The topic that we have discussed in this course that has impacted me the most is violence and abuse. The reason that this topic has impacted me is because of domestic violence that I have experienced in the past. I never really talk about, but when I was 13 my parents retired and moved to Mexico. Over there, it is common for girls to marry at young ages. I was married when I was 16 and was involved in a very abusive marriage for 11 years. Although my family was aware of some of the abuse, I tried to cover up as much as I could. Some people would not understand how a woman can tolerate so much abuse for so long. The truth is that abusers are very skilled at brainwashing their victims. They know exactly how to make you feel useless. They make you feel that you could never survive or support your children alone, This is also why abusers know what kind of women to choose as victims. They know how to identify vulnerable women or young girls. Abusers do their best to ensure that the victim does not have friends and has limited communication with family. This is so that the victim is not exposed to positive advise. I grew up in a Catholic family and was taught that once you are married, you must tolerate everything and stay with your husband forever at all costs. I was convinced that my children were better off if I continued to tolerate everything. I was convinced that my children would never have everything that he provided them if I were on my own. I was also threatened several times if I left.
Finally, I had the courage to leave. It was an adventure that not everybody would understand. I have learned that my children suffered more than I could have imagined during that relationship. While I always thought that my children were happy, they were suffering emotionally. Although it is now all in the past and I live far from the abuser, this topic still affects me in so many ways. I have learned to succeed in life on my own.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Blog 4
What can a woman do to reduce her risk of becoming a victim of assault?
I think that a lot of what a person could do to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of assault is mostly just common sense. For example, I personally try to avoid being alone in isolated or dark places. If I must be alone for whatever reason, I will call somebody on my cell phone and tell them where I am and I will stay on the phone until I am in my locked car. I also keep my car keys in my hand so that in case of an emergency I press the panic button which activates the alarm. Although I have considered self-defense classes, I have not taken any yet. I also have pepper spray that I carry in my car. I have just in case I need it someday. Another precaution that I take is that I always make sure that my car doors are locked at all times, especially at stop lights. I live in a safe area, but I still try to take as many precautions as I can to remain safe. When I am in parking lots, I always make sure that my purse is the first thing that goes in my car, before I start unloading the shopping cart. I hardly every carry cash or other valuables with me. I guess I am like this because of domestic violence that I have experienced in the past. Although that was several years ago and it happened far from Texas, I still feel nervous when I am alone.
I think that a lot of what a person could do to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of assault is mostly just common sense. For example, I personally try to avoid being alone in isolated or dark places. If I must be alone for whatever reason, I will call somebody on my cell phone and tell them where I am and I will stay on the phone until I am in my locked car. I also keep my car keys in my hand so that in case of an emergency I press the panic button which activates the alarm. Although I have considered self-defense classes, I have not taken any yet. I also have pepper spray that I carry in my car. I have just in case I need it someday. Another precaution that I take is that I always make sure that my car doors are locked at all times, especially at stop lights. I live in a safe area, but I still try to take as many precautions as I can to remain safe. When I am in parking lots, I always make sure that my purse is the first thing that goes in my car, before I start unloading the shopping cart. I hardly every carry cash or other valuables with me. I guess I am like this because of domestic violence that I have experienced in the past. Although that was several years ago and it happened far from Texas, I still feel nervous when I am alone.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Blog 3
For this assignment I have decided to identify my top three stressors.
1. I do not have enough time do complete all of my daily tasks and assignments on time.
The contributing factors for this stressor is that I have too many activities going on at the same time. As a full-time student, full-time employee, and a mother of 4, it is almost impossible to complete everything that I want to everyday. I work from 8am to 5:30pm. My son has baseball practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm. My daughter has t-ball practice on Mondays from 6pm to 7pm. I am off work on Saturdays, but both of my children's baseball games are every Saturday. This gives me very limited time to complete homework assignments and household chores. My only free day is Sunday. This means that on Sundays is when I try to do all the housework and homework assignments. At the end of the day on Sundays, I am exhausted and getting things ready to start another week. By the end of every day, I have trouble sleeping because I am thinking of everything that I did not finish.
One thing that I can do to help manage this stressor is to create a daily schedule and try to stay on schedule. I think that if I can manage my time for efficiently, I can reduce stress. I will try to get up at least 15 minutes earlier every day to complete this daily planner or checklist.
2. I am always behind in my household chores.
This contributing factors for this stressor is that I continue to let my household chores pile up. Instead of completing these chores at least one at a time, I become overwhelmed. I prefer to avoid them and pretend that they don't exist. Doing this causes them to keep piling up and they end up being one of my midnight thoughts that disturb my sleep.
One thing that I can do to help manage this stressor is to organize the chores. I need to create a chore list that includes daily chores and weekly chores. I will also add these chores to categories ranging from the most urgent to the less urgent. I need to learn a new routine. For example, I can wash at least one load of laundry every day on my lunch break. I can also wash some dishes so that when I come home after work there are less dishes to wash. It seems that dishes is one of the never-ending chores that come along with having children.
3. I feel that I do not spend any time focusing on ME.
The contributing factor to this stressor is, again, I do not have enough time. I always tend to focus on the needs of others. Although I know that this will never change, I also understand that if I can focus on myself too for at least a short time each day, I will have more energy to attend the needs of others.
One thing that I can do to help manage this stressor is to add some "me time" in my daily planner. I need to find where in my planner I can fit in at least 30 minutes for myself. I use to be able to relax in a hot shower, but now that my daughter is 3 it is impossible. I cannot relax in the shower when there is a 3 year old knocking on the door asking if I am almost done. I know that those are moments that I will surely miss in the future so I feel guilty when I take long showers while she waits at the door. Maybe I can fit these 30 minutes in the mornings if I get up earlier.
I will try these different stress relieving techniques and I will come back to blog the results.
1. I do not have enough time do complete all of my daily tasks and assignments on time.
The contributing factors for this stressor is that I have too many activities going on at the same time. As a full-time student, full-time employee, and a mother of 4, it is almost impossible to complete everything that I want to everyday. I work from 8am to 5:30pm. My son has baseball practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm. My daughter has t-ball practice on Mondays from 6pm to 7pm. I am off work on Saturdays, but both of my children's baseball games are every Saturday. This gives me very limited time to complete homework assignments and household chores. My only free day is Sunday. This means that on Sundays is when I try to do all the housework and homework assignments. At the end of the day on Sundays, I am exhausted and getting things ready to start another week. By the end of every day, I have trouble sleeping because I am thinking of everything that I did not finish.
One thing that I can do to help manage this stressor is to create a daily schedule and try to stay on schedule. I think that if I can manage my time for efficiently, I can reduce stress. I will try to get up at least 15 minutes earlier every day to complete this daily planner or checklist.
2. I am always behind in my household chores.
This contributing factors for this stressor is that I continue to let my household chores pile up. Instead of completing these chores at least one at a time, I become overwhelmed. I prefer to avoid them and pretend that they don't exist. Doing this causes them to keep piling up and they end up being one of my midnight thoughts that disturb my sleep.
One thing that I can do to help manage this stressor is to organize the chores. I need to create a chore list that includes daily chores and weekly chores. I will also add these chores to categories ranging from the most urgent to the less urgent. I need to learn a new routine. For example, I can wash at least one load of laundry every day on my lunch break. I can also wash some dishes so that when I come home after work there are less dishes to wash. It seems that dishes is one of the never-ending chores that come along with having children.
3. I feel that I do not spend any time focusing on ME.
The contributing factor to this stressor is, again, I do not have enough time. I always tend to focus on the needs of others. Although I know that this will never change, I also understand that if I can focus on myself too for at least a short time each day, I will have more energy to attend the needs of others.
One thing that I can do to help manage this stressor is to add some "me time" in my daily planner. I need to find where in my planner I can fit in at least 30 minutes for myself. I use to be able to relax in a hot shower, but now that my daughter is 3 it is impossible. I cannot relax in the shower when there is a 3 year old knocking on the door asking if I am almost done. I know that those are moments that I will surely miss in the future so I feel guilty when I take long showers while she waits at the door. Maybe I can fit these 30 minutes in the mornings if I get up earlier.
I will try these different stress relieving techniques and I will come back to blog the results.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Blog 2
For this assignment, I have decided to interview a woman who is currently in her menopausal years and has decided to take HRT. She is a 51 year old woman. She states that she is physically active and follows a healthy low fat diet. She also stated that she has tried different types of natural supplements to help with the menopausal symptoms but her attempts were unsuccessful. The reason that she decided on HRT is because her symptoms are affecting her well-being and her personal relationships. She is having trouble sleeping at night because she experiences night sweats. Her extreme mood changes and depression are affecting her relationship with her friends and family. She also states that she is having vaginal dryness which is affecting her sexual relationship with her husband. She discussed all options, risks, and benefits with her doctor and they both decided that HRT would be a healthy choice. She has been taking HRT orally for 6 months now and has noticed improvement in her symptoms. She said that she is not sure how long she would like to take these medications, but with continue having discussions with her doctor at her yearly exams and will make decisions based on her yearly doctor visits.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Blog 1
We can encourage adolescents to follow healthy behaviors by communicating with them and explaining to them what healthy behaviors are. Some ideas for parents could be to provide some books or materials for adolescents to review. Some adolescents may prefer to read this type of information on their own. After reviewing the information, parents can then ask the adolescents for their opinions regarding the information. For Healthcare providers or health educators, it is a good idea to provide worksheets with questions for the adolescents to complete while they are alone in a room. This can help the adolescents be more focused and feel more comfortable answering the questions and giving their true opinions.
Monday, August 31, 2015
BIO
My name is Lucia Sosa. I am married and have 4 children. My major is Health Studies. I worked in the medical field as a medical assistant for 3 years. This is when I became very interested in health care. I was working at an OB/GYN office. This is when my interest for women's health grew. For personal reasons, I discontinued my employment as a medical assistant. I had decided that I wanted to have my fourth child, so I began to work in childcare. I am now on my third year working in childcare and I really enjoy working with children. My new goal is to earn my bachelors degree in health studies and then earn a teacher certification.
Although being a full time student, having a full time job, and having children, leaves me very little time for myself, my hobbies are walking outdoors and spending time with my family. Something that only my close family knows about me is that I am very interested in music. As a child I played the piano, but as I grew older I no longer had the time to play. I moved from Oregon and did not bring the piano with me so I haven't played the piano in years. I would like to someday buy another piano and learn to play all over again.
Although being a full time student, having a full time job, and having children, leaves me very little time for myself, my hobbies are walking outdoors and spending time with my family. Something that only my close family knows about me is that I am very interested in music. As a child I played the piano, but as I grew older I no longer had the time to play. I moved from Oregon and did not bring the piano with me so I haven't played the piano in years. I would like to someday buy another piano and learn to play all over again.
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