axon December 2015
Sub vs. Space What do a submariner & an astronaut have in common? Find out on pg. 34
Targeted The psychology of ads Are you really unaffected? pg. 14
Decisions
Should you really read this? Read and know how your brain will decide. pg. 8
Psych
How well do you know your counselor? pg. 8
What’s on the Menu? American vs. Space food pg. 36
A Mental Note The brain science behind music pg. 28
A ON
TABLE OF CONTENTS Contributors Page 4 Go to page 4 to learn a little bit about the writers (Maggie Walker, Editorin-Chief; Anna Frey, Evan Hochstein, James Koeper, and Jonathan Yu) and what inspired us to write the magazine.
Letter from the Editor 6 On page 6, hear Maggie Walker’s thoughts representing our group’s opinions and motives to write this issue.
Decision-making 8
James Koeper illuminates a little about the way we think and make decisions. Check out page 12 for a cool graphic of the brain!
Ad Psychology 14
Learn about the psychology of ads on page 14 with Anna Frey. Be sure to see her awesome ad timeline on page 18.
All images are courtesy of Google Images.
Psychiatry and Counseling
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How well do you know your counselor? Evan Hochstein sheds some light on what it is counselors and psychiatrists really do on page 20. A timeline of psychology can be found on page 24.
Music’s Impact on the Brain What happens in your brain when you listen to music? Jonathan Yu has the answer! Find on page 30 his model of the ear and the brain working together—it rocks!
Astronauts’ and Submariners’ Mental Health
People in space and people underwater have something in common? Far out! Go to Maggie Walker’s story on page 32 to read all about it. She’ll also tell you about the difference between astronaut foods and regular American foods on page 36.
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About the Contributors Photos Courtesy of Katherine Chacon
Maggie Walker
Freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Texas and is a space nerd for life. She enjoys reading books and watching movies in her free time, along with dancing and eating quality food. Maggie has always been intrigued by the processes of the brain and how that applies to the adventures of mankind, from deep under the ocean to Mars and beyond.
Evan Hochstein
He was inspired to write his article based on a personal interest in psychology and psychiatry. His mother is a psychiatrist currently practicing for the Bluebonnet Trails Mental Health Center, and this further motivated him to write his article, as he wanted to understand more about her profession and how she may view it.
Jonathan Yu
He is a 9th grader at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He enjoys cats, dogs, and Furbies. In his free time, he likes to listen to music and run. He yearns to learn new things, and to figure out how everything around him works. His dad is studying psychology at St. Edward’s University, and is very interested in the brain and how it processes given information.
Anna Frey
She grew up in Austin, Texas, and she enjoys playing her cello as well as playing soccer with good friends. Driving on the crowded streets of Austin, she’s always noticed the countless billboards and the way they talk to the people in their cars. Her faith and hard-working spirit have helped her work tirelessly on this magazine from the very first day.
James Koeper
He is in his freshman year at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He has always had an interest in science and an emphasis on the brain and psychology. When he saw what this magazine was about, he though there was no better topic to write about than decisions. Now he is uncovering the mysteries of the brain, one thing at a time.
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Letter from the Editor
Maggie Walker Psychology is a part of human life that creates the identity of every individual, whose well-being is vital to survival. However, most people do not consider the importance of mental health in their everyday lives. Bringing human psychology and all of the complexities that make mental health so important was Axon’s purpose; it is important for each of us to recognize how what goes on in our brain every single moment affects how we exist. We, the creators of Axon have always been interested in science and its many intricacies. We are also very interested in the countless mysteries of the mind that are yet to be solved, and what that could mean for the future. We all hope that you will enjoy reading our magazine about some of the many interesting, sophisticated details of psychology, and like us, become more and more interested in what else there is to explore. u
Maggie Walker
Maggie with her family at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. A XON | DE C E MB E R 2015
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Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
Photo Courtesy of Google Images
Edward’s University. Formulating a decision is a complicated process. The frontal lobes are a large part of planning and executing a decision. The temporal lobes help with memory so that you can remember things you took into account while making a decision. Vision could be involved as well if it is a visual decision. The myelin in your brain is also responsible for making decisions. The more decisions you make, the more myelin your brain produces and the easier it is for you to formulate decisions. It also makes more efficient paths for neurons. Your brain takes into account a huge amount of factors while making a decision, even if you are unaware of it. The factors taken into account to make a decision include personal history, values and belief systems, how much time somebody has to make the decisions, and also things like substance use, says Green. Changing these factors can hugely affect the outcome of your decision. Personal history is when you have experienced something similar before, so this could obviously impact your decision if you tried one thing before and it did not work out, then you would decide something different this time around. Values and beliefs are what you think are important to accomplishing your life goals. If you want to get a good education then you would decide to go to a better college, or study more for tests, but if you did not value school as much you could decide to spend your time doing other things. Time is a large factor because if you are pressured to make a decision you may not have considered everything and make a poor, rushed Photo Courtesy of Google Images
S
ince the beginning of humanity we have been thinking about our thinking. Philosophers and scientists all over the world have been proposing theories about how our brain works and how we think. It is still not clear exactly how it works, but recently a clearer picture of how we think has come into existence. Many scientists and psychologists have figured out almost exactly how we think and make decisions. Elizabeth Frey is a student of psychology at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Although she has not been studying it for very long, she talks about her decisions and some of the good and bad ones she has made over her lifetime. One decision she made was deciding to attend LASA. She says attending that school transformed her and allowed her to learn much more than she ever thought possible. This turned out to be one of the best decisions she ever made. Decisions are very important in everybody’s daily lives, not just Elizabeth’s. The decision-making process occurs in many different regions of the brain. There are many factors that influence it such as time, information, and others, and this causes some people to be better than others at making decisions. Some of these things are out of your control, and some of them are completely up to you. Knowing how the process works can even help you make faster, better decisions. You may know a bit about the process, but what really is a decision? “The decision-making process is a complicated set of cognitive tasks we have to go through any time that we have to make a decision, and it also involves reflecting on personal experiences as well as personal values,” says Kelly Green, a Clinical Psychologist at St.
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Photo Courtesy of James Koeper
decision. However, if you have too much time you could over think a decision and be paralyzed and never actually come to a completed decision. Of course if somebody is under the influence of drugs or alcohol it can blur their judgement and cause poor decision-making. Adolescence can also influence your decisions, since teenagers’ frontal lobes are still developing so they may not have as clear judgment or decision-making skills. Depending on these factors, as well as others, some people are better at making decisions than others. People who are good at making decisions “don’t just jump to the first decision that feels good, they think about the potential benefit and the potential negative consequences of each choice and weigh those out carefully,” says Green. Decision-making is something that can be done correctly and incorrectly. People who are good at decision-making take everything into account and then make the best logical decision. She said that one characteristic of good decision-makers are that they go to seek help if they do not know how to solve or approach a problem. Frey gave some examples of Photo Courtesy of Google Images
Dr. Walt Mercer
good decisions she had made in her life. She says that some good decisions she made were, although small, studying for tests she had the next day instead of goofing off or not being productive. She says that although that is not what she would want to do in the moment, it would pay off better in the long run. One of the largest misconceptions of decisionmaking is “that it is an easy process that you don’t have to learn,” says Green. She says that to be more effective at making decisions, you have to practice it. She says she has some of her clients practice making decisions and she has observed that this helps them make better decisions later on their own. People being good at decision-making brings up the obvious question of what makes a person bad at decision-making? People who are poor decision makers are often “very impulsive [and] tend to be very inhibited in their responses,” says to Dr. Walt Mercer, a cognitive psychologist in Austin. The largest trait of bad decision makers are the ones who are impulsive. Without taking the proper time to think about a decision, all of the consequencesmay not have been taken into
Photo Courtesy of Google Images account so the decision made might not have been the best one possible. Depending on the amount of information given, the decision should take more time so everything is considered. However, even taking the time to make a decision does not mean that every decision you make will be perfect. People will make bad decisions. It is in their nature. However, Working at this process can help you make better ones. Frey also shares some of the bad decisions she has made in her life. She says that related to school she has made some bad decisions about allocating her time. For example, instead of doing an assignment that was due the next day, she put it off and watched a TV show instead, and then when that assignment was due she did very poorly on it. Another thing that makes decisions difficult is that “a lot of times a decision is difficult if you’re ambivalent or if you have values that conflict with each other,” says Green. If you have two things that go against each other, making a decision can be extremely difficult, because you will not know which value is more important. For example, if one of your values is to do well in school, but another value is to help people when they need it, you could be faced with a decision where you could either study for an important test you have the next day, or you could help someone with their homework. It would be impossible to please both of your values, so you would have to choose one. No matter which one was chosen, you will still feel as if you made the wrong decision. This ties into decisionmaking remorse. Decision making remorse, Mercer explains, is when you reconsider a decision after you have already made it. One might think, “Did I make the correct decision? Could I have made a different decision?”
Decision-making remorse is very similar to buyer’s remorse, which is where people start to ask themselves why they bought an item, or that they should have bought a different item. Having this remorse when it comes to decisions can make things more confusing than they have to be. Especially when it comes to more complex or larger decisions, such as buying a car, which college to go to, and many others. The more you wonder about whether you made the right decision or not, the more confusing these decisions become. Once you have made a decision it is time to move on and accept that decision, and begin making more decisions once again. “It is hard to make decisions that are going to hurt somebody or especially if it’s going to hurt you or someone you care about,” says Green. We have all been faced with these decisions, some being much worse than others. For example, if you are faced with the choice of helping your friend out with his work, but you know if you do help him you will have to skip school or work, that would be a very difficult decision. You would not want to abandon your friend and leave them on their own, even if it is the right decision to make. When asked if learning about the decision making process could help people make better decisions, Green responded with, “Absolutely and I see that alot with clients when I’m helping them learn decision skills is that I see them not only improving on decisions that they worked with me on individually but then i see them start to make better decisions in their life because they started to be more thoughtful about the whole process of how they make choices.” This is very interesting because it shows that when people are helped to understand the overall process of making a decision, they actually make better ones. This can help psychologists be more effective in their work as well as it brings up a lot of questions about the brain, such as if we will be able to think more efficiently if we understand more about how the brain works. The decision making process is a complex and fascinating series of cognitive processes that takes place in many parts of the brain. Studying it has helped psychologists be able to help more of their clients. It has helped with humanity’s overall understanding of the brain and how it works, and understanding this process can help you make better decisions every day. u A XON | DE C E MB ER 2015 11
Left Hemisphere The left hemisphere has a focus in language as well as hearing and speaking. It also finds solutions to mathematical and logical problems.
Frontal Lobe The frontal lobe controls creative thought, problem solving, judgement, behavior and many other important skills.
Temporal Lobe The temporal lobe is responsible for visual and auditory memory. It also helps with speech.
Parietal Lobe The parietal lobe’s main focus is on comprehension. It comprehends visual, internal, and other sensory stimuli.
Occipital Lobe The occipital lobe controls vision and hearing. It is located in the cerebral hemisphere of the brain.
Information Provided by md-health.com, webmd.com, and livescience.com
Photo Courtesy of Google Images
The Functions of the Brain Intrahemispheric Fissure
Right Hemisphere The right hemisphere focuses on spatial abilities and processing music and faces. It comprehends visuals and helps interprets language.
The intrahemispheric fissure is where the two hemispheres of the brain come together. It contains the falx cerebri.
Central Sulcus The central sulcus, otherwise known as the central fissure, is a fold in the cerebral cortex. It seperates the parietal and frontal lobe.
Cerebellum The cerebellum is responsible for controlling essential body functions such as balance and coordination.
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Targeted very day, according to a Media Matters for America study in 2007, you are bombarded with over 600 bits of information, catchy slogans, and “funny” jokes. In other words, advertisements. You may think that this daily onslaught of ads doesn’t affect you. Your brain says otherwise. “Advertising is inherently manipulative,” says Mike Brooks, a behavioral psychologist at the Austin Psychology and Assessment Center. Sometimes, you don’t always have control over how you think. Driving past billboard after billboard, one usually ignores what they say. Sitting in front of the TV, cars, prescription medicines, insurance companies all try to win the attention of their viewer. Through the use of color, mnemonics, emotional appeals, and endlessly more, advertisers target their audience. What’s the point? To make more money, of course. As Trina Barlow, an advertising and marketing expert says, “They’re always looking for the best bang for their buck.” This is not new; advertisements have been targeting people for 200 years. But modern-day advertising is dramatically different than it was just 20 years ago.
Advertising through Time
Even since the 1800s, advertisers have figured out ways to manipulate their viewers. But the medium for that
media, and the obsession that ensued, advertisers had to adapt to this new, revolutionary way of reaching the public. “Now, it’s interactive, meaning social media and computer, then TV, then radio; print’s almost gone, because it’s all gone to digital,” says Barlow.
“Advertising is inherently manipulative.”
has changed in unimaginable ways. After the first TV ads aired in the 1940s, the advertising term “The Big Three” was shaped. “TV was number one, radio was number two, and newspaper print was number three. Those were ‘The Big Three,” says Barlow. But with the creation of social
Target Audience
Upon these everchanging mediums, advertisers simply put pictures and words. But the planning behind these pictures and words is anything but simple. After rigorous research of the client for which an advertising company is working, the first step is the creative brief. This outlines exactly what the ad will try to convey about the company, the product, and for whom the ad and product are meant: the target audience.
Photo Courtesy of Google Images
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By Anna Frey
The Role of the Brain
As always, the brain plays an important role in this. First, your eyes must process the visual information and send it down the optic nerve to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe located in the rear of your brain. The interpretation of ads and logos, and every slight, deliberately-placed detail in them occurs in the occipital lobe of your brain. The visual cortex will remember how the ad looked, moved, and most importantly (to the advertisers, at least), will be able to identify whose ad it was. “You have the mechanics of the eye, but then you have the interpretation of the information in the visual cortex,” says Brooks. An effective ad sticks in the viewer’s mind, and affects their buying habits later. So advertisers find the “wear-out rate” of an ad, or how many times it
takes the viewer to remember and then get tired of an ad. “And one study showed that you had to see something over 250 times for you to be tired of it,” says Barlow. With this in mind, advertisers choose
devoutly hang onto only about eight seconds of a tune. This is why the short jingles of Folgers, Thundercloud Subs, and State Farm work so well. The receptor for sounds is obviously your ears, which transform the sound
“Everything’s influenced by knowing that target audience, and they know everything about us.” specific colors, sizes, fonts, shapes, and more to trigger the desired response to their brand. “The colors of the logo say something about that brand,” says Barlow, “Whether you know it or not.” Now, though, advertisements are not only seen, but heard. On TV, radio, and the Internet, the dimension of sound is added. Therefore, advertisers use mnemonics, or “jingles” to trap their brand inside your head. Mnemonics are one of the most effective tools in advertising because your brain will
frequencies into nerve impulses that can be processed in your brain. The parietal lobes change the impulses into words as well as remembers it. So next time you’ve got an earworm, blame it on your temporal lobes.
The Numbers
But how do advertisers decide on what to put in their ads? “That’s where we would know the numbers,…” says Barlow. The “numbers” include every demographic detail, every detail about the personality of the target audience,
Optic nerve leading to the visual cortex in the brain. Photo Courtesy of Google Images
All of an ad is shaped around the target audience. As Barlow says, “Knowing your audience is super important.” Advertisers target a specific demographic to appeal to a group ith applicable . These interests come from the natural, even primal necessity to be accepted into a group. “If you buy [their] product, you will be more accepted and well-liked, you’ll have more friends, or you’ll be more beautiful, which will make you more liked, and have more people. That’s a very primitive instinct,” says Brooks. Whether it’s Hispanic females ages 13-18, or white males, ages 24-54, the target audience determines the approach and creation of an ad. Kristen Chang, an advertisement quality assurance engineer, says, “With a certain prompt or end goal the design can be catered toward whoever the target of interest is.” The brands and companies you see everyday know their audience, and they will mold their ad so it slips easily into your subconscious. Giving an example, Chang says, “Amazon. If you take a look the logo is an arrow from the letter A to Z. It’s something so simple and easily missed but once you see it, you cannot unsee.” These details are the compulsion of advertising agencies. “It’s sneaky but smart advertisement,” says Chang.
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Photo Courtesy of Google Images
Temporal lobe, a part of the brain involved in many aspects of hearing sounds and messages such as mnemonics.
pathos. “For advertising, that’s what they want; it’s that emotional connection with their product,” says Brooks.
Emotions of the Brain
People primarily make decisions emotionally, and advertisers have taken advantage of that. The two most powerful ways to influence a viewer are through pleasure and fear. Both are natural, primal instincts that people can’t help but give into. When using the appeal of pleasure in an ad, the reward centers of the brain are activated. This reward center is actually a circuit called the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). “So they’re really trying to tap into those primal urges, and then by tapping into that, they’re activating very primitive reward centers in the brain,” says Brooks. When seeing certain pleasurable images in an ad, like cute baby animals,
Parietal Lobe, a part of the brain involved in interpreting the words in an advertisement.
or big juicy foods, endorphins, pleasure hormones, are released. Even ads that create empathy in the viewer are drawing from this, because it makes people want to do something, or change something in their lives, which will eventually give them satisfaction. Fear is often used to make viewers afraid and feel the necessity to do something to make them feel secure. These feelings come from the basic human need for safety, which results from the way the brain handles fear. “They’ve evoked a very primal emotion that’s based on a primal need for safety,…” says Brooks. In the punishment circuit, or periventricular system (PVS), the brain decides whether or not to act on the situation in question. The PVS is the fight or flight response. In the case of advertisements, the brain is thinking about if the suggested product in the ad is worth getting. Of course, advertisers try their hardest to get your PVC turned on and active. The way advertisers get inside your brain has evolved and is constantly becoming more dynamic and interactive. But the way your brain works is a constant. Every nerve, neuron, lobe, and impulse in your mind is part of an intricate system that advertisers have learned to manipulate and impress upon. Today, and for the rest of your life, advertising will play an important role in your decision-making. u
Photo Courtesy of Google Images
and the quantity of each. “Everything’s influenced by knowing that target audience, and they know everything about us,” says Barlow. Over the years, technology has allowed businesses and companies to easily acquire information about their customers. They do this by tracking customer buying habits through the use of rewards programs. Once a business has your email and identity, the opportunities for increasing sales are endless. With an email comes the knowledge of what the customer buys, and their buying habits. This includes frequency, the types of products, and the brands of products. “So there’s all these algorithms happening now, where it’s grabbing things, and knows exactly what you want, almost now, tailored to your experience,” says Barlow. Once a company or business knows what you want to buy, they’ll send emails with coupons and offers, enticing you. It goes further. If you start to shop online, without buying the product, ads will appear on your email, social media, and other visited sites. “There are ways now for companies to get to you,” says Barlow. Though this phenomenon is not unfamiliar to most people today, it affects them more than they know. Because the advertisers know who buys their products, their advertisements will reflect that. “It’s behavioral analytics, is they’re tracking all your data in real time and figuring out what your behavioral habits are, and then they change their advertising based on the data,” says Brooks. The most effective and common way to influence viewers is through an emotional appeal, also known as
Photo courtesy of Google Images
Ads of all kinds fighting for attention in Times Square in New York, New York.
Volney B. Palmer, a small business owner in Philadelphia, created the first advertising agency to boost his own sales. Little did he know that his new creation would lead to a revolution in the way Americans do business.*
1843
Billboards made their debut many years later when Jared Bell created the familiar large poster-format board advertising the circus. Though many people had been painting and creating smaller boards for their own businesses, these were the first printed ones.*
1835
The very first advertisement in American history was in the Boston Newsletter at the beginning of the 18th century. It was a notice for an estate for sale on Oyster Bay, Long Island.* The marketing machine was set in motion.
1704
The key steps in the rise of the ad-world surrounding us today
in America
Ages of Advertising
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Finally, what centuries and decades of marketing and advertising have been building up to; the domination of ads over consumers’ lives. These days, advertising agencies spend millions or even billions of dollars just to try to reach their viewers. And with every type of medium at their fingertips; TV, radio, Internet, billboards, magazines; there’s no telling where advertising could go next.*
2015
With all of the most valuable resources for advertising, marketers had complete freedom. With this newfound freedom, they created the somewhat infamous infomercial. Though the very first infomercial was aired in 1949 (for a Vitamix Blender), the explosion wasn’t until the late 20th century.*
1980s
After huge success with radio ads, for businesses, putting advertising on the newest and most popular invention, the television, was a no-brainer. The Bulova Watch Company had the first television ad. It was 10 seconds and consisted of one picture with the spoken tag line, “America runs on Bulova time.”*
1941
With almost all of America tuning in nightly to the radio, companies and radio stations found an easy way to boost revenue. If the companies paid radio stations, they could put a short ad on the national airwaves. The Bell Telephone Company made the first radio ad. They paid $9.*
1922
*Mashable Originals: The History of Advertising in 60 Seconds *npr.org: First Radio Commercial Hit Airwaves 90 Years Ago * adage.com: Ad Age Advertising Century: Timeline*
Photos Courtesy of Google Images
Pohoto courtesy of Google Images
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
By EVAN HOCHSTEIN
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mily (not her real name) was a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA). As with many other students, the school’s competitive nature and high workload were hard for her, yet there came a point in her life where she physically lacked the energy to stay awake, much less do her work. Once, while on a field trip, she fainted due to malnourishment. Sophomore year, she attempted suicide multiple times. At various points in her life, Emily has suffered from histrionic personality disorder (HPD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic depression, and anorexia nervosa. She says that if she hadn’t received treatment or the intervention of peers and adults, she probably wouldn’t be living. Across the United States today, children like Emily face issues from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to autism spectrum disorders to mood and anxiety disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 46 percent of youths 13 to 18 years old have experienced some mental disorder in their lifetime, and around 21 percent have experienced a “seriously debilitating disorder.” According to the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, annually, more than 525,000 Texas youths experience severe mental health needs, and nearly one out of every seven Texas high school students makes a suicide plan—sobering statistics by any standard. At a competitive school like LASA, stress and anxiety levels can be fairly high and students can experience depression,
perfectionism, eating disorders, and a slew of other issues. When these students seek help, they can reach such individuals as counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, and other professionals. These are people prepared to help students accept and deal with their problems, overcome them, and lead healthy and fulfilled lives.
Counselors and Psychiatrists
According to LASA counselor Meagan Butler, “a counselor is a professional helper.” She says that with each student and parent she works with, she tries to figure out the information that they need and where she can get that information from. The information she gives varies from topics like how to sign up for the SAT to the simple act of assuring a troubled student that they matter. She explained her job using this phrase: Counseling is information that makes a difference. While counseling can be extremely therapeutic for some children, for others it just isn’t enough. They have to seek other help, such as through the realm of psychiatry. Psychiatrists are professionals who have been trained to help people overcome their mental health problems. According to Dr. Elizabeth Calvin, child psychiatrist at the Bluebonnet Trails Mental Health Center in Round Rock, a psychiatrist is a doctor who gives medications and tries to medically solve the issue but also gives therapy and advice, trying to attack the problem from all sides.
The Isolation of Mental Illness
For the people they treat, counselors and psychiatrist can be beacons of hope. According to Calvin, mental illness deceives the people it preys on, often leading its victims to believe that there isn’t any possibility of solving the issue. “In general, mental illness tricks your brain into thinking that things won’t get better, that you’re trapped and there isn’t help,” she says. Beyond these feelings of isolation, mental health issues can have varying effects. Calvin says anxiety, for example, tricks your body into thinking that certain situations are dangerous and potentially life-threatening even if they aren’t. She says people with anxiety can have a very difficult time with public speaking, attending school, and a wide range of other activities. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 1 in 8 children are affected by anxiety disorders, and “untreated children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences, and engage in substance abuse.” Fortunately, according to the American Psychological Association (APA), “the majority of people with an anxiety disorder improve considerably by getting effective psychological treatment.” When a student asks for help and their anxiety is treated, they can feel a lot more free to live their lives, because they are able to act more normally in situations encountered in everyday life. This relief is also felt by those who have received care for depression. The APA says that the prospects for depressed individuals who seek professional care are very good. “By working with a qualified and experienced therapists, people suffering from depression can help regain control of their lives.” Calvin explains how depression affects people in a different way from anxiety. She says people with depression feel awful and it’s like they’re in a hole; they feel like they can’t get out of that hole, they lose perspective about the future, and they start to think that there’s nothing that can be done. When Emily was asked about what may have spurred her depression (as well as her anorexia), she attributed it
to the high-expectation, competitive environment at LASA. “The school breeds an environment of obsession and competition that is frankly unhealthy,” she said. “For people who are genetically predisposed to mental illness like I am, it is almost impossible to avoid these pitfalls, and because so many of our peers are in a similar situation, it is difficult to pull yourself out as well.” She also said that if she had known she would have encountered these disorders, she wouldn’t have gone to LASA. Perhaps for certain people like Emily, going to a school like LASA just isn’t worth it. After all, no amount of counseling and treatment can actually reclaim the parts of her life that she spent suffering.
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In general, mental illness tricks your brain into thinking that you’re trapped and there isn’t help.
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Photocourtesy of Marissa Rivera
“I get to help people find things that are going to help their quality of life,” Calvin says. “Sometimes that’s other therapeutic interventions, like recommending that they go to therapy, or sometimes I’ve recommended the use of a therapeutic animal to help somebody. Sometimes [I do] very simple things, like getting people connected in extracurricular activities.” She explains that she mostly tries to address what her patients see as problems, more concentrated on working toward the outcome than any one method of getting there. “It’s not really limited, and I like that, that you can help people figure out the things that are going to help them, and then help them get there,” she says. “It’s not so much about the diagnosis, it’s about what the problem is, and how you fix it.”
Counselor Meagan Butler.
LASA Mental Wellness Then again, if mental illness could be identified more quickly at LASA, maybe these problems can be stopped in their tracks before things get serious. What are the most common mental health issues at LASA? Butler says that LASA students see high levels of stress and anxiety. She also says that gifted populations, such as the students at LASA, also see a lot of perfectionism and eating disorders. The school sees normal rates of depression, around 10 percent of the school (which is still around 100 students), but Butler says the difference between LASA and other schools is that people at LASA actually ask for help thanks to the systems put in place by the counselors. Calvin discussed some of the common mentalities of smart students, explaining that often a very bright student thinks that they must do the hardest thing, choose the most academically strenuous schedule, take the IB and AP classes, and do extracurriculars. Then, maybe in addition to all this, the student’s parents have high expectations, or the A XON | DE C E M B E R 2015
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student themselves has high expectations. She says that if there’s another life stressor on top of that, such as a death in the family or a physical injury, it just gets to be too much. Students are often focused on doing everything to look good on a college resumé, despite the fact that, for them, these lifestyle choices aren’t what would make them the healthiest or happiest. Calvin says that when they ask for help on these matters, a professional can help them figure out what choices are best for them.
your mental illness has tricked you into thinking that there is no help, you might not necessarily be looking for it,” she says. Students will always ask themselves “What are my parents going to think?” or “What are my friends going to think?” and they are too afraid to ask for help, which only leads to things getting worse. According to Butler, the issue of whether gifted students ask for help or not often coincides with another problem. It’s called masking. Basically, rather than let anyone know there’s some sort of problem with them, a gifted student will usually present a façade showing people that everything is alright. Butler says that really smart students are very good at hiding what goes on underneath the surface, and it will appear as though everything is fine with them. They have a mask that shows everyone “I’m good at school, I look perfect, I have good grades,” and the indicators of possible issues often can’t really be seen until things become so bad that the student experiences a crisis. She explains that in a typical student dealing with a mental health issue, their grades would fall, they would drop out of clubs, they would always be seen sitting by themselves or outwardly crying, but gifted students are more inclined to hide their problems. “We don’t know that there’s a problem unless they ask for help or unless they let their friend know, or unless it’s really, really bad and they can’t hide it anymore,” Butler says.
What happens when a person seeks help? Calvin says that people almost always see some sort of improvement: Sometimes she can help treat a mental illness, sometimes she can reorganize an aspect of a person’s life through practical solutions, and sometimes she can help them feel better by changing their worldview. For example, although she can use various medicines for people with depression, what could she do about an orphaned child? There’s no medicine for giving back a child’s parents. In these cases, Calvin must work solely based off of influencing the child’s worldview, helping them cope with their problem and continue living their lives. “We help people to get better. We may not be able to fix all of their problems, but people can get better by learning a different way to cope or changing the way they see the world,” Calvin says. Another LASA student (who will remain anonymous) was interviewed who had been seeing the counselors about coping with a lot of stress and parents with high expectations, and she said that they helped her properly manage her time and to understand how to best approach the situation with her parents. “I have been very thankful to the few times I’ve met with the counselors,” she said. “They are always very welcoming me to me and have helped me to become a healthier and happier person that can live through life stress-free.”
Left: The relaxing interior of Meagan Butler’s office at LASA Right: Dr. Calvin’s office at the Mental Health Center
The Stigma and “Masking” But in order to receive the benefits of psychiatry and counseling, usually people must ask for them, even though the people who help try to be accessible (for example, Butler says she tries to be seen in the hallways and running clubs). Calvin says there’s still a very large stigma about mental illness, so people find it extremely hard to ask for help. “I think people know that something is wrong, but if
Improvements to LASA’s Mental Health
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Calvin
Photo courtesy of Meagan Butler
Asking for Help
Butler says masking happens fairly often at LASA, but the situation has been getting better, and for sure it’s better now than it was in the past. Butler started at LASA six years ago, and that was the first year LASA had a wellness counselor: Stacey Hopper, who no longer works at LASA. Butler became a wellness counselor two years later, and she describes the school then as a place where stress was higher and fewer people asked for help. Now that she’s been here for a few years, she says that the school’s overall mental health is improving and people are getting the care that they need. “I think having someone to talk about sources of stress in your life is an important service that I provide, and I know that I refer students year after year to get help and therapy or to go to a hospital and get the treatment they need, so I see those results,” Butler says. “We’re catching a lot of these mental health issues early on, which is good.” Butler says the school counselors are also more adept now at recognizing students’ issues and getting them help, especially at being able to identify a student early in crisis, before things escalate. She says this has helped significantly in getting students in treatment sooner. On other improvements, Butler gives the example that she tries to get students to sleep more, even though she can’t always make them. However, she does say she thinks that students are more aware of the consequences of sleep
deprivation thanks to her campaigns on campus. She thinks the awareness of depression and anxiety has increased as well, even if the students may not have changed their behavior as much. With this heightened awareness, students find it easier to ask for help. When they ask for help and they receive counseling, therapy, psychiatry, or any other treatments, they almost always get better. In a study conducted in the United Kingdom called “A Naturalistic Longitudinal Evaluation of Counseling in Primary Care,” after patients were provided counseling “there was a significant reduction in severity of symptoms” for anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and quality of life. In 1997, the Institute of Medicine in the United States concluded, based on extensive research, that mental health and psychological services were essential for many students to achieve academically, and recommended that such services be considered mainstream. These results indicate that counseling and psychiatry not only work, but are also necessary.
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I have met people who were on the edge of ending their lives, or who had tried to end them, and have been able to journey with them to help them achieve their goals, be they to get into a school, support a talent, or just to suffer less.
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Who do LASA students share their feelings or problems with when things aren’t so great?
The Success of Counseling and Psychiatry
When Butler was asked about what she enjoys most about counseling, she said she loves to see the students improve. She said she also loves that she gets to see and work with students for four years because she can see a student struggle with an eating disorder and help them recover, or see them struggle with depression or suicidal ideation and then go to college as a happier, healthier person. “That’s so exciting … We [counselors] always say we don’t get paid a lot with money, but we get paid a lot in other ways, [and] that’s very true,” Butler says. “It’s the most rewarding thing I could do.” On the success of her psychiatric help, Calvin says that she also gets to see a lot of improvement. “I have met people who were on the edge of ending their lives, or who had tried to end them, and have been able to journey with them to help them achieve their goals, be they to get into a school, support a talent, or just to suffer less,” she says. Calvin says that without care, most people would be suffering more, and that there are many students who would say that psychiatric help has been very important to their recovery. Emily was lucky because she had a system of counselors and students working together to get everyone the proper care. She says she no longer fits the criteria for depression or anorexia, and even though she says she recovered mostly because of her spirituality, she also says that counseling and therapy played a role. If everyone who needed help asked for it and received treatment, they could also see vast improvement. Day by day, counselors and psychiatrists help people with a plethora of issues to get better and feel better about getting better. Here at LASA, help is always present with counselors like Meagan Butler, and out in the world, professionals like Elizabeth Calvin are everywhere. All you need to do is ask. u
In a Wellness Survey conducted in the fall of 2014, LASA’s counselors asked around 800 students to report who they would share their problems with. Fifteen percent of the students reported that they would share their problems and feelings with a counselor, and 73 percent reported they would share it with a friend.
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Psychology through the Ages Today, we humans know a lot about psychology (or at least we think we do). But it wasn’t always this way. To see some important events in the history of psychology, check out the cool timeline below! Franz Mesmer detailed his cure for mental illness, originally called mesmerism and now known as hypnosis, which academics now consider a realm of pseudopsychology.
The first psychological clinic is developed at the University of Pennsylvania marking the birth of clinical psychology
1774 CE
Plato suggests that the mechanism of mental processes is the brain.
1896
French physician Paul Broca discovers an area in the left frontal lobe that plays a key role in language development. It is later named after him
1861
387 BCE
Sigmund Freud begins performing therapy in Vienna, marking the beginning of personality theory.
1879
1906
335 BCE
1878
Aristotle suggests that the mechanism of mental processes is the heart.
1793
Philippe Pinel releases the first mental patients from confinement in the first massive movement for more humane treatment of the mentally ill.
Ivan Pavlov publishes the first studies on classical conditioning.
G. Stanley Hall receives the first American Ph.D. in psychology. He later founds the American Psychological Association .
1890
Timeline created by Evan Hochstein.
The term “mental tests” is coined by James Cattell, beginning the specialization in psychology now known as psychological assessment.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published by the APA marking the beginning of modern mental illness classification.
1952
Psychology advances to the technological age with the emergence of e-therapy.
1998 The emergence of managed care prompts the APA to become more political, leading to the idea of Prescribing Psychologists and equity in mental health coverage.
Alfred Bandura introduces the idea of Observational Learning (learning based on the observing of others) on the development of personality.
John E. Watson publishes “Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It” marking the beginnings of Behavioral Psychology.
1990
1963
1913
1913
1983
1995
Howard Gardner, professor at Harvard University, introduces his theory of multiple intelligence.
Carl G. Jung departs from Freudian views and develops his own theories. His new school of thought becomes known as Analytical Psychology.
First psychologists prescribe medication through the U.S. military’s psychopharmacology program.
1954
Abraham Maslow helps to found Humanistic Psychology. He later develops his famous “Hierarchy of Needs.”
Information for this timeline was acquired from the Online Psychological Laboratory (sponsored by the APA), an article on About Health by Kendra Cherry, and Wikipedia. Images are courtesy of Google Images. A XON | DE C E MB ER 2015
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The Science of Music photo courtesy of google images
by Jonathan Yu
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Whenever I listen to music it makes my day. All day I have to deal with things I don’t like, like school, and music just wipes it away. says Rachel Winbigler.
proven quantitatively. A while back in the 1990s, Rauscher and colleagues, a group of researchers, performed a study on how listening to music affects you. In this experiment, they measured the spatial reasoning skills of someone
after listening to Mozart for 10 minutes. They found that there actually is a change, and a fairly significant one. This study has been controversial, because some researchers have been able to reproduce these results, but it sprouted the field of research we now know as psychomusicology, or more simply, the psychology of music. Music is such an abstract
An MRI machine
photo courtesy of google images
M
fects on one’s brain. “All day I have to deal with things I don’t like, like school, and music just wipes it away,” says Winbigler. Most everybody knows that listening to music makes you feel better, but it wasn’t really
“
usic makes you feel good, it’s fun to listen to with friends, and everyone loves it. Rachel Winbigler, a student at Austin High, listens to music all day, every day. In the halls, on the bus, and at home. When I asked her the simple question, “Why?”, she explains. “Whenever I listen to music it makes my day. It makes me feel good,” says Winbigler. There’s a side to this that’s more scientific than “It makes me feel good”. According to M.A. Gavin Shafron, a Ph.D. student at the California School of Professional Psychology, it is scientifically proven, in many studies, that music can have amazing ef-
is how many uncontrolled variables there are. They could be very tired, they could have just gotten fired, or they could have won the lottery - you never know. One would need a reliable and consistent way to measure the effects and their magnitude - but how? The solution to this dilemma is functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. fMRIs give you precise data
on the location of where the activity in your brain occurs. So if you were to conduct research on, say, EDM music, you would take an fMRI while playing this music to a subject. How would you interpret your results? Well, an fMRI scan allows you to look at what parts of the brain are being used. Using brain scans such as fMRI scans has let us gain a lot of insight in psy-
photo courtesy of google images
medium, and the brain is so complex — how do you measure the “dose” of music, and how do you measure the effect on the brain? There are a few ways to go about this. After having a person listen to a certain type of music, you could ask how they feel. You could also give them, say, an IQ test to test the subject after exposing them to a certain type of music. The problem with this
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photo courtesy of google images
to metal, it wouldn’t have as many negative effects. Some types of music are associated with certain ideology.
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When we think about what music may stress people out, it may be that the same music that makes people feel better if they prefer it, makes them feel worse if they don’t says Gavin Shafron
“
chomusicology; listening to music has been found to cause activity in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance and motion, says M.A. Theresa Veltri, a Ph.D student and the University of Sheffield. You can only avoid the human element for so long when researching psychomusicology. Everybody likes different types of music. Some people like metal, some people like pop, some people like indie. It’s a matter of preference, and preference makes inconsistent data. When you expose someone who listens to indie music, to heavy metal, it may evoke harsh feelings, and could even induce stress. If you had someone who listens to metal listen
People who listen to rap are associated with gangs, drugs, and illegal actions, and people who listen to heavy metal are generally associated with darker, more morbid emotions. This outlook of metal listeners is blamed on their music preferences, but it’s really a chicken or egg ques-
tion, says Shafron. Is it the metal music that fostered this ideology, or is did the “metal head” approach the music already having negative views? These are types of questions we must ask when we research music and the brain. The most controversial type of music really evokes this is hip-hop and “gangster rap”. People who listen to gangster rap come to listen to gangster rap looking to have it endorse their beliefs, which comforts them. Since everyone is brought up differently, there’s really no way to measure music’s effect on the brain without that human variable. One thing we know for sure - when you listen to music you love, it makes you feel great. u
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photo courtesy of google images
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photo courtesy of google images
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External Ear: The external ear is the most vital part of your ear. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to capture as much noise as we do. The external ear is designed so that any noise that comes towards it will be directed into your tympanic membrane. Tympanic Membrane: The tympanic membrane, or the ear drum, is responsible for transferring the vibrations/sounds to your auditory ossicles without exposing the tympanic cavity to foreign particles and bacteria.
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Auditory Ossicles: There are three bones in the tympanic cavity called the auditory ossicles. The auditory ossicles take the vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the liquid filled cochlea. The ossicles are here for two reasons. If the tympanic membrane was just up against the cochlea, then if, and when, the tympanic membrane gets ruptured, then your cochlea has no way of receiving the vibrations coming through your external ear.
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Ear or Rube Goldberg Machine? by Jonathan Yu
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Our ear is one of the most complex parts of our body. Every single part is a fine tuned and well oiled machine, refined by generations of adaption and evolution, and every single part relies on the preceding one.
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Oval Window: The oval window is an opening into the cochlea covered with a membrane similar to the tympanic membrane. Round Window: The round window is similar to the oval window, but it’s membrane, according to Wikipedia, “vibrates the opposite phase to vibrations entering... through the oval window� Cochlea: The fibers in the basilar membrane of the cochlea start off long, then become shorter. This arrangement allows us to detect different frequencies of sound.
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Tectorial Membrane: The tectorial membrane is a gel-like membrane that some scientists associate with healthy hearing. Beyond this, the function of the tectorial membrane is unknown. Basilar Membrane: The basilar membrane is responsible for holding the fibers of the cochlea in place. The basilar membrane also stiffer at the front end than it is at the back end in order to properly disperse the sound. A XON | DE C E MB ER 2015 31
Psychological Challenges in Voluntary Confinement:
How Submarine Life can Inform Space Travel By Maggie Walker
Photo Courtesy of Logan Pearce
H e looked out the periscope riners and astronauts, looking at tally able to keep the mission runand saw the light of the sun. The ning. He says that something that the psychological aspects of subsubmariner smiled and let the glow mariners not only helps to underbecomes clear is how, especially in warm his skin; he let the elated the Navy, many of the people chostand what astronauts also have to feeling of light and happiness flood confront, but this can be taken into sen for submarine duty are very his weary mind and heart. Little account for when NASA prepares similar. He says that this similarity did he know that millions of miles to launch its first manned mission means that many of the crewmemaway, in the same sort of tiny bers are already very compatprison that he was trapped “No matter how confined or remote ible with one another. inside, an astronaut was in “That is the beauty of the space, floating around the pa- a submarine is (or any other Earth- military, that you get people rameters of our atmosphere, based activity), there is still a natural at an early age; it’s like smiling out the window at boot camp and you end point to look forward to -- the see kids that all that same sun that had been hidden from both of them for person will eventually go home or have shaved days on end. heads. And resurface.” Those who work you are all in submarines serving in going to be the Navy and astronauts in what I want spaceships alike have to come you to be and to Mars in the 2030s. Knowing face-to-face with obstacles that put these psychological challenges that you are going to their mental health at risk on a the astronauts will endure and how be my way, and daily basis. Living in the confined, they can cope with them is vital for that comes more unforgiving spaces of a submarine their success to arriving and thrivin the beginning, or spacecraft, having to work with and it tends to unify ing at the Red Planet. a team for days on end to accomearly on and probSimilarities and ably take[s] care of plish a common mission, along Differences: with all other limiting factors such problems that would be Psychological as loss of sunlight, lack of social raised by individualism,” says Stresses of the Von Suskil. “We were all from interaction, and family time is a Submarine Life struggle common to both. Many the same cookie cutter, all examand Life in Space ined, tested, tweaked, and came things have to out pretty much the same, which is There are a multitude of be done kind of a scary concept. [And with physical requirements to meet to keep astronauts], I was surprised at how when becoming an astronaut or a mental similar they were. How similar we health at submariner, but the psychological were.” aspects are just as important. its best. Even though submariners “They give you some basic and astronauts have many things Because [testing] batteries, some psychoin common, one essential element logical screening to verify that you of the that sets these two groups apart is can live with other people socially, that those in the Navy can always many similarities it’s just a part of getting along,” says look forward to resurfacing much James Von Suskil, a retired U.S. between sooner than astronauts can look Navy Captain who now lives in submaforward to re-entry. Houston, Texas. “No matter how confined Logan Pearce, retired Naval Officer who Von Suskil says that when or remote a submarine is (or lives in Austin,Texas (also a former science people are being chosen to work any other Earth-based activity), teacher at Kealing Middle School). on submarines, they must be men- there is still a natural end point to
Courtesy of Pixabay Images
look forward to -- the person will eventually go home or resurface,” says Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience Christopher D. Chambers at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. “By comparison, Mars One is a tiny, permanent prison. The best analogy for Mars One on Earth would be a life a permanent singlecell isolation in a prison.” For submariners, it is possible to resurface if there is a medical or family emergency, depending on the situation. Even though astronauts may have similar drastic issues, they have no way to come back to Earth to resolve them. This can have potential negative effects on astronauts. “I remember, unfortunately, a shipmate of mine and his wife decided that she was going to leave him. And [we] happened to be in port, and all we could do was send him home. I remember [I] told him, ‘Come back with a solution, think about what you want your end product to be, reconcile yourself, so that you are ready to come back.’ And things like that would happen occasionally,” says Von Suskil.
below decks for over six months, Logan Pearce, retired Naval Officer who lives in Austin, Texas (also a former science teacher at Kealing Middle School) says that the lack of sunlight was difficult for her and her well-being. “When I came home, I spent several hours in the sun; taking naps in the sun. I was just craving the sunlight because I had been out of the sun for six months,” says Pearce. From her experience, Pearce says that at times when tasks got stressful with work, when multiple people are telling each crewmember what to do, when negative feedback was abundant, after an extended amount of
“There is only so much that you can whiteknuckle through it.”
In order for the mission to be, especially one of this magnitude, everyone has to be a team, everyone has to pull their own weight. It could be super hard,” says Pearce.
How do they cope? Staying Mentally Fit During the Journey Chambers says that being able to see the Earth, regular exercise, and social interaction will be some of the best ways to help the mental state of the crew both underwater in submarines and in space. Adding to that, Von Suskil says that another way to stay mentally healthy in this type of environment is to have distractions and entertainment, such as playing board games often. Of course, there are other sources of stress that must be managed. Von Suskil says that the hardest struggle for submariners and astronauts alike is how both have to deal with being away from their loved ones for long periods of time, with no guarantee of return. “In ship I often hear of people who missed their son’s soccer game this afternoon; in fact I missed my daughter’s second grade year and my son’s third grade year,” Von Photo Courtesy of James Von Suskil
time dealing with that amount of stress can lead to attitude shifts, like getting grumpy and even depressed. Along with the above sources of stress, Pearce says that another source of drastic negative impacts on mental health comes from the military’s strict lifestyle. Within this is a heavy stigma towards having mental health failures during service. “There is a huge culture of ‘if you are struggling with that THE EFFECTS OF you are a weakling’ or ‘that [it] STRESS ON THE is not okay to admit that you are CREW struggling.’ [T]hat is a problem that they are having to overcome right Chambers says that he now,” says Pearce. predicts mental health will first Pearce says that the arise as an issue during the journey success of the mission, whether in to Mars, which has been estimated submarines or spacecraft, hinges to take approximately 6 months. on the mental health of the team, “Astronauts can experience even if only one person is having depression and anxiety, especially difficulties. when unable to see the Earth for “[T]hat is something that James Von Suskil, a retired U.S. Navy Capextended periods,” says Chambers. the military knows really well. tain who currently lives in Houston,Texas. When recalling her time There is only so much that you This picture was taken in 1988 while Von after serving on an aircraft carrier can white-knuckle through it. Suskil was still serving in the Navy.
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Courtesy of Pixabay Images
lack of family time], but I think that’s always going to be a struggle,” says Pearce. Even though astronauts and submariners alike are away from their loved ones for such a long period of time, they still find ways to have strong relationships on the ship. “Oh, the best were the friendships,” says Von Suskil. “Really, you probably don’t make
Exterior of a submarine.
Suskil says. “I think that the biggest loss is the family time. And you just can’t get around that.” Of course, there are many different ways that the crew and their loved ones can stay in touch, which can help with this issue. “One of my friends did this program where he read into a camera a children’s book, and then sent the DVD home, and then his wife and daughter read the book with him, and Daddy is on the TV and Mommy and daughter are reading the book with Daddy on the TV,” Pearce says. “There are little things like that where they try to minimize [the
“The biggest loss is the family time. And you just can’t get around that.”
Courtesy of Google Images
any faster friends than you do on a submarine.” Pearce says that along with the friendships comes a responsibility to do your part well so that your crewmembers are safe and can do their tasks, as well. She says that this gave her a purpose to stay persistent in her work. “What got me out of bed every morning was I was the boss of about 30 mechanics that worked for me, and I saw my job as 100 percent serving those 30 guys,” says Pearce. “It was
As the crew works together in these close quarters, the interior of a submarine can get very cramped.
the team. It was making sure my sailors were safe. And they could do their job safely. And we were in a situation where if I did my job poorly, or they did their job poorly, it could cost their lives.” Von Suskil says that his
“We were in a situation where if I did my job poorly, or they did their job poorly, it could cost their lives.” crew had a softball team from the submarine, and when in port they would take every Wednesday afternoon off and go do something different, like playing this sport. “We would just do something together, because, as you could imagine, you are together with those guys for an awful long time during that threeyear period,” says Von Suskil. “You get to know them pretty well, good, bad, or indifferent, so the better you can do in terms of filling pleasant memories the better you are going to be in the crunch.” “I think that from a mental health level, you have to be comfortable with who you are,” says Von Suskil. “You have to be ready to give up the control of some things. And set aside those things that you want to control, and take charge of them. And it may be your own mental fitness. It may be to work out every day. You just have got to work around it, that’s probably the most useful thing to take away from submarines.”
Ways to Prevent Psychological Challenges from Arising Even though psychological struggles are a tricky obstacle, there are measures of prevention. For example, according to a 2014 Boeing news magazine article, the company has designed a
can put systems in place on how to solve interpersonal problems, see of those are effective, tweak them, that would be good to practice in an isolation environment for several months together beforehand.”
Why it’s Worth it: Lessons Learned Could Land Healthy Humans on Mars Exploration and travel: whether that be in a spaceship and heading to Mars, or serving the Navy in a submarine, it pushes the boundaries of humanity. But
NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
Coast and pushed to the West, just keep pushing. We have colonized most of the earth, it is time to go beyond, and we have the ability to go beyond, so we should.” says Courtesy of Google Images
“You have to be ready to give up the control of some things. And set aside those things that you want to control, and take charge of them.”
if those individuals are not careful, their mental health can suffer because of the tight, tense conditions with the same people for long periods of time. But it is worth it for those few people who come forward and endure all of the challenges that cross their path. Pearce says that exploration is part of the human soul, and that the risks and the inevitable cost of life should not stop us from moving to the next level, if that is what we as a species decide to do. “[T]he destiny of humanity is to advance to the next thing to explore,” says Pearce. “The European pioneers who colonized America, they weren’t coming back. They were leaving their homes, and going somewhere that was hostile, and it may cost them their lives, and they weren’t ever expecting to come home; that is what we have done throughout history, we colonized the East
Courtesy of Pixabay Images
spacecraft that is purposefully full of blue lights. Blue is a calming color that creates a more pleasing atmosphere, helping the aesthetics of the craft and mental comfort of the crew. By using this design, Boeing hopes to make the astronauts more comfortable on a number of levels. In regards to her experiences in the Navy, Pearce says that another way to prevent psychological issues is training as a team. For the planned future manned Mars expedition, the crew must train together for about three years together before they depart, and Pearce says that the crew will get to know each other from the inside and out because of this long intense training. “Because you are almost creating a family-type atmosphere in the crew members, they know each other so well, and with like practice isolation environments, they could practice resolving issues as they come up before they are on the mission,” says Pearce. “You
Interior of Orion.
Pearce. Using what we have learned connecting submariners and astronauts will help prepare astronauts for when humanity launches its first manned mission to Mars, if indeed that is what our species decides it wants to achieve. u A XON | DE C E M B E R 2015
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What’s on
A TYPICAL ASTRONAUTICAL MEAL According to a 2015 NASA article, some typical food that astronauts dine on includes: brownies, fruit, pasta, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, beef, seafood, and even candy. Astronauts are also provided with various seasonings, such as salt and pepper, which are in a liquid state (because one can’t “sprinkle” that in space!).
According to a 2015 NASA article, all food that is sent into space for the astronauts must be disposable. T he packaging of all of the food must be f lexible, easy to use, and maximize space for eff iciency and safety. Furthermore, food must be stored and prepared in a way that is nonperishable.
THE ULTIMATE ASTRONAUTS
According to a 2015 NASA article, all astronauts must eat 3 meals per day, along with balanced vitamins and minerals. The caloric intake for the astronauts depends on the variables such as size that are specific to each astronaut, always keeping them healthy and balanced. According to a 2015 CNN article, astronauts are provided with healthy food and home comforts, but also must have low sodium in their diets to stay healthy. Food is packaged and sometimes must be rehydrated! (see above info and credentials) According to a 2013 Smithsonian article, astronauts have no utensils, especially no knives: these can be dangerous to both the spacecraft and themselves. According to a 2013 Smithsonian article, eating is a psychological connection back to Earth. Because of this, professionals in charge of food production make the astronaut’s food like food from home.
More healthy
All is packaged for travel No utensils
the Menu? By Maggie Walker
A TYPICAL AMERICAN MEAL According to a Cozi infographic, some typical American meal components include: chicken, pasta, and tomatoes. There is a high consumption of salt, and pepper is also enjoyed often. According to a USDA article, bananas and apples are also a common delicacy.
COMPARISON AMERICANS
On average do not eat as balanced and healthy of a diet Not all food is packaged
Use many utensils
According to a 2015 USDA article, in 2013, Americans ate more than the recommended amount of meat and grains, even though they are eating more veggies, dairy, and fruit than in 1970. According to a 2015 USDA article, potatoes and tomatoes are the most commonly consumed veggies in America, along with onions (as of 2013). Of course, french fries and pizza contribute to this high consumption (which are not the most healthy of foods)!
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A ON Keeping you neurally connected.