Psychology

Each experience is an opportunity for learning and this course had greatly influenced how I think about the world around me. I have heard something about psychology and how it can help us understand ourselves better but I did not expect the depth of the lessons we had taken up and how it has opened my eyes to human behavior, thought and emotions. I have learned so much from this class that choosing one lesson to reflect upon is difficult but for me, the most important chapter was on stress and health.

The chapter tackled the relationship of stress and health, both bodily and mental health. Stress is said to be part and parcel of human existence and to some degree it is beneficial as it propels us to action. However, when stress becomes too much to bear, when the individual cannot cope with stress effectively, then it becomes a condition called chronic stress which can lead to psychosomatic and medical disorders such as stomach ulcers, migraine, hypertension and others. I also learned that an individual’s lifestyle and personality can also predispose that individual to stress. For example, a perfectionist, a high achiever and workaholic are more prone to stress compared to individuals who are not. I was also made aware that life events or situations can cause stress such as those who have experienced traumatic events like war, violence and abuse. Moreover, each person generally has his or her own way of coping with stress, may it be positive or negative. Most often than not, negative coping leads to more problems.

The most important thing I learned in this chapter was that we cannot do away with stress, it is here for a reason and that there is always a choice in how to cope with that stress. If we have a positive outlook in life, and we view stress as something that we have to deal with then we would not be as affected and develop illnesses that result from too much stress.