For my 30 day challenge, I wanted to change my eating
habits. I have suffered several years with low energy and tiredness. I know
that low blood sugar runs in the family, so I thought if I ate more, I would be
okay. Although, what I did not realize that it matters what types of food I
ate, as some would spike my sugar levels then crash. I continually felt these
mood swings, and after not being able to diagnose the problem, I stopped
searching for an answer. Although, one
Saturday, I tried a new protein bar. It was gluten free and low glycemic (GI).
I was amazing how good I felt all day long and how much energy I had at work.
This popped the idea in my head that I needed to try changing my diet. I
researched online what low GI foods were, and which one to stay away from since
they would spike my blood sugar. I also looked into how to eat gluten free, as
I wanted to try each of the variables to find which one was truly affecting me
or both. I started out really excited, and had to purposefully change my mindset
to pick foods that were low GI. I also started out very strict, with no breads,
although this is one of my favorite foods. I decided to eat more proteins and
fats. Although, half way through, I totally caved in and for a couple of days
ate bread again. At that time, I was wrestling with myself if I was going to
finish the challenge or forget it. Seeing that the breads made me feel
horrible, I saw how much the challenge was helping improve my daily moods. I decided to stick to the diet, but to not be
as strict, allowing at max, one bread item per day. I did not want to torment
myself by excluding breads completely, but decided to watch carefully my intake
and to lower it significantly.
I love bread and sugar and potatoes, all of which have high
GI levels-making them break down faster into glucose and creating rollercoaster
moods. I usually eat my breakfast by myself, although lunch and dinner are with
others, either at work, three days a week or with family at home. When I eat
high GI foods, I feel horrible soon after. My blood sugar rises to normal then
crashes and I feel exhausted. Because I have been skinny all my life, I have
always eaten whatever I wanted and have gotten away from it. So I have never
been very selective in my diet. I usually eat carbohydrates and sweets when I
am exhausted and my blood sugar s crashing terribly, even perhaps giving me a
headache-around 5:30pm. I want to feel better, so I think that eating high GI
foods will give me immediate relief. My family and friends do not object at
all, as they see how little I am and think I just burn it off and can eat
whatever. My other sibling love bread like me, so we enjoy eating it together
often. I slightly feel better after eating high GI foods, but it never
satisfies me and my blood sugar still drops. The long-term consequences of
repeating this behavior is diabetes, as it runs in my family. Instead, by satisfying
my hunger with other foods that I love, such as nuts, and avocados, I can keep
my blood sugar steady throughout the day. I would not be forced then to find
relief. By understanding the consequences of my decisions to eat certain foods,
I plan on reducing my intake of high GI foods, and to always have a low GI
snack with me to eat through out the day to prevent those sudden cravings.
From this challenge, I learned how to change my eating
habits and reprogram my mind to choose healthy alternatives. When I think of a
snack, due to my strict discipline in the beginning, I automatically go towards
foods that will be low GI and not breads or carbohydrates. This challenges has
helped intrigue me to apply the concepts to other things in my life as well,
that I want to change, and has given me the attitude that I can change if I
want to.
In the movie, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, from the
different flashbacks and fears displayed, Oscar has a fear of anything that
could cause potential harm him or is unsafe. His phobias include a fear of bridges, elevators, trains, swings, and
anything loud in a public place. Although, once his dad dies in 9-11, some may
think that Oscar has major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or
his possible autism is growing
stronger, but I believe that Oscar fully develops a borderline personality disorder (BPD), which greatly impacts him.
One of the symptoms that Oscar continually displays is a
fear of abandonment, and not being able to face being left alone. When Oscar is
with his grandpa, he tells him to not leave him, and them becomes frantic when
he finds himself all alone. Instead of reaching out to his mother, Oscar
continually reaches out to his grandmother, mostly at night for a source of
comfort. This is due to the fact that Oscar feels alone and abandoned by his
mother since she is always at work or sleeping as he tells her. Oscar never
displays having a deep relationship with his mom (except at the end), but has a
deep relationship with his dad, as he was constantly active in his life,
influencing him. Thus, Oscar developed a deep bond with his dad that he could
not bring himself to loose, even when his dad was dead. Oscar was not willing
to face reality but searches throughout the entire movie to extend his “eight
minutes” with his dad. In the violent conversation with his mother, when he
awakes her, Oscar covers his ears and will not listen to his mom and tries to
“make sense” of what happened to his dad, to find some reasonable explanation,
and cannot accept the fact that there is not one. Although, in the end, Oscar
learns that there is nothing he can do to bring his dad back and that he must
face the reality instead continually searching and let go.
Another symptom that Oscar displays is his change of
character in conversations. One minute he can be loving and kind, and the next,
be cussing and yelling at you, as he did to his grandfather and mom. Oscar hates
to be rejected, so he has difficulty trusting others, and often retreats in
conversations into different schemas (punitive
parent, abandoned child, angry child, and detached protector) to try to cope
with the stress and anxiety of his life and situations. Oscar tries to appear
to others to be fine on the outside, but inwardly, is overwhelmed with grief.
His mother tries to help him, but appears hopeless in reaching her son.
In addition, Oscar feels at times, when he is alone, that he
cannot cope with the pain so he instills self-destructive behavior. Oscar
performs this physical harm by creating welts all over his skin for a form of
escape. Part of his self injury is caused by his miscued sense of identity. Oscar
feels that it he is “bad” for not being brave enough for picking up the phone
to answer his dad, so he thinks he must ask for forgiveness or self-inflict
harm on himself. Even when his dad was alive, Oscar once refused to try to
swing, which then made him immediately covering his ears, and burying his head,
telling his dad not to be disappointed or upset with him. Oscar reacted in fear
thinking that since he refused his dad’s wish, he would be rejected by his dad.
In all, Oscar carries a heavy burden of guilt by how many times he says, “I have
never told anyone..”. This relates to the image Oscar carries of himself to be unworthy,
and since he cannot accept even himself, he does not expect others to accept
him as well, making him hide.
One of the other symptoms that Oscar demonstrates is
impulsive in behavior which forces him to face his phobias. Usually, Oscar is too afraid to go by himself, to travel,
or to meet new people. Although, he is compelled to overcome his fear as he is
more desperate to search for the missing piece of his dad that he longs for. Oscar
lets nothing stand in his way; not even school, people, distance, so he
continually lies about his trips out of the house to others.
Since Oscar’s mom has no idea at first on how to help her
son, she must begin her own journey of finding her son’s heart. By investing
time, and becoming active in her son’s life, and what he cares about, Oscar’s
mom eventually wins his trust by giving him time and becoming a safe, accepting
place.
In this movie, I felt that the disorder was effectively
portrayed by an amazing cast that made it completely believable to the
audience. I was very moved by this
movie, as I understand how children cannot cope by themselves with traumatic
events. They desperately need parents to help, and need to know that they are a
safe place. I plan on becoming a junior high teacher, and feel that this movie
will greatly help me to understand and have compassion on my students that may
be struggling with similar issues.
Everyone has a soundtrack to their life. The experiences that you have gone through and the struggles you have faced, have helped mold and shaped you into who you are today. Painful or joyful, they all have an impact on our life.
Erik Erikson believed that each person passes through eight stages of development over their life span.
1. Trust-vs.-Mistrust Birth-1.5 yrs
Right after I was born, my mom went back to work, so my dad
took me to a babysitter. Unknown to them, the babysitter had an older child that
would scream, yell, and take out his anger at me. I felt all alone. During this
time, an infant needs to be loved and nurtured, but because I could not resolve
this issue, I became insecure and mistrustful. This has been a painful struggle
that I continually have dealt with all my life. It is hard for me to trust
people. I have had to “start over again” to love freely.
2. Autonomy-vs.-Shame-and-Doubt 1.5-3yrs
When I was around three years old, my mom quit her job to
take care of me. She was astonished to find that I was very undisciplined and
spanked me at least ten times a day for a year straight. It was in her love,
that she wanted me to be trained rightly. This was a training time of mush
self-control that has carried with me into my later years. Also, this time was
a growth in confidence, as I became more confident in my Mom’s love and also in
myself in the simple accomplishments that I could do well.
3. Initiative-vs.-Guilt 3-6yrs
In this time, I was severely shy of people and always hid
behind my mother. I would be afraid to try new things, so I mostly decided to
not participate. This issue never was resolved, so fear has haunted me most of
my life. Also, at this stage of my life, I felt very controlled by my friends
to fit into their mold of how they wanted me to be. Although, even when I
tried, I was never good enough, causing me to experience a major backstab of
rejection from my best friend as she ran off with another friend.
4. Industry-vs.-Inferiority 6-12yrs
I continually won prizes for good behavior and at home, my
mom taught us about character, so she developed a board, where we could earn
stars and then at the end of the week buy something at the dollar store. I won
this prize several times. I went to school for one year at a private school,
and while there, received awards for the highest scores of all my class in all
of the subjects except math. I also competed in speech and won a superior
award. My art painting also was entered in a contest and received an award.
5. Identity-vs.-role-confusion 12-20yrs
I was constantly asking myself- “Who I am?” I had a major
stage of time that I had decided to dress simple, which I thought there was
nothing wrong with-although to everyone else, I looked like a “pioneer”. After I
tried out a couple of different styles, I finally came to realize eventually
that I had trapped the “real me” inside and had caged it up. So I started
letting “me” come out slowly to be free: a little makeup there, a new change in
outfit there, and soon I grew until who I really loved being fully bloomed beautifully.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation 20-35yrs
This is a hard time in my life, as everyone around me is getting
married or engaged. That is not in the plan for me right now. I want to finish
college first, which is an another two years, and then perhaps pursue my
Masters. I want to go teach and make a difference in children’s lives and
travel across the world. I have always had to handle much responsibility as a
child and have not been able to go fulfill dreams. So I feel that it is a
different path that I am walking on than my close friends.
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation 35-65yrs
I hope to be happily married and have kids of my own and
soon to be reaching grandparenthood. I know that my family will keep me very
busy and I will enjoy greatly being a mom. I want to be involved in people’s
lives and giving them love. I want to surround myself around others, and be involved
in event planning and hosting, as I know that in a community, can we best grow.
Our happiness is not found in things, but in sharing them with others. I hope
to lead plays and dramas perhaps and work always with kids.
8. ego Integrity vs. Despair 65-death
My life to me is worthless unless it was led by love. I
could accomplish something great, but unless it was done in love, it would be
meaningless to me. I want my life motto to be all about loving the people in my
life and whoever I may meet. Then, life is sweetest to me and well lived. I
would have peace and know that what I came to do was fulfilled. It has also
always been my dream to be a grandma, so that I can pass out cookies to the neighborhood
children and be loving toward them.
These were the shouts of my brother that woke me up one morning at 7:30am one morning.
Come to find out, there was a GIANT "circle-thing", the size of my brother's hand that had run out of MY room and had gone into the middle bathroom. My dad and brother were not able to catch it.
My brother had just come home from a camp out where there were tarantulas. One could have easily come home with him in his bag......
We searched all through the bathroom for a big black thing but could not find it.
Then my brother said that he might have seen a tail on it. Okay. That's better than a tarantula.
The next morning I was laying in bed, half awake, when I heard a rattling noise DIRECTLY UNDER my bed! I had a feeling it was the mouse! I asked my brother to help me move my mattress away.
GUESS WHAT WE FOUND?
Rat droppings ALL OVER the stuff under my bed! So we cleaned everything up and threw away the contaminated stuff. Then we set up traps and waited.
One morning, I was notified that a brown mouse was found on one of them. I never saw the mouse- all I heard was that it was dead.
This commercial reminded me of this scenario and what it may have looked like....
Everyday, we are bombarded with tons of advertisements that grab for our attention. They can be in many forms, from video commercials, pictures, fliers, papers, posts on Facebook, and more! Although, each of these ads speaks a message and in order to reach viewers, it must be designed in a way to stand out. I am going to go through four different ads and the characteristics about each of them.
Mouse Ad
1. Surprisingly, this ad is marketing Nolan's Cheddar Cheese and it comes from YouTube.
2. This ad appeals to the affective since it plays on the audience's emotions and attitude of compassion for the mouse. This was an excellent way to draw the audience in!
3. There are two types of routes to persuasion- one that uses thoughtful consideration and arguments to persuade (central route processing) and another one that uses irrelevant or extraneous factors to persuade (peripheral route processing). I believe that this ad uses peripheral routing, since it never mentions the cheese until the end, but uses the mouse and his strength to signify the strength of the cheese. Instead of saying "our cheese has strong flavor", the company uses a story of a mouse's life to send their message. First, the viewer sees a nice mouse traveling along, with happy music playing. Then he eats the cheese and the audience has compassion on the mouse and hopes he does not get hurt by the trap. Next, the screen goes black in abrupt silence as the trap snaps and then re-opens to a view of what looks like a dead mouse. Sad music is playing, and the audience mourns the death of the cute mouse. Suddenly, we see him still breathing and the music changes to "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky and the mouse starts acting like he is working out. This ad rides on a roller coaster of emotions of the viewer and their attachment to the mouse to make their point in the end. This is a great technique since the message will stay longer with the audience and will be more effective than just telling them about the cheese since it becomes attached to emotions. Also, this ad does not display its message in a systematic way but I believe in a heuristic way. The message presented is meant to look real and draw a real conclusion (mouse made strong-then strong cheese), although to actually believe the ad's claim, based on the mouse's results, would lead to false results in the real world.
4. This ad uses the mouse as their advocate. Because it is from his point of view, and it is a common fact that mice like cheese, the ad comes off more credible.
5. The argument of this ad is very strong and effective, since the viewer invests emotion into following the story and the plot twists that it takes so that it becomes apart of the person so they will not easily forget it. It is also mostly implied although being that it is two-sided (mouse and company) it is very effective.
6. The audience targeted in this ad is teens to adults (since they buy the food). Although, it is not intended for small children since they would be horrified and not understand fully. Although people from an interdependent culture (more community focused than individualized) may think that there should have been more mice to be with him to help him.
7. We know that cheese cannot make mice strong suddenly and mice do not workout (dissonance). Although, by used an emotional, empathizing journey, the ad makes us think that what we see is true.
Denny's Ad
1. This ad that I received in the mail attempts to market Denny's new special of "build your own omelette".
2. This ad appeals to the behavioral- make people come in more to eat at Denny's, cognitive- get people to start thinking how they can eat healthier, and afferent- popping pictures and colors. Great job!
3. I believe that this ad uses a little of the central route and the peripheral route to advance their message. Denny's compares us to Michelangelo and says we can make a work of art with our food. So on one hand, the ad is trying to get us to thoughtfully think. Although, the ad also features on the right hand column, two dishes of prepared omelets. These are not build-it-your own, but are inspiration. By adding pictures of "live" food (compared to the cartoon on the upper left corner) the conditioned response to salivate at these pictures has a great impact on the influence the ad exerts. Suddenly, the viewer gets hungry and starts thinking of food and then desires to go to Denny's-which is the ultimate plan!
This ad also presents its message in a systematic way by telling its customers straight out what it is advertising although it is heuristic by not listing prices as well (which can be a very different price than you expected once you come inside).
4. Everyone knows how amazing Michelangelo's work is as a sculptor and the power he had to create masterpieces out of simple materials. Denny's plays on his reputation and tells their customers they can be like him by "sculpt your own masterpiece" too (building their own omelette). This perception of given power to the customers appears very attractive and pleasing.
5. This ad makes a strong argument even if it is one-sided and overt. For food, I think that this ad makes a good choice.
6. The target for this ad is anyone who can read and likes food. Although, even those that cannot read well, will be moved by the message or by the pictures. Also, this ad is geared toward the Tex-Mex food lovers and healthy eaters by providing two different options in food choice. Denny's wants to reach as many people as they can, and since everyone has to eat, I think they did a marvelous job on the ad. For interdependent cultures, perhaps a picture of a couple of people holding up dishes would be more effective. Or, even a couple of dishes grouped together.
7. Denny's new specials allow anyone to make peace with their dissonance (two conflicting ideas-example: "I know that I need to eat healthy, but I really want to have some fries!") inside by providing a hearty, delicious bacon avocado omelette or a healthy alternative. People are able to come in and choose whatever they are feeling that day. The two main colors: orange and yellow create the emotions of cheer and happiness as it related to the morning and start of a new day. Also, the reference to Michelangelo gives rise to the emotion of feeling special and important. The dissonance and emotions in this ad make it appealing to anyone.
Kohls Ad
1. In this ad, Kohls is advertising their shoes, clothing and bedding collections which I received in the mail.
2. This appeals to the behavioral, in that it makes the people look happy, so it makes the reader want to change their clothing style to ft the ad's. Also,it appeals to the cognitive in how it uses big language to make the customer think that there is a big sale, and thus greater benefit to the customer- all of the terms "sale", "all", "100" in large font, while the rest is significantly smaller. Then, the ad also uses affective in how it uses contrasting colors to pop out at the customer. I think this ad did a good job, as your eyes are immediately drawn to the people and giant words of "sale".
3. In this ad I see lots of central route persuasion as the words listed are all about sale, low prices, and cash back which is about half of the page. Although the other lower half of the page consists of several people who show peripheral route persuasion. They are wearing the clothing and advertise it by giving the appearance of how happy they are wearing it. So the top half gives a straight out advertisement of all the sales (systematic), but the bottom half gives a heuristic approach as it says that "if you wear these clothes from Kohl's, you will be happy like me" which is not necessarily true.
4. The ad does not specifically mention experts, but instead the people characters come across as "experts" since they are marketing the clothes. These people are good looking, so they come across as attractive and credible- "if a good looking person like that is wearing it, then it must be good for me too."
5. I believe that their argument comes across as strong and is mostly one-sided and comes out openly in what they are advertising (overt). I think that these were good choices, although it could be stronger if they displayed a sale on a specific collection (Candie's) that's popular and featured a picture, than just their own brand (Somoma) which is not so popular. Brands that people like and want will draw people into the store.
6. The audience is aimed at teens and adults, since that is the main crowd that goes shopping. This can be seen by having teenagers on the front, and since mom usually shops for the whole family-having a family presented promotes her remembering someone needs something or wanting to go shopping. I think that if this ad was given to a interdependent culture, they would really like it as it has many people together and gives off a community feel.
7. Even though someone may know that they may not need something, they see that there is a great sale and may want to go anyway-just because there is a sale (dissonance). This is a common tactic by many stores, specially around Black Friday, as they want people to be draw in for the sales and it has also possibly become a conditioned response so that when people see a sale, they are immediately drawn to it, even if it may not be a good deal overall.
Radio Green Tea Ad
1. This ad markets Lipton's green tea which I found off of YouTube.
2. I believe that this ad appeals to cognitive attitude as many different steryotypes presented (Texas, China, Germany, North Pole, Mars, Mimes, Jaws wired shut, Barbershop quartet, race car drivers, and high school Glee club) and thus plays into also affective attitudes as well in how they are presented. I think it was a good strategy as it all came together and makes the Glee club song now associated with Lipton's green tea.
3. This ad uses peripheral route persuasion as most of the presentation does not talk a lot about tea but about different people. Although, its message is delivered in a systematic way as in the end the facts are presented and made plain- "with its protective antioxidants, its not only good for you, its hmm to you"
4. The ad uses interviews from multiple people to be the "experts" and evidence of the fact that Lipton tea is the best, allowing the narrator to say,"Well, there you have it. It sounds like everyone loves the taste of Lipton green tea." These sources do not come off as credible, since you know that they are acting, but do come off attractive as it is enjoying to listen to all the diversity.
5. The argument is essentially weak, but tried to be presented strong with its many sources as witnesses. It is also a two-sided argument and implies its message with a "hmmm" meaning that the tea is really good. Surprisingly, these are good choices, as the person listening is very entertained and starts singing the Glee song, which now makes them think of Lipton green tea.
6. The entire family is can listen to this commercial and like it. Although, it is aimed at adults, as children do not usually drink tea (or ask for it), but adults do for the caffeine and taste. Since their main customers are adults, then these choices were a good decision. An interdependent culture, I think, would love this commercial, since there is a wide diverse population represented and in the end a whole group of singers.
7. This commercial takes away any dissonance a person may have about drinking Lipton's green tea- "with its protective antioxidants from real tea, its not just good for you its hmmm too." So a person does not have to feel bad about drinking the tea, as it is healthy and tastes great. Also, emotions comes into play with all of the different sounds and happiness and satisfaction being expressed in the interviewee's answers and song, that the listening audience comes away feeling happy and joyful.
Recently, I interviewed a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has been a counselor for many years and I wanted to discover more about her journey and what her life is like!
Name: Ruth Stitt
Where work: Own practice and teaching at the community college
Job title: Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S)
Length of time in the field: 21 years
Educational background: MS, University of Houston-Clear Lake, graduated 1992
Q:Why did you go into the field of counseling?
A: I saw that people needed help. I wanted training and credibility to be able to speak into people's lives and help them find healing. It was my calling.
Q: Is it all that you thought it would be?
A: yes!
Q: What do you like best?
A: it is never boring, challenging, variety, and engaging- which I love!
Q: What do you like least?
A: business aspect of it, all the paperwork and follow up with bills
Q: Would you recommend this field to someone else?
A: Only if they feel called to it, because it is work. They also need to be a good listener to others.
Q: What is it like each day- what do your days consist of?
A: My days don't really have a structure, which is one of the benefits of working on your own (not in a practice). If I am teaching a class that day, I will see about 2-6 clients. Otherwise, I will see perhaps 6-8 clients in a day. The first time I meet with a client, I will go over all the paperwork, credibility, payment plan, ect., to get it out of the way. Then I will listen and find out what is the problem they want to work on. I will also ask questions to find the deeper root of the problem. I really like to have those therapeutic conversations with people- I find it really helps them.
Q: Was it hard becoming a counselor?
A: Well, in the state of Texas, after you graduate with your master's degree, you feel ready to work after being in school for so long, but you are required to complete a 3,000 hours of internship in the field before becoming certified. At least 1,500 hours must be direct client contact along with being supervised by a Licensed Professional Counselor. You get a permit to be a LPCI (Licensed Professional Counselor Intern) and you have to find someone to supervise you.
Q: How did you know that you wanted to go into it?
A: I felt called. I had been reading some books by counselors/psychologists and was fascinated on how they could point out what was going on. I asked myself: "How do they know? How do they do that?" And so I wanted to do the same for others, so I went into that.
Q: What type of people do you see- is it just emotional or mental issues?
A: Well, if its mental, they need to see a doctor. Mostly what I see is people with depression and anxiety issues, military veterans, or problems in the home. Although, I have seen a wide variety of stuff, so that no matter what comes through that door, I am not shocked by it.
Q: What advice would you give to college students looking to pursue a degree in psychology or counseling?
A: Confidence is key, and it takes time to become a well-rounded good counselor which comes with experience. So be patient with yourself. Know what you are getting into- some students think it's going to be so amazing, but they forget about all the work that goes into it.
I found this interview to be very informing and enlightening about the field of counseling!
If you would like to contact Ruth Stitt, here is a link on more about her:
You wake up in the morning to hearing your alarm clock go off.
You move your feet out of bed.
After getting dressed, you feel hungry so you go to the kitchen to eat.
Later, when it is time to leave, you drive your car to work.
As you pass by your co-workers, you recall each of their names and say hello to them.
You multi-task and make decisions on the next step to take after reasoning the different outcomes.
After feeling hungry and eating lunch, you must drive to pick up something at a store.
As you drive, you are processing sensory information of the cars around you at the light.
The light turns green, so you go.
All of a sudden, a car pulls out near you and almost hits you.
After a couple of minutes of interpreting the situation is safe, you realize your heart rate is starting to lower back down from its high peak.
In every sentence above, you are using a different part of your brain.
Do you ever wonder how your brain completes so many tasks, learns and creates new things, triggers you to eat and when to sleep, and remembers at the end of the day all that you did ?
Have you ever wondered what your brain looks like inside?
The brain is an amazing part of the body, acting like a giant computer or control center!
Join us, as we discover the different parts that direct our daily life!
First, I tried my hand at home-made modeling clay, but it cracked horribly. So I went to Hobby Lobby and tried air-hardening clay.
It came out beautiful when wet, but after it hardened it was super delicate and shattered into pieces.
NOTE: never make a 3-D model of the brain out of air-hardening clay ever again!
I then gave it one more chance and went to Hobby Lobby and bought multi-colored modeling clay, a egg-shaped paper mache, neon colored pipe cleaners, a wooden rod, and a block of Styrofoam. And here are the results....
Hippocampus- memory
Amaygdala- emotions (fear), discrimination of objects for survival
Hypothalamus- drives and motives, emotions and stress
Thalamus- relay information from higher and lower brain
Reticular- walking, sleeping, activates other parts of brain to produce arousal
Pons- sleep and arousal
Medulla- regulates breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and reflexes
Puitary gland- regulates all other endocrine glands
corpus callosum- pass information between left and right hemispheres
Hope you enjoyed our journey through the different parts of the brain!
Recently, we took a trip to the National Museum of Funeral History.
My experience was different than
what I expected. The Museum is divided into different parts, honoring different
categories of people. I started at the area honoring the unknown soldiers at Washington,
D.C. Here, I learned the high respect and devotion of volunteering soldiers to
guard the tomb of the unknown soldiers, one from World War I and several from
World War II. Honoring these few unknown men is meant to honor the rest of the
fallen American heroes who served our country so faithfully. It considered the
highest honor to serve as a guard of the tomb of the unknown soldiers. The
guard changes every hour by day and every two hours by night. Reading and
watching this memorial to our soldiers really placed me in awe and a greater respect
for our service men.
Nearby is the presidential funeral
history, with newspapers and evidence surrounding the different presidents. I
truly enjoyed looking at the newspapers and seeing the difference between today’s
newspapers and the unfolding of history contained in them. I felt as if I was
touching history! It was interesting to note the different deaths of the
presidents and how the public was lied to about John Booth being found and executed
when he was not. I would have loved to be able to open the confidential book
displayed near Lincoln that explained in detail this assassination! (It was in
a glass case)
Afterwards, I proceeded to an area
that highlighted the deaths of major icons in history. I found it interesting
to find Snow White’s casket and how short it was! It truly looked as if it was
made for the size of a child, not a young woman.
I saw memorials to Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor and was shocked to see how their death had taken place several years ago when it seemed still so recent. To me, it showed how people’s images fade less slowly than they do. Also, the people that are still alive, who loved that lost person, are the one’s who keep that person ‘alive” in society and unforgotten.
The museum has a wide variety of
antique and vintage funeral transportation. There are nine early horse drawn
hearses and along with different evolving automobiles. Each of these has a wide
“back” that sets it apart for funeral service. My favorite transportation was a
bus that was the longest automobile present. Instead of placing the coffin in traditionally
with the long sides parallel to the sides of the vehicle, the coffin is placed
in with the short sides parallel to the vehicle’s sides. This way, the coffin
can take up less space and can allow a third part to the bus for carrying
twenty passengers aboard. I truly loved the layout of this car and think we
should still make funeral vehicles similar to it. The bus at the museum is the
only one left of its kind.
My favorite 20 people carrying bus! You get in the last door open at the end.
Next, I entered the area on the history of embalming people. "Embalming" means to remove the liquid from the inside of the body and dry it out, so that it stays in tact for proper viewing and then for the funeral. The reason why the viewing of the body became so important and customary was that at many times, graveyards were recycled. One day, some men turned up some coffins and discovered claw-marks all inside. They realized that many people had been buried alive and awoke after being unconscious and had tried to claw their way out in desperation. Realizing this, promoted the viewing of the body before burial to see if perhaps the person would re-awake. Family or hired help stayed with the body for a couple of days and even tied a rope to the deceased, attached to a bell, in case the person revived. The Egyptians were the first to do an excellent
job of embalming their dead. They took out all the internal organs except the
heart, as it was important in the afterlife, and put them in jars (except the
brain-they did not think it was important). Then they would fill the body with
linen to dry it out and message perfumes and oils into the body and wrap it
with several hundred yards of linen. Ramses the Great’s corpse is currently on display
in the Cairo museum for demonstrating how well preserved the bodies were by the
Egyptians. This whole process took many days and was attributed to their god,
Anubis.
Not until the Civil War, did
embalming become important. Dr. Thomas Holmes is attributed to being the “father
of American embalming”. He noticed that the bodies were usually preserved in a
zinc, arsenic, or mercury based form and how it was harmful to medical students
when they studied the bodies. Dr. Holmes studied Egyptian mummies and created
his own arterial solution “Inominata” (sold for $3) and injection. He embalmed
over 4,000 people in the civil war and then shipped the bodies to the parents
for a proper burial.
Another very commonly used
preservation was the ice box. Ice was placed underneath a board and then the body
lain on top with a lid sealing it shut. During the civil war, a wicker basket
was used to transport men with amputated legs and were called “a basket case”. Later,
as hospital deaths became more common, the deceased were carried in the baskets
to the funeral homes.
book teaching students how to embalm people
In the Victorian times, the
undertaker would come to the home to do the work and leave the body at the home
till the viewing and funeral. It was common to take the dead person’s hair and
make jewelry from it to wear as remembrance. Also, the flower bouquets were
usually preserved and showcased in the home along with memorial pictures of the
deceased. Society was very harsh on women of deceased husbands. They had to
wear all black for two years straight and were forbidden to attend any social
events or parties. They could not wear either any special material, to show
that the joy of their life was gone. It was common for these women to wear
black for the rest of their life.
Everything had to be black!
In the 1920’s funeral homes came to
a rise since society began to die mostly in hospitals. The gravity bottle was
used mostly at this time until the 1960’s with electrical powered ones. Later,
embalming by injection became standard.
They could mix all their poisonous chemicals!
Death is a part of life. We all must face it one day.
Psychiatrist, Elisabeth KΓΌbler-Ross, says that people adjust to death in different ways.
The initial reaction, once someone has found out that they are dying is first denial, then anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance (pp. 443-444, General Psychology textbook). Although each person can be different.
After viewing this museum, I have come to a better understanding of why we have funerals. By honoring our dead, it is a way for us to say goodbye and let go of our loved ones.
The revelation that I have had from looking at a corpse is that I hardly see the person I loved. The corpse seems cold and distant. The person I remember is full of personality and joy.
This is due to the fact that who we are is not our "earth suit". The corpse does not define who we are but is a means to communicate with others and share who we are. Who we are is our spirit and without it, a body looks empty and void. Our spirit defines who we are.
Personally, I do not want my family and friends to have their last memory of me to be my empty corpse. I want the loving memories they have to be their best remembrance of me. So I do not want my body to be viewed, but to have just a burial. Although, I want it to be a celebration and not a time of gloom, for I will be in a wonderful place and they will see me again soon.
