Mid-Life Crisis- "YOU ONLY GET ONE!"

So for those who don't know me super well (or don't know me at all), I'm a big country music fan. One of my all-time favorite country women is Reba McEntire. A year or so ago, I discovered a show that she made a few years back called "Reba." It is the corniest show I have ever admitted to watching. However, I do find it funny. For those who don't know what the show is about, here is a short briefing:

Reba and Brock Hart were married for 20 years with 3 kids: Cheyenne, Kyra, and Jake. Brock is a successful dentist who hired a receptionist named Barbara Jean. He ends up having an affair with her (and she gets pregnant), and Reba and Brock get a divorce (Reba and Brock were already having other issues in their marriage, but this was the last straw). As this starts to cause tension in the family, Cheyenne (who is high school age) and her boyfriend Van announce that they are going to be parents. As weird as things are, Barbara Jean thinks that Reba and her are friends. Brock and Barbara Jean are over at Reba's house a lot of the time. Even with the divorce and the crazy family situation, the Hart family stands by each other.

Ok, there's your briefing of "Reba." ("Reba" aired from 2001-2007, but the reruns are aired daily on ABC Family and CMT.)

For this blog, I'm going to be discussing "the mid-life crisis." Reba says the stereotype of a mid-life crisis best in the pilot episode of her show...
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/5571625 At the start of the clip (I edited it so it was a little shorter), Reba reveals that she and Brock are separated. She goes on to say that if he wants to have a mid-life crisis, that's fine. "Buy a red Corvette, take up bungee-jumping, pierce something. Whatever it takes, I don't care," Reba says. Brock then tells her that he is marrying Barbara Jean because she's pregnant.

Years later in the series, Brock tells Reba that he is giving up dentistry and selling his practice ...to play pro golf. Reba says my favorite line in the whole episode http://www.tubechop.com/watch/5570434, "Is this some kind of mid-life crisis? Because you dumping me for the blond was supposed to be your mid-life crisis! You only get one!"

Reba may have been a bit uninformed, because males (and females) can have more than one mid-life. Although it is a bit uncommon to have more than one, it is possible. There is no set amount, time, or symptoms with a mid-life crisis. Dan Jones, PhD, says that a mid-life crisis can occur anywhere between the ages of 37 through a person's 50s.
Stereotypes for men and women vastly vary. For men, it is buying a red sports car or proving something, whether it's in a relationship or a job. For women, they may feel that after raising their kids, it is time to return to the workforce or school.
A mid-life crisis, because it may cause some to feel like they are having an identity crisis, can lead to depression. Major signs of depression would include: change in eating/sleeping habits, feelings of hopelessness, restless, anxiety, irritability, lost of interest in activities once enjoyed, thoughts of suicide, and/or physical signs of illness that do not disappear in a reasonable amount of time.

It is important to remember that a mid-life crisis is a part of life. Just as babies go through certain developmental stages, adults are too. A mid-life crisis is a developmental transition to another part of life.

References
http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/midlife-crisis-opportunity?page=3

The Brain and Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's. It's a term we have all heard, if not dealt with on a more personal basis. It is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is a form of memory loss, and is a common term that is used with the older to elderly population. A person can be diagnosed with dementia, but it may never escalate to Alzheimer's. Sadly, Alzheimer's worsens as a person goes on and there is no cure. There are treatments and research that have been found to slow the progression, but never ultimately stop and reverse the effects.

To get more of an anatomical description....
The brain has over 100 billion neurons which all help connect and improve communication throughout the brain and body. Groups of these neurons are specialized in certain tasks (speech, scent, ability to understand, memory).
No one is quite sure how or where the trouble with Alzheimer's starts. However, what happens in an Alzheimer's brain is certain: breakdown. As one can see in the picture, the Alzheimer's brain is significantly smaller and sickly-looking compared to the healthy brain. Plaques and tangles can be to blame for the breakdown but the confusion lies as to where they come from. Plaques are broken protein fragments that take up space BETWEEN neurons. Tangles are twisted fragments of a different protein that build up INSIDE neurons.

The stages
Within the earliest stages of Alzheimers (sometimes before even diagnosis), the neurons that are first affected are those involved in learning/memory and thinking/
planning.

In the intermediate or moderate stage, more plaques and tangles are evident. Individuals may experience more problems with memory and planning. At this point, the plaques and tangles affect speaking and understanding others' speech. They can also affect balance and where one's body is compared to other objects (perception). As the disease progresses more and more, it is common for people to forget who others are; behavioral changes are also common.

In the severe stage, people forget all aspects of how to care for themselves, who others are, and how to communicate. It is at this stage that the brain is found to be exceptionally small, with an extreme amount of cell death.






There is no life expectancy of those with Alzheimer's, but it has been seen that those with it can live up to 10 years after being diagnosed. Unfortunately, as the disease progresses to the severe stage, the body forgets how to care for itself. In two-third of the Alzheimer population, pneumonia is the ultimate killer. Other possible problems that can arise would be immobility, weight loss, not eating, and depression. The body of a person who has late stages of Alzheimer's  does not have much capability of fighting off infections or other sicknesses, thus increasing the risk for catching viruses that can escalate into a bigger problem for those with Alzheimer's.

Not the happiest post, but it is interesting to see the decreasing activity of an Alzheimer brain and the physical deformities that arise.

References
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_4719.asp
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp#brain
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=101

Cognitive Development, Psychosocial Development, and now Moral Thinking?!

One more guy telling us how we think, why we think, and then I'll be moving onto to something other than development. I can't leave this topic without talking about Lawrence Kohlberg, an American psychologist that comprised levels of moral thinking. Included with these levels of moral thinking are 6 stages which are listed and grouped accordingly:

• Level 1: Pre-conventional thinking; stage 1: punishment avoidance, stage 2: getting what you want by a "trade-off"
• Level 2: Conventional thinking; stage 3: meeting expectations of others, stage 4: fulfilling duties and upholding laws
• Level 3: Post-conventional thinking; stage 5: sense of democracy and relativity of rules, stage 6: self-selection of universal principles

The first level of thinking is observed most commonly in children 9 and under, but there are some adults that still are in this type of thinking. Pre-conventional morality is a standard, uniform code of morality. We do not have any personal morals at this stage, but are told what to think by the adults in our lives. We are also taught the consequences of breaking the rules.

The next level of thinking is conventional morality. This occurs in most adolescents and adults. We create and form an opinion of morality based on the choices of trusted adults in our lives. Authority is not questioned. Any reasoning is based on the peers and people that said person spends time with.

The last level is the post-conventional morality. At this stage, self-chosen principles are chosen and followed. Reasoning is conducted based on self experiences and rights. 

How Kohlberg came up with these levels is quite interesting. He questioned all ages (children, adolescents, and adults) about a certain scenario. The scenario is about a man named Heinz. Heinz's wife was dying of a certain illness, but a very expensive drug was just created that could save her. Heinz tried to save up as much money as he could and asked friends and family to help, but he could only save up half of the amount for the drug. He asked the pharmaceutical company if he could pay half, save his wife, and pay the other half as he goes on? The company denied his request, so what should Heinz do? Steal the drug and go to prison, not steal the drug and follow the law, or steal the drug but not go to prison because he was just trying to save his wife? 

It was through moral dilemmas like this that Kohlberg gained answers to analyze and was able to create the three levels of moral thinking. If you would like to see what level you are at, try the website listed below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5czp9S4u26M

**If interested, a great video to further explain is seen here

Erik Erikson and the Stages of Psychosocial Development...what a mouthful

Hi there! Today I will be following up with another developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson. After this post, I will cover one more developmental man, and then I will be moving on!
Erik Erikson was a German psychologist and psychoanalyst born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1902. He is best known for the his stages of psychosocial development. Erikson believed that from we are born and as we age, we go through changes based on age and the accomplishment or failure each stage.
There are 8 stages which each have an approximate associated age and issue:

• Infancy: birth to 1 year old, trust vs. mistrust
• Toddlerhood: 1-3 years old, autonomy vs. shame/doubt
• Preschool: 3-6 years old, initiative vs. guilt
• Elementary school: 6 years old to puberty, competence vs. inferiority
• Adolescence: teen years to early 20s, identity vs. role confusion
• Young adulthood: mid-late 20s to early 40s, intimacy vs. isolation
• Middle adulthood: 40s to 60s, generativity vs. stagnation
• Late adulthood: late 60s and up, integrity vs. despair

The first issue that occurs in life is the trust vs. mistrust. When a baby is born, they depend on others for all of their needs. If their needs are met, the infant begins to trust that they will be taken care of and the world is not scary. However, for those infants that cry and cry when they are hungry and no one ever feeds them, they have an absence of trust. There is no one for them to rely on and therefore, the world is a dark, scary place.

The next issue is seen during the toddler age and it is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. As young children approach the age of 2 or 3, with appropriate parenting they should start to want to do things on their own or with minimal help from an adult. Of course, some things need to be supervised or done by a parent. It is important to keep a child from feeling that they cannot perform a certain task or they will have doubts about doing anything for themselves as they get older. A good example is seen in the video. Potty training is a task that can stressful on the parent as well as the child. It is important to not become too frustrated with your child as to make them feel incapable of doing anything right, as Chuckie's dad does in the first part of the clip. As the clip goes on, Stu and Deedee help to give positive reinforcement once Chuckie does figure out how to go to the toilet when he is ready to go to the bathroom. Therefore, Chuckie does not feel shame but confidence that he can do it.

The third issue is initiative vs. guilt which occurs during the preschool age (3-6 years). This issue follows closely behind the autonomy vs. shame issue. This issue furthers a child's independence and ability to do things by themselves. If the child hasn't succeeded in autonomy vs. shame, it is probable that they won't succeed in initiative vs. guilt. Parents must have patience throughout this stage as a child needs to learn to performs skills on their own, which is the prime aspect of this stage.

The next issue is competence vs. inferiority, occurring at the elementary school age. It is at this stage that it is very important to give encouragement, praise, and confidence boosters to children. Children at this age are at school more than ever before and interacting with other children. If children do not feel competent, they will begin to feel inferior, thus affecting their social and psychological developments. Children may start to compare themselves to others, either boosting or destroying their confidence.

The fifth issue is identity vs. role confusion, which occurs in adolescence. Who am I? What do I want to do with my life? Who will I meet? Do I fit in or stand out? All are common questions during this particular stage. At this age, teens may have to try out different roles or go through "phases" before they decide who they want to be and hang out with. Even if they get through high school fulfilling a certain identity, the teenager has not even reached college yet, where things can change all over again. 

The sixth issue is found among young adulthood and is intimacy vs. isolation. It is among this age group that it is a struggle for some to gain close relationships with others (either intimate or friendly). This issue is usually found among those in their 20s all the way to those in their 40s. This a struggle that almost every one goes through at some point in their lives. In this clip, Hercules understands that his love interest has been hurt before and doesn't want to put another stake in her heart. He promises to love her forever and be there for her always (common sayings among guys at this stage).

The seventh stage is generativity vs. stagnation. I do not have a clip for this stage but it is fairly simple to understand. At this age (40s to 60s), some people are able to retire (definitely not everyone). For example, Grandma retires to stay at home with Grandpa, who is already retired. Because they do not have anywhere to be (such as work), they seem to slow down or stagnate. However, if they sign up for a seniors class at their local community center or volunteer as a couple to walk dogs, they have a purpose and avoid feelings of worthlessness. They are generative. 

The last stage is integrity vs. despair. "What did I do during my life that was purposeful?" or "Did I do anything in my life that is worth celebrating?" It is at this stage where an older individual may become depressed or invigorated with life, depending on the reflection of their life as their life may be coming to an end. 

As these stages show, development continues from birth to death. Erikson created these stages based on his own life experiences as an outsider (his mother was Jewish and his father was a Danish Gentile). 

Thanks for reading! 

References

Eriksons Stage 1. (2008). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEHW8oTj0BA

Erik Erikson - Stage 2 Developmental Psychology. (2014). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru74VlqC8MU

Initiative Vs. Guilt - Little Louis. (2011). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvmwdN3qwX8

Industry vs. Inferiority. (2013). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvrRRYk9who

Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion. (2009). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJMXk5ibkQk

Hercules Clip One. (2010). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTy6KwotcSo

Integrity vs. Despair. (2013). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x49N4pi8of4