Well, the reading for tonight has definitely gotten me thinking about my recent days. Starting last week, I have been really (really, really, really, etc...) stressed. With three AP tests, Solar Olympics, and Senior Night looming, I have been up to my neck in stressors. I need to build a solar cooker, I have tests every other day, I need to learn a piano accompaniment, and I need to make display boards. AGH!!!
Hopefully this will not shorten my life by too much, since stress does take its toll on the body, according to the book. Thankfully, I do take a little time to unwind, which the book said is extremely helpful. A lot of times when I have just had enough studying, I will play saxophone, exercise, or just lay on my bed and relax. I definitely helps to relieve some of the stress... Just in time to start studying again! I definitely cannot wait until the AP tests are in the past...
I am thankful, though, that I have close friends to talk to, which the book also mentions as something that helps. Also, I tend to be happy, which can definitely offset some of the stress. I do find myself extremely satisfied with life, because I feel like I accomplish a lot every day- there is no wasted time (except maybe my fourth hour, but I devote about a third of that class to studying physics, so it isn't completely wasted time). I guess to sum everything that I said up (you really didn't have to read all of the information before this), I have been finding many connections between stress and emotions in my life. When the stress happens, though, I use relaxation activities to unwind, and my close friends and my mostly cheerful disposition have helped me.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Disorders, Therapy, and Such
I guess I can start with my reactions to that test... Ouch. Thankfully it will be curved, but still. I really didn't think it was that bad, but I guess it was. As for the test today, I decided I really need to study up on some disorders and some therapies.
I know all of my posts have been related to personal experience, but I feel that it is the best way for me to discuss my knowledge of the concepts, so, again, here are some personal connections to psychology. I was reading an editorial in Time magazine, and it was talking about when it was necessary to receive therapy for a so called 'marriage disorder' or something of that sort. It was when a person gets married, five, six, seven, eight... a lot of times. It was also discussing drug therapy because it was talking about a patch to emulate the symptoms of marriage, much like a patch would be used to treat nicotine addiction. I just found this a bizarre article.
As for different disorders, I have found myself to be obsessive-compulsive at times, checking to make sure I locked my car doors, two, three, or even four times. While I can't say that I am as extreme as some of the examples in the book, I do have many obsessive-compulsive habits. However, they seem to come in spurts, so I will be obsessive for a while and then it will go away. For example, I will have a time where I have to brush my teeth right away after every meal, and then some extra times. While this isn't necessarily a bad habit, it does sometimes get annoying. Fortunately, I haven't been like this in a while. Another disorder it sometimes seems like I suffer from is Bipolar disorder. Some days I feel really motivated to study and do other things, while other days I feel like doing nothing of the sort (like this morning, although that feeling seems to have passed). Anyway, this is probably more just mild mood swings, since I am never really depressed, I just have days I am less happy. Also, if I am not motivated to do homework, I am motivated to work out, play piano and saxophone, or read. It just seems that I have different compulsions (used on purpose, by the way) on different days.
Basically, while I don't think that I suffer from any of the disorders mentioned in the book, I do feel that I exhibit some of the symptoms of the disorders, in milder forms. This probably can be seen in all of us, however, if we all look hard enough...
I know all of my posts have been related to personal experience, but I feel that it is the best way for me to discuss my knowledge of the concepts, so, again, here are some personal connections to psychology. I was reading an editorial in Time magazine, and it was talking about when it was necessary to receive therapy for a so called 'marriage disorder' or something of that sort. It was when a person gets married, five, six, seven, eight... a lot of times. It was also discussing drug therapy because it was talking about a patch to emulate the symptoms of marriage, much like a patch would be used to treat nicotine addiction. I just found this a bizarre article.
As for different disorders, I have found myself to be obsessive-compulsive at times, checking to make sure I locked my car doors, two, three, or even four times. While I can't say that I am as extreme as some of the examples in the book, I do have many obsessive-compulsive habits. However, they seem to come in spurts, so I will be obsessive for a while and then it will go away. For example, I will have a time where I have to brush my teeth right away after every meal, and then some extra times. While this isn't necessarily a bad habit, it does sometimes get annoying. Fortunately, I haven't been like this in a while. Another disorder it sometimes seems like I suffer from is Bipolar disorder. Some days I feel really motivated to study and do other things, while other days I feel like doing nothing of the sort (like this morning, although that feeling seems to have passed). Anyway, this is probably more just mild mood swings, since I am never really depressed, I just have days I am less happy. Also, if I am not motivated to do homework, I am motivated to work out, play piano and saxophone, or read. It just seems that I have different compulsions (used on purpose, by the way) on different days.
Basically, while I don't think that I suffer from any of the disorders mentioned in the book, I do feel that I exhibit some of the symptoms of the disorders, in milder forms. This probably can be seen in all of us, however, if we all look hard enough...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Psychological Disorder Articles
The first article I read is found at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100325131600.htm
This article is about the current inaccuracies of diagnosing Borderline Personality Disorder as Bipolar disorder by using the most common mood disorder test, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). The MDQ is a brief questionnaire used by clinics in order to identify if a person has Bipolar Disorder. However, as a research team discovered, The MDQ is four times more likely to diagnose a person with Bipolar Disorder than is a Psychiatrist using the DSM-IV. Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar share many same characteristics, such as changes in mood and impulsive actions. However, the treatments for these disorders are very different. The risk in diagnosing a patient wrong is that they will receive the wrong treatment. As these researchers found out, the most common mood disorder test is misdiagnosing many Borderline patients following just the guidelines in the DSM-IV (assuming the psychiatrists are making the correct diagnosis, but that's just my opinion).
The second article I read is found at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928141957.htm
This article is about the connection between being creative and being at a higher risk for psychological disorders. The key gene appears to be neuregulin 1. This gene has been found to strengthen communication between neurons. Also, a slight variation of this gene puts a person more at risk for disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar. For this study, the researchers found people who considered themselves to be creative. Then, using a general creativity scale, the researchers rated each person. After taking blood was taken from each person and then analyzed, the researchers found a significant correlation between creativity and neuregulin 1. This correlation implies that perhaps a gene that has been found to cause mental illness also has a useful biological function (creativity).
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100325131600.htm
This article is about the current inaccuracies of diagnosing Borderline Personality Disorder as Bipolar disorder by using the most common mood disorder test, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). The MDQ is a brief questionnaire used by clinics in order to identify if a person has Bipolar Disorder. However, as a research team discovered, The MDQ is four times more likely to diagnose a person with Bipolar Disorder than is a Psychiatrist using the DSM-IV. Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar share many same characteristics, such as changes in mood and impulsive actions. However, the treatments for these disorders are very different. The risk in diagnosing a patient wrong is that they will receive the wrong treatment. As these researchers found out, the most common mood disorder test is misdiagnosing many Borderline patients following just the guidelines in the DSM-IV (assuming the psychiatrists are making the correct diagnosis, but that's just my opinion).
The second article I read is found at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928141957.htm
This article is about the connection between being creative and being at a higher risk for psychological disorders. The key gene appears to be neuregulin 1. This gene has been found to strengthen communication between neurons. Also, a slight variation of this gene puts a person more at risk for disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar. For this study, the researchers found people who considered themselves to be creative. Then, using a general creativity scale, the researchers rated each person. After taking blood was taken from each person and then analyzed, the researchers found a significant correlation between creativity and neuregulin 1. This correlation implies that perhaps a gene that has been found to cause mental illness also has a useful biological function (creativity).
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Two-track mind and personality
Well I will start this with a "news connection." The other day I was reading the comics when I noticed that there was a psychology related comic. Further down the page was another psychology related comic. Psychology has really been entering into my everyday life lately. Also, I was reading a book over break titled Apocalypse Watch by Robert Ludlum. In the book, Ludlum discussed conditioning. Again, it seems that I am finding psychology in everything.
This personality chapter was a bit more difficult for me. There were so many names and everything that I kept getting confused of who did what. I have been finding myself analyzing everything in terms of psychoanalysis recently, though. I seem to have a weird habit of trying to find unconscious desires in the things people say. I wonder what that could say for my desires?
Basically, at the beginning of the course, I was mainly in the class for credit for college, with a little bit of curiosity. Now, however, I have really begun to enjoy the class and all of the connections I can make to everyday life. My motivation has switched from mainly extrinsic to mainly intrinsic. Now if this could only be reflected in my test grades...
This personality chapter was a bit more difficult for me. There were so many names and everything that I kept getting confused of who did what. I have been finding myself analyzing everything in terms of psychoanalysis recently, though. I seem to have a weird habit of trying to find unconscious desires in the things people say. I wonder what that could say for my desires?
Basically, at the beginning of the course, I was mainly in the class for credit for college, with a little bit of curiosity. Now, however, I have really begun to enjoy the class and all of the connections I can make to everyday life. My motivation has switched from mainly extrinsic to mainly intrinsic. Now if this could only be reflected in my test grades...
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