Survival-Your Worst Nightmare Unleased

Inside Edition aired a piece on a March 3, 2010 between the time of 7:00 pm. to 8:00 p.m. titled:
Woman Survives 5 Days After Crash.

In this story a middle aged woman, Cindy Blair-Hoover in the darkness of night swerved to avoid hitting a deer on a highway on the outside of Denver. Her car went down a steep embankment and rolled over several times. The car ended upside down and on a ledge. She realized that her neck and back were broken, and several of her ribs were also broke. Cindy managed to use golf clubs to pull herself out of the car and fend off the wild animals that roamed the rocky mountains. No one could hear her desperate yell for help. Even in her weak and broken state she tired to holler for assistance. None came! Day after day and night after night she held tight to her golf clubs to protect herself from the coyotes that she could hear in the near distance. She survived on the rain, snow, and sleet that pounded on the earth to quench her thirst. She had to survive and she did. On day five she heard voices and managed to drag herself about 450 feet to a mine where the owners were giving a tour. Her instinct to survive did not fade, but keep on going even when she was floating in and out of consciousness. What a great story and one that ended on a happy note.

In Chapter 8 it talks about a 2 year old child being alone for 19 days without proper food and water . Her dad was worried about the child and since he could not get in contact with the mother, he called the police. This is when he finds out that mom was in jail. The story unravels from there. He finds his child in the mothers apartment naked, dirty and covered in dried food. Much of what she ate was mustard, ketchup, and dried spaghetti and whatever else she could find in the lower cabinets and refrigerator. Her will to survive was high. Also in Chapter 8 it discusses sensorimotor state, page 326, from birth to age 2. She used her senses and motor ability to learn about her surrounding and to survive being left alone. The child was in the preoperational stage too, page 326, 2-7 years of age, since she could move freely and was developing language and concepts. Yet, not capable of logical thought. I also believe this child survived alone as she did with physiological reactions that our bodies will go through in a crisis. This was mentioned and talked about in Chapter 11, pages 444-445, in the general adaptation syndrome or GAS syndrome. The 2 year old went through the alarm phase, resistance phase, and then the exhaustion phase once her dad found her. What relief she must have felt at that time! Safe and with a loved one.

What a great ending to a sad start. Can you imagine being left alone at that age? Wouldn't it be your worst nightmare unleased? Do you think you could survive for 19 days not knowing where your mom or dad is? Think about it. With the insight we have now from reading through our psychology book are you better prepared?

I believe we have gained a greater knowledge from reading and going through this class. We have looked deep inside ourselves as well as others. We are who we are through many factors that start with our genetic make-up!

It’s All in Your Head

The Rise of Hypochondria
Parade’s HealthyStyle*March/April 2010

Hypochondriasis or hypochondria as it is commonly known as, affects many Americans. They believe that they are seriously ill no matter how small their symptoms are. A simple headache can trigger a hypochondriac that they have a brain tumor.

With the use of the Internet’s medical web links, a new strain of hypochondria has been called “cyberchondria.” A major problem has erupted that has caused the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a five year study to compare the effectiveness of treatments, because people affected by this disorder cannot really focus on anything else. With this study they hope the results will eliminate the billons of dollars that is currently being wasted on unnecessary doctor visits and tests.

This article states that you can develop hypochondria through a childhood illness or from the death of a loved one. A hypochondriac hears the test results are negative and cannot believe what is being relied to them. Whereas a normal person hearing that the test results are negative, would believe their doctor. In other words, the hypochondria would hear the negative results (if you can convince them) and a few days later would come back complaining of something else. Treatments have been medication and cognitive therapy to teach patients how to put that energy into other thoughts. Have the patient write down different ways that the pain/illness could have happened thus slowing down the pattern of obsessive impulses. Even with medication and cognitive therapy it may not be enough.

In Chapter 14, page 571 Hypochondriasis is mentioned as a Somatoform Disorder. A person that has this type of disorder worries constantly about being sick or getting sick. They are convinced they have some sort of disease and focuses on those symptoms. The symptoms can be real and exaggerated and unimportant to the point they are imagined. They waste doctors’ time looking for a medical explanation of some dreadful disease they do not have. The people are called hypochondriacs!
My husband had an aunt that complained about every little thing and always had some sort of ailment to back it up, but in the long run she did not. She always was worried sick about a pain or illness that was not there and no doctor would help her. She was a HYPOCHONDRIAC!
In Chapter 15, pages 610 and 611, one approach in cognitive therapy focuses on getting the patient to change their way of thinking and to try and get that person to not think about the behavior itself, but to think of ways to overcome the problem and to think more logically and rationally.

Do you know anyone that fits this description? Could it even be you? Have you ever had a tendency to believe the worst?

Days of Wine and Roses in 1962 and Today!

Setting is 1962 with a black and white film that was made called: Days of Wine and Roses.

It stars Jack Lemmon as Joe Clay, a public relations man and Lee Remick, as Kirsten Arnesen as his secretary and later wife. They end up having a daughter named Debbie who is affected by their addiction to alcohol.

Joe goes from being a social drinker to to a full throttle alcoholic and brings his wife into the picture by getting her started by socially drinking. She likes the way it makes her feel and starts to drink to maintain that feeling. To pass the time while Joe is away, Kirsten drinks out of boredom and sets the apartment on fire almost killing herself and their child, Debbie.

Joe ends up being demoted and loses his job for lack of performance due to his drinking. He is committed to a sanitarium twice and eventually gets the help he needs to kick his habit with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is after he walks by a bar and sees his reflection in the window and sees himself as a bum. What a great revelation! Joe does kick his habit and becomes a father to his daughter. However, his wife continues to booze it up in the sea of despair. In a last minute attempt, Kirsten comes to the apartment and Joe will not have the life he used to have and tells her so. It is just the two of them and Debbie with no booze whatsoever.

The ending says it all. Who did Kirsten pick? Was it a life with Joe and Debbie, their daughter or was it with the darkness of the addiction? She picked: darkness and despair.

In Chapter 4 pages: 162-163 talks about how alcohol is commonly used and abused. Health risk are associated with the liver, brain, and the heart as well as how it affects your work and social life. Alcohol is a depressant that gives you the illusion of being a stimulant. Your inhibitions are soon out the door and you are prone to do things/actions that you would not normally do. There is a large amount of alcohol related deaths each year. People who suffer psychological distress and think that alcohol is a great way to relieve their stress are more likely to develop alcohol abuse and dependence on it. Alcohol can cause many disorders, one mentioned in our book is Korsakoff's syndrome, a form of dementia by a severe lack of B1 vitamin from drinking too much and not eating. Concerned about a loved one? On page 162 of the Psychology book there is a link near the bottom of the page for a free/easy online assessment.

Where do you stand on the subject? Does alcohol have a hold on you?

Alcohol abuse happened in 1962 and earlier and it is still happening today and it will into the future.

What's in a Label--Asperger's vs Autism?

In the March/April issue of Scholastic Administrator there is an article on Asperger's and Autism labels relating to special education services. This particular article showed a family (the Gibson's) that had four sons with different forms of autism. The APA (American Psychiatric Association) announced they were removing Asperger's syndrome from the official diagnostic manual. Many parents were outraged and some were just split on the decision. Today's finding states that six out of ten thousand children has an autism spectrum disorder and about two in ten thousand children have Asperger's. They do not want these children with Asperger's placed on the same spectrum as Autism. This would put more demand on special education services within and outside of our school system, and if the effect would be negative or positive. Autism qualifies automatically for special education services where as Asperger's does not have a clear outcome. Asperger's has a process to determine eligibility for services. High test scores with strong language skills on paper can cover up the need for services. Making the change to remove Asperger's from the manual would put more strain on special education services with more children labeled under the autism spectrum. Parents fear an increase in the number of children who would qualify for services being labeled as autism disorder will stress the system more than it already has.

In reading this article it is scary to think about removing items from manuals once they exist. To me Asperger's and Autism is on the board spectrum. Autism is listed in Chapter Two page 83 and Chapter Five page 204. Autism is an disorder in which a person has difficulty in communicating with others. This disorder also will effect the person in that they will not look at others and sometimes do not like to be touched. Even though Asperger's is categorized with autism spectrum disorders, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language. Autism affects how information is processed in the brain by changing how nerve cells and their respective synapse connect and put into order. Why mess with what has already been written? Why remove it for the diagnostic manual? It would affect so many children in our educational facilities. It would put more into the system that can be streamlined into regular classrooms. I have already seen that some Autism children can be streamlined and thrive in a normal classroom atmosphere rather than be self contained. I have seen Asperger children thrive in a self contained atmosphere where they get specialized attention to suit their needs.

Now--What do you think???? Leave the two disorders or combine to just one? Can you give an honest opinion if you have never seen either one of these disorders? Think about it!

Diet and Depression--What's New?

Can eating a healthy diet, which includes fruit, fish, and veggies reduce your chances of suffering from depression? Researchers in London have done research on over 3000 people for five years to test their theory. Amazingly or not, eating a healthy diet (no processed foods) showed test subjects with no signs of depression, but those that ate processed foods, such as processed meats, sweets, fried foods, high fat food products had harmful side effects on the subjects that lead to depression. This is not to say that a diet of just processed foods causes depression, but that the evidence is there to support the claim. Food that is not healthy for the body should be consumed in moderation. Proper foods, non processed items would be of a greater benefit to your overall health. You can also see in relationship to this that eating the wrong foods can lead to other issues. Obesity and heart disease to name a couple.

Depression can eat away at your whole being. We are always hearing about the effects of eating a good healthy, balanced diet along with enough fiber in our system. Eating the wrong foods, processed items makes us sluggish and now can has an indication causing depression.

I know growing up and even now, I purchase processed foods! One is because it is cheaper (not a good excuse, but a true one) and readily available for consumers. Healthy alternatives such as fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive and at times hard to find. I grow a garden in the summer time because I am a lover of fresh foods during this time. I could just eat veggies and fruits in the summer. I try and freeze and can veggies when I can so we can eat on them throughout the winter months. There is nothing better than a home grown tomato.

My children (ages, 18 and 20) love all types of food. My oldest knows that when he eats junk/processed foods he is not at his best and feels worn down. Being in college and not around the best foods for you, he will opt for a healthy meal or a big salad with dark green leafy lettuce when he starts to feel the effects of the "wrong" food choices he has made. Our bodies have a way of letting us know what we should and shouldn't do. We seem or I seem to notice and not take part in doing my best at eating right a lot of times.

In our Psychology book we read about correlation and experiments in Chapter One. I like to think that this took place in gathering the data for this article. In Chapter Five it discussed the "learned helplessness" theory that we do not act upon or escape the situation or "bad" food choices we make. It is easier to pick up processed food, than to pick out good wholesome, nutritional food for our bodies. If we did spend the time and money on the good foods, our cells would be forever thankful and supply us with needed antioxidants and vitamins that we need to maintain a healthy life.

We are like Pavlov's dogs--if you dangle something in front of us long enough we will want it. Keep it there and we will gravatite to it more and more. A learned behavior! If we can just reverse that to the "right" choices, in this case, healthly foods, we might can steer clear of being depressed. Woof!