What are some possible strategies for women to use in finding balance in their professional, educational and personal lives?
Women tend to juggle many roles and therefore need to find a way to balance all of those roles in order to help from getting stressed. First of all, women need to decide the importance of the activities they do on a daily basis. For instance, if you say “yes” to an offer for dinner with a friend that may mean less time for exercise or time with the children. You have to decide if it is worth it. Also, divide the workload fairly for women that are married. The spouse can help with household chores, grocery shopping and helping with the kids. We don’t have to be superwoman. Communication is a great strategy to help balance a full day. Communicate appropriately with a boss and coworkers as well as a spouse. Let them know that you have to leave work on time to pick up the kids or for whatever else you may have to do. Finding great childcare can be a challenge but definitely can help a woman balance everything. If a woman can find someone they trust to look after the children then they at least won’t worry about the kids while at work and can focus more on work. An important strategy to help keep balance and a good relationship with a spouse is to schedule time with them every once in a while. A weekly date night would be good to reconnect without the kids. Also women need to schedule time for themselves either with friends or alone. This could be a few hours at the gym, a night out with the girls or a pedicure and massage will usually do the trick. Busy woman needs to recharge without feeling guilty about it.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Blog 14
What can a woman do to reduce her risk of assault?
Women can be such easy targets for assault because they are often viewed as the weaker of the sexes. There are some things that we as women can do to reduce our risk of assault. The first thing is to realize that anyone of any age or background can become a victim. Some women have the mentality that it won’t happen to them. These are the women that it will happen to because they will not be prepared. There are several things that can help reduce the risk such as always locking car and home doors, parking in a well lit public area, and be cautious of giving out too much information to people that you barely know. Also, many women do online dating now. One important thing is when you meet someone on the internet set the date site in a public place and drive your own car there. There is also a risk of having your drink spiked when on a date or at a party. Women should never leave their drink unattended because someone could slip a drug into it. If you leave to go to the bathroom simply order a fresh drink when you return. Another great idea is for a woman to take a self defense class. This would teach ways to help defend yourself against an attacker. A woman can greatly reduce her risk of assault if she had the knowledge to defend herself or prevent herself from becoming a victim to begin with.
Women can be such easy targets for assault because they are often viewed as the weaker of the sexes. There are some things that we as women can do to reduce our risk of assault. The first thing is to realize that anyone of any age or background can become a victim. Some women have the mentality that it won’t happen to them. These are the women that it will happen to because they will not be prepared. There are several things that can help reduce the risk such as always locking car and home doors, parking in a well lit public area, and be cautious of giving out too much information to people that you barely know. Also, many women do online dating now. One important thing is when you meet someone on the internet set the date site in a public place and drive your own car there. There is also a risk of having your drink spiked when on a date or at a party. Women should never leave their drink unattended because someone could slip a drug into it. If you leave to go to the bathroom simply order a fresh drink when you return. Another great idea is for a woman to take a self defense class. This would teach ways to help defend yourself against an attacker. A woman can greatly reduce her risk of assault if she had the knowledge to defend herself or prevent herself from becoming a victim to begin with.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Blog 13
Is it a sign of personal weakness or strength for a woman to admit that she has a problem with drugs or alcohol?
I think it is an amazing sign of strength for a woman to admit that she has a problem with drugs or alcohol. It takes such courage to admit to something so life changing. It is a great first step that gets the ball rolling for a complete recovery. To become clean though a woman has to want to do it. Forcing someone to do something they do not want to do is not always a good idea and can cause more harm than good. I think that women who hide their drug and alcohol problems are weak and in denial and are very selfish, especially if they have a family because they are probably hurting their family more than themselves. They need to know that there is help available but only if they are willing to accept it. Even for a woman to want to get into a rehab program and get clean the first step they still have to take is to admit they have a problem.
I think it is an amazing sign of strength for a woman to admit that she has a problem with drugs or alcohol. It takes such courage to admit to something so life changing. It is a great first step that gets the ball rolling for a complete recovery. To become clean though a woman has to want to do it. Forcing someone to do something they do not want to do is not always a good idea and can cause more harm than good. I think that women who hide their drug and alcohol problems are weak and in denial and are very selfish, especially if they have a family because they are probably hurting their family more than themselves. They need to know that there is help available but only if they are willing to accept it. Even for a woman to want to get into a rehab program and get clean the first step they still have to take is to admit they have a problem.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blog 12
Have you ever known someone with a mental illness? How did/does the illness impact his/her life? What have you learned about this mental illness just from knowing them?
I worked with a guy a couple of years ago who had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. This illness is an anxiety disorder where a person develops persistent and intense fears, worries or superstitions and repeats actions over and over for relief (Alexander, et al, 2010). My coworker was a very nice man in his forties, had never been married and had no children. From what I learned through interacting with him on a daily basis I tried not to judge but understood why he was alone. Even though he was on medication he still had a great fear of germs. He wore mittens or something over his hands all the time in fear of getting germs from doorknobs or from shaking hands with other people. Also, anytime he entered a room he had to do it three times. He would enter, step outside, enter again, step outside until he had done it three times. Also, he always brought his lunch and everything that he needed to eat it with. He would never use the silverware or glasses or bowls that we had in our department or from the cafeteria. Also, everything on his desk was in a perfect place that he had put it in and if it were moved he would freak out and he would frequently come to check his desk to make sure that nothing was out of place. I talked to him a few times about his disorder because I was very curious as to how his brain worked. He was very much aware that he had OCD and would talk about it when asked. He said his Mom had it as well. He saw a therapist frequently and was on medication to help control it. I felt sorry for him many times because some of our other coworkers were mean to him sometimes and would rearrange stuff on his desk just to see what kind of reaction they would get. By working with him, I understood that it wasn’t his fault that he had this mental illness that he had inherited. His brain worked a little differently than the rest of us but that didn’t mean that he was crazy or should have been discriminated against because in fact he was a very smart and nice person.
References
Alexander, L., et al. (2010). Mental Health. New Dimensions in Women’s Health. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
I worked with a guy a couple of years ago who had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. This illness is an anxiety disorder where a person develops persistent and intense fears, worries or superstitions and repeats actions over and over for relief (Alexander, et al, 2010). My coworker was a very nice man in his forties, had never been married and had no children. From what I learned through interacting with him on a daily basis I tried not to judge but understood why he was alone. Even though he was on medication he still had a great fear of germs. He wore mittens or something over his hands all the time in fear of getting germs from doorknobs or from shaking hands with other people. Also, anytime he entered a room he had to do it three times. He would enter, step outside, enter again, step outside until he had done it three times. Also, he always brought his lunch and everything that he needed to eat it with. He would never use the silverware or glasses or bowls that we had in our department or from the cafeteria. Also, everything on his desk was in a perfect place that he had put it in and if it were moved he would freak out and he would frequently come to check his desk to make sure that nothing was out of place. I talked to him a few times about his disorder because I was very curious as to how his brain worked. He was very much aware that he had OCD and would talk about it when asked. He said his Mom had it as well. He saw a therapist frequently and was on medication to help control it. I felt sorry for him many times because some of our other coworkers were mean to him sometimes and would rearrange stuff on his desk just to see what kind of reaction they would get. By working with him, I understood that it wasn’t his fault that he had this mental illness that he had inherited. His brain worked a little differently than the rest of us but that didn’t mean that he was crazy or should have been discriminated against because in fact he was a very smart and nice person.
References
Alexander, L., et al. (2010). Mental Health. New Dimensions in Women’s Health. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Blog 11
If everyone lived with our future in mind, do you think that we would live differently?
I do think that we would live differently if we were looking at future. Many of us just live for today and don’t think about how our actions today could have a major impact on our future health. For example, people who smoke may not realize what the long term consequences are for smoking otherwise they may choose not to smoke today. My uncle recently passed away at the age of 61 from complications of years of smoking. All he was thinking about when he started smoking was how cool he looked doing it in high school when everyone else smoked. When he went into the hospital he said he wished he could tell every person that smoked what kind of problems it would cause later in life. He never got the chance to but I tell everyone I know about it. Also, I think that eating unhealthy is something that we do because many of us don’t have time to prepare a healthy meal. It is so much easier to drive through a fast food restaurant for dinner. We are not thinking with our futures in mind when we do that. Years down the road we might have atherosclerosis or build up of plaque in our arteries and eventually have heart disease from the food we eat today. Also many of my friends tan at the tanning salon. They are just thinking about the vacation they are going on next month and not thinking about years down the road when their skin will become ugly and wrinkled due to the tanning beds extensive damage. Skin cancer is also a risk factor later in life when using tanning beds frequently. So, the point being that many people only have time to live in the moment that we are in today. Those people may regret their choices in the future while others try to live for the future and ensure that they do everything they can to fight off aging and health problems.
I do think that we would live differently if we were looking at future. Many of us just live for today and don’t think about how our actions today could have a major impact on our future health. For example, people who smoke may not realize what the long term consequences are for smoking otherwise they may choose not to smoke today. My uncle recently passed away at the age of 61 from complications of years of smoking. All he was thinking about when he started smoking was how cool he looked doing it in high school when everyone else smoked. When he went into the hospital he said he wished he could tell every person that smoked what kind of problems it would cause later in life. He never got the chance to but I tell everyone I know about it. Also, I think that eating unhealthy is something that we do because many of us don’t have time to prepare a healthy meal. It is so much easier to drive through a fast food restaurant for dinner. We are not thinking with our futures in mind when we do that. Years down the road we might have atherosclerosis or build up of plaque in our arteries and eventually have heart disease from the food we eat today. Also many of my friends tan at the tanning salon. They are just thinking about the vacation they are going on next month and not thinking about years down the road when their skin will become ugly and wrinkled due to the tanning beds extensive damage. Skin cancer is also a risk factor later in life when using tanning beds frequently. So, the point being that many people only have time to live in the moment that we are in today. Those people may regret their choices in the future while others try to live for the future and ensure that they do everything they can to fight off aging and health problems.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Blog 10
How does heart disease manifest differently in women than in men? Support your answers with supporting documentation. What can you do now to prevent heart disease later?
Heart disease is a serious condition and people need to know the warning signs of a heart attack as well as things they can do to help prevent heart disease. The main warning sign of a heart attack is chest pain or discomfort but it can manifest differently in women than men. Women are more likely than men to experience other symptoms such as shortness of breath or pain in the arm, back, neck or jaw (American Heart Association). Since women may not have the typical pain in the center of the chest they may think their symptoms are a result of something else and may not realize that they are experiencing a heart problem. They may not seek help right away and this is a reason that heart disease is the number one killer of women in America (Cleveland Clinic). There are some things that people can do to help prevent heart disease later. First of all everyone needs to know their family's heart health history. This is a risk factor that you can't really do anything about except make sure your doctor knows and they can maybe run some helpful tests such as stress testing from time to time to make sure that heart disease has not started. A family history of heart disease puts a person at a greater risk for also developing it. The other important things such as exercise, avoiding smoking and eating healthy are all things that people can individually control and can all greatly reduce the risk of developing heart disease for men and women (Cleveland Clinic). If a person knows their risk factors for heart disease and how to help prevent it they can hopefully use those tools to live a long healthy life.
References
Heart Attack, Stroke and Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs. Retrieved October 31, 2009 from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053.
Women and Heart Attack. Retrieved October 31, 200 from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/women/miwomen.aspx.
Heart disease is a serious condition and people need to know the warning signs of a heart attack as well as things they can do to help prevent heart disease. The main warning sign of a heart attack is chest pain or discomfort but it can manifest differently in women than men. Women are more likely than men to experience other symptoms such as shortness of breath or pain in the arm, back, neck or jaw (American Heart Association). Since women may not have the typical pain in the center of the chest they may think their symptoms are a result of something else and may not realize that they are experiencing a heart problem. They may not seek help right away and this is a reason that heart disease is the number one killer of women in America (Cleveland Clinic). There are some things that people can do to help prevent heart disease later. First of all everyone needs to know their family's heart health history. This is a risk factor that you can't really do anything about except make sure your doctor knows and they can maybe run some helpful tests such as stress testing from time to time to make sure that heart disease has not started. A family history of heart disease puts a person at a greater risk for also developing it. The other important things such as exercise, avoiding smoking and eating healthy are all things that people can individually control and can all greatly reduce the risk of developing heart disease for men and women (Cleveland Clinic). If a person knows their risk factors for heart disease and how to help prevent it they can hopefully use those tools to live a long healthy life.
References
Heart Attack, Stroke and Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs. Retrieved October 31, 2009 from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053.
Women and Heart Attack. Retrieved October 31, 200 from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/women/miwomen.aspx.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Blog 9
What should a woman do if she has a friend whom she suspects to have an eating disorder?
Eating disorders are common among young women and can be triggered by social, emotional and biological factors in women’s lives. Pressure to “fit in”, a desire to avoid consuming food as a way of dealing with emotions and feelings of euphoria when skipping meals are behaviors that can undermine one’s health, self-esteem and sense of competency (Alexander, 2010). Talking about eating disorders with a friend or loved one can be a difficult subject to bring up, and I have had to talk to a friend about it before. A couple of years ago my best friend was going to get married and wanted to look good in her wedding dress. I knew that she was working out a lot at the gym but what I didn’t know is that she had become a bulimic in the process. She drastically started loosing weight, and I told her that maybe she shouldn’t exercise so much. One day I caught her in the bathroom getting rid of the lunch she had just eaten. I didn’t know what to say so I just jumped right in and asked her what she was doing. Of course she denied everything at first and we would get into fights about it frequently. I would tell her that I was worried, and I just wanted her to get help. Then one day she admitted it and started saying how she just wanted to look good in her wedding dress and it had just gone too far. She asked me not to tell her fiancé, and I wanted to keep her trust so I promised not to. She said she couldn’t stop because she liked the way she looked in clothes. At five feet four inches tall she now weighed 98 lbs. Pretty much all I knew about eating disorders at the time is what they can do to the heart. I do cardiac ultrasound for a living and frequently scan patients with eating disorders. I proceeded to tell my friend what she was doing to her heart and surprisingly it scared her. I also told her that she was probably hurting her teeth as well by frequently vomiting. The heart stuff scared her enough that I was able to talk her into getting some help. She checked into an outpatient eating disorder program and after a few months had gained all of her weight back that she had lost. Two years later she is happily married and doing fine. I often wonder what I would tell someone if I had to do it again. Pretty much all you can do is earn their trust and let them know that you are there for them and worried about them. You can also point out whatever facts you know about eating disorders and recommend counseling. I got lucky in that my friend trusted me enough to help her.
References
Alexander, L., et al. (2010). Nutrition, Exercise, and Weight Management. New Dimensions In Women’s Health. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Eating disorders are common among young women and can be triggered by social, emotional and biological factors in women’s lives. Pressure to “fit in”, a desire to avoid consuming food as a way of dealing with emotions and feelings of euphoria when skipping meals are behaviors that can undermine one’s health, self-esteem and sense of competency (Alexander, 2010). Talking about eating disorders with a friend or loved one can be a difficult subject to bring up, and I have had to talk to a friend about it before. A couple of years ago my best friend was going to get married and wanted to look good in her wedding dress. I knew that she was working out a lot at the gym but what I didn’t know is that she had become a bulimic in the process. She drastically started loosing weight, and I told her that maybe she shouldn’t exercise so much. One day I caught her in the bathroom getting rid of the lunch she had just eaten. I didn’t know what to say so I just jumped right in and asked her what she was doing. Of course she denied everything at first and we would get into fights about it frequently. I would tell her that I was worried, and I just wanted her to get help. Then one day she admitted it and started saying how she just wanted to look good in her wedding dress and it had just gone too far. She asked me not to tell her fiancé, and I wanted to keep her trust so I promised not to. She said she couldn’t stop because she liked the way she looked in clothes. At five feet four inches tall she now weighed 98 lbs. Pretty much all I knew about eating disorders at the time is what they can do to the heart. I do cardiac ultrasound for a living and frequently scan patients with eating disorders. I proceeded to tell my friend what she was doing to her heart and surprisingly it scared her. I also told her that she was probably hurting her teeth as well by frequently vomiting. The heart stuff scared her enough that I was able to talk her into getting some help. She checked into an outpatient eating disorder program and after a few months had gained all of her weight back that she had lost. Two years later she is happily married and doing fine. I often wonder what I would tell someone if I had to do it again. Pretty much all you can do is earn their trust and let them know that you are there for them and worried about them. You can also point out whatever facts you know about eating disorders and recommend counseling. I got lucky in that my friend trusted me enough to help her.
References
Alexander, L., et al. (2010). Nutrition, Exercise, and Weight Management. New Dimensions In Women’s Health. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
