Health and Safety

     The last unit of this course was the easiest for me to relate through personal experiences. From reading the discussion forum posts, it appears it was a familiar subject for most of the class as well. 

     The concept that stuck with me the most from this unit was how unaware I was regarding my environmental impact. The online lecture about water usage was very interesting I had never thought about how much water I waste throughout the course of my day. Compiled with the use of plastic water bottles, I was not being very environmentally friendly. To combat that problem I purchased one of these water filters and a refillable bottle.

     The online lecture question asking how I will have an impact on environmental health sparked an idea. At my work we recycle metal shavings, waste oils, waste water, and cardboard. We were not, however, recycling white paper, plastic bottles, and plastic packing materials. By coincidence, the City of Tonawanda recently issued large recycling containers to replace the old small bins. I dug the old bins out of the dumpster and distributed them around the factory floor next to the garbage cans. Supporting the principle of "if you build it, they will come", I was amazed that the guys actually used the recycling bins without having to be instructed multiple times first. The majority of items seems to be plastic beverage containers. It was very enlightening to realize how many bottles we were throwing in the trash. I had never done the math before but if 30 employees each drink 2 beverages a day, 5 times a week. That's 300 bottles a week. Multiplied by 50 working weeks a year that becomes 15,000 beverage bottles annually that will now be recycled instead of going to the landfill. It's also resulted in using less plastic trash can liners as bottles take up so much space the trash cans aren't filling as quickly now that the bottles are being recycled.

     Participating in this unit was easier for me to as I had more personal experience to draw from and the topics were more relevant to my everyday life. Discussing workplace safety and on the job injuries is a topic I can wax about for hours. I am the self-appointed safety monitor for my place of employment. Being the son of the most pragmatic insurance broker in history has instilled in me a compulsion regarding workplace safety. 

     The most difficult aspect of this course was that it was tailored for a younger demographic than myself and many of the concepts were a moot issue for myself. I'm a 32 year old, online student. I will never find myself in a situation on campus or at a college party. My days of binge drinking are long since past. Many of the coming-of-age issues addressed in the text would have been very useful when I was younger but from an adult perspective the text had a somewhat juvenile quality to its presentation. Understandably, the text was written with the average age of college students in mind. This just made it difficult for me to relate to many of the topics. Overall this journal aspect was difficult for me. I was not used to the format and it was hard for me to get these assignments started. The rest of the course was very enjoyable. The work load was evenly distributed making it very easy to schedule with other courses. 

     In all honesty, the only reason I took this course was it was the only option to fulfill the Health/Phys. Ed. requirement available in an online course. After completing the course, however, I am glad I took this course. It was good to see the perspectives of the other students regarding the various topics. Many ideas and concepts were introduced during the discussion forums that I would have not considered on my own. 

Healthy Choices to Avoid Diseases

As a cigarette smoker I was dreading this unit. Despite already knowing how bad cigarettes are, reading these chapters made me feel incredibly guilty. I am going to try to use the information I learned in this unit to inspire me to actively try to quit smoking. The information about the dangers of smoking was nothing new to me. The difference was not being able to tune it out. When those horribly depressing "Tips from a Former Smoker" commercials comes on I change the channel. I have often thought about the reason why it is so difficult for people to quit smoking. Aside from the nicotine withdrawal I think that the other problem is lack of positive reinforcement. I've known several people who lost 50+ pounds through modifying their diet and increasing exercise. I noticed throughout they were constantly congratulated and given compliments as they made progress losing weight. If cigarette smokers received the same amount of praise for gradually reducing the amount of cigarettes they smoke there would be added incentive to quit. I've tried several times in the past with no success. Honestly, I'm smoking cigarettes as I write this now. Which is the other problem with quitting smoking, it becomes associated with too many activities. When I get in the car, I light a cigarette. After a meal, I light a cigarette. Sit down at the computer, I light a cigarette. If I get angry, nervous, depressed, or happy, I light a cigarette. My plan to overcome these obstacles is to try to recruit a friend or coworker to quit with me, hopefully having someone else going through the experience will help us keep the other motivated.

The thing that I learned that most interested me was the fact that some alternative medicines were found to have some actual medical benefits. I always assumed that the majority of any positives affects were psychosomatic. In my genetics course we learned about the placebo effect and I assumed most of the alternative medicine practices were just that. It does make sense to me that acupuncture seems to have the most scientific credence as the physical act of piercing the skin should cause a response from the body. I had one experience with acupuncture.........

This is a picture of my cat receiving feline acupuncture. (I'm not making this up.) I adopted a very obese cat from a friend and towards the end her kidneys and liver began to fail. She stopped eating, which is odd for a 28 lbs. cat, and the acupuncture was intended to stimulate her appetite It was not really effective but she was very ill to begin with. According to my veterinarian it is only effective on about 3/4 of patients. I suppose this lends more credence to acupuncture as the placebo effect is not relevant with animals. For the record the needle was in for about ten minutes and the cat did not even seem to notice it. During all this I was also taught how to administer intravenous fluids to the cat as she was severely dehydrated from the renal disease. 

As the course is coming to an end I find that once again I have been lackadaisical in my discussions participation. I find the discussion aspect the hardest part of online courses and getting motivated is difficult. In the next units I am going to try to improve my participation scores for the discussions by posting more frequently and devoting more time to developing my posts. I rush through the postings too quickly and could improve there content drastically by spending more time finding  references to support my ideas. 

This is what a 28 lbs. cat looks like, there were legs somewhere in that amorphous blob of furry flabbiness. So if you don't  want to end up diabetic and in renal failure, don't be like Shelby the tubby cat and maintain a healthy weight and exercise. 

Diet and Exercise

The biggest thing I learned from this unit was how unhealthy I actually am. From my lack of exercise to my poor choices in diet. I was also interested to learn that my weight and body mass index fall just above the under weight threshold. I will try to incorporate more healthy food options into my diet and try to decrease the amount of fast food and junk food I intake. Increasing the amount I exercise will likely be the harder thing to accomplish. I walk over 5 miles a day at work according to the pedometer on my phone but I don't really engage in any cardio. Following the suggestions in the readings I think I will try to enlist a friend to exercise with and hopefully we can keep each other motivated. I dusted off my hockey equipment in anticipation.

To assist me in tracking my progress I plan to use the S Health app that came with my phone. http://content.samsung.com/us/contents/aboutn/sHealthIntro.do It tracks activity and diet habits and charts everything in easy to read formats. To change my eating habits I've decided that I need to start cooking food at home more often and to incorporate more fresh ingredients and less processed foods. I figure the easiest way to do this is by starting with foods I like as well as those that are easy to prepare. Instead of deep fried chicken fingers I'm going to substitute grilled chicken breasts. My french fries I will be replacing with baked sweet potato wedges. This should greatly reduce my cholesterol and sodium intake. Chicken is the only lean protein I'll likely eat as I hate fish especially tuna fish. (shudders at the thought) The suggested healthy diet for weight gain in the text made me laugh as the portions seemed funny; "6 Tbsp. of Raisins" and "16 Animal Crackers" I'm not sure how to measure my raisin intake in Tablespoons so I'll use the Food Tracker portion of the S Health App to record my calorie intake.

The terms that were new to me were the types of stretching; static, active, passive,ballistic, and dynamic. I had no idea that there were different types of stretching. The only education I ever received on stretching was from middle school gym teachers who learned to strecth in the military.In the mid 90's when I was in high school I remember the girls learned yoga and calisthenics but we just played basketball. I plan on incorporating the stretching techniques into my new exercise routine to hopefully avoid pulling one of those muscles I haven't used since 1998.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

After reading these chapters I felt the need to renew my attempt to quit smoking. While I have always been aware of the dangers of smoking reading it in the text forced me to think about thoroughly and I think it is time. Being a smoker you think about lung cancer but when the list of related conditions keeps growing its hard to avoid not thinking about quitting. I wasn't aware of the possibility of blood clots and subsequent strokes being so much higher for a smoker and the lesser side effects such as yellowing teeth and skin doesn't sound too appealing either.

I enjoyed the discussion in this unit because everyone has some first hand experience with tobacco or alcohol even if they don't use them personally. It is very different to discuss actual experiences with the topic rather than speculation on a hypothetical event. I was very interested to see a varying degree of perceptions on the topics. Again, those perspectives can only come from first hand experience.

http://www.nysmokefree.com/
Above is the link to NYSmokeFree.com, I plan on using the advice on their website along with my doctors recommendation to hopefully quit smoking successfully this time. I'm hoping that with a combined approach of nicotine replacement and behavior modification will result in me finally being able to quit.

Assignment #2

The first thing that I learned while taking this course is that the textbook was written with a specific age range in mind. Being in my early thirties, some of the text seems a bit juvenile to me but had I read it 15 years ago I may have found it more helpful. Not to say the information is inaccurate, just presented to the reader in a manner that would apply to the average aged college student. Having already taken courses in psychology and biology, most of the information in the first three chapters I was already familiar with. What I did learn was tactics to apply that information to daily life. The previous courses I've taken dealt mostly with clinical definitions and biological mechanisms behind them. This course discusses real life situations and ways to approach those situations from a healthier perspective.

The biggest thing I learned from the discussions was how many people had first hand experience with the mental disorders discussed in the chapters. Statistics in a book son't convey the extent of the situation as dramatically as actual testimonial.

In the first video lecture, they pose the question "what dimensions (of Health and Wellness) have you done well?" The only ones I can claim to have done well in the past month are the intellectual and occupational dimensions. I don't get much vigorous exercise and I am not a religious or spiritual person. At work, however, I am presented with the opportunity to use the skills I do posses to my advantage. I have a certain degree of control over my daily job activities. I try to challenge myself daily by accomplishing increasingly difficult amounts of work. This is not a matter of running around faster but of coordinating several personnel and a dozen or so machines into a symphony of mass production. This gives me the satisfaction of a job well done and the intellectual gratification associated with it.

Participation in this course is actually easier than most courses I have taken online. The ability to discuss personal experience and opinion as opposed to students all regurgitating the same information from the text, is far more enlightening.

There were not many terms in theses chapters that I was not already aware of from my previous courses. I had never heard of Progressive Muscle Relaxation before. I had also never heard of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. That was not covered in my psychology course. I like knowing that there are multiple approaches to dealing with the same problem.Self-efficacy was another term I was unfamiliar with.