Alzheimer's

Going into class today I didn't feel prepared or ready to discuss my inquiry paper. To be honest it was the last thing on my list to do. Talking in class though really solidified my ideas and even encouraged me to look into it all more. So, thank you group for listening to my ramblings and giving me your ideas to further my inquiry.

I am looking into the identity of Alzheimer's patients and how the diagnosis can change their identity. Not just their diagnosis but the whole process that goes along with being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Our population is getting older and dementia is increasing, yet we don't have a good medical or societal method of dealing with it. Our tendency is to not deal with it and just put them in a residential care facility (RCF) so they can have someone watching over them 24/7. As of now I believe that RCFs propagate a faster decrease in cognitive ability and independence.

I am looking at an example from TSWLB about the graduate students who start treating a girl differently and she ends up becoming the person they were treating her as. If we reflect this to an Alzheimer's patient who is put in a RCF and is treated as completely disabled and needs to be looked after at all times. Does this cause the patient to start acting as a completely disabled person? Overtime does the patient start believing this themselves? Do they start thinking that they can't do anything for themselves? This also relates to Goffman's view on the self by saying a person identity changes when other's views on that person change.

As of right now I believe that it is in the best interest of the Alzheimer's patient if they have a family that can take care of them. They are surrounded by a loving community that is willing to help them at all costs. Being in an environment they know may help the patient stay oriented to their identity and life.

However, how does caring for a family with Alzheimer's effect the identity of the family and the individual members in it? How does it effect the way the family treats and views the family member with Alzheimer's? Even though the Alzheimer's family is taking care of them and they hopefully are able to keep their independence for as long as possible, does it change the way the Alzheimer's patient thinks or feels just to know he has to be taken care of?

My Grandpa was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's and immediatly it changed the way I view him. I have always pictured him as this bottomless container of knowledge and wisdom. Now everytime I see him I notice how fragile he looks or how old he is getting. If he wasn't diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's would I just contribute all of that to his old age? Or would I question if he is mentally healthy?

As you can probably see I have no real point yet. Everything is in every direction. I have some journal articles, websites, and family accounts of taking care of a family membor with Alzheimer's.

I also haven't pin pointed my definition of identity.

If anyone has any suggesstions please let me know. As you can see I need any help I can get.

Know vs. Unknown

I am going to try to pretend I am already a medical doctor. I am going to try to list the knowns and unknowns in my field of study, movement science.

Known

• smoking is bad - causes lung cancer
• eating health, get all the nutrients you need in a correct serving size, will help you be an appropriate weight and have a healthier body
• early diagnosis can help prevent unwanted outcomes
• treatments and medicines change daily so you always have to learn about the new best thing
• have a positive demeanor helps the patients have a positive demeanor
• trying every available option may not be good enough
  
• you can treat almost anything
• sharing information about patients is not good
  

Unknown

• can't cure most terminal diseases - cancer, AIDS, malaria
• why some people get better and some don't
• what is the best medicine/treatment to use
• causes of some diseases
  
• why some treatments work for some and not for others
• whats morally right or wrong

Continuing our topic from class though our fact now was not fact in the past and by the time I am a doctor we have may have figured out that some of the fact now isn't true. Hopefully we may also find truths for the unknown so we can better assist the ill in our community.

Facebook

The very interesting even though somewhat confusing discussion today in class about what someone may believe as fact may not be a fact to someone else or what was fact in the past may not be fact in the present or the future. When thinking of things for my blog I was trying to connect that to identity. I started thinking about internet identity and how someones identity on the internet may not be their identity in real life and how does that fit into Mead's or Cooley's view of the self?

I first tried to brainstorm a way someone could present an identity through the internet.
blogs
facebook
myspace
dating websites
were about as far as I got. I then started comparing my Facebook and this blog to how I think of myself in real life. I think my Facebook is truly a social self (my definition of a social self - being you act different to different people so your social self is always in flux and acts how I would want the person I am with to see me). It is created in part of how others view me or how I want them to see me. But, my Mom and Dad are also on Facebook. I monitor my facebook because I don't want my Mom to see some of the pictures or read some of the comments.

On Facebook I also display the good part of myself. Some people use status updates to relay their feelings but I prefer to only have fun statuses or fun pictures. I can always set my profile picture to one where I like the way I look and I can detag any pictures that I think look bad. Thats not really me though. Or, its a different me. Or I am the person on Facebook when I am actually on the internet to the Facebook webpage or to the person I get a friend request from someone I don't really know so they really only know me from what my Facebook profile shows.

If they only know me on Facebook their view of me is not very accurate or not fact. So what they think is fact is not fact to someone who knows me in person such as my roommates or family. So in this case the fact that one person thinks the other person may think is false.

I am starting to confuse myself. I am not sure where I am getting on this or where my thoughts lead but I am going to think about this subject more. Let me know what you think. I actually think I may be totally crazy and this makes no sense to anyone but me.

After reading numerous articles and trying to figure out which one would be easiest to analyze using the Toulmin Method I gave up and just picked the one that I found most interesting and pertains most to myself.

I read "Rethinking the Freshman Fifteen" by Johannah Cornblatt (http://www.newsweek.com/id/215362/page/1) that I found on the Newsweek website. This interested me even though I am no longer a freshman so according to the phrase I have out grown it. But living in an apartment for the first time where cookies are much more fun to eat and bake than stir fry, living in a world where skinny means better, and a personal fear of getting fat this article appealed to me.


Claim: The emphasis on calorie counts (in school cafeterias) can backfire and lead to disordered eating even among students who have no history of previous disordered eating.

Reason 1: There has been an increase in disordered eating among college students.

Evidence: Dr. Richard Kreipe, a specialist in adolescent medicine whose research centers on eating disorders, has reported seeing more cases of Eating Disorders not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)
Evidence: College students dieting, vomiting, or taking laxatives to lose weight have increased from 28% to 38% in the last in the last few years.

Reason 2: Going away to college makes students more vulnerable to weight gain and disordered eating.

Evidence: Surrounded by new people, which makes them image conscious.
Evidence: Anxiety about the freshman 15
Evidence: College kids tend to snack instead of eat real meals
Evidence: More accessible to alcohol and all-you-can-eat dining halls.

Reason 3: Calorie counts over simplify nutrition

Evidence: Expert Neumark-Sztainer says that what you eat is less important than how you eat. Want foods that are high in nutrition. Not foods that are low in nutrition and high in calories and calorie cards only focus on calories.

I thought the reason that disordered eating has increased but not necesarrily the classic anerexia and bulmia was a pretty strong reason. It says that people are eating irregularly and not healthly. If you tie that into the third reason it looks like that people are trying to eat the foods with less calories even though they may not be the most nutritious. Together the third and first reasons seemed the two strongest for me.

The second reason seemed a little weak only because everyone already knows that. We have been told since the beginning of time that college changes the eating patterns of everyone. Also that we all try to be thin, smart, and pretty so we are more image conscious.

To make their argument stronger they could have eliminated the second reason all together or enhanced by saying that when students are around other students especially when they eat could lead to less being eaten then binging later (if thats true) or students are so busy or lazy they don't have time to make dinner so they just order out.

Processed and unhealthy foods are also a lot cheaper than healthier foods, which could be a reason why college students have unhealthy eating because when you're on a budget 75 cent white bread is more appealing then 3 dollar whole wheat bread. To change the direction of this habit schools should offer healthier meals that are more nutritious or put the caloric facts not directly by the food but online or outside the dining hall.

At Michigan we have the caloric and some nutrional information next to most foods. I have to say when I ate in the dining hall I did take into account the number of calories something had and not necesarrily the fiber or saturated fats vs. unsaturated fats. So, the number one thing woudl be educate the students. Why not add another pre-req and make nutrition one.

Tattoos

I don’t think that tattoos are supposed to mean anything to anyone else but the person who got them. In our society we usually look down upon people with many tattoos or what looks like meaningless tattoos. Why do those people care? How are someone else’s tattoos affecting them?

Not just having tattoos but also how many or where they are. Tattoo’s on a woman’s lower back is called a “tramp stamp” and it comes with a negative connotation of the woman being sleazy. There is a similar connotation for when a woman gets a tattoo on her chest. I understand that that woman may get them to attract people to those areas but at the same time maybe they get it on their chest because it symbolizes being close to their heart.

My sister has two tattoos. One on each foot and as the picture shows of the symbols of love and peace and the words in English, Chinese, and Arabic. Pictures mean more than words, which is one reason she got the symbols. Then she got the words in English because English is her native language, in Chinese because she speaks Chinese, and then in Arabic because she studied in Dakar, Senegal. My sister is a very worldly person. She wants to live abroad for most of her life and work to improve the environmental conditions. She is a very peaceful and loving person. Hence the pace sign and heart.

In “Teenagers and Tattoos” Andres Martin says that by having interest and not disgust about someone’s tattoo could actually help to connect with them. That is true with anyone who has a tattoo. It doesn’t even have to be a tattoo but showing interest in anything they have or love can make a connection. He also says that we may find that it doesn’t have to do with disfigurement but actually figurement. I don’t think anyone gets a tattoo with the intention to disfigure his or her body.

In “The Decorated Body” insert author explains that throughout time people have been covering their bodies in artwork in an effort to connect them to a group of people. He doesn’t mention tattoos and how they make a person unique. People may use tattoos to show their individual personalities.

I don’t think we should try to judge tattoos so quickly. I think maybe we should just admire the artwork and move on.

Identity Crisis

After a quick brainstorm in class I tried to think of which identity I identify the
most with. The more I thought about it the more I realized that it’s impossible.
There isn't just one that fits me best. If forced to choose, however, I would say I
identify most with being a woman. That identity is broad and encompasses
many other identities that mean a lot to me, including a girlfriend, daughter,
sister, friend, and student.

As I begin a professional career I’m pumped about being a woman with a college

and hopefully even a higher education. At the same time, though, I don't want

to be excluded or looked down upon because of the silly old-fashioned views

some people still hold about women. Am I going to have to work extra hard to
earn the respect of a professor, mentor, or colleague? I want to say no. I want to
say that my identity as a woman is no different than a man's. If that's not the

case I am prepared to outwork them, give more time, and give more energy so

people will see me as an equal.

Does being a woman really conflict with my other identity as a student or a

professional? Above I concluded that people would see me different as a women
and a professional than if I were a man and a professional. The more I think
about it, though, it doesn't mean the two identities conflict. There are plenty of

amazing women professionals out there. So although I don't think the two
conflict, I am still pretty proud of both.

Two identities I have been worried about conflicting are girlfriend and student. I
currently live eight hours away from my boyfriend. If I continue my role as a
student and continue living far away from him, will I have to choose between
being a girlfriend and a student? Which identity will win out? I am hoping I won't
have to choose and that I can find a way to be both. When both are so important
to me, how can I decide?

I am hoping that people will see me as a relationships person. I love being with
my family and friends, but also as a hardworking and ethical person. Since most
of my blogging audience will be my peers I imagine they will receive me by

connecting an identity of themselves to an identity of me. We are all students but maybe we have more in common than that.

I have a feeling I will argue by asking questions and trying to answer them how I see fit. I feel that by asking the question first it gives the reader an opportunity to figure out how they think and find the commonalities and differences between us and be able to reply constructively.

My, Myself, and I

How many times are college students asked to write about who they are or to bring in an object that represents them? I typically receive these types of prompts at least twice a semester, making it about 10 times total. However, I never write the same thing and I never bring in the same object. Maybe the change defines who I am more than the individual papers or objects. I am a different person depending on whether I am happy, sad, lonely, or excited, and also whether I am alone, with friends, or with family. When I’m in a good mood I might write about how I am a dedicated, enthusiastic, competitive person who loves to be with her friends and family. But if I were having a bad day I might write about how I have to be an independent and introverted person who would rather be by herself. Not to say that I am moody (I might be), I’m just a little bit of it all, and different moods bring some traits out more than others.

Currently I am an optimistic hard working person who relies on her family for support while trying to handle the ups and downs of life, like the responsible adult I am supposed to be. This isn't to say that I’m not changing every day. Every discussion and encounter changes who I am. I’m sure that as I go through this class, write in this blog, and explore the psychology and sociology of identity I will learn more about myself and inevitably change from who I am today to who I will be tomorrow.

Why do you care who I am, and why are you reading this? The whole purpose of this blog is to fulfill a requirement for my English class. I am hoping that my writing here along with all my other assignments for the class will improve my writing and critical thinking skills, both of which are lacking. This is where you come in. You can pose questions and comments to make me think and to help with my writing. What should I do differently, what have I not thought of? And I might just provide something for you to think about – something new and throught provoking.