In today’s world, humans face a bunch of stress, for example, driving in
traffic while trying to make it on time at work, completing assignments at a
certain deadline, or thinking of the uncertain future. These biological
stresses can impair various body functions, especially in the brain if we do
not maintain a certain limit to how much anxiety we take in. Some of the experts that are talking about this concerning topic are psychologist researchers. These researchers are able to discover the biological aspect of how stress affects our hormones and cortisol levels. Cortisol levels are the main hormone that prepares your body for the fight or flight response. Anxiety can actually affect our cortisol levels and these unchecked cortisol levels can alter the brain’s functions and disrupt the immune system. The anxiety issue affects current members because to this day anxiety and stress are psychological challenges that humans face daily. This is because anxiety and stress go hand to hand. Current members are providing with up to date research to provide crucial studies that can prevent future health risks. Current psychology members are currently showing how stress indirectly is linked to cancer. From the National Cancer Institute, experts say that chronic stress can lead to having certain negative behaviors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol, that can lead to lung or liver cancer. That is why it is very crucial to understand that not having control over anxiety can be the first step to other health risks. The good news is that we can limit anxiety! The general public can have access to online helpful resources that can lower your stress levels. In addition, since anxiety affects humans of all ages, I believe that children should be our main concern since learning to manage stress at a young age can develop long-term health benefits in the long run. If stress or anxiety is not managed properly at a young age then this can lead to some behaviors that can result to alcoholism or dependent on substances. Therefore I would love to provide an insight look into the psychology discourse community with the interview below.

I had the pleasure to interview with a psychology graduate from the
University of California Davis, Ethan Fox, who currently works as a Lab Manager in Developmental Psychology at the UC Davis MIND Institute. This interview was meant to shed light on a current topic that is being discussed in the psychology discourse community.

So Ethan, Do you agree that anxiety affects the psychological aspect
of children?

Ethan: Yes, I agree. Children with anxiety are affected by it in many
ways. 

Why?
Ethan: Anxiety can impair decision-making, affect the ability to interact with others and form bonds, and is closely related to depression.

What does your experience or current workplace do to fix this current
psychological issue? 

Ethan: I’m not entirely clear what is being asked here so I’ll provide
multiple responses:
1)I’m not sure if I could say that my current workplace directly addresses the issue of childhood anxiety in any way, at least not directly. By seeking to
understand memory development, it is possible that we will also gain insight into how memory and stress are related during development, but it isn’t something we study directly. 
2) As far as addressing the issue of anxiety in the workplace, I don’t know
that there is much that is being done at the Center for Mind and Brain to
address this issue directly. There are counselors available to speak with, and the university does have a referral system, but I’m not sure how it works, and I’ve never been spoken to about how to manage psychological issues that may be affecting me. 

Why do you believe that this psychological issue is important in
today’s society?

Ethan: It is essential because many people suffer from
anxiety, and it can have dire consequences on their quality of life. It can
lead to depression, suicide, and violence if left unchecked, or can prevent
people from positively experiencing life. 

Resources:

In this article, Adam Felman is able to describe how anxiety affects the body
and some helpful techniques on how to lower health risks.

1.     Felman, Adam. “Anxiety: Overview, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323454.php.

This helpful informative article provides a complete list on how you can
begin to manage your stress, for example, with meditation and supplements.

1.  
   Jennings, Kerri-Ann. “16 Simple Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety.” Healthline,
   Healthline Media, http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/16-ways-relieve-stress-anxiety#section2.

In PSYCOM, this is an article that reveals more information on the negative
impacts of anxiety on children’s health.

1.     
   “Helping Kids with
   Anxiety: Strategies to Help Anxious Children.” PsyCom.net – Mental
   Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, www.psycom.net/help-kids-with-anxiety.
   

In the psychology discourse community, students have a variety of choices when deciding career paths when obtaining their psychology degree. One of these paths is to become a clinical psychologist. Clinical psychologists requires a psychology bachelor’s degree and taking the Graduate Record Examination or GRE to apply for a Masters in Psychology. In the Bay Area, San Francisco State University offers a Masters of Arts in Psychology and San Jose State University offers a Masters of Science Clinical Psychology. Both of these masters programs provide the experience and skills needed for future clinical psychologists. In SFSU, the masters program has a two year duration. Once a MA in Psychology is obtained, future clinical psychologists will become an interim for a clinical psychologist for about three to five years. Once that is completed they will then become licensed to practice clinical psychologist in their state. A good chunk of time will be focused on writing nonfiction and descriptive psychological key terms to diagnose patients that they will be interviewing. However, if graduates who wish to enroll in a MA in Psychology later can enter an entry-level position, such as an ABA behavioral therapist. The requirement for an ABA behavioral therapist is a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, minimum of six months of experience working with children with special needs, and passion to help family and children to overcome obstacles. Moving forward, once a student has completed their degree and interim they can find jobs as a clinical psychologist that require at least a two year post license and license from that state where the job is located. Lastly, internships and research opportunities can be taken before they graduate college. These research opportunities can provide additional one on one patient exposure and provide insightful perspective on how clinical psychologists work on their writing and procedures.

Students who want to become an important career decision maker can apply to become a human resources manager. Human resources manager has the power to create a productive and safe workplace environment for all employees under a certain type of business. HR managers have also the authority to hire or fire prospective employees. A great factor that contributes to the HR position is understanding the communication of humans, specifically psychologically. In addition, HR managers can work under almost any company, whether that be businesses on Wall Street to businesses ran by psychologists or doctors. To become a HR manager, students need to obtain a bachelor’s degree, usually four years to complete, in industrial psychology and would need to gain some work experience as either a human resources assistant or specialist. There are no special licenses that are required to becoming a HR manager, however, voluntary certificates can make applications more appealing. Once HR assistants have around four to five years of experience, they have the chance to apply to move up to HR manager that will oversee all of HR assistants in the company. These entry-level positions as an HR assistant require a bachelor’s degree in psychology, excellent communication skills both verbal and written, and prior experience in human resources. These prior experiences before applying can come from internships at companies that shadow HR assistants or HR managers. Moving, forward, the types of writings that is crucial as an HR manager is policy development and documentation, recruiting and staffing, and other paperwork that deals with employee’s health benefits or monthly reports.

Students with obtaining a psychology degree can actually apply to become a medical doctor. A doctor is able to provide medical attention and treatment. Having a psychology background helps the doctor understand the psychological impacts that stress or anxiety can have on the body that can lead to cancer or psychological disorders. When trying to be a doctor, students must obtain a bachelor’s degree from any subject they like, however they must complete the pre-medical requisites in order to apply. These pre-requisites are a year of biology, year of chemistry, year of organic chemistry, and a year of physics. Once the student has completed these courses they can then take on the Medical College Admission Test or MCAT. This challenging exam tests students on the pre-requisite courses taken. After students complete the MCAT they then can apply to medical school. Medical school requires students to study for 4 years. Within these 4 years, students will study the human anatomy, pathology, and clinical rotations at the hospital. When medical school is completed, students will then be licensed to work at a hospital under the specialty that they have chosen. That is the traditional route on becoming a medical doctor. Some entry level jobs in the medical field are nursing assistant, medical technician, and medical assistant. In the medical application, students will need to provide a personal statement that is focused on why they want to become a doctor. For this portion of the writing, students should draw on past experiences with patients or organizations that show how passionate they are to become a medical doctor. Psychology has many roads to take and is not just limited to one path.

My name is Michael Rivera, a current student at the University of California Davis, and is currently studying to be a Psychology professional. I am a senior and will be pursuing higher education in the psychology field, specifically developmental and cognitive issues that humans face every day. I have many experiences that are connected to the psychology field, including one on one patient interaction and participating in psychology research groups.

I have been inspired to go through the psychology route because of the inspiration of my AP Psychology teacher Mr. Yacovelli, and the many experiences I have participated in. I have been interested in psychology because of the complexity of the human brain, and how the brain alone affects behavior. Mr. Yacovelli was able to inspire me because of his extensive knowledge in psychology and how to first change behavior we must change our brain.

Personally, I try to practice techniques on how to strengthen my mind through meditation. Meditation makes you stop negative thinking and focus on the present instead of worrying about the future since we have no control over that. That is why having control over your mind can change your behavior and therefore prevent certain psychological stresses from taking over your life. My inspiration also comes from my family because when I see that they are going through stress I try to inform them of techniques to combat anxiety or stress. That is why I enjoy helping others and making a positive impact in other people’s lives.

In addition, I have been studying the many issues that the psychology discourse community is facing today, such as the issue of anxiety. I can proudly state that I have been conducting research about the psychology discourse community and analyzing different types of genres and rhetorical devices that psychologist writers try to communicate with their audience. As a result, I have developed the expertise to know what the psychology discourse community has to offer and the many issues that arises in everyday life. I have also been able to participate in psychology research studies by becoming a research assistant in developmental studies. This is where my interest of anxiety came about when I was analyzing the certain behaviors and consequences that occurred with toddlers. I have been able to obtain exceptional grades in both cognitive and developmental psychology. This background knowledge on how the brain influences the body presents me with a new perspective of psychological issue that can bring health concerns over time. Lastly, I have developed new lens entering the psychology field with the hopes and expectations of smoothly transitioning into the psychology community.

I created this blog as a means to communicate important psychological issues to the public, and bring insightful information that can create new ideas or inspire newcomers to the psychology field. I have decided to create this blog with intentions to inform the public of the different career opportunities that the psychology community offers. I will be explaining more in depth the goals of each post. For the first entry, I will explain how a novice person can enter the psychology community by being informed of academic requirements and the experience that can be obtained. An important aspect that I wanted to highlight is the writing that the psychology community expects and is part of the application process. For the second entry, I will be explaining how anxiety is a psychological issue that the public should be informed of and the many routes that people suffering can take. There will also be an interview portion with an actual psychology professional in the field that can provide an insight opinion on how anxiety is affecting everyone today, and can lead to other health risks if not handled properly. There will also be a portion dedicated to what I would want to contribute to the anxiety issue, and any other concerns that come with uncontrolled anxiety. I hope that the readers will take away a new perspective of how anxiety impacts our daily lives and will lead to awareness on how the psychology community is involved to resolve the issue.

What I hope the readers will take away? I hope that you will take away a bit more information about the psychology discourse community. I hope that inspiration can be sparked within others and if psychology is the route you wish to pursue then I hope I have shed some light on how to get there. Psychology is a diverse road that leads to many jobs that help out the discourse community. Also, I hope readers will lean about the psychology profession and how they can make it to the end. I have also included an actual interview with a psychology professional that is currently working with children with developmental disorders, and explains how anxiety is a current psychological stress today.