Discussion: Gender, Stress, and Mental Health

Whether you are male or female, you no doubt face some level of stress in your life. Even good things that happen, such as marriage, a job promotion, a move to a new home, or birth of a baby, can be stressful. People deal with stress in different ways. Some handle life stressors in positive and healthy ways, while others allow stressors to impact their health. The damaging effects of stress have been shown to be a potential factor in cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, and numerous other issues. In addition, there are many stress-related mental health problems, such as depression, suicide, anxiety, and substance abuse that can be in part related to stress and the ability to deal effectively with stress.

Life’s stressors can be very different for men and women. Men experience different stresses in life and often deal with stress differently than women do. For example, men and women have different roles and expectations from others placed on them. Men and women experience violence, both as children and as adults, at different rates, which has been shown to be a significant factor in serious mental health problems and ongoing stress. Men and women experience discrimination differently, which adds to stress, especially in the workplace. Women tend to be in poverty more often than men, which is a significant factor in stress, depression, and anxiety. These are only a few examples where research suggests that the stress factors for men and women are different.

Other factors contribute to stress and resulting health problems and can be different for men and women. For example, women typically develop stronger support systems than men do as adults, which has been show to improve the ability to deal with stress. Men may perceive themselves as having more power over those things that cause them stress than women do. Power often impacts how one copes with stress. And though men and women often have families as their support system, women tend to take on the role of the family caretaker, which can be a significant stressor. It may also be that men and women react to stressful situations differently, either because of personal traits or because of how they have been socialized. Some research suggests that women tend to respond to stress with more emotion, while men may respond to stress with more problem-solving behaviors.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 14 in the course text,Gender: Psychological Perspectives. Focus on the gender-related similarities and differences related to stress, coping, and the related mental health problems.
• Review the article, “Gender Roles and Traits in Stress and Health.”
• Think about specific stressful life situations, such as divorce, marriage, entering a new school, job changes or loss, dealing with sick family members or aging parents, the death of someone close, having a baby, etc. Consider some of the stressors specific to these situations.
• Select one stressful situation to focus on in this Discussion (e.g., divorce, marriage, a job change or loss, a sick family member or aging parent, a death in the family, etc.).
• Explore the topic of stress on the American Psychological Association website. Focus on stress issues related to the life situation you selected.
• Now think about how stressors may be different for men and women in general and specific to the situation you chose. How might men and women deal with the stressors differently? Why might there be differences?

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3

Posta brief description of a specific stressful life situation. Identify the specific stressors in this situation illustrating how some stressors may be different for men and women. Use specific examples when possible. Also, identify possible differences in how men and women may deal with these stressors and why this might be the case. Discuss the potential mental health disorders that might result.

Note:Put the stressful life situation you selected in the first line of your post. You will be asked to respond to a colleague who selected a different stressful life situation than you did.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Reada selection of your colleagues’ postings.

In the concluding article of the textbook, authors Lambin and Fagin discuss a series of choices and difficult decisions confronting humanity with regards to living sustainable lives, characterized by well being for all. This involves examining cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors. How might these choices and decisions intersect with the concepts of communitas and collective consciousness, discussed earlier in the chapter? Can we use those concepts to help inform our understanding of the choices confronting us, and to guide our decision-making process in moving toward the future?

Part 1:Using the revised treatment plan completed in Topic 7, complete a discharge summary for your client using the “Discharge Summary” template. This discharge summary should address the following:

1. What behaviors would indicate that the client is sustaining at a healthy baseline?
2. How would you determine if Eliza met her treatment goals?
3. What factors would determine if the treatment needed to be reevaluated, extended, or possibly referred to another clinician or setting?
4. Based on your assessment of current symptomology, does your client, Eliza, need wraparound services, outpatient references, and/or step-down services? (Recommendations should be based on the information gathered for second mandatory evaluation).
5. How would you encourage involvement in community-based resources?

Part 2:Write a 700-1,050-word summary statement about your client, Eliza.

Include or address the following in your summary statement:

1. Demonstrate whether or not the client met the goals of the treatment plan.
2. What specifically contributed to the success of the treatment plan or lack thereof?
3. What language would you use to communicate the outcome to the client?
4. How would you document the final session?
5. Include at least three scholarly references in your paper.

** The treatment plan is in the essay attached below

You are to write a 10-page report on an evaluation system to assess the effectiveness of your selection and Placement suggestions as a future HR manager. How will you know if your system is working? Identify potential barriers to the effective implementation of your system and propose strategies for coping with them. Therefore, all your opinions must be supported by proper (APA) citations and references.

please no plagiarism

thank you

Task:

This assignment will enable you to critically analyze the sexual health of a fictional character in popular culture – television, films or literature.

Step 1:

Select a fictional TV, movie, or literary character who will serve as a case study and analyze their sexual health, based on the criteria below.

Step 2:

Review the SIECUS guidelines for sexual health (below):

LIFE BEHAVIORS OF A SEXUALLY HEALTHY ADULT

A sexually healthy adult will:

In human development

• Appreciate his or her own body.
• Seek further information about reproduction as needed.
• Affirm that human development includes sexual development that may or may not include reproduction or genital sexual experience.
• Interact with both genders in respectful and appropriate ways.
• Affirm his or her own sexual orientation and respect the sexual orientation of others.

In relationships

• View family as a valuable source of support.
• Express love and intimacy in appropriate ways.
• Develop and maintain meaningful relationships.
• Avoid exploitative or manipulative relationships.
• Make informed choices about family options and relationships.
• Exhibit skills that enhance personal relationships.
• Understand how cultural heritage affects ideas about family, interpersonal relationships, and ethics.

In personal skills

• Identify and live according to his or her values.
• Take responsibility for her or her own behavior.
• Practice effective decision-making.
• Communicate effectively with family, peers, and partners.

In sexual behavior

• Enjoy and express his or her sexuality throughout life.
• Express his or her sexuality in ways that are congruent with his or her values.
• Enjoy sexual feelings without necessarily acting on them.
• Discriminate between life-enhancing sexual behaviors and those that are harmful to self and/or others.
• Express his or her sexuality while respecting the rights of others.
• Seek new information to enhance his or her sexuality.
• Engage in sexual relationships that are consensual, non-exploitative, honest, pleasurable, and protected against disease and unintended pregnancy.

In sexual health

• Use contraception effectively to avoid unintended pregnancy.
• Prevent sexual abuse.
• Act consistent with his or her own values in dealing with an unintended pregnancy.
• Seek early prenatal care.
• Avoid contracting or transmitting an STD, including HIV.
• Practice health-promoting behaviors, such as regular check-ups, breast and testicular self-exam, and early identification of potential problems.
• In society and culture
• Demonstrate respect for people with different sexual values.
• Exercise democratic responsibility to influence legislation dealing with sexual issues.
• Assess the impact of family, cultural, religious, media, and societal messages on his or her thoughts, feelings, values, and behaviors related to sexuality.
• Promote the rights of all people to accurate sexuality information.
• Avoid behaviors that exhibit prejudice and bigotry.
• Reject stereotypes about the sexuality of diverse populations.
• Educate others about sexuality.

Source: SIECUS (2005). Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten -12th Grade, 3rd Ed. New York, NY: SIECUS.

Step 3: For each one of the criteria from the SIECUS list determine whether or not the character displays that behavior and think of an example from the film, book, or television show that illustrates your determination regarding that criteria. You must discuss at least one aspect from each of the six categories on the SIECUS list.

Step 4: Review writing resources, write an outline, write a thesis statement, write an introduction, and integrate information via summarizing, paraphrasing, or, as necessary, directly quoting sources, all with proper attribution.

Step 5:

Write a 1,200 to 1,500 word paper (about 5 double-spaced pages), not including title and reference page which should be written in APA style.

Tip: Begin with a brief synopsis discussing the character or issues that arise in the book, film, or television show to give context to the reader. Next, integrate the criteria you have chosen and discuss how they are related.

Checklist of expectations

In order to be successful on this paper, be sure that you address all of the following:

__ Support your ideas with citations from your peer-reviewed resource(s)

__ Be sure that your ideas are put together in a coherent and logical way

__ Be creative in enhancing your topic

__ Write an introduction that previews your main points

__ Be sure the body of the paper develops and elaborates your ideas

__ Include a conclusion that summarizes your main points

__ Proofread carefully to ensure that your paper is free of misspellings and typos

__ Proofread carefully to ensure that your paper has proper sentence structure

__ Include a cover page, references and citations in APA style