The relationship between stress, anxiety, habits and phobias Essay Example for Free

The relationship between stress, anxiety, habits and phobias Essay In This essay I shall describe in detail the individual elements, Stress, Anxiety, Habits and Phobias. Firstly I shall describe how these issues manifest within the subconscious, and then I shall address the relationship between the conditions, and how these can come about. Following this I shall discuss the treatment process of my chosen element in more detail (anxiety). Beginning with Stress. Stress can often over lap with anxiety, but I shall try to describe them individually before divulging into their inter-relations. The dictionary describes stress as â€Å" a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.† Stress is linked to our ‘fight of flight’ survival instinct; it has been present from our prehistoric ancestors, as a survival technique. This technique created a sense of fear, and arousal in the subconscious to help flea from harm. Nowadays, we face different threats, as modern day survival depends on our placement in society, and the role of hunter-gatherer has been replaced by earning through means of occupation to supply for our families. This modern day way of life has created more complex threat, and a more deep-rooted variety of stresses such as our social standing, job status, high expectations and other modern day pressure filled tasks. Unlike our prehistoric ancestors, running from our problems is not a beneficial solution. We have to deal with our ‘monsters’ and work through problems, as more stress and or anxiety can be caused by loosing control, along with the potential consequences that could follow on from such a situations e.g. loose homes, belongings, family issues etc. Furthermore, the more we allow ourselves to experience such stressful situations, the more sensitive our fight or flight mode becomes, which means we end up constantly ready for battle, constantly on edge as if â€Å"perceiving potential threat everywhere†. Therefore we can see that stress is formed from situations one is experiencing presently, whether they are experiencing feelings of fear, feelings of anger or feelin gs of anxiety, and not dealing with these issues can be severely detrimental causing a cyclical  deterioration. Leading on from stress, I shall now explore the issue of anxiety. Anxiety manifests itself from the minds creativity; it is an individual’s apprehension of events to be. In the build up to change, our minds create all sorts of conclusions from the ideal scenario to the worst scenario. Each of these scenarios fills us with a type of anxiety, whether it is tingles of excitement, or dread. We get these feelings as we start a new job, before we do a presentation at school or at work; we get them when we get bad news, maybe news of our health deteriorating. There can be long of short term causes of anxiety depending on the event you are about to endure, or are going through, and we all deal with different situations differently. Moreover, how you deal with these issues can be dependent on your environment, and some can be part of your genetics. Stress like anxiety, is not all bad, stress can be positive.It is good to have stress to motivate, and prepare individuals for repercussions of events and deal with change as it happens knowing that a number of outcomes are possible, this is known as Eustress. Self-preparation in a way, it is just the overload of stress, a stress that is consistent in someone’s life that is detrimental, such as dealing with a terminal illness like cancer, this is known as Chronic Stress. Stress has been catergorised into six categories, and having mentioned Chronic, and Eustress, I shall briefly explain the other four. Hypo stress, which can occur due to lack of motivation, doing a repetitive and un-motivating job, may cause someone to suffer from this. Acute, which can be described as ‘typical’ stress, and can be helped within a six week program though various treatments, Episodic acute stress, this type of stress can be treated but can take up to six months, it can produce migraines, strokes, heart attacks etc., and finally there is Traumatic stress, post traumatic stress can be put into this category, it’s a stress that is so severe that it will seem to increase for the individual, therefore this type of stress can only be treated by qualified professionals. It can occur from extreme physical or mental trauma such as a natural disaster, or extreme physical peril. I shall discuss the signs to look out for in clients who may be suffering  from anxiety or stress, and the treatment methods later in the essay, firstly I shall explore Habit and Phobias. We use habits as coping mechanisms, they may originally of helped you cope with an issue when you were very young, the mind is so busy dealing with our current and ever changing environment and the events that take place, that a lot of the things we do are stored or on ‘auto pilot’, for future use in similar situations. An example of Auto pilot is driving, some journeys we have gotten from A to B and our minds have been elsewhere for most of the time, yet we have changed gear, stopped at lights, allowed traffic to pass at roundabouts and made it to our destination. Other habits include comfort eating, smoking when feeling stressed, and loosing control by lashing out or shouting when angry, all on an ‘auto pilot’. The brains extraordinary problem solving skills and storage system has adapted to recognize behaviors linked to negative and positive outcomes, behaviors that bring us comfort and happiness, and it can be very hard to change or break these behaviors (habits), that are so deeply ingrained. Examples of these are thumb sucking for comfort, nail biting when tense, or anxious, and using food or drink as a comfort or control mechanism. As therapists we need to encourage habits that are needed in the clients day-to-day life, and highlight and work on habits that are no longer necessary in a client’s life. To do this, its important to understand why these habits have come about, and looking at hidden agendas such as stress, anxiety and phobic issues can help bridge the gap between the root of the habit and enable the therapist to work on breaking the habit, and curing the root ailment. Like all the ailments we are discussing in this essay, commencing treatment with an adequate notation, and finishing the first session with a screed to relax the client can be very beneficial, and aid the client by teaching them new tools to extract the habits, and replace them with more positive coping mechanisms, such as relaxation, and then further sessions will help you establish any further underlying issues and hidden agendas. Finally I’d like to discuss phobias. Phobias are irrational fears. Some phobias are learnt others inherited. A phobia itself is created in the subconscious mind, and they tend to be quite intense fears of items, animals, individuals or anything really. Phobias can range, from simple phobias i.e. heights, and small spaces, to Complex phobias such as losing control, being in an accident, then there is Social Phobias, fearing social situations and what others may think if you are blushing, or say the wrong thing, linked to social phobias are Panic attacks, which are a result of severe anxiety, which has a physical effect on the body, and finally there is Agoraphobia, which is fear of being away from the comfort of ones home, out in the open environment, an environment out of an individuals control. A note to mention when treating Phobias is on the subject of ethical issues, however bizarre a phobia is to another person, as a therapist, it is very important to be professional whilst dealing with a client with a phobia, as looking amused or shocked, could be detrimental to the rapport you are creating and also the clients comfort level. I shall now briefly look into treatment methods for Phobias. Similar to habits, I believe it is important to use a relaxation to begin with, then on the next session begin to explore the fear, and the use of ideomotor signals can help identify where the phobia began, the use of regression therapy to take the client back to where it began can then be used, and suggestions given to the client to help renounce the phobia. Other methods could include making the fear seem irrational and empowering the client to see that there is no need to be afraid. Having looked at each condition it is clear that there are definite overlaps, where anxiety build up can lead to stress, or fear of an event. And habits can be used as a coping method to deal with stress and anxiety issues. All of the above can be helped with hypnotherapy. However some conditions would need to be used in collaboration with other professional help, (in order for treatment to be ethically sound) such as people suffering from panic attacks and Post traumatic stress disorders, to name a couple. One must be aware that as well as helping, hypnotherapy could hinder if the therapist isn’t mindful of a client who may be suffering more deep rooted issues, (where more than Hypnotherapy may be necessary) such as continuous anxiety, some  forms of depression, neurotic disorders etc. These more acute psychological or physical issues need to be further investigated through means of GP consent and discussion with supervisor. Continuing on, I would like to discuss symptoms to look out for when with a client suffering from stress and anxiety. Stress can be both mental and physical. The most common are clients saying they are suffering from depression or severe anxiety and they cannot put their finger quite on why they feel this way, (confusion, and lack of organization in their current day to day life due to lack of concentration may be occurring). There is also insomnia, sleep deprivation, broken sleep, and perhaps problems in their sex lives. The stress will be apparent in many different ways in your client, either easily identifiable, constant and therefore identifiable through lack of self-esteem, or possibly related to another ailment such as IBS, depression etc. (Here a more detailed exploration of the actual issue is definitely necessary, perhaps seeking advice, referring, or GP consent, depending on the issue). Their are crossovers when looking for signs of anxiety in a client, as this ailment affects the entire entity, and can create phobia like symptoms, as it can create fear in the client, who will avoid the subject which causes the anxiety, which will cause more negativity, and this negative cycle can lead to feelings of depression, and isolation. Other physically visible symptoms, are linked to the ‘fight or flight’ mode, and they are ridding the body of unnecessary waste, so the body can produce more oxygen to flea or defend, such as sweating, diarrhea and trembling. Having discussed the above conditions and having delved into their roots and inter relations. I shall conclude with a paragraph on how to deal with a client who claims to be experiencing anxiety. Treating anxiety with hypnotherapy is very effective, and as a therapist we hope to change an individuals perception of a past event or release emotion from it in order for them to be able to cope better. As a therapist it is important to put your client completely at ease to gain rapport. Making sure your voice is calm and welcoming, you make eye contact, and your body language is warm and welcoming, and your mannerisms and conversation must always come under the  ethical code. Obviously all clients differ, but in the case of anxiety one would tend to use a more authoritarian script, as the clients anxious imagination is obviously running wild, and in order to collect their thoughts and help them relax, I believe taking control of the hypnotic journey would be most efficient. Working with the notation one will have collected, and having done a PMR or other relaxation on the first session (and adding a trigger induction), one would use the clients modality and work to the clients comfort levels to ensure the script was completely suitable for them, making the client feel safe and secure and watching the paralanguage of the client to ensure the client was not becoming physically anxious whilst under. Examples of script suggestions for anxiety would include empowering the client, making them feel in control and free, but always giving them a devise if they felt they needed support. A script in the module notes uses a shield, and others I have explored and would be prone to use are ones that include vulnerable animals such as rabbits to really delve into the fight or flight mode, and making the client aware of why these anxious tendency occur, and suggesting to them to be mindful, and know that they are ok, and proud to recognize and deal with such situations. Briefly, when treating stress one must prepare a script to change the reaction to a particular situation during hypnosis to a more positive one, the feelings about that situation can also become more positive. When an individual then experiences that situation in real life, their reaction will often be much different. References: Module Notes Hypnotic World Hypno directory (online)

Personal Writing: My First Time Experiencing Riding A Bicycle :: essays research papers

Personal Writing: My First Time Experiencing Riding A Bicycle Sangho Kang After a very meaningful conversation with my dad about the old days, we came up with an object that we both remember cleary. It was my very first biclycle. My mind told me that I got it when I was only eight but my mom insisted that I was seven when I got it. Either of us had a proof, and so we desided that when I got it was not important. My dad put together all the small pieces of the bicycle. From a beautiful material that he called, "Your own car." Of course I knew that he had some magical ability, but I didn't think he could make such an awsome object. He added the seat and the pedals. Last so that I would not have any problems. My dad recalled that the bicycle was the smallest he could find. I remember how gigantic it was. I was so afraid of it and there was no way that I was going to control that monster-sized material. The bicycle remained in my backyard as a decoration for a month because I refused to ride it. Honestly, I was scared to try it. After a month, my dad gave me a lecture to teach me what being a man was all about. I was finally determined to try it. My dad was proud of me and I felt very manly. He and I went to the park to see what we could do there. The park was empty when we arrived. I had no dought that my dad told everybody not to be there because we had to use it. I felt badly for other people, but I was proud to have such an onnipotent person as my dad. We found a smooth and a often space. My dad was holding the rear of the seat to make sure I didn't fell. He assured me that I was not going to fall because he would be running right behind, holding the bicycle. He reassured me by saying that it was the word of a man and I could trust it. I started to pedal and the bicycle moved. Once it started to move, I felt pedaling was much easier than expected. I asked my dad if it would be as easy to ride a bicycle without him holding on it. He did not answer me because he couldn't run, hold the bybicle, and talk at the same time. I told him we could stop if he was tired.

A study of the social representation of war Essay

War, a reportage of the crude reality of the Afghanistan conflict started in 2001. Junger, the author and also protagonist, let us  live as a US army soldier in the â€Å"terrible  geology†Ã‚  of  the  Korengal Valley. Even the soil  appears to be the perfect place to host something as horrible as the Afghanistan war. Junger’s  first accomplishment is surely the terrible  masterpiece  representation of the US soldiers’ lives in Afghanistan. The combination of descriptive sequences and figurative language throws the reader into the cruel battlefield where  Taliban and Americans play a â€Å"slow  game  that everyone was enjoying too much to possibly bring to an end†.    Junger, however, doesn’t limit  himself to the plain  reportage  of his  five journeys. His  book succeeds  at representing the sociological interactions that originate within  the platoon. â€Å"The men†, living  in a hostile  environment  with  extremely poor living conditions, seemed to have established higher social moral values than our society. The courage, the love they feel for each other brings about the â€Å"collective defense†, described by Junger, as an addictive feature of the society of this platoon. Through the dialogues, I felt extremely surprised in noticing that those men essentially were happier than us, because, in their societal  reality, the core system  was taking care of each other. The social institutions  of the platoons imposed brotherhood and  knowing that you had a family, your platoon, soldiers’ need were  accomplished.  I was then allowed to understand why the return to the normality is neve r an  easy process for veterans. Given the sociological representation of war, I could not avoid the comparison between  the society of the platoon with our Westernised reality.  Isn’t it crazy in our civilized Western society, that all we seem to lack, is care for each other? Our modern society focused on our own self-fulfillment, allows to ignore the moral calling,  to withdraw from moral engagement; however, in war, as Junger made me notice, nothing is taken for granted, everything is shared and everyone represents your family. If you save someone, it’s your duty, and accomplishing this duty takes you away from the psychological trauma of the daily atrocities of war allowing you to return to a familiar environment. I found Junger explanation of veterans’ traumatic return to reality very insightful.  As he suggests, once you experience the caring society of the platoon, real-world seems even more hostile than war. Perhaps it is, perhaps the real battlefield  is our 21st-century society. Junger made me reflect and wonder whether a hostile external environment is the only criteria where Marx’s  communism principles  hypothetically could work within a society; as the company of each other’s is all humans have got, the creation of a reality where equality and common goals would establish the social institutions, could in turn act as a defending barrier from the external hostile environment, allowing the shared commitment to a communist system. Junger in his  analytical reflection  (220-260) attempts to explain humans’  love of war.  As mentioned above, the return  to normality  seems to scare soldiers more than  the combat itself,  because there is no combat in the society. Throughout  his travels, the journalist never questions who gives us the right to be God. And if somehow we are allowed to fight for God position, as we accept that God was long gone from that Valley and the God position is â€Å"vacant†, are the soldiers truly  fighting  only  because they are told to do so? Fighting means killing. Every day, it means  taking over human lives. Junger never explores this topic in depth. He superficially justifies men’s engagement into  conflict due to a physiological adrenaline addiction. But  I reckon that human nature is three-dimensional, and the analytical chapters never  explored  whether the combat was addictive because  killing is a â€Å"joyful slaughterà ¢â‚¬  (Bourke, 1999). I felt that this  relevant aspect  of conflicts  was being avoided and it seemed like Junger maybe could not accept  our terrible human nature, our â€Å"terrible love for war† (Hillman, 2004). Personally, I believe that war is part of human beings and cannot be avoided, as neglecting it  would imply neglecting the human nature itself. Why do soldiers â€Å"miss the good stuff†?  Junger superficial  argumentation of addiction  to adrenaline seems too weak to support this argument. It is indeed scary, but war is natural, and I feel confident in claiming this as empirical history shows us war constancy. Another side of this book review focuses on the consequences that I noticed on my emotional spectrum throughout the reading. My judgment vacillates between  the ability of Junger as a great writer and the negative implications of his writing ability  on  my emotional reaction.  War further explores â€Å"how easy it is to go from living to the dead† (p. 85), the transcendent  condition of being on the â€Å"real† battleship: the Koregan Valley. Junger’s writing style leaves its mark, his climax, the vast use of short sentences to finish paragraphs and peculiarity to leave white empty space. It is here in these white where  he allows me, the reader, to feel and imagine, and thus  bring my persona into  those empty spaces; this writing what  took me back into my past. Passing from one paragraph to the other, carrying a heavy burden of sadness, I started remembering. Anxiety made me overthinking  rendering the reading experience  not pleasurable anymore. Junger was able to make me so engaged that I could not detach emotionally  anymore. Junger’s great ability to describe the soldier life conditions triggered the reminiscence of my past, where  I could, to a much lesser extent, resemble  the soldier’s  anxious life situation  with my past 13-year-old  self. Alone in my own land, now as well, governed by war; my parents, respectively the Taliban and the Americans. The gunfire, in my reality, pictured by  the lawyers, and as much as Junger, I’m unable to move, sometimes unable to remember. Until now. My gear, my responsibilities, and as much as the men felt too hot, I felt too young. I always thought that a good book is like a good soundtrack that accompanies an as well good movie. But would the good movie create the same effect on the audience without the musical notes? The movie would still be good, but emotionally steady. What Junger is able to do in his book is allowing a natural development of this soundtrack throughout the entire duration of the reading travel. For me, the soundtrack were the emotions, I could feel the pain and the emotional dimension of the platoon and linked it back to my personal experience. Could Junger have triggered a better emotional engagement, be it negative or positive? Another proof of the great ability of Junger in letting the reader assimilating the images of Afghanistan in war through his simple, emotionally detached writing style occurred when suddenly I found myself thrown into a distorted view of what we would recall as reality. Everything, from the soil, the muffled noises, to the deprivation of light. It was a hostile environment. Chaos dominated the scene. Despair could be felt and seen by glancing at other living beings’ eyes. The concept of life was no longer alive. I saw myself running, without a purpose, without a destination, without knowing. I was perhaps running for not dying, maybe because fear impregnated the odor of the air. I was not running to survive. I remember falling, and there I clearly felt a fleece trespassing my skin and hitting my lung. Breathing became an unbearable painful experience. And I was lying there, alone, on that desolated land where God had possibly forgotten to visit for a long time.  When the sun rise shone my room, I  was recollected into this world that we consider real. It took me a while to remove that negativity from my being. I remember hoping for someone to explain to me what had happened but no one of my war dream comrades was there. I could only grasp the ghost of a memory dissolving without leaving a trace. Indeed, I had a negative emotional reaction, but this doesn’t want to diminish Junger’s skills. However, his emotional  detachment,  I could say, made me  feel  sometimes frustrated.  As the reporter, it is essential to remain detached as the sole and unique task is to report. However, I, as a reader, was looking for an emotional judgment from the author. I felt  like I could  read  the mind of a mute child, victim  of an abuse,  who,  due to the trauma, has lost the capability of communication. And the more I was reading, the more the misunderstand was growing. Couldn’t Junger express something, just a small confirmation that what was happening was wrong? It took me a while before understating.   Only by reading chapter after chapter I was able to  realize that the emotionally detached writing style adopted by Junger, was, in reality, an emotional response to the atrocities that he was subject to witness in his travels. The detachment was maybe the only way to survive, the only way to remind himself that the War was not his reality, that his pe rmanence in Afghanistan was just temporary, unlike reality for the Platoon. Perhaps he also wanted to let the reader develop a  critical judgment without intervening. Overall, the representation of the US soldiers’ life condition in Afghanistan, under a sociological and psychological viewpoint, represents the best outcome of this book. Junger proves to be able to communicate clearly what he went through and he doesn’t stop here; his skills overcome the simple flat reading experience and allow the reading audience to develop an emotional engagement, be this emotional reaction positive or negative. Considering what happened in Afghanistan roughly 10 years ago, and how men had to live daily, I feel grateful and lucky to have had the possibility to read this book, as the probability of a bullet hitting Junger’s hypothalamus seems to have been somehow high.    Bibliography Bourke, J. (1999). An Intimate History of Killing: Face-to-face Killing in Twentieth-century Warfare. Hillman, J. (2004). A terrible love for war. New York: The penguin press.   

How Did Feminism Lead to Programs for Displaced Homemakers

A displaced homemaker describes someone who has been out of the paid workforce for years, usually raising a family and managing a household and its chores, without pay, during those years. The homemaker becomes displaced when for some reason – most often divorce, a spouse’s death or a reduction in household income – she must find other means of support, likely including re-entering the workforce. Most were women, as traditional roles meant more women stayed out of the workforce to do the unpaid family work. Many of these women were middle-aged and older, facing age as well as sex discrimination, and many had no job training, as they had not expected to be employed outside the home, and many had ended their education early to conform to traditional norms or to focus on raising children. How Did this Term Arise? Sheila B. Kamerman and Alfred J. Kahn define the term as a person over 35 years of age [who] has worked without pay as a homemaker for his or her family, is not gainfully employed, has had or would have difficulty finding employment, has depended on the income of a family member and has lost that income or has depended on government assistance as the parent of dependent children but is no longer eligible. Tish Sommers, chair of the National Organization for Women Task Force on Older Women during the 1970s, is usually credited with coining the phrase displaced homemaker to describe the many women who had been previously relegated to the home during the 20th century. Now, they were facing economic and psychological obstacles as they went back to work. The term displaced homemaker became widespread during the late 1970s as many states passed legislation and opened women’s centers that focused on the issues facing homemakers who returned to work. Legislation to Support Displaced Homemakers During the late 1970s and especially in the 1980s, many states and the federal government sought to study the situation of displaced homemakers, looking at whether existing programs were adequate to support the needs of this group, whether new laws were needed,  and providing information to those -- usually women -- who were in this circumstance. California established the first program for displaced homemakers in 1975, opening the first Displaced Homemakers Center in 1976. In 1976, the United States Congress amended the Vocational Educational Act to permit grants under the program to be used for displaced homemakers. In 1978, amendments to the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) funded demonstration projects for serving displaced homemakers.   In 1979, Barbara H. Vinick and Ruch Harriet Jacobs issued a report through Wellesley Colleges Center for Research on Women titled The displaced homemaker:  a state-of-the-art review.  Another key report was the 1981 document by Carolyn Arnold and Jean Marzone, needs of displaced homemakers. They summarized these needs into four areas: Informational needs: reaching often-isolated displaced homemakers through publicity and outreach, helping them understand that services were available as well as more specifics on  what services might be available to them.Financial needs: temporary financial support for living expenses, child care, and transportationPersonal counseling needs: these might include crisis counseling, financial and legal counseling, assertiveness training, psychological support including support groups. Counseling might specifically address single parenthood, divorce, widowhood.Vocational needs: assessment of skills, career/vocational counseling, help with job search and job placement, creating jobs, opening apprenticeship programs to older women, advocating for the hiring of displaced homemakers, affirmative action, working with employers to advocate for displaced homemakers and help employers deal with their needs.  Once a displaced homemaker with children found a training program or job, child car e and transportation were also needed.Education and training needs: developing skills, finishing educational levels likely to be required by employers Government and private support for displaced homemakers often included Funding agencies where displaced homemakers could go for advice or counseling, and to find out what services were available to them.  Many states provided a Displaced Homemaker program, often through the Department of Labor or through departments serving children and families.Job training programs, including related training such as English, writing, goal-setting, financial management, etc.Funding for higher education programs or for completion of high school.Job placement programs, to help match applicants to available jobs.Counseling programs, to deal with the personal change issues of divorce, the death of a spouse, and the effect of the challenge of their new circumstances to their expectations.Direct funding, via welfare or other programs, to sustain the displaced homemaker while s/he was in job training or counseling. After a decline in funding in 1982, when Congress made  the inclusion  of displaced homemakers optional under CETA, a 1984 program significantly increased funding.  By 1985, 19 states had appropriated funds to support the needs of displaced homemakers, and another 5 had other legislation passed to support displaced homemakers. In states where there was strong advocacy by local directors of job programs on behalf of displaced homemakers, significant funds were applied, but in many states, the funding was sparse.  By 1984-5, the number of displaced homemakers was estimated at about 2 million. While public attention to the issue of displaced homemakers declined by the mid-1980s, some private and public services are available today -- for example, the  Displaced Homemakers Network of New Jersey.