I really enjoyed Abnormal..

This is my last blog entry, and I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed abnormal psychology. I want to be a neuropsychologist, dealing especially with disorders. I LOVE everything we learned in this class, and it was my 2nd favorite class at KSC... Brain and Behavior with Clark had this class beat by a little (I'm a science nerd). And, Clark was my adviser and wrote me an awesome letter or recommendation for UNLV, the school that I am transferring to next year. I'm going to miss Keene State and all the Psychology department, I will definitely keep in touch, and when I have some issues in some of my classes at UNLV, I'll be sure to email some old professors from KSC, because you guys are probably smarter anyway. ;)

Enjoy your summer!

Exam yesterday!

The final exam went over really well for me! I think I did alright. I took the essay format this time instead of the multiple choice test. I really liked the essay test a LOT better, and recommend people to take the essay tests instead of the multiple choice if you have a choice!

A few missed blogs...

I have forgotten about blogging until right now. I missed a three or four weeks, so I will write four over the next couple days just to be sure. I am currently in the library writing some papers, studying for exams and getting ready for finals. This is my last semester at Keene State, and I could not be more excited! I have lived in Keene my entire life, and am ready to get out. I am moving to Henderson, NV and attending UNLV! :) I am ready for summer.

Exam Today

Today, there was an exam, so I am not too sure what to write here since I usually write about what we discussed in class.

Oopppppsss...

I just remembered that I forgot to write in my blog last week - I need to set an alarm or something on my cell phone to remind myself. Let's see - there's a test this Thursday that I am about to study for, I just have a couple of papers to write first. Last class we talked about Schizophrenia, which is a condition caused by having too much dopamine in your brain, and the opposite is Parkinson's Disease. I worked with a person who had Schizophrenia at a grocery store, and he also dated a girl I knew back in high school. Their relationship was very rocky - he would often go off his medication because he thought he was better, and then the hallucinations and delusions would happen again. She said their relationship was fine when he was on his medication, but the trouble was keeping him on them. He was a really quiet guy - never talked to anyone except his girlfriend, and they would mostly just fight.

Thursday's Class

Last Thursday I did not attend class because my cat is missing (and still is). I spent the day running around town looking for him - checking the humane society as well. I think I am going to make posters and post them around my street and maybe someone has seen him. It's possible someone could have taken him. I wonder what goes through people's minds when they take other people's animals from them. If you've seen him, let me know. :)

Spring Break

I forgot to post my blog last week, so I decided to do one this week letting everyone know how my Spring Break was going. I am enjoying the sunny weather in Keene. I have been working a lot, catching up on a ton of homework, and cleaning. Spring Break has been very productive and successful, and I am ready to finish up my last semester at Keene State College. :)

Anger

Thursday in class, we discussed briefly anger, and how many people get upset and take things personally when they shouldn't be taken personally. For instance, a person is driving in the rotary and they completely cut you off and almost cause an accident. You may get really mad, and flip the person off, but it's really not anything directed toward you as an individual. I often get road rage and if I get cut off, I take it very personally and tailgate the person for awhile. One thing I need to work on is being a little more laid back behind the wheel instead of being so aggressive.

Last Week

I was on vacation all week and was unable to write in my blog until now. I will post two entries this week to make up for it, if this works out. In class on Tuesday, we discussed early childhood developmental disorders. When I was young, I never had a real issue with bed wetting, feeding or toileting. When I was a baby, my mom said that I slept through the night on most occasions. It was not until I a little older (around 5 or 6) that I started having this irrational thoughts that made it so I could not sleep. I would lay down at 8 or 9:00, and never be able to get to bed until 2 or 3am. I could not sleep, ever. I was unable to keep my eyes closed without something over them in my bed. I thought that someone would stab me in the eye. After awhile, not having a pillow or my arm over my eyes stopped working, and I had to keep my eyes open at night until finally I didn't even realize I was drifting and fell asleep that way. I don't remember how old I was when I grew out of this. I also had OCD when I was a kid, not being able to step on cracks, and feeling like everything needed to be "even". (i.e. - walking on each foot until it felt right, chewing on both sides of my mouth until I could swallow until it felt right, etc.) I grew out of all this sometime in elementary school, but not too sure when.

Look Me In The Eye - John Elder Robinson

Devon Heisler
Abnormal Psychology
Look Me In The Eye
By: John Elder Robinson
Look Me In The Eye is an artistically written memoir about John Elder Robinson’s life with Aspergers – a form of Autism that was unknown during his childhood. John Elder constantly struggles with trying to fit in with his peers at young ages, but quickly discovers how to play the game of life. He says what he realizes other people want to hear. This form of deception, being harmless at times but certainly more severe in other cases is a trait that John Elder uses throughout his childhood, and surely is still being used in his adulthood today. Although this memoir is an interesting read, I am not sure it justifies the actual form of Aspergers proficiently. John’s family issues growing up were severe – his father a raging alcoholic and mother in and out of psychiatric hospitals. In some way, shape, or form, John’s dysfunctional family had an impact on him (good or bad), that most Aspergian children probably haven’t experienced. I believe his family situation affects him, making it so he never feels comfortable to be home, allowing him to fine-tune is interests and eventually venture into the world of sound engineering and producing guitars for the legendary rock band KISS.
John Elder clearly favors a more neurodiverse look on Aspergers and Autism. His savant-like abilities render him capable of engineering extreme technology that require schooling, and lots of it, to reach the stage of developing fire-breathing guitars for KISS. His character trait to pay special attention to fine detail is just want John needs to do the amazing things in his life that he accomplishes. John Elder’s very difficult childhood was filled with unstable parenting and difficulty making friends and maintaining good grades in school. He refers to himself as a “misfit.” His mother and father never really paid attention to his grades and what he was doing the majority of his time, so he had a ton of spare time concentrating on the things that interested him most. John Elder’s teachers comment on his starring. One of his teachers yelled at him for it, and he made a rather rude remark about how he was fantasizing of her death, essentially. This isn’t something a typical child would say, and he was sent to the principal. At least she never called him out on starring again.
When John Elder was in preschool, he wanted to make friends with a little girl named Claire. He did everything in his power to win over her friendship, but it just wasn’t working. John Elder also tried fitting in with his neighbors who were playing cowboys and Indians, but that didn’t seem to work for him either. He was socially different, and couldn’t pursue a conversation that the other kids wanted to hear from him. As an adult, John Elder never really wanted to drink or party – he was interested in his work more than play time. John Elder is told countless times that he can move to the city to pursue his work when he’s not on tour, but he can’t do it because he doesn’t like people and living in the city would scare him too much.
In reality, it’s clear to tell John Elder has Aspergers. It’s difficult for me to see how there was no diagnosis for him as he was growing up because it is obvious to me he has some sort of autistic condition. How psychologists could not see this – I am not too sure. John Elder tells an inspirational story of his life experience and what it’s like growing up with Aspergers.

Busy, Busy, Busy.

This week has been very busy for me - school, 2 part time jobs, bartending school, and applying for colleges out West. My to do list keeps growing and growing, and keeping up is getting to be tough. Last week in Abnormal Psychology we discussed OCD, and did a writing exercise where we were asked what behaviors we did that could be classified as OCD. I wrote about when I was younger had this obsession with counting and making sure both sides of my body were "even." I would need to take the same number of steps per sqaure on the sidewalks, make sure my feet always took the same amount of steps.. or felt like they took the same number of steps. I would need to chew my food in both sides of my mouth until it felt right, etc. I don't really do any of these behaviors anymore, I suppose you could say I "grew out of it."
We also spoke briefly about the Phenomenological/Humanistic Theory which is an "innate drive toward personal growth" or, self-actualization as Dr. Welkowitz said. I connected this with my philosophy class, where we are learning about Jean-Paul Sartre and reading some of his works (Being And Nothingness, Nausea). In philosophy, the phenomenological theory is defined as how you percieve things through your five senses.

That's all for now. :)

My first blog!

Hello! This is my first real blog. When I was younger, I had a LiveJournal that I never really wrote in. So I suppose this could be called my first real blog that I will keep up with. Keene State was closed today due to the inclement weather. Unfortunately, I still had work and had to drive on the terrible roads. I bartend and work in the snack bar at Yankee Lanes. It's okay, I suppose. Last class in Abnormal Psychology, we mainly discussed the history. It's interesting, but I am more interested in the topics which have yet to come. :)