How Can Dreams be Real if our Eyes Aren’t Real

Do you remember the dream you had last night? If you don’t: good. Scientists have concluded that most people who tend to remember their dreams tend to wake up from external stimuli, like an alarm clock or someone pouring water on their face. But let’s say you remember many of your dreams and have a dream journal, or even if you could care less about your dreams: we can all agree that it’s really f*cking weird. Somewhere up in our brains, something has decided to make us start thinking about sword fighting our 3^rd grade English teacher in a squirrel costume.

The human brain is one of the most complex things known to man, so let’s stay away from explaining why it happens. The fun part is trying to explain what our dreams mean. Many famous psychologists and neurologists like Sigmund Freud have tried to interpret what our dreams mean and how dreaming can benefit us. Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, explained that dreams were the road to the unconscious mind and that they could help us explain what our values and desires were.  

So let’s look at some common interpretations of weird stuff that shows up in our dreams:

• ·      A cake usually indicates a happy time in your life and is associated with confidence and good luck.
• ·      A dream where you’re falling typically means that you’re having a bad time in your life or something is bothering you and you want to escape from it.
• ·      Dreams about taking hard tests in a classroom usually indicate that there is an upcoming “test” in our life that we need to overcome using past mistakes and experience.
• ·      Dreaming about Darth Vader typically signifies that you’re currently facing a dilemma in life that involves picking between good and evil.
• ·      If you see a baby your dream, it usually signifies something new or something positive that you have started for the first time in your life.
• ·      If you dream about a badminton game, it could mean that you have to make a quick decision about something crucial in your life.
• ·      If there is a bagel in your dream, it usually points to a sexual desire.
• ·      Seeing a hammer could signify that you’re looking to or were recently “hammered”; as in being intoxicated.
• ·      Water is one of the most complex symbols, which tends to represent your unconscious mind. If you see calm water, then your life is relaxed and peaceful. If you’re walking on water, it means that you have total control over your emotions. If you dream about black or muddy water, then it points to an undesirable point in your life.
• ·      If you see lasagna in your dream, it usually resembles warmth and comfort.

These interpretations can help us, as information processors, cope with life's obstacles and give us meaning to do something. Despite these explanations, there are hundreds of other interpretations for common dreams (even though the ones above may not be very common). So next time you’re dreaming about a lawn mower, don’t run outside in your pajamas during the middle of the night to check if your front lawn grass is too long.

Making Sense of the Unexpected

Throughout our lives we encounter many situations in which we don't have control of the outcome. We constantly deal with unpredictable situations, whether that be natural disasters, car accidents, or elections. Unpredictability is the only prediction we can soundly make. Through re-framing and interpreting these events we have created mechanisms to cope with the unexpected. 

We rarely have all the knowledge we need to fully understand why things happen. So we make up stories. We rationalize why things happen by filling in the gaps with plausible events. This is the power of interpretation. 

We all struggle to make sense of tragic situations. For Calvin, the death of baby raccoon caused him to think about reasons why this would happen to an animal so young and so new in the world. He fills in his knowledge gaps until he can make sense of it all. Death and illness are often issues we need to cope with. Why did that person of all people have to suffer. Why to someone that has already been through so much? Why someone so young?

No matter the scale or the seriousness of the situation we cope with,  interpretation is always necessary for reducing the stress we feel. Interpretation is something that we can share with others. It's any easy action to take to put our life in order, to help us control our own behavior in light of the uncontrollable. 

Life can seem unfair and sometimes even the most mundane events can seem unjust. It's important to take a step back, take a breath, and re-frame the situation so we can find clarity in the situation. Instead of running, screaming from the classroom, take a breath and think that without an education we cannot become the Spaceman Spiff that's awaiting us all. 

Fake It, Till You Cope with It

            Think of something you hate doing. It can be exercising, work, visiting the in-laws, writing a paper (something I personally relate to), etc. You could hate how much time it takes out of your life, you could hate how much stress it brings, you could hate how much it drains your focus, or you could hate the fact that doing too much of it will drain your directed attention and inhibit you from focusing on things you love. One of the reasons you hate doing something is because it puts strain on you. However, the million-dollar question is, how do you cope with doing something you hate? One the answers; is fake it, until you make it.

How does one “fake it till you make it” in terms of coping? The answer is simple; it’s all about the interpretation. It’s about how you interpret the thing you hate which makes all the difference. It’s the difference between feeling tense because you must do the thing you hate and relieved because you’re able to properly interpret it in a way where less stress internalized.

To put this in more perspective, let’s think of the story of Tom Sawyer. In the story, Tom is given the task of painting a picket fence. Obviously, like for most people, Tom didn’t want to do this task. Painting is often stressful work. It requires plenty of directed attention and quickly causes fatigue. When he started painting the fence, Tom pretended to have alot fun. He would be smiling and laughing and making seem like painting was a stressful, fun activity. Eventually, somebody comes by and sees Tom having a blast painting. Sawyer is able to convince the person that painting is the coolest activity ever. The person ends up painting the fence for Tom, while he sits back and relaxes.

The important thing to grasp is how Tom could convince someone that a stress-inducing task, like painting a wooden fence, was not bad. This is because Tom was able to change that person’s perception on the task. He could convince the person that they would get something fun and creative by painting, thus giving the person positive motivation to do it. Being able to positively interpret situation is a key to coping with stress. If you see an activity that you despise, pretend that it’s amazing (even if it’s not). You might just be able to trick yourself into believing it’s great.

            What is coping? Coping refers to the various ways human deal with the stress of their environment. When somebody is coping with stress, it does not mean the stress will completely go away. Coping is just a way to help humans dampen, or deal, with stress in manageable ways. Think of coping as eating a steak. It would not be wise to swallow a whole steak because it is more than you can take in. That is why you must bite and chew (cope) on the steak (stress) to properly swallow it.

Stress decreases a person’s capacity to deal with environmental situations. It puts strain on their directed attention and ability to focus. If somebody is stressed out, they would unlikely pay much attention to important events going on. Directed attention is limited and fatigues easily. Without directed attention, humans would not be able to focus on important events happening within their environment.

Proper interpretations can be an ideal way for dealing with environmental stress. The lower a person’s stress the more effective they will be at their tasks. In plain English, if you cope with the things you hate, you will be able to focus on the things you love. If you see a situation, event, or task that you must do then just think about the story of Tom Sawyer.

There other great benefits interpretation have on coping. To interpret a stressful situation in a different way gives that situation more sense. Human beings feel more calm and relaxed when what they are doing has some logic behind it. The world is often unpredictable and does not always provide clear guidelines on what to do. Using interpretation while coping provides clarity. When you move to a new town, for example, and feel anxious about navigating through you new neighborhood try thinking of it in a different perspective. Think of all the nice things this new neighborhood that your old one might not have. When you're trying to memorize the layout of the streets, pretend that you're discovering rather than not trying to get lost.

Think of ways to change your perceptions of your task to find your motivations. One of the best ways to change your perceptions is to find personal ways that a stressful task can benefit you. If you can’t find any rewards that relate to you, then make one up. If you don’t have any enthusiasm, then fake it. If you pretend there is an awesome benefit, then you will most likely convince yourself that there.

            

The Psychological Power of the LGBTQ Club

If you are a student at the University of Michigan, you have most likely heard of Necto Nightclub's Pride Friday. One of only two queer nightclub nights in Ann Arbor (the other being LIVE's Candy Bar on Thursday nights), Pride Friday is the most popular by far. Flocked to by queer students and others from around the area, many allies also love to accompany their queer friends to enjoy drag shows, shunning of societally determined behavioral constructs, and free cover before 11pm with a valid MCard. For the U of M queer community, it is often a given that if you are going out on Friday you’re headed to Necto at some point. While this can be compared at the surface level to Cantina Tuesdays or other bar/club trends, things go much deeper. Specifically, the attraction to LGBTQ clubs comes from their purpose as a place for coping.

A queer person’s first trip to an LGBTQ club is an experience they never forget. It is as if a new world opens up that has never been experienced. People are free to express their gender identity as freely as they wish without fear of repercussions, PDA is not only acceptable but encouraged, and everyone is there to love one another. Average everyday life does not provide this to the queer community, which makes the LGBTQ club a space for identity and community formation, as well as a coping mechanism.

Interestingly, LGBTQ clubs take advantage of both territory and community coping strategies. By providing a change in territory where queer people can go, especially when they are experiencing directed attention fatigue from the stresses of life as a sexual minority, the LGBTQ club fosters community. Through seeing the freedom of the community within the walls of the nightclub, a person is able to gain understanding and explore their identity. The opportunities to gain knowledge from others, be it through direct interaction or simply watching them, provides a queer person the ability to understand their community and model behavior that they would like to engage in. Additionally, being in a space of people who are also queer allows for a queer person to develop their sense of self- and have a sense of being needed. This exploration of self is only available when engaging with community, and this in and of itself is the power of the LGBTQ nightclub.


Additionally, the LGBTQ club could be thought of as a preferred environment for queer people. For many queer people, when given the opportunity they prefer to go to a queer club over a non-specific (and inherently heterosexual) club. In short, this phenomenon relates back to the queer club as a means for territory and community coping as they are expressly supported there. In writing this blog, I compiled the opinions of many queer people, and one statement stuck out to me in terms of preference. When asked why he prefers LGBTQ clubs, LSA Junior Austin Carter said "Queer nightclubs create an open atmosphere where people like myself who don't fit into this bubble of heterosexuality can come and be themselves without feeling ashamed or judged."

Finally, on a more politically driven note, I see the queer nightclub growing to be more important in the way that it was back in the 1960s and 1970s. With the hateful rhetoric of the President-Elect and his Vice-President, who believes in conversion therapy as a means for "correcting" gayness among other homophobic notions, hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are growing in this country. For instance, just this week a 75 year old gay man was attacked for having a rainbow bumper sticker on his car. With all of the hate in this country, there is going to be increased directed attention fatigue because queer people are constantly hearing of these stories and having to try to focus on life's tasks while being afraid. Long story short, the queer nightclub has always served as the place for queer people to cope, and it will continue to serve that purpose.

With the June 12, 2016 attack on Pulse Nightclub, where 49 people were killed and another 53 injured (most of whom were queer people of color), the LGBTQ nightclub as a place of coping is directly under attack. This raises a question that many are still pondering: how does one cope with an attack on their community when the attack took place in the locale where they normally go to cope?

Coping and Community

I grew up on the set of Gilmore Girls.

Well, not actually, of course --  but pretty damn close!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the program, Gilmore Girls is a TV show following the lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother and daughter living in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Stars Hollow is like something out of a storybook; it is quaint and picturesque and incredibly small. It’s the kind of town where there’s only one grocery store, a handful of restaurants, and where the guy who delivers your mail is also the guy that mows your lawn/the guy that commentates at High School sporting events/the librarian. In short, it is a lot like where I grew up.

Stars Hollow

I am from Leland, a small town in Northern Michigan; using the Michigan-mitten system of navigation, Leland is in the pinky. It has an official population of just 2,033 people (although, if you included people who lived in the surrounding area, that number would probably go up to about five thousand). When I tell people about the size of my hometown, they usually have no idea how to respond -- especially when I tell them there were only 160 people in my entire High School.

I can’t really blame people for not understanding; according to the 2015 US Census, about 62.7 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, effectively rendering my upbringing a completely foreign idea to most of the people I meet. A lot of people consider my hometown a really cute place to visit, but somewhere they’d never actually want to live. What do you do for fun? They ask me. All the shops close at like six. I just don’t think I could live in a place that doesn’t have delivery pizza.

Ok, I’ll grant you that delivery pizza is awesome. However, throw the rest of your complaints out the window, because according to the Powers that Be (a.k.a. science) small towns might actually be the best place to live when it comes to important things like health and happiness.

According to “Small Towns Are the Future of America,” by Clayton C. Denman (found in Humanscape) small towns are more likely to provide a “sense of community” for their residents. A sense of community is surprisingly important in determining the success of a town or city -- without it, “there is no sense of social commitment to fellow citizens, no longer a relationship between people that can be channeled into making our social and physical environments better places in which to live” (278). From my experience growing up in a small town, followed by my semi-rough transition to life in the city of Ann Arbor, I believe I know exactly what Denman is talking about. However, in case some of you are still dubious, I thought it might be helpful to include a real-life example in order to further my case that cities are great, but small towns are greater.

The introduction of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers is titled “The Roseto Mystery.” It is the story of a small town in Eastern-Pennsylvania. Sometime around the 1950s, a scientist named Stewart Wolf was given a very interesting piece of information: the people of Roseto had remarkably few cases of heart disease. During this time period (and still, today), heart attacks were the leading cause of death among men under the age of sixty-five. So, of course, Wolf felt compelled to investigate. What he discovered was astounding.

Wolf looked at every possible scientific explanation for why they might have fewer cases of heart disease than the rest of the country. The people of Roseto were Italian immigrants, most of them originally from the same town in Italy called Roseto Valfortore-- did they bring with them some sort of genetic marker that granted them heart disease immunity? No- by all intents and purposes, they were the same as anyone else. Did they have healthier dietary preferences? No - after moving from Italy to the ‘New World,’ they’d abandoned cooking with olive oil in favor of lard. Was it something about the local environment that made them healthier? No-- two nearby towns were analyzed and discovered to have three times the number of heart-disease related deaths than the people of Roseto. On paper, the people of Roseto appeared to be much like any other hardworking town in America, so what could it be?

By the end of his study, Wolf determined that the people of Roseto were less likely to experience heart disease because of their lifestyle and - importantly- because of their sense of community. “The Rosetans had created a powerful, protective social structure capable of insulating theme from the pressures of the modern world… The Rosetans were healthy because… of the world they had created for themselves” (Gladwell, 9). People in Roseto often lived in three-generation homes. They took care of their neighbors. They stopped to chat on the street. They cooked for each other.

They created a community so strong it was able to prevent heart disease.

So, the moral of the story is that if you don’t live in a small town you’re probably going to die.... I’m kidding, obviously, but I still think it’s something to consider. The people in Rosetto were less likely to experience heart disease because they had isolated themselves from the rest of the world, and created their own safe space where they made sure to take care of each other. That kind of isolation isn’t really possible in today’s world -- we are even more connected with far-away places, more fast-paced, and more stressed than ever before! So, how can we create a community like Roseto for ourselves? Does it have to be a place, or do online interactions count? I left my hometown community to move to Ann Arbor three years ago. Because of the career I want, it is likely that I will have to continue living in larger cities for the foreseeable future. So, since I am also actively interested in not dying, these are all questions I want the answers to.

Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown, 2008. Print.

Kaplan, Stephen, and Rachel Kaplan. Humanscape: Environments for People. Ann Arbor, MI: Ulrich's, 1982. Print.

@uscensusbureau. "U.S. Cities Home to 62.7% of Population but Comprise 3.5% of Land Area." The United States Census Bureau. N.p., 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

Stressed man changes his territory! What happens next may suprise you...

Hey you! Yeah you, avid blog reader!  Look around yourself right now and try to spot stress.  Is stress that annoying rattling coming from your office neighbors desk?  How about that big scary guy that comes into your office and says "We pay you to work, not look at memes!"  Or maybe your stress stems from having 3 papers, a blog post, and a bio-chem exam all due within three days.  Whatever your situation, stress is very real and very different for each individual.  Stress can come in many different forms, and they aren't always obvious.  Side effects of chronic stress include but are not limited to digestive issues, heart disease, sleep problems, weight management issues, depression, as well as many others.  However, with a little help and determination, this blog will aid you in avoiding these issues!

O.K. so so the first thing you are going to want to do is pre-set the oven to 450 degrees.  Wait, I'm getting word that this isn't the blog about cooking.  Regardless, this instruction can work for you, stressed out reader.  Did you know that stress can often times stem directly from your external environment?  This environment is what we science folk refer to as a territory! A territory can be any physical setting, ranging from your bedroom to your work space.  As I am sure you are well aware, different places have different feelings attached.  Staying in a toxic environment too long is one of the easiest ways to suffer from the stress that is present.

There are numerous studies that show a simple switch of tasks can help restore directed attention, so it should come as no surprise that switching territories would have larger implications.  As for myself, I like being in the kitchen cooking food.  Whenever I am stressed out, I like to just grab some ingredients out of the refrigerator, pretend I'm on Hell's Kitchen (minus Gordon Ramsay) and go to town making a dish.  Since I am not really thinking about what I am doing, rather just letting it flow, I get a sense of directed attention restoration.  On top of that, I can usually take out my frustrations on the food.  By simply removing myself from a negative or even neutral territory and placing myself in one that I enjoy, stress reduction is guaranteed.

So you may be wondering what a good territory for you is.  There actually is no "good" or "correct" territory, because what relieves stress for one may not be the same for all.  The important thing is that you go out and try to find a territory that works for you.  It is best if the territory promotes self improvement and not self degradation.  For example, hiding in your room instead of taking that bio-chem exam may not be the best time to go to your stress relieving territory.  If you are one of those people that think they are not good at anything or don't really like anything, don't fret!  There are territories that are considered universally restorative.  Nature for instance is a great territory to go to when coping with stress, but if you don't like the outdoors, it may not be that restorative for you.  However, if you do enjoy the outdoors, there are many different things you can try.  Engaged walking, yoga, and meditation are a few.  A great take away point is that stress is a natural part of life, but it is a very manageable part as well.  Engage with your stress, and learn what works for you when trying to relieve it.  It's best to confront it, rather than put it under a rock and hope it won't come back.

Time to Bounce Back: Coping with Election Day and Beyond

November 8th was a monumental day for me and several kids on campus. I voted in my first presidential election! It was pretty cool to think that I was actually making a difference just by placing my vote. So when November 9th arrived and the nation awoke to the news, people were devastated- and not just Clinton supporters. On the news, on my social media, on my campus I saw both parties arguing with each other with overwhelming feelings of anger, frustration, sadness, stress, and anxiety. It’s been a bit longer than a week since that day and I still see it.

So what’s next?

The optimist in me suggests that we, as a nation, move forward. What better way to start than learning how to cope with our world?

Let’s start with the basics.

Coping is not a mechanism. It is an intervention to help us function better in an uncomfortable environment. Consider any environment that is non-preferred, stressful, or attention depleting. In our case, this could be a Facebook newsfeed, the Diag where a protest is happening, or a class where a discussion about the election is occurring. The action of coping is taking control of an environment you are not happy with in realistic ways. The goal is to make it a place where you an effectively function. The rest of this post will discuss strategies to cope with these uncomfortable environments.

Strategy #1: Take control of your space.

Territory can be described in two ways: the first being the amount of control of the information that enters it and the second is where it exists on a continuum from a public to a private type of space. Keep in mind that territories are not sorted into discrete categories. Here is an illustration that depicts the continuum:

Certain cognitive activities can be carried out more easily in a territory where you do not have to be as vigilant, feel is a refuge, is familiar, and is easy to predict the behavior of others. As you react to the election, it is important that you are in a space where you can process your emotions effectively and sufficiently. If you have the opportunity to do so, I recommend moving through the continuum from private to public as you continue to adjust. However, I do recognize that certain people cope differently and would therefore prefer to be in a public space immediately with a type of hard fascination to get their mind off of their worries or stress. But, my advice is to begin in your own private space where you have nearly complete control over the information that you are exposed to. This might be spending some extra time in your bedroom or dorm. This could also include avoiding public spaces (even those online) like your Facebook newsfeed. Scrolling through several posts of colorful opinions or news articles could be overwhelming and especially when you cannot control what you will scroll and you do not know what you will see next. It is a great time to take a temporary hiatus from your social media. Next, transition into a semi-private area that you know will be positive for your emotions but will allow you to ease back into normal everyday life. A semi-private location could be your living room or a lounge in your dorm building. The next step is moving towards a semi-public space like a courtyard at a dorm building or attending your favorite small sized class. After enough time passes and you have spent sufficient time processing your reaction, you have reached the end of the continuum and should venture into public spaces like the Diag, State Street, the mall, or public transportation. The golden rule you should keep in mind is that you know yourself and the environments that make you comfortable, so acknowledge your preferences and be effortful in where you spend your time.

Strategy #2: Look at the situation from a new angle.

Focus on your interpretation of this event and realize that you can change the lens you are viewing it through. If you are unhappy with the President-Elect, fantasize about who could be the next president in another four or eight years. Remind yourself of the checks and balances in the government and the fact that the president will not have unlimited power. Try to change your view of the other side and attempt to understand supporters of the other candidate. Consider ways you can take action to change things you did not like about this election and that will translate into productivity. Reframing the situation is a powerful manipulation of the exact same non-preferred environment.

Strategy #3: Engage in mindfulness and other restorative practices.

Looking inward and taking time to be with your thoughts during this time is another coping strategy. The basis of mindfulness is simple: to be mindful of the present, not judge or cling, and to observe what is occurring around and within you. Doing this will manipulate your state of mind. Changing your state of mind will help you function better especially with your attention mechanism. A few concrete ways to try mindfulness include practicing yoga (there are plenty of beginner videos on YouTube), Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and meditation (there are also guides for this online). I realize that some people are hesitant to try mindfulness because they think it is religiously based, rigid and inflexible, is centered on suppressing thoughts, or there is a lack of evidence but all of these things are untrue. Give it a try! However, if today is still not your day to try mindfulness, you should at least visit a restorative environment. Components of a restorative environment include the opportunity to be away either physically or conceptually, some level of fascination that will serve as a distraction, extent of content available so you are intrigued, and that it is compatible with the type of restoration or experience you want to have. Nature is also a huge part of restoration. Walking through the Arb would be a good example of restoration. Restorative environments are especially useful as a coping strategy because they are helpful with restoring directed attention that can be depleted by stressful environments.

Coping Strategy #4: Surround yourself with supportive individuals.

It might not be time to face that friend who you have been butting heads with all election season. Or, if you do see them, create boundaries in the conversation so you avoid a heated confrontation. Instead, spend the day with a community you consider yourself close and comfortable with so you can openly speak about your feelings of the election without conflict or judgment. Being purposeful about the social environment you put yourself in will pay off as you continue to deal with this stressful time.

Utilizing these strategies in this time when you are faced with several non-preferred, stressful, or attention depleting environments is important. Consider the reasonable person model. This model suggests that we are information processing creatures and that we are at our best when our information processing needs are satisfied. One of the needs is model building and it involves understanding and exploration. Building a mental model of the election, our society, and even coping practices improves our functioning. Another need is being effective and it involves competence and clear headedness. We have a desire to use and present our information in a specific way that makes sense. Finally, meaningful action is the third piece of the model. This is composed of the desire to make a difference and participate in the world around us. This final part is especially important as we come together as a nation to reflect on this current election. It gives us the drive to make changes and get involved for the next election. Keeping the reasonable person model and these coping strategies in mind will help in the future when you encounter other non-preferred environments. Our nation needs you at your best.

Stress in the U.S.

    The structure of the American society dooms us for a stressful life; after college we are supposed to find a job, keep working at it until we get a decent salary and then work endlessly until we finally get to rest in retirement. Our society basically promotes a stressful lifestyle for anyone that wants to be considered "successful." According to many surveys and articles, American's work the most out of almost all industrialized countries. A article written by David Horsey in the LA times, he stated "we take far fewer vacation days than Europeans" even though our work week
hours are usually much longer. Millennials out of college and with large student loan debts are often inclined to work 60-80 hour weeks (Horsey).
   Not only is the time demand of a job stressful, but there are several acute and chronic stressors that are involved on a day to day basis. For instance, some acute stressors for an employee include speaking/presenting in front of coworkers, fear of losing job, constant fear of job performance and abilities, and more. Examples of some chronic stressors in the work place include working with coworkers one does not like, having a meeting with a intimidating superior, or working on a project that is so frustrating it is almost painful. Other chronic stressors include a unpleasant/unsafe work environment, or the potential of a traumatic event occurring and the after effect. The above stressors can occur because of external or internal sources. They can either be caused from an external source such as something physical or social, or from an internal source in which it is how the actual employee perceives the set scenario (Lecture, 11/7).
   Surrounding oneself in a lifestyle full of stressors is obviously not mentally healthy, but is also not physically healthy. There are many side affects of stress on one's body such as increased heart rate, blood pressure/glucose, chance of blood clotting, and a decrease in metabolism (Lecture, 11/7). Other side affects that occur, specifically from chronic stressor's include increase in fluid retention, fat storage, blood lipids, and suppression of immune responses (Lecture, 11/7). As a result, people in the intensive work force often live with a much lower quality of life than necessary.

  Therefore, maybe we should start living more live the Europeans and take those few extra vacation days, that is what they are there for. We as humans need to give us some time to relax and rejuvenate. Not only is this important to do a few times a year, but it is also important to do on a smaller scale more often. To function optimally it is recommended that we each do restoration practices at least once a week, without the often restoration our abilities to make/carry out plans is reduced and our ability to self-manage declines. As an American soon to be graduating college, I hope I am able to take my own advice and strive to find a job that is structured different than typical.




Horsey, David. "American Work Obsession Outweighs Family Values." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/n/night_lights.asp

http://nypost.com/2014/04/27/americans-are-working-too-much-and-now-its-costing-them/

Stress: A Necessary Evil

Stress is a phenomenon that every college student is all too familiar with. It can originate from the physical world, like when we are looking at an impossible problem on our Calc 3 homework, or from inside our own minds, like when we think about that internship we need to find for the summer. It is important to note that stressors can be acute or chronic, at that these two types of stress activate different physiological responses. I felt acute stress yesterday when I couldn’t find my baby kitten in my apartment for a few minutes. As I searched the rooms, my SAM axis (fight-or-flight response) was activated, increasing my heart rate, blood pressure and tensing my muscles. This kind of stress was acute because it only lasted until I found him. Other kinds of stressors are more chronic, such as debilitating diseases, prolonged unemployment, and repeated, regular painful surgeries. These chronic stressors activate the HPA axis, increasing fat storage, alertness, emotional responsiveness. The effects of chronic stress can go unnoticed and build up over time. Both kinds of stress are implicated in decreased immune system functioning and a wide assortment of illnesses.

Physiological stress is different from attention fatigue, although some of the symptoms are the same. Both make you feel bad physically and emotionally, and both require coping mechanisms and strategies. However, attention fatigue is caused by an overuse of directed attention, whereas stress comes from a combination of internal and external, acute and chronic stressors.

Believe it or not, stress is not wholly negative. It is an adaptive mechanism that helps humans to survive. When we perceive a threat, our acute stress mechanism prepares us to fight or flee. When we worry about the future, our chronic stress mechanism may motivate us to plan, get organized, and conserve the resources that we need to succeed.

But, don’t be stressed out about stress! There are ways to cope with and reduce the stress that we feel. Since stress can originate internally, it can be modulated by changing our cognitive and affective responses to stressors that we can’t simply get rid of, like exams and boring meetings. When you’re feeling stressed, it only takes a few minutes to do some easy stress-relieving activities. Exercise, mindfulness meditation, and a pleasurable, stimulating activity like playing a game are three easy ways to reduce stress. Taking a short walk through nature will simultaneously improve your physical fitness, restore your attention, and reduce your stress. How incredible! You may feel like you don't have time for this - but everyone could and should ideally find thirty minutes a day to check-in with themselves and manage their stress before it builds up to critical levels. If you're stuck inside Mason Hall all day and need to de-stress, try breathing deeply and focusing on inhaling and exhaling, or briefly stretching your arms and legs.