Stress

The major cause of stress in my life is school. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well in school, as do my parents. I struggle greatly with math, and I am constantly stressed out when in that class. To cope with stress, I run on the treadmill and blast music to help me forget about my stress. Math gives me major anxiety, and it's something that I've always struggled with since I was a child. It takes me a while to grasp concepts, but once I understand them, then I'm fine. The process of understanding concepts in math stresses me out to the max because it is very frustrating for me. To deal with stress more effectively, I could also do things like yoga or to read a book.

Stress is very dangerous to people's health in many ways. First, stress can cause heart disease (heart attacks) as well as cause high blood pressure. In addition, it weakens the immune systems of people and in more extreme cases, shortens people's life span. In addition, stress can cause people to gain weight (usually in the area of the abdomen). Moreover, when under stress, the body produces epinephrine as well as cortisol which can lead to heart palpitations.

America leads the world in stress-related diseases because in our society people are constantly being judged based on their status either socially or economically. The world that we live in is very competitive, which causes many people to stress about almost anything. Lastly, citizens of America are always putting pressure on themselves to be perceived highly.

"The Brain: A User's Guide"

The three most important insights about the development of the human brain (from birth to teenage years) are that when a baby is born their brain is like a sponge, ready to absorb and take in any and all new information from their surrounding world. Every day, hundreds of thousands of connections are being made between neurons constantly. As the baby grows older, their brain becomes shaped by experience. A child's brain is like plastic in that it is flexible and constantly changing. Not only are their brains vulnerable, but enjoying discovering the many wonderful aspects of the world. Lastly, the teenager's brain is still not fully developed and is still maturing. The teen's brain is going through millions of changes each day which is very hectic.