Sunday, January 26, 2020

Characteristics of Phobias Depression and OCD

Characteristics of Phobias Depression and OCD Phobias A phobia is an extreme, irrational fear of a particular situation or object, and is an example of an anxiety disorder. There are several types of phobias but three include agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. The characteristics of phobias can be divided into three categories: Behavioural there are two types of behavioural characteristics and they are avoidance and panic. Avoidance is the key behavioural characteristic and this is because when someone with a phobia is presented with an object or is put into a fearful situation, the first initial thing they will do is avoid it. A prime example of this is if someone has a social phobia, they will avoid being in big crowds, and if someone who has arachnophobia they will avoid being near spiders. Panic on the other hand is the other behavioural characteristic and this happens when they come face-to-face with their fears and cannot avoid it. This results in panic and causes a high level of stress and anxiety on the person. What can also happen is it can result in the person freezing due to the fear being so intense. This is part of the fight or flight fear response. This freezing response is an adaptive response to make a predator think that their prey is dead. Emotional The main emotional characteristic of phobia are unreasonable and excessive fear, panic, anxiety, and a feeling of dread. An emotional response is set off by the anticipation or the presence of a specific situation or object, which is excessive in relation to the danger actually posed as. Cognitive there are also two types of cognitive characteristics and they are irrational beliefs and selective attention. A persons phobia is defined by their irrational thinking about the stimulus and this causes them to fear. An example of this is a person who suffers from arachnophobia may think that all spiders are deadly, despite the fact that no spiders in the UK are deadly. On the other hand, if a person with a phobia is presented by a situation or object they fear of, they will find it hard to concentrate because they are preoccupied by anxious thoughts, and will therefore direct their attention elsewhere. This means that because of their selective attention, it will cause them to become fixated on the object they fear due to their irrational thoughts and beliefs about the danger. Depression: Depression is one of the most common mood disorder, and mood disorders can be characterised through strong emotions, which can affect the way a person functions normally in their daily lives. A mood disorder can affect an individuals behaviour, perceptions and thinking. There are different types of depression such as manic depression known as a bipolar disorder, and major depression known as a unipolar disorder. There are a range of possible symptoms people who suffer with depression can experience. In order for someone to become diagnosed with major depression, sufferers are required to show at least five symptoms every day for at least two weeks. Characteristics are then divided into three groups which are: Physical/behavioural symptoms there are many behavioural characteristics of depression including pain especially headaches, muscle ache and joint ache, change in appetite, lack of activity, and insomnia. First of all there is often a change in the persons activity level, with sufferers constantly feeling tired. Leading on from this, sufferers then often experience sleep disturbance, with some people sleeping more, or less, or experiencing insomnia. Finally, sufferers whose appetite changes may have significant weight changes too due to them eating less than usual or more, and losing or gaining weight. Affective/emotional symptoms the key emotional symptoms of depression include extreme feelings of sadness, despair and hopelessness. Sufferers will also experience feelings of worthlessness and anhedonia which is no longer having an interest in activities that used to be pleasurable. Diurnal mood variation can also occur and this is the change in mood throughout the day, for example feeling worse in the morning time. Even though experiencing a depressed mood is the most common emotional symptom of depression, some people experience anger that can be directed towards others or themselves. Anger can also lead to self-harming behaviours sadly. Cognitive symptoms along with the behavioural and emotional symptoms of depression, there are also cognitive symptoms. Cognitive symptoms are things such as experiencing persistent negative beliefs about their abilities and themselves. Along with this it involves suicidal thoughts and finding it difficult to maintain or pay attention. Sufferers are often slower in responding at making or to decisions.   Furthermore, they are also more inclined to just focus on the negatives and not identify the positives and in some cases this can lead to them experiencing recurrent thoughts of death, suicide or self-harm. OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has two parts which are obsessions and compulsions. The majority of people who suffer from OCD that experience obsessions and compulsions that are linked together. The three types of characteristics for OCD are: Behavioural compulsions of OCD are the behavioural aspect and for people who suffer with OCD, compulsions have two properties. One of these properties is that compulsions are mental or physical repetitive actions. Sufferers will often feel the need to repeat a behaviour, for example repetitive hand washing. The second property is compulsions are used to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared situation from occurring but in reality they would not actually stop a dreaded situation and are excessive. For example with the excessive hand washing being caused by an excessive fear of bacteria or germs, it is therefore a direct response to the obsession. Emotional the emotional characteristics of OCD are usually characterised by anxiety caused by the obsessions. However, some of the sufferers of OCD also experience depression due to the anxiety they go through. As the obsessions for the sufferer are persistent, this causes a high level of anxiety for them. This anxiety can result in them having low moods and a loss of pleasure in everyday activities, because these everyday activities are being interrupted by the repetitive compulsions and obsessive thoughts. Cognitive Obsessions are the cognitive part of OCD and are the reoccurring and persistent thoughts, impulses and images.   Examples of these are the fear of safety by leaving windows and doors open, perfectionism a fear of not being the best, and fear of contamination by germs and dirt. For people who suffer from OCD, these thoughts keep happening over and over again. The sufferers tries to ignore the thoughts, impulses or images however it unable to. In most people these thoughts cause stress and anxiety. Some sufferers of OCD try to deal with their obsessions by introducing cognitive strategies. An example of this is sufferers with religious obsessions might pray over and over again in order to reduce their feelings of being immoral. Furthermore, sufferers of OCD realise that their compulsions and obsessions are irrational, so they experience selective attention which is directed towards the anxiety-generating stimuli. This is similar to the selective attention people with phob ias have.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Analysis of Hypocrisy in Adventures Essay

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, takes place in a time in age where the deficits of society are so intricately interwoven and ignored upon the individuals that make up that society. This results in hypocrisy that constantly plays a crucial part in how Mark Twain depicts the society that participates in such irrational activity. Characters, that Huck and Jim meet as they head for their freedom, which for Jim is slavery, and for Huck is the enslavement through civilization which is â€Å"practiced† by such a hypocrite society. Both are searching for freedom that is well defined in their own parameters; but are kept under constant hypocrisy in the pursuit to achieve their freedom. However, hypocrisy by a â€Å"civilized† society is as dominant in today’s society as it was in the time that Huck and Jim encountered it. Even though today’s, hypocrisies take a new shape and form and are interwoven with daily activities. They are given as much attention as any â€Å"civilized† society would. Although the hypocrisies that are evident in Huckleberry Finn might be in the form of the judge allowing Huck’s father, to keep him in custody, well knowing that he a drunkard would kill Huck to get his money. To the ignorance, of towns people and the nieces who were scammed by the duke and king. Everyone had taken so much self-esteem into the fact that the nieces had accepted the duke and king as their uncles that no one gave a second thought, even when it was publicly announced by Dr.  Robinson; as every â€Å"civilized† person who knew right from wrong sprang upon the doctor, trying to subdue him. As the greatest hypocrisy that took place in the book, was due to the time period itself; a time of white supremacy and racial prejudice, that took place everywhere, a time of slavery. These individuals who Huck ran away from to avoid being civilized, were themselves uncivilized due to the way they treated slaves who are non-other than human beings as well. Implying the fact that it is impossible for a society who owns and treats slaves as uncivilized people themselves can never be just. While, we see this constantly throughout our society today, as people call others fat, anorexic, sub-standard, not cool, not cute, irrational, and stupid; while they themselves have a bottomless pit of ignorance, leading to their own oblivion. Today’s society is actually worse than before in the sense that we are not only fed these things as a child; but we have to incorporate it into daily life through the influence of others, such as parents, media, and peers. Making our very existence, self-evident of such a paradox that can only derive from hypocrisy of a so called â€Å"civilized† society. As the time Mark Twain had written this novel, many social flaws existed within the fabrics of the community as a whole. The book played a major role within the cultural context of the era due to the fact that Jim, who was a slave and Huck a freeman were able to bond and have such an amazing journey together. Within this journey, Twain had interwoven several moments, that on the surface seemed like a norm at the time, but exploited several social flaws that would have otherwise been dismissed by ignorance. Resulting in a successful message from the author, hopefully allowing one to see at that time in age what horrid activities they take place in on a day to day basis, when viewed upon by another person’s spectacle.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

What Experts Are Saying About Wonder Essay Topics and What It Means For You

What Experts Are Saying About Wonder Essay Topics and What It Means For You The Debate Over Wonder Essay Topics Writing argument essay may be an art in the sense so that it requires thorough understanding of the subject, together with skill. Such essays shall have a good deal of quotations, based just on facts and laws, and show no more than the actual picture of the situation. The college essays need to be organized in the particular format and design based on the instructions given. The legitimate leadership essay is simple to read and understand. One of the greatest methods to select your topic is to find one which you are in possession of a strong opinion about. This issue of choice is going to be expected to withstanding academic inquiry. Now, let's consider a number of the best ideas within the next section. Check with your tutor to determine whether the subject is acceptable, or there's a clearer idea on your available collection of alternatives. As an example, let 's say if you're writing about language history essay than you might have to to incorporate all of the information regarding the history language on earth irrespective of any specific region while in specific language history essay, you would chat about history of the language of a specific region. Lives of people have changed to a terrific extent with the progress in science and technology. Everybody's life is extremely contingent on the scientific inventions and contemporary technology. Finding the Best Wonder Essay Topics Then you ought to focus on your reader. The introduction as the foremost area of the essay ought to be concise and right to the point. For that, research for sources to have in your essay to strengthen your viewpoint. You should first figure out the reason behind your essay, before you're able to write persuasive content about it. You're guaranteed the communication essay is going to be that which you've asked for. Therefore, either you would like to learn more about how to compose an essay, or you desire some essay writing services or even in the event you would like to go through some sample essays, then just refer to WritingBest and all of your requirements will be fulfilled once possible. Before writing argumentative essay, a suitable comprehension of the subject ought to be developed, and relevant and authentic material ought to be used. Consequently, students may develop different thesis for unique themes to compose essays on hamlet. Choosing very good essay topics for middle school must be a careful procedure, where a balance needs to be struck between topics that might be too simplistic, more ideal for the main school, and choosing argumentative essay topics that might be too intricate or controversial. Following are a few of the suggested sociology essay topic for those students that are unable to pick a great topic for their assignment. Wonder explores their constant urge to want to fit in, regardless of the price tag. Impossible things have gotten possible. The attractiveness of Shakespearean works is that every one of them conveys a one of a kind social message that is true even today. New Questions About Wonder Essay Topics Writing argumentative essay is a complicated endeavor, as it requires the presence of many skills at the exact same moment. To be certain you are on the most suitable way you requi re help in writing your paperwork. You ought to make sure that you're very interested in the topic before you are able to persuade others about it. In an issue of speaking, picking out persuasive essay topics is similar to telling yourself what you wish to convey to the rest of earth.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Seal and Sea Lion Facts

With their expressive eyes, furry appearance and natural curiosity, seals have a wide appeal. Native to polar, temperate and tropical waters on the planet, seals are also known to vocalize: a captive male harbor seal named Hoover was taught to vocalize English with a prominent New England accent. Fast Facts: Seals and Sea Lions Scientific Name: Phocidae spp (seals), and Otariidae spp (fur seals and sea lions)  Common Name(s): Seals, fur seals, sea lionsBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: Range from 4–13 feet longWeight: Range between 85–4,000 poundsLifespan: 30 yearsDiet:  CarnivoreHabitat: Polar, temperate, and tropical seasPopulation: Unknown, but in the hundreds of millionsConservation Status: Tropical seals and sea lions have suffered the most from human and climatic changes. Two species are threatened; seven are currently classed as endangered.   Description Seals and sea lions are highly evolved for swimming, including flippers, a streamlined fusiform (tapered at both ends) shape, thick insulation in the form of fur and/or subcutaneous layer of blubber, and increased visual acuity for foraging at extremely low light levels.   Seals and sea lions are in the order Carnivora and suborder Pinnipedia, along with walruses. Seals and fur seals are related to bears, descended from an otter-like terrestrial ancestor, and they all have a more or less aquatic lifestyle.   Toshi Miyamoto/Getty Images   Species Seals are divided into two families: the Phocidae, the earless or true seals (e.g., harbor or common seals), and the Otariidae, the eared seals (e.g., fur seals and sea lions). The pinnipeds include 34 species and 48 subspecies. The largest species is the southern elephant seal, which can grow up to about 13 feet in length and more than 2 tons in weight. The smallest species is the Galapagos fur seal, which grows to up to about 4 feet long and weighs about 85 pounds. The species have evolved to their environment, and the handful of those species which are listed as threatened or endangered are those who live in the tropics where human interference is possible. The arctic and subarctic species are mostly doing well. Two species, the Japanese sea lion (Zalophus japonicus) and Caribbean monk seal (Noemonachus tropicalis) have become extinct in recent times.   Habitat Seals are found from polar to tropical waters. The greatest diversity and abundance among seals and sea lions are found at temperate and polar latitudes. Only three phocid species—all of the monk seals—are tropical and they are all either highly endangered or, in two cases, extinct. The fur seals are also found in the tropics, but their absolute abundance is low.   The most abundant pinniped is the crabeater seal, which lives in the Antarctic pack ice; the ringed seal in the Arctic is also quite abundant, with numbers in the millions.  In the U.S., the most well-known (and watched) concentrations of seals are in California and New England. Diet The diet of seals is varied depending on the species, but most eat primarily fish and squid. Seals find prey by detecting prey vibrations using their whiskers (vibrissae).   Seals and sea lions are mostly fish-eaters, although most of the species also eat squid, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, sea birds, and other seals. The ones that eat mostly fish specialize in oil-bearing species like eels, herrings, and anchovies because they swim in shoals and are easy to catch, and are good energy sources.   Crabeater seals feed almost entirely on Antarctic krill, while sea lions eat sea birds and Antarctic fur seals are fond of penguins. Image Source/Getty Images Behavior Seals can dive deeply and for extended periods (up to 2 hours for some species) because they have a higher concentration of hemoglobin in their blood and their large amounts of myoglobin in their muscles (both hemoglobin and myoglobin are oxygen-carrying compounds). When diving or swimming, they store oxygen in their blood and muscles and dive for longer periods than humans can. Like cetaceans, they conserve oxygen when diving by restricting blood flow to only vital organs and slowing their heart rates by about 50 percent to 80 percent. In particular, elephant seals exhibit tremendous stamina while diving for their food. Each elephant seal dive averages about 30 minutes in length, with only a couple of minutes between dives, and they have been seen maintaining that schedule for months on end. Elephant seals can dive up to 4,900 feet deep and stay down as long as two hours. One study of northern elephant seals showed that their heart rates dropped from a resting rate at the waters surface of 112 beats per minute, to 20–50 beats per minute when diving. Pinnipeds produce a variety of sounds, both in air and water. Many of the sounds are apparently individual recognition or reproductive displays, but some have been taught to learn human phrases. The most famous is a captive male harbor seal at the New England Aquarium named Hoover (1971–1985). Hoover was trained to produce a variety of phrases in English, such as Hey! Hey! Come over here! with a noticeable New England accent. Although little is known about sound production and acoustic communications as of yet, seals, sea lions, and walruses do have some voluntary control over their sound emissions, perhaps related to their ability to adapt to diving. In polar environments, seals restrict blood flow to their skin surface to keep from releasing internal body heat to the ice and freezing water. In warm environments, the reverse is true. Blood is sent toward the extremities, allowing heat to release into the environment and letting the seal cool its internal temperature. Reproduction and Offspring Because of their highly developed insulating fur—polar seals and sea lions must regulate their body temperatures between 96.8–100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (36–38 Celsius) in frigid waters—they must give birth on land or ice and remain there until the pups have built up enough insulation to withstand the cold temperatures. In many cases, mother seals must be separated from their foraging grounds to take care of their offspring: if they can locate on ice, they can still feed and not abandon the pups, but on land, in groups called rookeries, they must limit their lactation periods so they can go without eating for a period of four or five days. Once the pups have been born, there is a postpartum estrus period, and most females are mated within a few days of the last birth. Mating takes place at the rookeries, and the males exercise extreme polygyny in these dense aggregations, with one male fertilizing many females. In most seals and sea lions, gestation lasts just under a year. It takes between three and six years for pups to reach sexual maturity; females produce only one pup a year, and only about 75 percent survive. Female seals and sea lions live between 20 and 40 years. John Borthwick/Getty Images  Ã‚   Threats Natural predators of seals include sharks, orcas (killer whale), and polar bears. Seals have long been commercially hunted for their pelts, meat, and blubber. The Caribbean monk seal was hunted to extinction, with the last record reported in 1952. Human threats to seals include pollution (e.g., oil spills, industrial pollutants, and competition for prey with humans). Conservation Status Today, all pinnipeds are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in the U.S. and there are several species protected under the Endangered Species Act (e.g., Steller sea lion, Hawaiian monk seal.) Threatened species include the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) and the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus, near threatened). Endangered species include the Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki), Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis); Caspian Seal (Pusa caspica), Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), and Hawaiian monk seal (M. schauinslandi). Sources Boyd, I. L. Seals. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Third Edition). Eds. Cochran, J. Kirk, Henry J. Bokuniewicz and Patricia L. Yager. Oxford: Academic Press, 2019. 634–40. Print.Braje, Todd J., and Torben C. Rick, eds. Human Impacts on Seals, Sea Lions, and Sea Otters: Integrating Archaeology and Ecology in the Northeast Pacific. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Print.Castellini, M. Marine Mammals: At the Intersection of Ice, Climate Change, and Human Interactions. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Third Edition). Eds. Cochran, J. Kirk, Henry J. Bokuniewicz and Patricia L. Yager. Oxford: Academic Press, 2018. 610–16. Print.Kirkwood, Roger, and Simon Goldsworth. Fur Seals and Sea Lions. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing, 2013.Reichmuth, Colleen, and Caroline Casey. Vocal Learning in Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 28 (2014): 66–71. Print.Riedman, Marianne. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses. Berkeley: U niversity of California Press, 1990. Print.Tyack, Peter L., and Stephanie K. Adamczak. Marine Mammal Overview. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Third Edition). Eds. Cochran, J. Kirk, Henry J. Bokuniewicz and Patricia L. Yager. Oxford: Academic Press, 2019. 572–81. Print.