Blog #15- End of Semester Reflection

Of the topics and information that we have covered this semester in the course, what has been the most impactful and interesting?

Although there were some topics that I enjoyed more than others, I think I have to say that my favorite topic covered this semester definitely has to be in module 4 dealing with sexual health. I'm not exactly sure why I enjoyed this one more than the others, but I think it has to do with the fact that I'm really intrigued by psychology and why people do certain things and act certain ways. In this module it covered everything from stereotypes dealing with homosexuality to the importance of communication in an intimate relationship. My thoughts on homosexuality and the debate on nature vs. nurture is simply this: I believe that a person can easily be convinced that they are one thing when they may not be. I don't necessarily think that nature plays a major part in a person being gay. I believe that a person can be nurtured into being gay, meaning that people can have a strong influence on a persons decision about their sexuality. Now, dealing with communication in a relationship... all I can say is make sure you have it!! :) I'm not a love expert, but I think that you can't have a fully functional relationship without communication in it. Overall, I really enjoyed almost every topic we covered this semester so to pinpoint one just wouldn't be accurate.

One last thing, thank you to all my classmates for your comments on my blogs throughout the semester. Good luck with everything! :)

Sincerely,
Carla V Keeley

Blog #14

What can a woman do to reduce her risk of assault?

I think a woman can do a lot of things to reduce her risk of assault. For starters, be aware of your surroundings! A lot of girls don't pay attention to things around them because they are too busy talking or texting on their cell phones all the time. The reason I say that is because not too long ago, a girl was kidnapped walking out of a convenience store one night because she was on her cell phone and didn't realize a man was following her.

I have three sisters and we're all in college and sometimes we get out a little late so my mom has always kind of been a worry-wart about us! She has always taught us that when we're in an unfamiliar place and we're alone, to put our phone down and have our keys ready just in case. That's probably the best advice she can give us considering there are so many creepy people out there now-a-days! So, a simply thing a woman can do to avoid assault is to simply be aware of her surroundings. Also, a woman should chose carefully who she decides to hang out with. Some people may not always appear to be who they seem to be...

Carla Keeley

Blog #13

Is it better to put drug addicts in jail or to send them to mandatory drug treatment programs?

This is an interesting question, I think. Is it better to send an addict to jail or to a treatment facility...hummm?? Well, in Lindsay Lohan's case I think it's better to just send her to jail!! That girl just won't learn her lesson! But seriously, with someone that actually cares about getting better I think it would be more beneficial to send them to a treatment facility to get better. Sending a person with a addiction problem to jail just doesn't seem logical. I say that because if a person really truly has a problem, what good is it going to do sending them somewhere where every other person has an addiction problem as well?? Being addicted to a drug isn't just something that goes away over night... I'm assuming. ;) Judging by the stories I hear and the movies I see, a drug addict, most of the time, wants to get better but unfortunately believe that doing drugs is the only thing that can make them happy. So to answer the question, unless you are Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan I think the best method to helping a drug addict overcome their addiction is to send them to a treatment facility to get better. :)

Carla Keeley

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?

Unfortunately, one of my aunts has a mental illness. She is what most people know as a hoarder which is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or otherwise known as OCD. She really isn’t as bad as the people they show on the TV shows, like the one called Hoarder’s: Buried Alive but it can be pretty consuming at times. She doesn’t hoard trash or random items, but what she does love to store is all kinds of stuffed animals.  Everyone thought at first that she just collected them, but soon the collection took over her life. Everywhere she goes she just has to buy a stuffed animal. For example, when she goes to the mall she almost always comes back with a dozen different stuffed animals. At first, her stuffed animals would only take up her spare bedroom, but as time passed it started to take over her whole entire home. My family and I try and work with her every day to help her get through this illness. We believe that one day she will get better if we just stay by her side and keep supporting her to get better.

Blog #11: With Our Future In Mind

• If everyone lived "with our future in mind", do you think that we would live differently?

I like this question. Just the other day I was having a conversation with my family about how the world would be if we all thought about the future and what it holds for us. If only we knew what kind of cars we would be driving or what clothes we'd be wearing. What type of music will be popular or what new laws will we have? Sometimes, if I think about the future too much I start to get a little nervous. The reason is because since I don't have any kids yet, I'm sure my future children will have to face these new challenges which makes me a little uneasy. I know our "world" isn't horrible, but it's also not the best. I think that if everyone focused more on what our future had in store..... it still wouldn't affect how people live. It's sad to say, but in my opinion I don't think people really care about the future a whole lot. If people truly cared about the future, than we wouldn't see as much pollution and carelessness with our environment. I think this question not only points out our "environmental" future but I also think it points out our "social" future. How are people going to be and act 50 years from now?... If we're even here 50 years from now..... :/

Carla Keeley

Blog #10

What factors can influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles and engage in preventative behaviors so as to reduce their risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer?

First of all, I’d like to say that I think the biggest factor that should influence women to have healthier lifestyles should be the death rate women have facing cardiovascular disease.  The text states, “Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women, regardless of racial or ethnic group”.  The leading factors that cause this disease to be prevalent in woman are mainly smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. 

Cancer is another huge factor as to why women should obtain healthier lifestyles.  Cancer is the second leading cause of death in women. This disease cannot always be explained but many feel that obesity, alcohol, tobacco, and poor diet can contribute to greater risk.

Preventatives are almost as easy as just enjoying life.  Some steps to a healthier lifestyle include stop smoking, having safe sex, limiting alcohol, eating properly, and maintaining an appropriate weight and a healthy diet.

Carla Keeley

Blog #9: What Should a Friend Do?

What should a woman do if she has a friend whom she suspects to have an eating disorder? What if the friends denies it?

For this blog, I am going to speak as if I were the friend that had the eating disorder... mainly because I was that friend once. About five years ago, I was going through a really tough time with my self-esteem. My boyfriend had just broken up with me and I thought it was because he thought I was fat. I immediately went into this state of mind where I just needed to lose weight one way or another! I began starving myself and on top of that I became bulimic...two very dangerous combinations. I knew it was bad for me and I knew it could kill me but I was in complete denial. I had a really close friend at the time that would tell me to stop all the time. She would check out books at the library and print off things from websites just to show me what could happen if I didn't stop. Even with all that I still didn't want to stop what I was doing because it was providing immediate results which was what I wanted...at the time. Some time went by and I started to realize that my hair started to slowing fall out every time I brushed it. I think the final straw for me that made me quit doing what I was doing would definitely have to be the time I threw up blood. That's when I realized I had to stop or I was going to die.

The reason it is SOOOO hard for me to lose weight now is because that was the only way I knew how to lose weight. I've gotten married since then and I can say that the reason I am healthy now is because of my husband. Losing weight has always been a struggle for me but especially because I don't know how to do it the right way. I am working really hard now though to do it right.

So to answer the question...don't give up on her. :)

Blog #8: Menopause and Hormones

For this blog, I decided to interview a woman who is going through menopause and has decided to take hormones. Before I talk about my interview, I would like provide a few facts about hormones and what they do to a woman’s body when taken during menopause.

Hormone therapy, also known as HT, consists of a combination of estrogens and progesterone. These two hormones provide a balance for every woman and are very important to a woman’s health. When a woman goes through menopause, it is most likely because the balances between the estrogen and progesterone levels are unbalanced. This can cause some health complications if the level of estrogen is higher than the level of progesterone. Women use hormone therapy to control symptoms of menopause such as low estrogen levels, hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

So, the women I chose to interview for this blog was my mom. My mom has been going through menopause for about six years and it’s actually been quite interesting to observe her and the things she goes through daily. And it’s not cruel to say that because she is, after all, my mom! J Not that menopause is entertaining, but watching my mom go through it has almost been funny because of how she reacts to it. She always says that she is losing her mind because she can never remember where she puts things. Her mood swings are bizarre and I won’t even mention what she does when she goes through hot flashes! She’ll actually stick her head in the fridge! She’s such a character but I love her. My mom, fortunately, has recently decided to take hormones because she says her symptoms have been over the top lately. She has decided to do this because she feels like she has gone through more than enough, what she calls, “torture” and is ready to live her life normally again. To her, menopause isn’t a bad thing she just feels like it has put a damper on her self esteem and she wants to feel better about herself again.

I respect my mom for everything she has gone through. I am the spitting image of her so I’m sure one day I am going to go through the exact same thing she has been going through with the exact same symptoms. I only hope I am as strong as she is and as light hearted as she is about the situation. Something like menopause can be really hard for some women, but I think it’s important to look at it as something that is just a part of life. I’m happy to report that since my mom has been on hormones, her symptoms have decreased and she says she a lot happier now.

http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1174574/What-are-the-treatment-options-for

Blog #7: Are STD's Associated with Social Status?

Contracting an STD is a very sad and unfortunate thing, but I believe that the type of environment a person surrounds him or herself with can be a major factor on whether or not they have an STD. Some may call that being prejudice about the situation, but I believe that if I surround myself with positive people and friends, I am more likely to stay clear of the people that chose to live a promiscuous life style. Most of the time when you hear of a person with an STD, they are either from a lower social status, are promiscuous with many people or both. Not to say that all lower class people have STD's, but it just seems that the majority of the statistics when it comes to STD's are based on lower social status families and specific ethnicities. So to answer the question as to whether or not I believe promiscuity and social status play a role in the contraction of an STD, my answer is yes. I do believe it has something to do with a person's surroundings and actions.

Carla Keeley

Blog #6: Top 10 Questions

For this blog, I chose to list the top 10 questions women might have who recently found out they are pregnant. I decided to use the website BabyCenter.com to find out these questions. On this website, there were many different topics to some of the questions women had. For example, some topics included Beauty and Style During Pregnancy, Emotional Health During Pregnancy, Pregnancy Sleep and Dreams, and Pregnancy Fitness. I will list the top 10 questions from 10 different topics found on this website.

 Is it safe to color my hair during pregnancy?

The limited evidence that’s available suggests that it is probably safe to dye your hair during pregnancy. The Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS) points out that very little of the chemicals in hair dye are actually absorbed in our system.

 Is it safe to take antidepressants during pregnancy?

Recent research is casting doubts on the safety of the drugs most commonly prescribed for depression. If you are taking Paxil, you’ll need to stop or switch to another medication before you conceive.

3.       Are c-sections more complicated for plus-size women?

Generally speaking, cesareans are not lengthy surgeries, whether the patient is large of small, in a vast majority of cases they cause very few problems. One issue that can come up is that if the woman has a lot of fat on her abdomen wall, if could make it harder to have a clear view.

4.       How and why does pregnancy affect dreams?

Dreams affect your emotional state, so it’s only natural that during pregnancy- a time of many mixed emotions- your dreams seem more intense and stranger than usual. Hormonal changes also make you dream more frequently and vividly.

5.       Is it safe to be around people who smoke when I’m pregnant?

It’s wise to avoid secondhand tobacco smoke as much as possible. Even if you’re not smoking, some of the contaminants can get into the bloodstream if you inhale it.

6.       Is it safe to jog during pregnancy?

Yes, as long as you don’t have any complications. If you’re at risk for premature labor, then activities like jogging can worsen your condition.

7.       Is it safe to have sex while I’m pregnant?

In healthy and normal pregnancy, it’s safe to have sex. Sex should not be painful of uncomfortable during pregnancy, so consider your comfort level.

8.       How can I relieve bloating and indigestion during pregnancy?

Wear loose comfortable clothing, instead of eating three meals a day consider eating several small meals throughout the day, avoid foods that cause you gastrointestinal distress, and don’t smoke.

9.       Is it safe to take ibuprofen during pregnancy?

Taking ibuprofen for a few days to manage pain and inflammation is not a problem, but it's not advised for chronic pain relief, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy.

10   Is it normal to have morning sickness throughout my entire pregnancy?

A small number of women have morning sickness that lasts into the second and even third trimester of pregnancy. So while uncommon, it is normal for some expecting moms.

http://www.babycenter.com/editorialQuestionsLandingPage.htm

Blog #5

A person’s culture can have a huge effect on contraceptive decision making. There are religions that see the use of contraceptives as the “correct” form of living responsible lives. Other religions ban the use of contraceptives because the act of sex is for procreation. For example, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that every single sexual act has to remain open to life. Other religions are not so clear on the subject. Take the Amish for example. Not only do they condemn any form of contraceptives, but family planning and calendar based methods were also not allowed. Only in recent years have more Amish women started to use birth control. There are many religions where the topic is almost split evenly. In my house, the words “birth control” was kind of a forbidden phrase. I grew up in a strict Christian family, so my parent’s thoughts on birth control or contraceptive were that it was only to be used for married couples. The thought of using any form of birth control before marriage was out of the question! I know, right…OLD SCHOOL!! J They are more understanding now that I’ve been married for 4 months, thank goodness! 

Carla Keeley

Blog #4

This week I chose to write about whether or not sex education should be taught in public schools and what kind of education should be provided. Should there be an abstinence-only rule or an abstinence-plus rule?

My thoughts on this subject kind of vary depending on the situation. That probably doesn’t make sense so let me elaborate… when it comes to younger kids in middle school, I strongly believe that they should be taught the abstinence-only rule. The reason for that is because, can you imagine a 12 year old being told that they can have sex as long as their being safe!? That’s ridiculous! But on the flip side, once a child gets to the high-school level they start to experience other things. More “grown up” things if you will. I don’t like saying it myself, but kids now a days are having sex younger and younger and it still surprises me how many teenage girls I see pregnant. Sometimes it makes me mad, to be honest. I don’t have any kids of my own, but I know that when I do have kiddos and they are old enough to understand I’m going to educate them as much as possible about sex… well, I guess that’s probably easier said than done, right?? I just know I don’t want to have my 16 year old pregnant and have to drop out of school because she can’t do both. I will make sure that I let her know about all the things that could possibly go wrong if she decides to have sex. I WILL scare her out of doing it until she’s 30!!!! J Hahahaha! Oh, and this applies to if I have a boy too. :)

In all seriousness though, when it comes to sex education with public schools, I do believe there should be some sort of abstinence-only rule ALONG with an abstinence-plus rule for those kids that think they just need to have sex.

Blog #3: Self Assessment

I decided to do the self-assessment on page 57 of our text books. I found that I answered "yes" to the majority of the questions, thankfully. There were 10 questions that asked different preventative practice methods. The ones I answered "no" on I definitely know I have to work on. For example, I answered "no" to the question that asked if I get enough sleep. It almost feels as if I don't have time for sleep anymore. I'm either at work or doing homework. At the moment, it feels like sleep is a privilege. Which leads me to the question I answered "no" on... if I have a method to reduce my stress. That's obviously a "no." I don't know how to reduce my stress. Is there even such a thing? I dealt with stress as if it were a disease since I was 17! I remember in high-school when I would stress out about something I would get panic attacks. I don't get those anymore, but I think what I get now is worse. Now when I stress out my heart starts to hurt!

Besides the two I mentioned above, the rest I answered "yes" to such as avoiding tobacco and alcohol use. I also answered "yes" to practicing safe behaviors like wearing my seat belt and receiving routine check-ups. If I had to rate my preventative practices, I would say that I was doing a pretty good job... minus the heart thing. :-/ I know I have to find a way of improving my health in terms of managing my stress better. This is obviously important for me so that I don't have to go through those awful heart pains anymore. I know that can be really dangerous... :-(

Carla Keeley

Blog #2

What I found to be the most alarming in Chapter 2 would definitely have to be estimated cost for care in a nursing home. At the present time, it is said that the national average cost for care in a nursing home is more that $75,190 for a private room and $52,000 for a semi-private room…whatever that means. But get this, according to a recent survey, the cost for nursing care is expected to dramatically increase to a whopping $190,600 for only a semi-private room in year 2030!!! That just sounds insane to me! Can you imagine having to spend almost $200,000 in only a year so you can take care of your sick grandma?? Wow!

My thoughts on the access to health care are pretty straight forward. I believe anyone should be entitled to proper health care. On page 28 of our textbook, it talks about how President Clinton tried to establish universal health insurance in the United States, similar to the way it is in Canada and the United Kingdom. I like that idea, but unfortunately it didn’t go through.

I believe that the state of health care right now in the United States is improving somewhat. It’s good to see that the government is offering health care to low-income families with children. With that said, there is still HUGE room for improvement!

Carla Keeley

New Dimension’s in Women’s Health (Fifth Edition), pg. 30.

HS Women's Health

    The health issue that I am most concerned with is probably obesity. In today's society it so easy to loose track of what we eat and  how much we actually do eat. I am recently married and just started a new job last month as well as of course taking classes at TWU. I don't have as much as I would like to cook a good healthy meal with the busy schedule. It seems it is just more convenient to drive down the street and place a nice juicy order at the drive thru.  It seems that as the years goes by more and more Americans are getting super sized at a younger age as well. I worry that my future children will have health problems caused by obesity.  I am beginning to watch what I eat so that I can begin better habits for myself and my family.

    I interviewed my grandmother who is in her late 60's. She was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago and that is her number one concern. She says, "As I get older it is harder to keep it in check and sometimes I just don't want to deal with it on certain days."  My grandmother is stubborn and is always putting up a fight. There are some days that she just refuses to eat at all which makes her case worsen.
    I asked a co-worker who is black and in her late 20's. He concern actually surprised me. Her health concern is having a heart attack.  The women in her family are prone to heart attacks. Both her mother and aunt have had one in the last 5 years.  She tries to eat well and to regularly go the gym to keep herself fit. She actually worries about this quite often as it almost causes her to stress out which can increase her chances of having one.
    After hearing the interviews I was surprised. It seems the most women including myself worry about some health issue in their everyday lives. Just as a test, I asked my husband what his health concern was, he answered," I wont know till I have one." He makes me so mad.