M7 Task

This week’s module was all about Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology is the is scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning. With This week’s task having to do with this concept, we were supposed two do one planned thing that we enjoyed and then another planned thing that would help bring someone else happiness or just help them in general. So, for this week’s task I decided early on in the week that I was going to make a trip home this weekend. I mainly decided to do this so that I could complete the “philanthropic” part of my task because one of my close friends who also goes to HSU said that she was going home this weekend, but I also decided to change up my “pleasure” task from having a lake day to having a nice pool/ outside day so that I could really have some time to have fun and attempt to become less stressed before finals week came around.

For my “philanthropic” task I decided that I was going to surprise one of my close friends Friday night when I got back to Dallas and take her to dinner. She has been telling me lately how stressed out she has been due to college and her busy schedule in general, so I thought that it would be a good stress reliever for her to just get out for a while and have dinner and to talk. Although my friend knew we were going to dinner, she did not know that I was going to end up paying for her at the end. So, I ended up paying for her dinner and everything and she was really surprised because my friends and I do not really like anyone paying for us ever, so she did not expect for me to do that. At the end of it all she was really happy and said that it made her feel appreciated and slightly less stressed because we were able to talk a lot. She also said that it was fun to be able to spend time with each other because we both are always really busy and do not get to hang out as much because we always happen to not be in Abilene at the same time due to her track schedule and me being busy this semester with having to go home a lot for family events like weddings and such.

For the “pleasure” part of this task, as I mentioned before I decided pretty early on in the week that I was going home, so I decided to specifically set aside about three to four hours of just hanging out outside and swimming a little bit. I decided to do this task because I love being by the water and being outside. I have always found both of these things to being very calming and stress relieving for me, so I thought it would be good to do since finals week is fast approaching and this semester has been kind of difficult for me.

Even though I enjoyed doing both tasks that I completed this week, there were definitely some differences that I could tell between the two. For the “philanthropic” task, although I enjoyed having dinner with my friend and trying to help her feel better, I had just sat in traffic and driven for three hours so I was really tired, and it took a lot of energy for me to want to get up from my bed and drive back to Arlington to eat with her. It also required me to save my money a little bit, because I mean I am a broke college kid just like everyone else. LOL The down side of my “pleasure” task was that it required me to think ahead enough and actually plan out my Saturday, which I usually do not like doing because I do not like to plan that far ahead usually. The similarities between these two tasks would be the fact that I enjoyed both of them. When it came to the “philanthropic” task I enjoy helping people in general, which is why I want to be plastic surgeon eventually, so it really wasn’t all that hard for me to want to try to help someone feel better no matter the person. I have always been involved in community service projects, even though I wouldn’t say I did any community service for this task, so I just naturally have a want to help people in any way that I can. Obviously, I also enjoyed my “pleasure” activity because I got to do something that I really enjoy doing even though it took some slight planning. I think that just this task in itself will be helpful to me in the future, because I learned that I need to set aside more time for doing things that I enjoy and that relieve stress for me. Overall, this task and module was really helpful to me in terms of getting me to think a little more about showing gratitude for others and doing things that I enjoy more often.

M6 Task

         For this week's experiential task I decided to interview two people that are very close to me. That would be my mom and her sister. My mom and her sister both share an anxiety disorder which is commonly known as panic attacks. 
         According to them they both discovered that they had panic attacks around the same time as each other. My aunt noticed that she was having problems with panic attacks about a year before my mom did. My mom was quick to mention that these panic attacks showed up for both of them around the time that their mother, my grandma, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. When my mom started having panic attacks they had just found out that their mother's cancer was terminal. My mom said she had no idea what was happening when she had her first one because she had never heard about them before. Although, my aunt had already discovered she was having them she did not tell anyone in the family so this is partially why my mom was still not familiar with them. 
         When my aunt experienced her first panic attack she immediately went to the doctor and the doctor was able to prescribe her with an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication, which she still takes to this day. However, my mom's anxiety attacks were not as easily fixed so she had to go from her regular MD to a psychiatrist who then prescribed her with a strong antidepressant and anti anxiety drug because "she couldn't even sleep at night." My mom said it was especially difficult for her because she had to go through a trial and error period of testing medications, which my aunt mentioned she did not have to do. 
         Both my mom and aunt said that they have a great quality of life now, living with this disorder. Both of them work about sixty hours a week in a "high stress environment" and have not suffered with any panic attacks since being put on their medications. When I asked them about who in their lives helped them to get through the rough times of having these panic attacks they both said that family helped them tremendously. For my aunt she said her daughter helped her get through it the most and my mom said that her whole family was crucial during this time.
         Through this project I learned a lot about my aunt that I did not know. I also learned that through this both my mom and aunt were able to have a conversation with their mother about this and they discovered that anxiety disorder runs in their family. I, myself, did not know this before this project so it was very intriguing to learn that about my family. I did record this interview, but it was just a screen recording from face time, so I do not really have any pictures or videos to add this time, but I hope that you enjoyed this blog nonetheless. I also encourage you to talk with your own family about any mental disorders or any illnesses in general that your family might have a history of because, it might be helpful for you to know in the future. (Below I have attached a link to a video that takes you through what it is like to go through a panic attack, feel free to watch it or not if you are wanting to know a little bit more about panic attacks.)
What a panic attack feels like.

Arnold's Story

            This week I decided to interview my friend's roommate Arnold. Arnold is quite an interesting individual and has a really amazing story and background so I thought he would be a great person to interview about multiculturalism. As you will find out from the video Arnold is a foreign exchange student at ACU. His family currently lives in Dubai, but he has lived in many different countries throughout his life. There are many challenges that international students face such as "fitting in" to a new culture, finding new friends, adjusting to new classes and teachers who may teach differently or speak a new language, but the most difficult of these challenges would be "fitting in" as Arnold explains in the video. When you are not easily accepted into a new culture most of the time you employ coping skills in order to get through this tough time. Some of these coping skills might include using drugs or alcohol to try and forget about the issues you are facing or completely secluding yourself and cutting the people who do accept you completely off. I say that drugs or alcohol can be used a s a coping mechanism because although Arnold did not share it in the video he did share with me that he once had a drug and alcohol problem. He has since overcome this issue, but he did mention that it was a big problem for him at one time. Later I asked Arnold about a coping mechanism that he uses now and he said in order to make him feel better about not being at home he constantly surrounds himself with friends. This is a positive coping mechanism that he has used. In Arnold's case he adapted to not '"fitting in" by deciding that he just didn't care what people thought of him anymore. In my opinion this choice has made him into a very extraordinary and caring individual. Arnold has been placed in and experienced many different cultures around the world and he himself is also a mixture of many cultures, but throughout his life he has always tried to embrace and learn in whatever culture he has been placed in. Arnold has been through a considerable amount for being only twenty, yet he has taken it all in stride and become a very driven and joyful individual. I hope through Arnold's story you can see that no matter what circumstances are placed in front of you, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to just like he has and continues to do. #PsychStory