ALMA D'ARTE

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8/25/2020

Family Health

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What makes a family healthy?



​Families are healthy when everyone takes care of themselves, and each other.
Each person has to work on their own self esteem and support the well-being of their family members. 

​This does not mean that it is anyone's job to make sure that someone else has a high self esteem. 

​It is however, our job to not intentionally hurt anyone else's sense of self worth.



VOcabulary from the book



Nuclear family- a couple and their children, any gender or sexuality

Adoption- the legal process through which a couple will take another persons' child into their family

Single parent family- only one parent lives with children

Extended family- group of close relatives living together or near each other, grandparents, teachers, uncles, aunts, or cousins

Blended family- when parents remarry and children from both parents live together

Foster family- when people take care of a child while their biological family is not able to take care of them 



CHores



​All members of the family are meant to share responsibilities, chores and responsibilities can be adjusted according to age. 

​Youth can help with cleaning and cooking regardless of gender. 

Cooking and cleaning are basic life skills.


Household Chores Appropriate for Adolescents of Any Age
​
  • Putting away their belongings.
  • Doing the laundry.
  • Folding and putting away clean clothes.
  • Vacuuming, sweeping, dusting.
  • Setting the table.
  • Clearing the table.
  • Washing and putting away the dishes.
  • Feeding, walking family pets; cleaning birdcages and litter boxes.

​https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/Pages/Household-Chores-



What is Self esteem?



​Confidence in one's own worth; self-respect.

Respect? a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

Many psychologists think that high self-esteem has a positive effect on health, while low self-esteem has a negative effect on health.

Accept yourself and treat yourself well, with self- compassion. 


​Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering.

​While there is little doubt that low self-esteem is problematic and often leads to depression and lack of motivation, trying to have higher self-esteem can also be problematic if it is done by putting other people down.  


Family members get to help each other with


​
  • Recognizing that it is normal to not get it right away

  • Listening to each other and believing in each other as you wish someone would listen to you and believe in you

  • Alleviating suffering by cheering each other up and helping each other feel supported
 
  • Remembering that it is normal for things to go wrong sometimes, we are constantly learning how to cope with situations that go wrong
 
  • Helping each other feel connected since isolation is evolutionarily considered very unsafe and we panic when we feel alone.
 
  • Practice considering how our actions can affect the experience of someone else before we act
  

Teaching Everyone Self-COmpassion



​Self-kindness vs. Self-judgment: Self-compassionate people recognize that being imperfect, failing, and experiencing life difficulties is inevitable, so they tend to be gentle with themselves when confronted with painful experiences rather than getting angry when life falls short of set ideals.

Common humanity vs. Isolation: Frustration at not having things exactly as we want is often accompanied by an irrational but pervasive sense of isolation – as if “I” were the only person suffering or making mistakes.

Mindfulness vs. Over-identification: We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time. Acknowledge it, feel what you feel, and let it go.  The pain does not define you, the experience does not define you.

​https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/
​


Why it can be hard to love ourselves sometimes



Some say that we give ourselves the love that we think we deserve, not what we actually deserve, we each deserve the best. 

Sometimes we are taught that we don't deserve to be treated well and we need to unlearn that.

Oppression dynamics can lead us to believe that we don't deserve as much happiness as other people and we end up with internalized oppression.
​
Lack of Privilege can make us feel limited until we limit ourselves

Sometimes the past and limitations of the adults in our life lead us to hold ourselves back

Everything is constantly changing and the experience of the adult is at least over a decade old, there is still a lot you can learn from them, remember that you might have more opportunities than they did, or live in a more loving world, thankfully.



Healthy Family Dynamic Includes


pg 126

Caring and Commitment


  • Committed to staying together through good and bad times 
  • When one family member makes a mistake, the other members of the family offer their support even if they are angry or disappointed

Respect and Appreciation
 
  • Family members help each other feel important
  • Celebrate success

Empathy
​
  • The ability to understand how the other person feels
  • Family members listen to each other's points of view

​​Communication
​
  • Family members tell each other what they honestly feel
  • they listen with respect to what the other person has to say 
​
​Cooperation
  • Responsibilities are divided fairly among family members 
  • Each follows through with what they say they will do 
​

Family VIolence


  • Violence can occur in all kinds of families-- rich or poor, urban or rural, at any education level.

  • The heart of the problem is one persons' desire to have power and control over others.
 
  • Violence may be physical, sexual or emotional
​
  • Any member of a household can be the victim of abuse- a spouse, child, or elderly person
​
  • Tell people what you are going through, you are not alone
 
  • Physical abuse: when an adult punishes a child and leaves a mark that can be seen the next day
 
  • A child that is going through abuse might think that changing their actions might stop the abuse but only the abuser is responsible for the abuse, any justification given is just victim blaming
 
  • Sexual abuse: a criminal offense in which an adult uses a child for sexual purposes, even a single incident can cause long term damage where the survivor blames themselves even though it is never their fault 
 
  • Emotional abuse: non -physical mistreatment of a person, it leaves no visible scars but it can lead the victim to feel inadequate and worthless
 
  • Neglect- failing to provide basic needs
​
  • Runaway- a child who leaves home without permission, often times to leave an unhealthy situation at home
​

Healthy Family Practices



​Resolving Conflicts: by focusing on collaboration and compromise

Expressing Emotions: being a safe space for elf expression is critical 

Making decisions: as an egalitarian family unit where all members have an equal share in the decision making process

Managing Time: creating goals with timelines that are broken down into smaller steps so the members of the family can keep track of the progress 

When the family needs help:
 family therapy, support groups, community involvement, individual counseling aside from family therapy 
​

COnflict Resolution



​Describe the problem: 


  • what do you feel the problem is?
  • how does the problem make you feel?
  • what do you think about the situation?
  • what do you want out of the situation?

See the other persons point of view:
​
  • reflect of how you think the other person sees the problem

​Involve the other person:

  • Ask them for their point of view
  • Find ways to find a resolution that is good for both of you
​

Resources:
​
https://teenlineonline.org/
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
https://www.loveisrespect.org/
https://www.fyinm.org/ 
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/immediate-help
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

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8/22/2020

Stress Management

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Stress Happens when our needs are not being met


Picture

https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571


What is stress?


Stress is the response of your body and mind to being challenged or threatened.
​

Positive stress is eustress
​awkward situations that help us grow, they cause stress but the result is beneficial for our overall well being

Examples
​
  • getting to know someone new​
  • networking and connecting with a possible employer
  • competitive sports
  • public presentations
  • developing new skills
  • preparing for bigger goals
 
Negative stress is distress​

  • can be debilitating and reinforce fear, when we are not getting our needs met
  • loss of a job or job insecurity
  • loss of home
  • loss of relationships
  • hunger
  • problems at school or work
  • bullying or drama
  • sleep problems
 
Stressor
​

event or situation that causes stress 
​
​
  • Any change: some changes are harder to adapt to than others and some changes are harder to adapt to for one person vs another
  • Prior experience with a stressor helps us adapt, it is best to find ways to make life less stressful.
  • Each person gets to reflect on what stresses them out, nobody can tell them that their experience of stress is not valid ​

What are some common stressors


​
​Everyday problems


  • Minor but frequent everyday events
  • Misplacing keys
  • Missing your bus
  • Too much homework
  • Disagreements with family members
  • Pressure to succeed
  • Competition 
​
Life changes
​
  • Experiencing death of a parent 
  • Going through parents’ divorce
  • Experiencing remarriage of parent
  • Having a newborn sibling
  • Having a serious illness
  • Moving to a new school district
  • Failing a grade
  • Being accepted to college
  • Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend
  • Having parent lose their job
  • Learning you were adopted
  • Not making a team
  • Being elected to student government
  • Being recognized for an achievement
  • Leaving home for college or a job
  • Graduating from high school
​
Catastrophes
​
  • ​Events that destroy lives and may destroy property
  • Natural disasters such as hurricane, flood, earthquake, tornadoes
  • Violent crimes and war
  • A person who experiences a catastrophe may deal with psychological effects for years after the event 
​
Environmental problems 

  • Conditions in your immediate surroundings that increase your level of stress
  • Overcrowded bus
  • Traffic
  • Noise if you live near an airport
  • Poor air quality
  • Contaminated water
  • Heat wave or blizzard, unusual weather
  • Living in an overcrowded space
​

How stress may affect us



Stages of Stress Response

Alarm Stage

during the alarm stage, your body releases adrenaline into your blood, it causes an immediate change in your body: heart rate speeds up, muscles tense up, breathing speeds up, your attention narrows and you focus on the stressor. (Life hack [as long as alarm stage is not alerting you to something that you need to react to to save your life]: look at your surroundings and notice four items, take note of sounds around you, take your mind off the stressor)

 
Resistance Stage 

you feel that it is all good because the alarm stage is gone but you still experience the stress, you try to adapt to it and go by your day.  Sometimes we react with bottled up, accumulated stress and [small things] set us off.  Your body is working hard to cope during the resistance stage and you may be inexplicably irritated, tired, and less able to handle additional stress.  Traffic is a common cause of this state or resistance.

 
Exhaustion Stage

Your body can no longer keep up with the demands placed on it, depleted emotional and or physical state.  this happens after a long time of resistance stage, it can happen when we lose a loved one.  It is not permanent but it can last years.
​​
​


PHYSICAL effects of Stress



​Signs of stress, pg. 63:

  • Stomachaches: can occur in stomach, small or large intestine.  Stress disrupts the movement of food through the digestive system.  Food might move too fast or too slow and you might feel gas, cramps, diarrhea, or constipation.  Stress increases stomach acid making an ulcer more likely to occur.
 
  • ​Breathing problems: Asthma may be triggered by stress, it also increases breathing rate and heart rate which can least to feeling short of breath.
​
  • Headaches: Tension in muscles around scalp, face, and neck can cause aches, a migraine begins when blood vessels in the brain and scalp narrow which limits the supply of oxygen to the brain. You can keep a log to see when you experience aches.
 
  • Lowered resistance to disease: Stress may lower your immune system, During the alarms stage some parts of the immune system function better than usual to protect you but prolonged stress can slow the immune system down.
​
  • Heart disease: Your heart can suffer from prolonged or frequent stress because your blood vessels narrow and your blood pressure rises.
​

What is stress management



​Responses to stress
​
  • Optimism to overcome pessimism
  • Aiming for perfection
  • Resilience

Time management and coping
​
  • It can help us feel less stressed out if we make a schedule and goals to work on. 
 
  • Break bigger projects into smaller steps and schedule when to complete the parts of your project
 
  • Mental rehearsal- visualize the work getting done, practice the event without actually doing the event
 
  • Reduce tension- activities that help us reduce tension vary
    • exercise, walking, yoga
    • watching tv or reading
    • reflecting
​

Planning and Time Management 



Goals



​Goal Setting

WEB SITE ON SETTING GOALS, SMART GOALS
​WWW.MINDTOOLS.COM

To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:
​
  • Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
  • Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
  • Achievable (agreed, attainable).
  • Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
  • Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
​

Coping skills



  • Confront the situation
  • Release excess energy
  • Take a break
  • Talk through feelings with someone that you trust
  • Support groups
  • Creative outlets
 

Unhealthy Defense Mechanisms 


​
Denial
refusing to recognize an emotion or problem, acting as though nothing is wrong


Compensation
making up for weakness in one area by excelling in another area
 

Rationalization
Making excuses for actions of feelings
 

Reaction formation
behaving in a way opposite to the way you feel
 

Projection
putting your own faults onto another person
 

Regression
returning to immature behaviors to express emotion 
​

Building community



People can work together to create an environment that supports a healthy community, also remember, taxes are meant to promote the common good.

​Write three things or ideas that help with each  of
​these dimensions of wellness:


Emotional

Environmental

Financial

Occupational

Intellectual

Physical

Social

Spiritual
​

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8/14/2020

Human Emotions

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We are complex beings 



We feel far more than happiness, and anger, so people say that we have seven main emotions, some say twelve, Forbes says twentyseven. 

Here are some of our human emotions:

Adoration, Amusement, Anger, Awe, Confusion, Contempt, Desire, Disappointment, Distress, Fear, Interest and Sadness



Click below for this interactive map, a collection of videos that evoke certain emotions:

https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/emogifs/map.html#


Picture

​The map is part of a study that was published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences by Alan S. Cowen and Dacher Keltner, PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Forbes article:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/09/09/here-are-the-27-different-human-emotions-according-to-a-study/#4136dff41335



Link to the study:

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/08/30/1702247114



Feelings and Science



Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion


​James- Lange Theory of Emotion
​


Mindfulness



Being aware of what we are feeling before taking action



Practice Self-COmpassion



kindness matters


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8/10/2020

Health Class Syllabus

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The plan for the Semester in Health


August 3 to August 7
What is Health class?


August 10 to August 14 
Human personality


August 17 to August 21
Human emotions 


August 24 to August 28
Stress management


August 31 to September 4
Family health


September 7: off

September 8 to September 11
General health: eating, lung health, digestion, liver


September 14 to September 18
Movement and coordination, exercise


September 21 to September 25
Family planning, safe sex


September 28 to October 2
Exam, discussion topics


October 5 to October 9
Drug awareness


October 12 to October 15
Mental Health 

School Break:  October 16

October 19 to October 23
Driving safely


October 26 to October 30    
Stages of grief and recovery from loss


November 2 to November 6
Responsible alcohol consumption


November 9 to November 13
Drugs Part 2

November 16 to November 20
Safety planning: planning ahead for transportation, food, drink, personal needs


November 23 to November 27: Break

December 1 to December 4
Reading food labels


December 7 to December 11
Exam and review


December 14 to December 18
Discussion Circles, self expression ways to build community
End of course

December 21 to January 5: Winter Break


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8/8/2020

Personality Traits

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What is personality?



The way that we express who we are, the behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and ways of thinking that make us each an individual. 


Personality Traits


  • Extroversion vs Introversion: These words are used to describe polar opposites; we are not just one or the other and we might behave differently in different situations.

  • If you just met a group of people, you might want to get to know them a bit better before you talk to them more, you might also be interested in learning more about what they like to talk about before deciding what conversations to bring up. This is normal. The group of people might think that you're an introvert, but that is because they have not gotten to know you yet. Take your time with labeling others.

  • Remember that a group of people is a group of individuals, there is no "they"
​
  • An extrovert tends to be seen as talkative and sociable while an introvert is identified as shy, quiet, and reserved.  Extroverts tend to seek out other people while introverts are more comfortable spending time on their own.
 
  • It is completely normal to be a "mixtrovert", something in the middle, we just tend to define things according to a binary mindset. 
​

The 5 big personality traits



For some it is better to be a high scorer and for some to be a low scorer:

Picture

https://nobaproject.com/modules/personality-traits
​


There is a Myers & Briggs Personality Test:
​
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test


Personality Development


Opportunities for self- expression:

Having more experience with breaking out of our comfort zone will influence our personality.

Development of trust: 

An infant depends on others for food, a clean diaper, and affection: if these needs are met, the child learns to trust other people, if these needs are not met, the child learns to mistrust and withdraw.  


  • So trust can be influenced before we even learn to speak.
  • We can reconnect to trust by experiencing reasons to trust

Learning to be independent: 

As we learn to do things on our own, independence can be considered part of personality, intentional practice matters, find ways to be independent.


  • If we master our goals we might feel a healthy sense of power and control within our reality.

  • If we fail, and have support, we can try again and thrive, if we fail and are ridiculed we might develop self-doubt, insecurity or shame. 

  • We can overcome insecurity and shame... creating a culture of support can prevent the emotional injury.  
 
  • Setting new goals and learning new skills can help us overcome self-doubt and regain a balanced sense of power and control.  
 
  • Mentioning "sense of power and control" is important because sometimes people will hurt others to mask insecurities. 

  • Insecure people lack a sense of power and control within their own lives and seek to control others as a way to compensate, a cheap and easy way to have a false sense of power and control is to be a bully, being a bully only pushes people away. 

  • Seeking a sense of power and control over others by influencing how they feel is a mistake, instead, we can seek a sense of power and control by working on our own emotional stability and sense of security.

  • Setting goals and working to succeed in being productive and positive members of society gives us a sense of power and control that promotes peace, and a healthy community.
 
  • Setting a goal can lead to regaining balance, a good goal can be to accept yourself as you are.
​

Ways to learn more about who you are


Taking initiative: 

We plan our activities and set our goals by reflecting on our personal interests.  As we develop a sense of right and wrong, we might take initiative to speak up against oppression and inequity, this can lead to 
thinking of new clubs, bands, web sites, and dreams, our level of initiative is part of personality .

Developing skills: 

As we grow, we learn how to take care of ourselves and others, how to have our needs met, we collect study skills, learning skills, social skills, our skills help us feel competent, as we grow, we know that we are closer to reaching our goals because we worked on gaining the skills that we will use to get there.

 
Search for identity: 

A sense of self and identity includes what motivates us to keep on going.  Our frame of mind, or topics of conversation, what we like to do with your free time, what we are working on for ourselves and for others.
 

Establishing intimacy: 

We may establish close bonds with others, know that it won’t always go the way we expected, we might find out that a person is not who we thought they were, find ways to honor your boundaries.

Do not give up on the possibility of building a large network of healthy relationships with friends, family and colleagues. 


  • If we support others and expect the same in return we build healthy rapport, and a culture of showing up and following through.
​
  • Intimacy is any sharing of deep thoughts, experiences, a level of trust  
​
Create and nurture: 

Help your friends and family-thrive, tell them how they can help you thrive.  Nurture vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.  Stay up to date with the agencies that serve them, monitor progress and funding sources for public health programs.  Advocate for policies that protect them such as rigorous background checks for anyone that works with them.  Build community events around raising awareness to hold space for artists and musicians.
​
​
  • Look back with acceptance: Celebrate your success and work on new skills every step of the way.  Take risks that you feel comfortable taking and consider the negative possibilities of the risk to see what you can do to avoid them or feel more prepared to face them.  Look up articles and web sites that share tips and tricks.  All we can do is try our best and if things don’t go well, it is not our fault.  Older people tend to regret what they did not do more than what they did do.  Failure is natural and part of the process of growing.
​

Personality is connected to confidence



setting goals



​To create goals that are clear and reachable, create SMART goals:
​
  • Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
  • Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
  • Achievable (agreed, attainable).
  • Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
  • Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

​WEB SITE ON SETTING GOALS, SMART GOALS
​WWW.MINDTOOLS.COM
​


Your brain is still developing, what you focus on matters



Neural Pruning

You will let go of types of brain use that you do not use, use it or lose it. It is a natural process that helps you get better at what you focus on, think of what you focus on now and how that will affect your future.  If you practice thinking of consequences and making plans or setting goals, you will get better and better at it.

​This is wonderful in many ways, use this power wisely.



Thoughts



​The more we respect other people, the more we realize that people can be respectful, we are more likely to believe that other can be respectful because if we can do it, so can they

If someone is not respecting you, you can stop engaging, you are free to stop talking to them, we can't change anyone.  You can let them know how they are bugging you but if they shame you or deny your experience then there is nothing you can do about that.

Retaliation often leads to escalation.

We tend to surround ourselves with people that are like us and share our sense of humor, this is the reason some people believe think stuff like "all people are racist" or "all men are sexist", oppression is normalized though "sense of humor" to mask the intent to oppress.  A lot of truth is said in jest as people reveal their innermost values.

A great way to stop saying oppressive things is to stop thinking in an oppressive way.

If we say something oppressive, it is not a "slip-up", it is an expression of our values, we can correct ourselves by remembering where we learned to think this way and unpack our own logic.  Reflect on why you said what you said and apologize to anyone that was hurt.  Sometimes we have to unlearn may things to move forward.

Oppressive means: sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, classist... any form of hate or negativity that aims to put some groups of people over others. 

All oppression is learned.

It is usually a fear of lack of control over a situation, or fear of lack of resources.  For example racism can come from wanting to put people down so they don't feel that they deserve to share space with you.  Racism tends to discourage people from applying to jobs; they might feel that they won't fit in, or will constantly have to cope with racism and be stressed out on a daily basis. 

​A fear of lack of job opportunity can motivate a community to use racism to push people away; it is direct oppression, and it hurts entire communities. 

​This can rob us of the opportunity to learn from each other and even create more jobs.

​Our values affect our personality.

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