STRESS
Problem. What causes you to feel sick when an illness strikes?
Background. There is a great difference between feeling sick and being sick. Being sick means that some part of the body is being damaged by an infection, a wound, or a deficiency of some kind.
Feeling sick is different. When you feel sick you have a headache, a fever, or some other discomfort. You feel this way when you are getting any of a number of diseases.
Explanation. Dr. Hans Selye noticed that sick people generally complain of the same symptoms when they first contract a disease. Selye wondered what causes these symptoms and why they were similar for so many diseases.
After years of research, he discovered that these feelings of sickness have many causes. They are not limited to physical causes. Emotional factors seem to cause many of the same symptoms. Fear, excitement, anger, or great enthusiasm can cause the symptoms as easily as a cold virus. Selye called all these causes stress.
He performed many experiments on rats. In each, he subjected a group of rats to intense cold, or a virus, or a frustrating situation, and certain reactions developed. The most noticeable were stomach disorders, an enlarged adrenal cortex, and shrunken lymph structures.
Selye realized that these three reactions could be caused by any stress. Continued stress, however, brought about a second reaction; the internal symptoms disappeared! In cases where there was no disease, but there was stress, the body apparently was able to adjust to the stress and continue to function efficiently. Selye concluded that the body can accustom itself to stress and, if the stress is not too severe, can continue to function.
Selye also found that rats cannot tolerate stress forever. If stress is too severe, they eventually die. Fortunately, people are seldom required to tolerate such extreme degrees of stress.
Most people often experience the first two reactions to stress. Your feeling of sickness when you are first catching cold is your reaction to stress.
You have often experienced the second phase of the stress reaction, too. Remember when you got your "second wind" during a tiring game or long period of activity? That was an adaptation to stress.
Today, doctors are finding out more and more about Dr. Selye’s concept of stress. The more they learn, the better they can treat patients who are experiencing one of the three degrees of stress.
Health & Growth - Activity for Health and Fitness
Exercise for Fitness
Bouncing Ball. When performing this exercise, remember to keep your body rigid and to support your weight on your hands and toes. For variety you can clap your hands each time you have pushed your body into the air.
Team Activity
Foot Volleyball. This game is a variation of regular volleyball. You can play the game with a soccer ball or a regular football. Older boys play the game on a field that is 100 feet by 200 feet. Younger boys and girls can play the game on a field that is 95 feet long and 40 feet wide.
Look at the illustration to see how the field is divided into two playing courts and a neutral area. Notice that there is no net and that the neutral area is 15 feet long.
The object of the game is to kick (punt) the ball into the opponent’s playing court so that no one can catch it and kick it back. A team scores a point when its opponent allows the ball to touch the ground or when its opponent punts the ball out of bounds, into the neutral zone, or into its own court.
The serve is made by punting the ball into the opponent’s playing court from the middle of the server’s playing court. The serving team continues to serve as long as it continues to make points. A team can only score when it has the serve.
When a ball is served into the proper court, a player must catch it and kick it back to the server’s playing court. The serving team tries to catch it and return it in a like manner.
Seven to fourteen players make up a team. They rotate in a clockwise direction each time a serve is made so that each player assumes a new position. Only the serving team rotates before each serve. In this way, each team member is given a chance to serve.
Part of the skill involved in playing foot volleyball is the ability of the team members to play their own positions and not interfere with each other’s actions.
You will find that this game is fast-moving. It requires skill, but it can be played by anyone.
Adolescent Skin - Part 2
Acne. Many teen-agers are never troubled by acne. Their skin does not produce enough oil to cause the pimples. Unfortunately, the people who do have the problem have no sure cure for it. There are several general practices that can reduce the problem, however.
Care of Acne
- Wash the face gently with soap and water. Do this as many as five times a day.
- Avoid creams and cosmetics that contain oil.
- Because some foods may affect the condition, avoid greasy foods, chocolate, pastries, and roasted nuts.
- If you want to use any medication, consult your doctor for his advice and recommendations.
- Avoid periods of emotional tension or poor health. These conditions can cause a flare-up.
- In the event of severe acne, see a skin specialist, or dermatologist, as acne can leave disfiguring scars.
- Do not pick or squeeze blackheads and pimples, as this can cause infections and is likely to cause more painful and larger pimples.
Reactions to cosmetics. Girls your age begin thinking of using cosmetics.
of one sort or another Sometimes girls find that cosmetics when applied tastefully, help to cover blemishes. Sometimes it becomes "the thing to do" to wear cosmetics.
You should know that some people’s skin is irritated by cosmetics. These people develop dermatitis, or skin inflammation, from the cosmetics. Their skin almost always becomes red, swollen, or blistered where cosmetics are applied. They can avoid this reaction by avoiding cosmetics. If the condition persists, they can consult a doctor.
Promoting attractive skin. Because appearance is so important to most teen-agers, the skin problems mentioned above may sometimes seem like great tragedies. You can save yourself much worry by treating these conditions properly.
Skin conditions, such as acne, pimples, blackheads, and oily skin are normal for some teen-agers and not for others. If you have one of these conditions, you can improve both the condition and your state of mind by not worrying about the particular blemish. Worrying only makes the skin condition worse, and it certainly does not help to make you appear pleasant and attractive. By taking care of your skin, taking special problems to a doctor, and not worrying about skin blemishes you can make the most of this temporary condition.
Think for Yourself
Why is the overuse of cosmetics bad for the skin of anyone who tends to have pimples or oily skin? Do you see a relationship between the use of cosmetics and the cause of acne?
