Assaults

Many factors come into play when it comes to assault. Realizing and knowing what to do in order to prevent such cases, can help to decrease these problems. There are so many things a woman can do to reduce her risk for assault. One thing that I think is important is knowing your environment. Time and location play a huge part when it comes to assault. Many assaults occur at night, especially when a women is by herself. For this reason it is important for a woman to always have a safety plan in mind, especially if she knows that she will be out alone.It is always good to have a friend around, especially in cases that it is late at night. Assaults almost always happen to women that are alone or in isolated areas. Having a friend cuts down tremendously on assaults. Defense mechanisms can also help in assault cases. These are some of the few things that can be done to preventing/ cutting down on assault.

Drug/Alcohol Abuse & More

It is a sign of personal weakness and strength when a women suffering from drug/alchohol admits that she has problems. The fact that the woman has enough preserverence to tell others of her addiction shows that she has much strength and endurance to seek help for her personal weakness.

There are many people who engage in substance abuse. Cigarette smoking is one very addictive form of substance abuse.Smoking is often seen as a means of coping with stress, trauma, and weight loss. This has many affects one's health and other's around them. Although many people attempt to quit cigarette smoking, through smoking kits and chewing gums, often times these do not work, causing the person to go back to regular smoking routines. Unfitunatly,many lives are lost due to excessive smoking.

Knowing the Future...

If everyone lived knowing what their future would hold, I think they would definitely live it differently. There are so many people who could have lived longer, but because of health complications, they lost their life early on. By knowing what the future holds, many people would probably live healthier lives, in knowing that they can prolong their life. Knowing that one can take preventative measures to prevent or prolong a health issue, would certainly make all the difference in the world. This would also allow people to get treated early on, before the disease worstens. Knowing what the future holds would also cause people to live and lead better lives. As the saying goes,"you never know what tomorrow holds". By knowing the future people will learn to cherish others and to live each day as though it were their last. On the other hand, knowing the future could cause the disease to worsten. It would probably cause people to question their life, in hopes of an answer.Factors such as Depression, scuicide, drug overdoses,etc, could cause an end to one's life, due to stress or death issues. In all knowing the furture to ones health can have many positive and negative factors.

Heart Disease

When looking at my family history of heart disease, I can honestly say that overall everyone seems to be of good health. Although this is so, my mother has been having heart problems. It wasn't until two years ago that she was diagnosed as having diabetes. Since then, she has encountered slight heart problems and dramatic weight loss, due to her being a diabetic. She is now taking two types of insulin, and is currently undergoing more testing. Although I'm in good health, I am taking it upon myself to try to remain healthy, because I could also be at risk for heart disease. Culture also has a lot to do with heart disease.Heart disease and Diabetes is very common in the African American culture. This has a lot to do with the foods that "we" eat. Environment also plays a great role. Some countries eat healthier foods than other countries. Many foods grow better in different types of environments. For this reason, it is not a surprise that citizens in countries such as Europe,are healthy people, in general.Exercising for at least thirty minutes a day can also help to reduce heart disease. Although heart disease is can be based on genetics, there are other factors that come into play. Knowing the things that one can do to improve their health, is very important.

Blog #9 My struggle with healthy weight

Since I have been in college, I have struggled to maintain a constant diet. Although it has improved, my freshmen year is when i struggled with weight the most. At the time, I was an on-campus student. I guess you could say I gained the "freshmen 15". Being that I was away from home I grew accustomed to my meal plan.I even changed my plan from receiving 12 meals a week, to the $1000 meal plan bucks. This was probably a bad idea. All I did was snack and eat. The food was absolutely delicious! Chick-fa-lae, pizza, burgers, cakes, and smoothies, soon became my friends, and slowly but surely I began to gain weight. In an attempt to lose the excess weight, I attempted to exercise on a regular basis, but continued with the same eating habits.Of course, I got no where. My exercise routine only lasted for a good week.Now that i have my own apartment I seem to eat less. However, I cannot help but to snack when I am doing work. I now buy my own groceries. Cooking has now become my best friend. Three years later I have lost my excess weight!
My social influences,environment and budget caused me to overeat during my freshmen year. One's budget also comes into play when dieting. Healthier foods cost more than non-healthy foods. Being that I had no job, I veered toward cheaper, more fattening foods. Although weight loss can be a success with exercise, eating healthier foods also helps. When one does not have the finances to do so, this makes it a struggle.
Fitting exercise into my schedule is a struggle because school work and being a full-time parent to a 5-month old still seems to get in the way. I think that once my son gets older, it will probably be easier for me to exercise, because he will be able to walk and play in the park, while "mommy" takes a jog around the park;)
In all i think that time management, money, and self-motivation makes all the difference in the world when it comes to health- management.

Chp 9 & Supplemental Reading

From cosmetic surgeries to weight loss, women have found many new ways to become “beautiful” in one sense. Competition amongst women soon becomes the driving force of beauty.I found the reading, "One Size Definitely Does Not Fit All" by Mary Duenwald to be very interesting. Duenwald speaks about the competitiveness that some women seek in order to fit the "normal" body image. While some women are accepting of their body image and weight, others will do just about anything to fit soceital standards.Modeling is one of the many careers that focuses on nutrition and body image. In doing so, many models go through eating disorders in hopes of mantaining the body weight needed to keep their career. Unfortunately, some of these models become underweight, which puts their lives at risk. All women should take pride in their body image.Everyone was created differently. Is this not beauty? The uniqueness in which every woman has should define her beauty. Unfortunately, some women so not see this as so. One must look within themselves to realize that we were born of natural beauty.


Mary Duenwald. The New York Times. June 22, 2003 p1 col 01 (40 col in).

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2003 The New York Times Company


This photo is not meant to offend anyone.It is an overexaggerated picture of what some women go through in order to gain societal acceptance. Sadly, some women see this size as being a healthy weight.

STDs

Noone has the right to place judgement on a person based on an STD. For one must realize that STDs are not always based on endorsing in promiscous behaviors.One who is faithful to his/her spouse may recieve an STD from their mate, due to the other partner being unfaithful. Therefore, the faithful partner will unknowingly contract the STD during sexual intercourse. One should also know that STDs can also be contracted through oral sex. Lets not forget about Herpes 1, a common STD in which children and adults can get. Some children contract this STD during a mother's pregnancy, while others, get them as cold sores or fever blisters. Does this mean that the child is of low economic status or is sexually active? Of course not. Oral herpes is very common amongst children, especaily during times of illness.
Having sexual intercourse during menustration increases the risk for an STD. The transmission on blood from one person to another increases the risk of an STD. This does not neccesarily mean that the women does not study good hygiene. One must realize that blood plays a great role ion contracting an STD and HIV, due to bacteria found in blood.Although STDs can come from being promiscous, there are many other things that come into play when receiving an STD. STDs are like viruses that spread from one person to the other, when protection is not used.It is important that everyone get tested on a regular basis even if they feel that they can trust their partner.