Chapter 2 had some very interesting and important information presented. The first piece that left an impression on me was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I had been familiar with the hierarchy prior to reading the chapter, .but the book’s explanation of it combined with the psychological aspects of our health changed the way I looked at it. From this new angle, I was able to see the impact our emotions, along with the other aspects of our psychological health, have on the way we live our lives and the success we have at doing that. “According to Maslow’s theory, a person’s needs must be met at each of these levels before that person can ever be truly healthy” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 27). The way I had previously looked at the hierarchy was that the importance of each level increased the farther you get down towards the fundamental necessities included in the “survival needs” level. However, upon reading chapter 2, I now realize that I viewed the hierarchy as more of a suggestion to attain better health. I now know that the hierarchy is the necessities to true and whole health.
In terms of the work I did this week to achieve my health aspect goal, the hierarchy plays into the ability to attain success during the process as much as at the attainment of the goal. At the simplest of levels, I need to fulfill my survival needs to not only be healthy, but also to succeed in the work I am putting in. The exercise itself is a necessity, however, I also need proper food, water, and sleep in order to be healthy and perform effective exercise. On a more complex level of the hierarchy, I need to fulfill my esteem goals as well in order to be successful. I need to have self-respect for myself, trying not to talk bad of any potential slip ups or failures I may have on the road to reaching my goal. I also need to have respect for others, shown through my the friend I mentioned I am running with in a previous blog post. I need to respect his exercise as well, as I can not go faster or slower than what he can, and likewise. We have to respect each other’s abilities and what we are able to handle on each individual day. The last part of the esteem needs are accomplishments. I must be able to understand when I achieve as successful and worthy accomplishment and not be afraid to celebrate a step in the right direction to keep moving forward towards my goal.
The most impactful thing I encountered in the chapter was the dimensions of psychological health and the influence and strategies that accompany these dimensions. In particular, the dimension of social health had an impact on me upon reading about it. “Social health includes a person’s interactions with other people individually and in groups, the ability to use social resources and support in times of need, and the ability to adapt to a variety of social situations” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 28). I have always been a reserved person, not going out of my way to trouble others with things I perceived as my own actions or problems. However, the book says that this is exactly what we should do. Use the support system we have around us to better our lives, our health, and the goals we intend to achieve.
“Initial social support may be provided by family, but as we develop, the support of peers becomes more and more important. We rely on our friends to help us figure out who we are and what we want to do with our lives” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 30Family and friends are both strong ties to the outside world when it may seem like our lives and/or goals are kept on the personal side. Family is often a built in support system and we can use the assets of family and friendship to our advantage. In my personal situation, my family is an extremely important support system to me. Just like when I war running in high school, my dad still has unwavering support for my running career, despite it not being competitive anymore. On the flip side, my friends are just as important, as can be seen through my friend running with me in order to get exercise for himself, but also to provide support for one another.
The support system we have has a direct link back to Maslow’s hierarchy, with our ability to enhance and maintain our self-esteem being directly affected by the support we get. “Members of your support system can help you feel good about yourself and force you to take an honest look at your actions and choices” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 32). Support systems are so important to our ability to keep moving forward and keep our spirits up on the way to achieving our goals.
This week was a tough one when it came to working towards my goal. I physically felt off compared to usual, but do not have a concrete reason why. This led to a dip in my confidence when it came to my running, and I focused solely on running for 20 minutes rather than add the stress of pacing and distance on top of just simply trying to run to keep up my exercise routine and goals (This is why my results from my run are just on a stopwatch rather than my typical running data tracker). On top of this, my friend was either not around or not able to run with me when I wanted to. My support system was conveniently tested in the week of learning about that same thing, but I was able to motivate myself as well as get motivation from my dad to push through. I struggled in my smaller, more readily achievable goals I had set for myself. An early set back was testing for me this week, but I still have a positive outlook on my goal that I not only can achieve it, but that I will exceed it in the end.
BSU Health 102 - Kyle Rendon 