Interesting Things This Week

This week I read an article about our mental health year and it's shocking to hear the new they report. I wasn't aware that so many medications could be wrongfully represented and apporved by the drug administration even if they aren't working and flat out wrong. I also learned a fun fact that the Golden Gate Bridge is responsible for as many as 2 suicides per month! It's pretty rediculous to know that hospitals and their staff can't really be trusted and you have to treat everyone as a suspect. I also read another article where our behaviors in life can be more addicting then cocaine and other hard drugs because things like eating is a "more difficult and persistent" habit to face then quitting cold turkey on drugs.

What am I?

Jung Typology Test
I'm an ESPJ. They say I'm distinctively expressed extravert, moderately, expressed sensing personality, moderately expressed feeling personality, and slightly expressed judging personality. The test was roughly about the same stuff and mainly asked about things that involved emotions and stuff. I don't really feel the test is that accurate but it's online so it's probably untrustable.

Personality Dimension Test
The test said I have 47% emotional well-being, are more socially active, and tend to be more friendly, conscientious, and open to new experiences. I have 36% concerned about the way they are evaluated by others. I have 24% concerned that their behavior hurt or caused damage to others. I have 70% believe that they have met their personal standards of achievement, social appropriateness, or morality, they tend to experience a sense of mastery and perceive themselves as competent and socially valued persons. This test seemed accurate because it took forever, but who knows. I semi agree with the results.

Attachment Style Test
My attachment related anxiety is 3.30 on a scale ranging from 1 low to 7 high anxiety. My attachment-related avoidance score is 1.78, on a scale ranging from 1 to 7 high avoidance. I fall into the secure quadrant. The test seemed okay, but I still feel it's unreliable. I think the results are accurate though.

Online Attraction Test
On my test I got all "this characteristic is relatively unimportant", so I don't believe these results at all, because I'm really into certain types. Test isn't that accurate but fun.

Online EQ Test
Your frankness is commendable. Although you may be a technical wizard or have very high IQ, your EQ is on the low side. It appears you may have some work to do. If you scored in this range, you may find yourself blowing up at people, depressed, or losing sight of where you are in life. I kind of believe it. Still not accurate because it's an online test.

College Letter to my Dad

Hey Dad!
Well college is going great right now and everyone seems to love me. My classes are really fun and entertaining. I think the professor purposely teaches to just me. There was this one kid struggling in class always asking for help, but I could care less about him. I think I'm going to do so well in this communications class. It'll be such a great class to help me succeed in my already great life. Well I wanted to see how you were doing, but I want to talk more about my college life. I feel so special to be here at this institution. The Standford professors are so intelligent! They're the only teachers that could teach to me because everyone else is too uneducated and not up to my level. I miss you so much! I hope you miss me too, because if you didn't, I'd be devastated. I'm rooming with this super smart girl and she gives me answers to all the assignments, so I just use them get by because with my smarts, I already understand the info. I mean who cares that it's her work as long as I do good in this class. Well I have to get going now. Mail me back!
Love, Jessica

Analyzing Case Study

Case Study 5:
A 28-year-old woman is a rising junior executive in her investment company. Her increasing duties require her to make periodic formal presentations to the senior management of the company. However, she becomes intensely anxious at the thought of speaking in public. When she is forced to give a presentation she begins to feel anxious days in advance of the talk and the anxiety increases as the time for the talk approaches. She is concerned that her anxiety will become noticeable during the talk or that she will do something to embarrass herself.

Diagnosis:
The case study presented has social phobia. The diagnostic criteria for social phobia, a marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be humiliating or embarrassing, matches the case study.

Therapy:
Appropriate therapy for the patient would be cognitive-behavior therapy which involves helping patients gradually become more comfortable with situations that frighten them. The process involves three stages. The first involves introducing people to the feared situation. The second level is to increase the risk for disapproval in that situation so people build confidence that they can handle rejection or criticism. The third stage involves teaching people techniques to cope with disapproval. Another important aspect of treatment is called cognitive restructuring, which involves helping individuals identify their misjudgments and develop more realistic expectations of the likelihood of danger in social situations. Another option would be supportive therapy.

Summary:
The case study described has social phobia where she becomes extremely self-concious and develops anxiety because she's afraid of embarassing herself. There're different methods of therapy to help, but the best seems to be cognitive-behavior therapy. This is where she mentally traings herself to cope with public speaking situations.

Sources:
Social Phobia, Treatment

Tim Burton's Bipolar Disorder

Timothy Burton, he's a famous director of well known movies such as, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeny Todd. His movies are know to have dark gothic themes and the main characters are usually misfits, outsiders, physically or emotionally scarred. For example, in Sweeny Todd, Johnny Depp has extremely pale skin, common in Burton's films, and dark bags underneath his eyes.

Burton was born on August 25, 1958 in Burbank, California. Tim describes his childhood as quirky, self-absorbed, and highly imaginative. Growing up, Tim staged and axe murder with his brother to frighten his neighbors thus giving him the nickname Axe Wound. He grew up next to a cemetery and has told of the "wierdness" of the situation. This is what prompted the awkward characters for his great movies.

The manic and hypomanic elations in Burton's mood further urged his ideas for dark and odd movies to escalate. My feelings on this disorder is mutual. I feel that it has done mind boggling things for the world of Tim Burton, but at times it can become a bother. Everyone has mood swings from time to time and they never become the best of us. I think Tim Burton has embraced his bipolar disorder and has only helped his career.

Sources: Wikipedia, Bipolar Info, Rotten Tomatoes