed. I think teenagers are often misunderstood because it is expected that they can all make adult decisions. It is very interesting to learn that it's not that teens choose not to make appropriate choices, they are physically incapable because their frontal cortex (the station for proper decision making) is not fully developed. This leaves adolescents most susceptible to diseases like schizophrenia.
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