~Ascending Towards Greater Mental Health~

Jeannie Krupinski Portfolio for Senior Health Ms. Huggins Block 1 Background credit to Christina Papini who rocks my socks

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Conclusion

In terms of recurring patterns that have been explored, I think it's important to recognize that in all these cases of these artifacts, the solutions are not easy. In the case of loss, eating behavior problems and addiction, the process of dealing with it and healing from it is a long if not endless one, and as for conflict, sometimes there truly is no option without negative consequences. But what I also discovered through the artifacts that I chose is that things do get better. Scott wind sup brought closer to his family and friends than ever before once he has opened up to them with the truth about what is going on. Bella breaks her dangerous habits and finds her way back to some one she loves. Demi is currently on a successful world tour living a long held dream and Maya lives happily with her husband and two sons and the knowledge she is doing all she can to help other mother's from suffering the loss she did. These characters and people found themselves nearly overwhelmed initially, but with the support of others were able to turn things in a direction for the better. I think one of the things I took away in terms of mental health is that it's beautiful to be strong and face your own problems, but that there is nothing wrong with turning to others for the support, sympathy or advice you may need. That's one way to really hold onto your sanity in what is an insane world. 

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Analysis

Often criticized for writing about her emotions, catharctic songwriting is one of Taylor Swift's specialties. She has even stated herself "People haven't always been there for me, but music always has." As a middle schooler, Taylor was unpopular and had very few friends and to cope with these feelings of exclusion she turned to song writing. This same approach has carried over to her wider spectrum of experiences as she has aged and here, even to an experience that was not hers directly, but some one else's. 

Though catharsis can take many forms (poetry, painting, dance, to name a few) musical expression for emotion is a timeless one. When Taylor first played this song for Maya, they were both brought to tears by the experience but Maya that they were "happy tears"; happy because her son's story was being told and memory was able to live on.

And catharsis need not serve only it's creators. By expelling such powerful emotions into a song, it is cleansing for those who made it but also for the listeners who may find solace in knowing they are not alone in what they face and feel. Obviously, song writing is not necessarily able to deplete the grief that comes with the loss of a life. But it can rationalize it, and it can start the healing process by being wholly raw in what is felt, as well as by potentially reaching out to others and forging a bond between them in the shared experience of the music or alternative art form. 

Though it will not always be the case, in these circumstances the creation that came to be through this grieving process was also actively able to make a difference. Since funds from the song's sales went towards charities that work to fight back against cancer there is solace to be found in the idea that something is being down preemptively to help protect others from having to experience the same type of tragedy, and that is an amazing comfort 

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Summary

Ronan Thompson was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that primarily affects children and infants, at three years of age. His mother, Maya, began keeping a blog to chronicle his fight against the disease in which she detailed the periods of hope and hopelessness that invariably come with any child fighting a terminal illness. Just around the time of his fourth birthday, Ronan passed away.

Taylor Swift, who had been following Maya Thompson's blog throughout the development of the story, used the words from it to write this song 'Ronan'. Because the words were taken directly from the blog itself and reworked to be lyrics, Maya Thompson is credited as one of it's co-writers. After she had written it, Taylor contacted Maya and told her about the song she had written. The two of them together made the decision for the song to go out into the world and do some good by being performed in honor of the Ronan Thompson Foundation at the Stand Up To Cancer Live Event that aired in Fall of 2012. All proceeds from the songs sales on iTunes would go directly to helping in the fight against the disease. 

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Visit Original Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvN7BOAQn9I

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Artifact #4: Loss-

How can catharsis be used as a technique for dealing with grief?

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Analysis

There is, sadly, very little that can be done in stopping all people from saying any mean and hurtful things. But what Demi Lovato really represents when she talks about getting help related to eating disorders is the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people. One of the things she has talked about time and time again is that the reason she speaks out about her disordered eating is for the fans, who have told her about how it has helped them with their own problems and gave them a figure to look up to and who she feels tremendous love for and from.

One of the problems Demi says that she had was a lack of some one in her life in a similar role model position to the one she now holds. Everyone in the spotlight she looked up were incredibly skinny stars who presented that as realistic and normal and so she thought that was how she should be too, regardless of the costs. By talking about the way she has striven to ensure that those voices telling her she is too fat, or not beautiful or good enough are only mummers and no longer screams, she has become a face of the success that treatment can have.

In her case also, she says that taking the power away from herself to resort to purging or self mutilation is another technique  that helps her very much. She has found that by telling people close to her that she is having those thoughts, she is able to keep them from being acted upon. This is a powerful testament to how love and support can help a person drowning in insecurities learn to swim. Her newest tattoo says "Now I'm a warrior" and she says that since the tattoo is permanent she views it as a promise to herself to stick to this resolution to be healthier.

Eating disorders are not just the actions of not eating or purging or bingeing, were that the case they would not be so hard to heal from. Eating disorders are a way of thinking and a cycle it can be easy to get caught up in and very tricky to break out of. Because they are so tricky to beat, finding loving people who care about you getting better and making the commitment to yourself to really stick with being healthier rather than thinner is vital. Those thoughts of insufficiency and dissatisfaction may never fully disappear but seeking help, having consistent support and self determination are the best start there is. 

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Summary

Demi Lovato, who has been in the spotlight since age 7 when she started as an actress on Barney, struggled with bullying for the whole of her childhood. When she eventually came further into the spotlight as a Disney Channel star she was already involved with disordered eating behaviors that fell somewhere between anorexia and bulimia as she would sometimes refuse to eat and sometimes resort to self reduced vomiting after food consumption. The pressure of celebrity status did nothing to help her self image. Hateful comments and criticism directed at her caused Demi to be so dissatisfied with her self that in addition to refusing food or throwing it up to stay thin, she would self mutilate.

When eventually these problems reached a sort of climax and she lashed out at a coworker by hitting him, she decided that it was time to seek treatment. She has since left treatment and speaks out actively about how important it is to keep people aware of how hateful words and bullying can compel a person to feel this way about their body and use such unhealthy techniques for 'fixing' what they believe to be the problem. Demi says that it isn't easy, still, and probably never will be, but that she has found techniques to help herself refrain from falling back into dangerous habits. 

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Demi Lovato Talks About Eating Disorders 

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Artifact #3- Eating Behaviors:

How can you demonstrate strategies to manage unhealthy eating behaviors? 

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Analysis

Clearly, if it has led to her jumping off cliffs in the middle of a storm, Bella is not handling her addiction and withdrawal symptoms very well.

One way that she could have potentially made the recovery process easier for herself would have been to reach out to the other people in her life more about what happened. Both her parents love her very much, and she has friends who are supportive and willing to comfort her, but repeatedly throughout the story you see her either shut people out or clam up as soon as it comes to discussing what happened with Edward. Addictions are a very difficult thing to conquer, and as demonstrated through programs like AA or NA, having people around you who encourage you to keep from 'relapsing' is a really integral part of the fight.

Another problem with Bella's recovery process is that she is not going into it 'cold turkey' and giving up Edward completely. These hallucinations of him where she can see and speak to him are a sort of equivalent to a smoker using nicotine patches or gum in order to wan themselves off of the substance that they have an addiction to more gradually. This technique however, is not typically considered as successful since it has a tendency of reawakening the cravings for the drug itself. And indeed, what started as much milder risky behavior has now escalated on account off her drive for more and more vivid imaginings of him and his voice. She would be much more successful in healing if she were to sever her interaction with the drug altogether.

Obviously, any addiction is very difficult to cope with no matter what you do. But had Bella made use of either of these approaches she may have found much greater likelihood for success than she did using the techniques that she makes use of in the book

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Summary

Bella, the protagonist of the Twilight Saga had been in a relationship with Vampire boyfriend Edward for upwards of 6 months when he very suddenly made the decision that it was no longer safe for him to be around her and left. Not only did he leave, he took all the evidence of their time together back so and cut off ties with her completely, thinking that this would be safer for her.

Though six months may not seem like a long time, the bond they shared was profound and Bella sunk into a dark depression when he left her. Prior to him leaving, the two had refereed to each other as "their own personal brand of heroine"  and so when Edward left her, Bella's addiction to him and his love caused her to begin exhibiting both the physical (difficulty breathing, breaking out into a sweat, chest pains) and emotional (depression, anxiety, obsessive thought patterns) symptoms of withdrawal.

In this scene, after being triggered by other sources of anxiety in her life, and unable to turn to her usual drug of choice to help her cope (that being Edward's love and comfort), Bella decides to engage in very risky behavior in order to provide herself with a simulation of her old fall back as she has found that by putting herself in danger she is able to have vivid hallucinations of Edward telling her to be safe and not behave that way. It is this desire for these hallucination that drives her to jump off the cliff.

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" I imagined the utter freedom of the fall… I imagined the way Edward's voice would have sounded in my head—furious, velvet, perfect… The burning in my chest flared agonizingly.

There had to be some way to quench it. The pain was growing more and more intolerable by the second. I glared at the cliffs and the crashing waves.

Well, why not? Why not quench it right now?...

It was not hard to convince myself that I didn't have time to search for another way—I wanted to jump from the top. This was the image that had lingered in my head. I wanted the long fall that would feel like flying.

I stepped out to the edge, keeping my eyes on the empty space in front of me. My toes felt ahead blindly, caressing the edge of the rock when they encountered it. I drew in a deep breath and held it . . waiting.

"Bella."

I smiled and exhaled. "

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Artifact #2- Addiction:

How can you demonstrate strategies to manage addiction and more specifically withdrawal?

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Analysis

Scott’s current problem is one that revolves around a core value he has, that being that killing is wrong, and these value centered conflicts are often the most difficult to manage as a person’s values are not very willing to compromise. However, for as long as the alpha is alive, the people Scott loves are in danger on account of the alpha as well as himself.

One way that we see Scott attempt to deal with this cognitive dissonance in his own values and what seems the best solution to his own personal issue is to inspect the details of the situation more closely. Yes, he would have to kill someone, but that same person has on multiple occasions nearly taken the life of him and his friends and has caused many deaths and injuries to innocent people in the town. To say ‘killing is wrong’ is a very black and white statement, and when problem solving it’s important to realize that life actually has a lot more grey areas than that. In his particular circumstances, it would be less an act of malice, and more one of self-defense, but even so, is that enough to justify it?

Another of the main techniques Scott uses to figure out how he wants to handle the situation is a risk vs. reward analysis. Scott balances and weighs the pros and cons of each approach in order to decide what is the most beneficial course of action. This approach, though it may seem somewhat obvious is very useful in resolving conflict as it can allow you to break down a complicated situation logically and separate yourself from outside factors and influences that can make it hard to dissipate the conflict in the best way possible.

A third way that Scott works to come to his decision on how to act is to consult someone he trusts and ask for their advice. A fresh perspective from someone more removed from the conflict than ourselves can be really important to helping a person resolve their conflicts in the best way possible as they are sometimes able to see things we can’t and offer new insight. In this case, Scott goes to his best friend Stiles, whose judgment he knows he can depend on, to discuss the circumstances and decide upon the proper line of action.

In the end, Scott decides that killing a person who has made attempts at the lives of his friends and family is his best option, but whether that’s the solution to the conflict the viewer agrees with or not, Scott demonstrated good techniques for resolving the intrapersonal conflict he was faced with. 

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Summary

I chose season one of Teen Wolf as my artifact, specifically I am looking at a conflict that arises at the end of episode 8, Lunatic. Scott, a sophomore in high school was bitten by an alpha werewolf (their name for the stronger, larger pack leaders) bent on bloodthirsty revenge, who has since been making attempts to force Scott into his pack by having him kill someone himself. Obviously, as killing is against his moral code, this is not something Scott is willing to do. In this scene though, Scott is offered a tricky proposition by mentor Derek. The werewolf ‘gift’ has brought Scott a lot more misery than happiness as the complications arising from it have jeopardized the life of his best friend, strained his relationship with his mother and caused his girlfriend to break up with him. Scott is eager to be done with it all, and for the first time Derek offers him a potential way out: if you kill the alpha that turned you, you may have the option of relinquishing your werewolf powers and returning to being a normal human. He could have his old life back— this, however, would require him to commit the very act that until this moment he has been resisting against so furtively, murder.

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