Three Types of Happiness Essay -- Happiness Essays

â€Å"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.† -- Denis Waitley Many people believe that happiness is simply a state of well being; to me, happiness is much more complex. Absolute happiness is anything that brings feelings of pure bliss to an individual’s life. One can gain happiness from simple pleasures of life, such as receiving a kiss from a three-year old, to advanced pleasures, such as a happy marriage or a successful career. Dr. Seligman, a well known psychologist and proponent of positive psychology, identified three types of happiness: pleasant life, engaged life, and meaningful life. Although Dr. Seligman states that the ultimate forms of happiness are â€Å"meaningful life† and â€Å"engaged life†, I believe that â€Å"pleasant life† happiness is just as important. One type of happiness is known as â€Å"engaged life†. â€Å"Engaged life† happiness involves exploring and harnessing one’s strengths and talents to the benefit of himself and society. I experience â€Å"engaged life† happiness when I play my piano. As soon as touch the smooth, ivory keys, I feel an intense surge of joy, and all my surroundings seem to be just a blur; the music soon takes over me, and I am lost in a world of Beethoven, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. When I am at my piano, all my cares and doubts seem to disappear, and my life seems, at that solitary moment in time, to make perfect sense. Music is my life and my soul. Another type of happiness is â€Å"meaningful life†. â€Å"Meaningful life† happiness, according to Seligman, is the most genuine form of happiness. It is the epitome of life; the point where one feels completely and utterly satisfied... ...† and â€Å"meaningful life† happiness are truer forms of happiness as compared to â€Å"pleasant life† happiness, I stand firm in my belief that the simplistic pleasures one obtains from â€Å"pleasant life† happiness are just as powerful as the joys one obtains from â€Å"engaged life† and â€Å"meaningful life† happiness. My blackberry picking outing enabled me to not only obtain bucketfuls of delectable blackberries but also to spend precious moments of the day with my family, and that, in itself, makes me truly happy. Works Cited Stockley, Derek. â€Å"Positive Psychology and the Three Types of Happiness.† High Performance Newsletter. 3 November 2006. Web. 29 June 2010. Denis Waitley Quote. Wisdom Quotes. â€Å"Happiness Quotes.† Wisdom Quotes. 29 June 2010.

ADHD and Its Treatments Essay -- ADHD Attention Deficit Essays Disorde

The purpose of this research was to describe and understand Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the most effective treatment options that are available today. ADHD is a mental health disorder that affects 3-9% of the population in ways that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on the mind of the sufferer. It makes concentration difficult, large tasks seem insurmountable, and causes impulsive and hyperactive tendencies. Fortunately, research and experiments have led to new and effective treatments to help those who suffer from this disorder (Dupaul 8). This research examined journal articles and internet sources on the topic to help unlock the complexities of the disorder through scientific research. It also was a way to separate the myths of the disorder from the truths, while discovering the causes, diagnosis methods, and best treatment alternatives to battle this prevalent disorder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1902, a physician by the name of Sir George F. published a series of lectures to the Royal College of Physicians in England in which he described a group of impulsive children with significant behavioral problems, caused by a genetic dysfunction and not by poor child rearing?children who today would be easily recognized as having ADHD (NIMH 1). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterized by distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and an inability to remain focused on tasks or activities. ADHD afflicts an estimated 3-9% of children, with symptoms usually appearing by the age of seven. Some key characteristics of the disorder include a person who: ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is easily distracted by events occurring around them ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Puts off anything that requires a sustained mental effort ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Appears not to listen when spoken to ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shows a repeated failure to finish tasks ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Has a difficulty staying still ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shows difficulty in organizing activities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These symptoms prove to be particularly challenging to children and adolescents. Although they may be quite intelligent, their lack of focus frequently results in poor grades and difficulty in school. Children and adolescents with ADHD tend to act impulsively, without addressing the consequences of their actions until it is too late. Their attention spans are much shorter than most children?s are, thus they become bored easily and frustrated with ... ...performed by the NIMH to support the assertions that genetic disposition and neurobiology were possible causes of ADHD. Their experiment studied 152 boys and girls with ADHD, and matched with 139 age- and gender-matched controls without ADHD. The children?s brains were scanned at least twice, some as many as four times over a decade. From the documentation, this appears to be a reliable experiment because of the gender and age matched control group. 3. Is there an alternative way to interpret the evidence? In my opinion and in my observations in my life, the evidence clearly points to a strong correlation between genetics and a person?s chance of having ADHD. I have also had friends with ADHD whose parents exhibit similar symptoms. 4. What additional studies would help evaluate the alternatives? I think that if genetic and neurobiological studies are conducted, the researcher should randomize the age groups tested, and continue their research as a long-term study. 5. What conclusions are most reasonable? The conclusion drew was that more research needs to be conducted to before drawing an absolute conclusion that genetics and neurobiology determine the patterns of ADHD

Test Taking Strategies

Test-Taking Strategies For 10 years, I was the one testing the students, teaching strategies and finding new ones to help students study. Suddenly, I found myself returning to school and the anxiety, stress, lack of time, and just all the unknowns seemed to overwhelm my life. The last couple of years I have learned to incorporate strategies that work best for me, but there is always room for improvement and strengthening. Learning, study and test taking skills are some of the most important things to have when furthering your education. Upon reading Strategies for Test Success by Linda Anne Silvestri, I was able to scrutinize some of my weaknesses, reevaluate my learning style, and look at some new test taking strategies while assessing my current strategies. Helpful Test Taking Strategies Tests usually have significant validity on your grade. The better you are prepared for different types of tests, the better grade you will receive. Meyers, 2000) Some helpful test strategies that I gathered from this assignment include: techniques for reducing test anxiety, avoid reading into the question, avoid changing answers, learning how to study in a manner that works best, and improving retention of information. Test anxiety is an unpleasant experience and can interfere with test performance. This is one area that I struggle with myself. Linda Anne Silvestri suggests incorporating some of the following techni ques in order to reduce anxiety while preparing for and taking an exam. First, evaluate yourself to determine what may be causing the anxiety. Is it stress, pressure to succeed, or negative thoughts? Second, figure out techniques that will help to reduce the anxiety such as: avoid procrastination, relaxation techniques before and during an exam, maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet, and maintain a positive attitude which will lead to success. (Silvestri, 2010) In that moment of despair, when my memory just seems to go blank, I often find myself digging from my own life experiences to find a rationale to the question being asked. Linda Anne Silvestri explains reading into a question as â€Å"One is considering issues beyond the information presented in the question. †(Silvestri, 2010) I am guilty of this on many occasions, and learning to identify the information the question contains and what it is asking will help improve my test scores. Changing answers is another area which I struggle. â€Å"You know the information; go with your first instinct, don’t second guess yourself! † I have said this to many students over the years, why does it seem so hard to incorporate into my own strategies now that I am a student? By reevaluating this area, hopefully I can become more confident in the answering of questions and learn to trust my instincts and knowledge. â€Å"One must also remember not change an answer unless you are absolutely sure you have made a mistake,† as stated in the book The Secret of Taking Any Test by Learning Express. (Meyers, 2000) In Kaplan’s How to Study vide o about learning to study in a manner that work best for you, suggests that you find a quiet room or area that you can use just for studying. I often find myself trying to study in the family room where it seems like the TV is shouting at me and my books are scattered all over the couch and floor. I am currently working on this by converting a spare room into my study space. It was recommended that in this area you are to consider good body position, such as using a chair and desk not sitting or lying on your bed. This area must also have good lighting and be free of distractions. In doing this I hope that I will be able to separate my school time and family time from each other. Visualize, organize, recite, repeat is suggested by Kaplan in order to retain information. The goal of most students is to retain what they are learning. Spending too much time studying is and major complaint of students. By making vivid associations of the content with a picture, group and organize topics together because items are best learned in groups, recite your knowledge out loud to figure out what you do not understand, and finally repeat it often. By using this strategy instead of trying to memorize text out of a book, one should have to spend less time studying and more information should be retained. (Kaplan Nursing: Lipponcott) Test Strategies Not so Helpful There are so many strategy recommendations for students. While each have good points, some are more helpful than others. Strategies that don’t seem as helpful to me are simulating actual test like circumstances when studying for the exam, study groups, note taking by using the fancy systems. These three strategies just seem to increase my stress level to the point I feel like I am not learning. Simulating actual test like circumstances has just never worked for me as I usually don’t pick the correct information to test myself on and the important information gets left behind. Study groups cause me too much pressure because I find that one or two people seem to be putting the study guides together. This is a pet peeve for me; I don’t mind sharing my ideas but don’t expect me to do all the work and then hand it to you. The final one that has never worked for me is taking notes by using one of the many note taking systems. I find myself spending too much time trying to remember what needs to be written where, organizing, how to fold the paper. I have developed my own crazy way of taking notes over the years. Note taking is an area that I feel is individualize for each person. Learning Style The VAK Learning Style Assessment indicates that I learn visually followed closely by being a kinesthetic learner. I feel this is a very accurate assessment of my learning style. I am the person who likes to observe how things are done either by reading the instructions or watching someone perform the task. I also learn by holding, touching, and feeling. The whole hands-on experience works well for me. Auditory learning is sometime difficult for me. I find using the auditory portion of an E-book is not beneficial to me because my mind seems to wander and I have a hard time concentrating on the information. I am someone who likes to have the textbook in hand to touch and feel. Diagnosis of Test Taking Weakness My personal diagnoses of test taking weakness would be: Anxiety related to taking examinations as evidenced by sympathetic stimulation including increased respiratory rate, heart rate, apprehension and facial flushing. I will display decreased test anxiety before and after each exam for the next twelve months. I will learn how to control sympathetic stimulations during exams for the next year. Interventions will include getting enough sleep before exams, practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing by inhaling deeply through nose and exhaling slowly, thinking positive thoughts, avoiding reading extra information into the question, and changing answers on the exam. Interventions will be confirmed effective if vital signs reflect baseline, there is decreased sympathetic stimulation, and able to control test anxiety by using stated techniques. Risk for impaired emory related to inability to retain sufficient knowledge and information. I will retain sufficient knowledge and information from the ADRN program to pass all exams for the next year. I will demonstrate use of techniques to help reduce memory loss for twelve months. I will utilize anxiety reducing techniques, non-distracting study areas, visualize, organize, recite, and repeat techniques into current study and test taking p ractices . Intervention will be confirmed effective if I pass all exams and the NCLEX. References Ackley, B. & Ladwig, G. (2008). Nursing diagnosis handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care, (8th ed. ). St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc. , an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. Kaplan Nursing: Lipponcott, W. a. (n. d. ) Kaplan Nursing. Retrieved September 1, 2011, from Kaplan nursing: How to study, Nursing school success http://www. nursing. kaplan. com/student/User_Home. aspx# Meyers, J. N. (2000). The secret of taking any test. Learning Express Silvestri, L. A. (2010). Saunders strategies for success for test success: Passing nursing school and the NCLEX exam. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders an imprint of Elsevier.

Mister Pip of Lloyd Jones Essay

The narrator of Mister Pip is Matilda, a young girl growing up on an island in the south Pacific. As the story unfolds it becomes gradually more apparent that this island is in the grip of a brutal war. Matilda is deflected from the impact of the threatening violence by her fascination with Mr. Watts the only white man on the island and the person who has the task of teaching the island’s children. His only text is Great Expectations and he manages to cast a strange spell over the children and their parents using Dickens’s story in various ways. The book has the quality of a fantasy where the characters achieve moments of liberation through storytelling. The central character Matilda asserts, â€Å"stories can help you find happiness and truth.† This belief is borne out as the story unfolds and Matilda triumphs in spite of horrendous suffering. I found the character of Matilda’s mother to be the most convincing. She makes an amazing journey from religious fundamentalism to heartbreaking heroism culminating in the perfect climactic line; â€Å"I am here as God’s witness.† The whole book is a witness to the power of fiction; Matilda claims that Great Expectations is the â€Å"one book that supplied me with another world at a time when it was desperately needed.† As I read it I came to accept that this could be true and that Mister Pip might very well turn out to be a classic piece of fiction that stands the test of time. If there is a flaw it is in the last twenty pages which deal with Matilda’s life outside her island home. The adult Matilda is not as convincing as the child narrator who observes the wonderful and strange things that happen in Mr Watts’ classroom. It is nevertheless a delightful and searing book which might well send you back to Dickens as a kind of bonus.

North and South Growing Together: The Differences It Makes Essay

The Global North and South are in a state of change, that can continue to grow further from a real and loving relationship with God, or become a religion that is closer to what Christ had intended for all us. In the north we see a rise in an individualism, a idea that forgets the evil (SIN) in religion, substitutes God’s grace for self-knowledge, and makes Christ mission about self help instead of global defeat and global salvation. â€Å"Jesus, who became the Christ of faith, suggested that the gospel need some concretization within cultures for it to have a capacity to transform destructive tendencies in them. The evangelizing objective was to seek life-giving elements in cultures which could â€Å"give flesh† to the gospel vision of reconciliation, peace, justice, compassion, and love.† The development of the Christian life and message in context with cultural living is not always clear and can be manifested appropriately in a specific cultural context, however but is not always clear with keeping to the Jesus traditions and Christian traditions at less. Christian traditions are built on Jesus traditions; however, where there is man there is error in caring out Christ’ traditions and teachings without personal characteristics interfering with the inerrant word of God. We are not capable on our own to carry out God’s will without the guidance of the Spirit. Some may ask how the life changing and life giving elements of God’s grace and God’s word determine through culture the true perspective and vision of the gospel? Pedro Arrupe, the former Superior General of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order stated that faith in Christ can be achieved globally if we work to bring the  Gospel needs concretization within cultures for it to have a capacity to transform destructive tendencies in them. Arrupe also stated these words were not his alone but came from Christ. Arrupe stated that inculturation is 1 Thomas Grenham, (2001). Exploring changing religious, cultural, and faith identities in an African context. the â€Å"the incarnation of Christian life and of the Christian message in a particular local cultural context, in such a way that the experience not only finds expression through elements proper to the culture in question (this alone would be no more than a superficial adaptation), but becomes a principle that animates, directs, and unifies a culture, transforming and remaking it so as to bring about ‘a new creation.†3 â€Å"If the Christian life and the Christian message can be embodied in a particular local culture, it seems obvious that a diverse religious way of life and its worldview could be manifested within Christianity, thus ‘a new transformation’ would take place simultaneously for Christianity and a diverse religious worldview.† The changes in some cultural worldviews are changing in a way that incorporates the Gospel of love and relationships into their way of life. This is good as Christ’ missionary work was about relationships, and about restoration of a relationship with God through his sacrifice for all mankind. In the Turkana’s who inhabit Kenya’s northern territories is bringing the good news to everyone including their poor. Traditionally with many of the Southern religions Liberation theology is the normative in their religious beliefs. Where Liberation theology was Pentecostalism has come. But today much of the religious sect in the south are turning to a straight forward reading of the Gospel with a direct interpretation on how to live. We are seeing a beginning of another reformation but not with a idea of some other belief but a reformation back to what we have lost. This is a global influence that is beginning to become a trend amongst many religious sects within the Christ ian worldview. We have lost sight of the Goal but as we begin to emerge from the ashes of sin that we have been living under we begin to be made aware of our transgressions by the Spirit. In is seen more and easily confirmed by this shift in thought by humans that the Triune God is ever so busy in our lives globally as a family imbedded in Christ’ body  that is being made possible by the Spirit. 3 Thomas Grenham, (2001). Exploring changing religious, cultural, and faith identities in an African context. Bibliography Thomas Grenham, (2001). Exploring changing religious, cultural, and faith identities in an African context. Retrieved on August 25, 2013 from Pacifica.org, PDF.

The Attitude towards Alzheimer's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Attitude towards Alzheimer's - Essay Example Although research on care-giving disproportionally deals with topics such as costs of care, service utilization, and negative psychosocial outcomes etc, the influence of the attitude towards Alzheimer's on the care-giving to the patients has not attained significant attention in researches. Researches on the attitude of the family members towards Alzheimer's have great relevance as it can aid better care offered to the individuals with Alzheimer's by the people immediately close to them. As it is families who deal with life, it is important for families to deal with diseases, especially a disease like Alzheimer's. "Given that Alzheimer's is a disruptive yet often subtle disease, infinitely variable, it tends to bring about family crisis, even in the best organized and healthiest of families. This is because the beginnings of the disease involve gradual loss of ability to function well in life, rather than specific symptoms needing specific treatment. It is a disease of behaviors, and families have to make decisions about their own behaviors in response to the illness. In families with unhealthy interaction patterns, Alzheimer's disease becomes a new battleground." (Gray-Davidson, 1999, p. 47). Therefore, the attitude of the families towards Alzheimer's has an important impact on the care offered to individuals with Alzheimer's disease and a research on the different attitudes can contribute to a better health-care offered to patients with Alzheimer's. Scope The attitude of the families towards Alzheimer's has been found one of the most essential factors influencing the type of care offered to individuals with Alzheimer's. A reflective analysis of the various common attitudes towards Alzheimer's and their influences on the health-care can determine the various effective ways to treat the patients and help them in coping with the particular situation of the life. Therefore, the scope of research concerning attitude of the families towards Alzheimer's is vast and this specific study focuses on determining the essential elements in the different attitudes towards Alzheimer's. Hypothesis One of the basic factors determining the care given to individuals with Alzheimer's is the attitude of the families towards Alzheimer's as family is the essential unit of the society to deal with the issues confronting individuals with Alzheimer's. Therefore, the underlying hypothesis of this study is that the attitude of the families towards Alzheimer's has a major influence on how the patient is treated and looked after in the family background and it is essential to develop a positive attitude towards Alzheimer's in order to assist the patient effectively. Literature Review Various types of attitudes by different section of the society towards Alzheimer's have a major influence on the diagnosis, health-care, and treatment of the disease. For example, a physician's positive attitude towards Alzheimer's has been found one of the most essential factors in early diagnosis of the disease and it can affect how the patient is offered health-care in the course of the disease. "In their ongoing study, Paterson and colleagues found that a doctor's positive attitude about the identification and treatment of dementia is the most

Saving Money at the Grocery Store Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Saving Money at the Grocery Store - Essay Example Grocery stores have many tricks and traps to make people buy expensive items or increasing the level of their purchases by tempting them. It is very important for people to be able to save money at the grocery store because food items are what tend to cause a great deal of financial loss at the end of each month. This paper aims to discuss the various ways in which a person can save money at a grocery store, as well as the best saves and stores in the east and west coast. Each and every grocery store is designed in a very fashionable manner; this means that the food items are placed very strategically, making it difficult for people not to get tempted by them. For example, the fruit and vegetables that cost the least amount of money would be placed towards the back whereas dinner kits and expensive and exotic food items from other countries would be on display, tempting people into loading them into their shopping carts. Most grocery stores are laden with such traps which people find difficult to decipher and escape from and thus people need to be focused on the food items that they want to purchase. For this, a list must be prepared and adhered to; if a person is able to diligently purchase everything on his list and nothing more, then he will be able to save on a lot more money than expected. ... It is pertinent to understand the location of each and every required item in a grocery store; most people are not aware of where the items lie and thus tend to walk around aisles and shelves picking out whatever they see instead of going towards the back sections where the actual frozen fruits and vegetables lay. The fresh foods always tend to lie towards the back of any grocery store and it is always helpful to have someone assisting in order to make the correct purchases. People should visit a single grocery store and get acquainted to it rather than go to different stores and find different food items. This helps in not only knowing exactly where what lies, but also in helping them resist from making exorbitant purchases because people tend to overlook the fancy items once they begin seeing the same things again and again in the same section. Furthermore, if a person needs to save on some more money, fruits, vegetables and other durable and fresh food items should be bought from local markets and not from grocery stores because the stores tend to charge more in order to cover their overheads. Visiting a grocery store means looking at a lot of food; not only fresh foods but also readymade meals, deserts, cooked items etc. All of this tends to make people hungry and that is why they end up buying more; many researchers state that when people go hungry to grocery stores or supermarkets, they feel like eating more food because of all the food that is around them and available in well packaged containers. Many people might even get hungry while shopping and thus buy items on the spot in order to eat and that is why, in order to save some