story of mai life! ... wouldabeen

Type A behavior pattern, characterized by competitiveness, achievement orientation, aggressiveness, hostility, restlessness, inability to relax, and impatience with others,

"Hot-tempered people who are frequently angry, cynical, and combative are much more likely to die at an early age from heart disease...Considerable evidence indicates that other negative emotional states, especially depression, also predict heart disease.

HOW?

"When angry, your body increases your heart rate, shutting down digestion, moving more blood to your muscles...which take a toll on the heart. Chronic hostility can lead to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, causing higher blood pressure, constriction of blood vessels, elevated levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), increase release of fatty acids into the blood stream, and greater buildup of plaque on arteries-all these events contribute to heart disease. Over time, then being hostile or angry causes wear and tear on the heart, making it more likely to fail."

WHAT to DO?
Learn to relax
Learn to cope

"In emotion-focused coping, a person tries to prevent an emotional response to the stressor, adopting strategies, often passive, to numb the pain. Such strategies include avoidance, minimizing the problem, trying to distance oneself from the outcomes of the problem, or engaging in behaviors such as eating or drinking. For example, if you are having difficulty at school, you might avoid the problem by skipping class minimize the problem by telling yourself school is not all that important, distance yourself from the outcome by saying you can always get a job if college does not work out, or overeat and drink alcohol to dull the pain of the problem. These strategies do not solve the problem or prevent it from recurring in the future.

By contrast, problem-focused coping involves taking direct steps to solve the problem: generating alternative solutions, weighing their costs and benefits, and choosing between them. In this case, if you are having academic trouble, you might think about ways to alleviate the problem, such as getting tutoring or asking for an extension for a paper. People adopt problem-focused behaviors when they perceive stressors as controllable and are experiencing only moderate levels of stress."

The best way to cope with stress depends on personal resources and on the situation.
People use BOTH emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping.
EX: If your partner is in a bad mood and is giving you a hard time, just ignoring him or her can be the best option. In contrast, ignoring your partner's drinking problem will not make it go away, and eventually you will need a better coping strategy. . .

Other happy ideas:

+ focusing on possible good things in the current situation
+ make downward comparisons - comparing oneself to those worse off
+ creation of positive events - infusing ordinary events with positive meaning.
EX: If you were diagnosed with diabetes, you could focus on how having diabetes will force you to eat a health diet and exercise regularly, recognize its not as serious as having heart disease (downward), and take joy in everyday activities such as riding a bike.

More positive psychology:
+ social interaction~
+emotional disclosure (writing, talking of emotional events, i.e. journal)
+ trust - the more people reported being distrustful of others, the more they reported being in poor health.
+eat natural foods (whole grains, fruits, veggies), good fats
+eat diet in moderation--and eat only when you are hungry.
+keep ACTIVE! engage in moderate physical activity at least four times a week for at least 30 minutes. Ignore the saying no pain, no gain--research shows it is inaccurate, because pain deters people from exercising over the long run (not sure about this one!)
+do not smoke
+write about troubling events in your life
+try some of the happiness exercises
express gratitude imagine your 'best possible self.'
focus on positive events

This chapter of Psych was really interesting!
There was a diet section too... about how people think which i'll post later!
But let us relax~ and live life happily!
my joy comes from Jesus, the one who was bruised and crushed for me. beautiful one. How he loves us :)

imma sleep now. study for finals!