Alcoholism causes several individual problems in a family ad community. (Smoke Signals)
Alcoholism causes several different problems in a family and community. It is a slow evil circle that can ruin generations of happiness. People die from alcohol every year in unsuspected ways. Anyone can get involved in alcoholism, but the problems can get even worse. For example, 1 out of 10 Native Americans die from alcoholism per year. In a report done by nbcnews.com, they say “11.7 percent of deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole.” (1 in 10 Native American deaths alcohol related, nbcnews.com) When the numbers are presented, it becomes a surprising reality for people not affected by alcohol. Although death is an obvious problem, there are several more problems which can all interestingly be related to alcoholism. Alcohol is a depressant, if depression already exists, it will only be amplified. “depressed people turned to alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate to ease their emotional pain. But a large study from New Zealand showed that it was probably the other way around -- that is, heavy drinking led to depression.” (12 Health Risks Of Chronic Heavy Drinking, webmd.com) It is hard to tell whether depression or alcoholism comes first, either way alcohol will not solve problems, only make them worse. Depression eventually causes hate, which spreads negative energy and leads to more depression. Interestingly, alcoholism is also known to cause dementia. When humans get old, their brain naturally shrinks. However, someone who is a heavy drinker may have excelled brain reduction. Alcohol definitely kills brain cells, but it also puts a lot of stress on the individual's brain. “Heavy drinking can also lead to subtle but potentially debilitating deficits in the ability to plan, make judgments, solve problems, and perform other aspects of executive function, which are the higher-order abilities that allow us to maximize our function as human beings,” (12 Health Risks Of Chronic Heavy Drinking, webmd.com) These are some of the activities of daily living that alcohol affects. These problems can ruin someone’s life, their marriage, their relationships, their work. Alcohol is something that does not have to be bad, but can easily be abused because of it’s addictive qualities. Too much can shatter a family and knock down a community, literally and metaphorically.People can and should use their sense of empathy to become a stronger community instead of taking it for granted. (Empathic civilization)
People can and should use their sense of empathy to become a stronger community instead of taking it for granted. The sense of empathy is not unique to humans as a species, but it is unique to mammals. Human and animal social behavior is quite similar to one another. In fact, some animal species treat others with more compassion and empathy than humans. Yet humans have a more developed sense of empathy. “Many animals are far more empathic and fair than many people realize. Even mice are empathic beings and capuchin monkeys and domestic dogs expect to be treated fairly.” (Why Animals Need Empathy Too, Marc Bekoff) In studies designed to learn more about the psyche of animals, the animal has an understanding of a “treat”, or an incentive offered to him, and expects to get treated fairly when he performs certain duties. Although humans have a very evolved sense of empathy and compassion, some people misuse it or take it for granted. Since humans have a more advanced empathetic sense, they tend to use it on animals. For example, they train their dogs by rewarding them with a treat when they do something good. Through all observations of animals and empathy, much can be learned. A scientist, Marc Bekoff does a study on wild dogs and domestic dogs and finds that,“Basic rules of fairness guide social play and similar rules are the foundation for fairness among adults. This moral intelligence, so evident in both wild canids and in domesticated dogs” (Why Animals Need Empathy Too, Marc Bekoff) Evolutionarily, what starts off as a small sense of fairness can lead to a much more evolved emotion of empathy. This sense could be a big part of evolution because it subconsciously tells the being how to live in a community. With animals, they learn rules which helps them survive in a community. “Four basic aspects of fair play in animals are: Ask first, be honest, follow the rules, and admit you're wrong. When the rules of play are violated, and when fairness breaks down, so does play.” (Why Animals Need Empathy Too, Marc Bekoff) These four things are all very simple concepts yet they have taken the human race so far and have helped people prosper and become a community. If the human race studies empathy in it’s entirety, people may be able to do so much more with it. The sense of empathy and compassion may not yet be anywhere close to fully evolved. Imagine a culture where empathy and compassion are used to their fullest, there may not even be a word for war.
Nature can be emotionally healing in many ways.(ceremony)
Nature can be healing in many ways, physical, mental and emotional. Nature is a peaceful retreat for anyone in need. It has been scientifically proven that being in nature, or even seeing images of nature can reduce stress, anger and possibly depression, especially for someone with recent trauma. For some people, depression is caused by lack of personal connection. Interestingly, a study done by the University of Illinois showed that nature can connect people and minimize depression. “University of Illinois suggests that residents in Chicago public housing who had trees and green space around their building reported knowing more people, having stronger feelings of unity with neighbors, being more concerned with helping and supporting each other, and having stronger feelings of belonging than tenants in buildings without trees.” (How does nature impact our wellbeing? www.takingcarge.csh ) Throughout history, it seems as though humans always have a remarkable connection with nature subconsciously. There is an energy connection between humans and nature no matter how stressful, painful or traumatizing life is. Even the smallest bits of nature help. “Nature helps us cope with pain. Because we are genetically programmed to find trees, plants, water, and other nature elements engrossing, we are absorbed by nature scenes and distracted from our pain and discomfort.” (How does nature impact our wellbeing? www.takingcarge.csh ) Most hospitals are built around parks and green areas for these reasons. In turn, nature plays a large role in emotional pain as well. For example, PTSD is something that can consume one's mind with negative thoughts which make them more and more depressed. Nature can somehow bring them back up. “humans find nature inherently interesting, we can naturally focus on what we are experiencing out in nature. This also provides a respite for our overactive minds, refreshing us for new tasks.” (How does nature impact our wellbeing? www.takingcarge.csh) In the book Ceremony, the main character Tayo, had a significant amount of PTSD coming back from World War II. However, as he spent more time in nature, his mood started to get better. Nature eventually gave him a new purpose in life and in the end, made his life complete. Nature is part of human life just as much as human life is a part of nature.
Sometimes, the imperfections make things even more beautiful.(press pause play)
Sometimes, imperfections can make things even more beautiful. A defining quality of humans is to make mistakes, in art, media, daily routines, and work. It is very natural and easy to make a mistake. However, when someone tries to be perfect, it feels unnatural and eerie to another. A music producer says this about his inspiration for music, "I like listening to Billie Holiday because there is vulnerability. I get really almost intimidated and bored by perfect digital art." (Moby, PressPausePlay.) Billie Holiday was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, she is a jazz musician with a very distinct voice. She had a soothing but unpredictable musical style. Many people all over the world believe music is meant to have subtle mistakes or else it would simply not be music, only sounds that have been over manipulated. There is a fine line that can be crossed when small beautiful, subtle mistakes become blatant mistakes. "Younger musicians and some older ones that I've seen rely too much on the technology. They give a subpar performance and expect the technology to compensate for it." (Nick Sansano, PressPausePlay.) If one overuses tools like technology and forgets about the beauty in the subtle mistakes deep within the music, they may destroy the music and it becomes predictable and boring. Some people could argue that new editing software is a tool that would create the illusion of perfection in music, when in reality it only makes it sound more robotic. Also, technology is a tool to help the artist, not control the artist. According to an article by Boundless.com, “Beauty in terms of art refers to an interaction between line, color, texture, sound, shape, motion, and size that is pleasing to the senses.” (boundless.com, what makes art beautiful?) This quote means that all these factors come together to make one visual, audible, touchable interactive piece of art. It becomes something beautiful, in fact, it is arguable that art is already beautiful, and it just needs the artist to put it together to make it even more beautiful. There is no correct way to arrange emotions and feelings, which is one of the reasons why art is incredibly powerful. It is about the human spirit, and the human spirit is not about being perfect.
P.T.S.(D is a normal human human stress reaction that could happen after a dramatic experience to anyone. (pts(d)
P.T.S.(D) is a normal human stress reaction that could happen to anyone after a traumatic experience. It is a weight that can be held on an individual's shoulders from a very young age, which can lead to many other sorts of problems. This horrific human reaction can be caused by any sort of traumatic experience in one's life, as explained in this video giving background on P.T.S.(D) “Most people have been through some type of life threatening or traumatic event, and it's common to have stress related reactions after trauma, but when symptoms last more than 3 months and there not better, it's time to get help.” (What Is PTSD? Veterans health administration) It is natural to be afraid in a life threatening situation. In Fact, a split second sensation occurs in the body called fight or flight. This reaction makes the individual choose whether they can stay and fight or leave and escape. With P.T.S.(D), this reaction is damaged within the individual's mind. P.T.S.(D) works against empathy. Empathy is the act of understanding and feeling something happen to another. P.T.S.(D) makes this reaction immensely stressful. “the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.”(What is post traumatic stress disorder? Mimh.nih.gov) The human brain is not designed to see very much danger, destruction, or trauma, so when it does, parts of it shut down. People who have P.T.S.(D) are known to feel unsafe or in danger when there it may be nonexistent, but how common is it to get P.T.S.(D)? According to an article from nature.com about this topic “50–60% of people will experience a traumatic event at some point in their lives, whether through military combat, assault, a serious car accident or a natural disaster.” (Stress, The roots of resilience, Virginia Hughes) This world is filled with trauma and destruction, and the odds are in humanity's favor to experience some of it. Sometimes bad situations happen to good people, and the good people are the ones that can handle these bad situations and emerge from them.
