Moving backwards in every way. Stop and think!

Face book activity has been off the chart lately with the regressive policies being signed off by the 45th president of the USA, the segregation of various cultures by the same 'man', the huge backwards step in science, the dictatorship of what women will be allowed to do with their bodies, and the list will surely go on for weeks or even months to come.  

The same segregation of race, colour and creed is going on under the Tory government in Britain and is not exempt from including disabled people either. This is wrong, it is wrong from any perspective. This is a dangerous road to walk down it will collapse, just as it did during World War Two.

I have many people from many walks of life on my Facebook page alone, and I am proud of this, I have Muslim and Christian believers as well as Pagan, Eclectic, Atheist and probably many others I don't know about.  I have friends from Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, America, Iraq, India, Dubai, and Greece, there are probably more that I am unaware of.  I have black friends and white friends, gay friends and straight friends and I am actually very sad that I have to label them all here to make my point because, really it doesn't matter as, to me, we are all caring, good hearted, human beings. 

We are all living beings, with red blood, good hearts, and caring natures.  This is what truly matters to me.  The reason for my writing this is a very sad one indeed, I have noted that some people have fallen for the propaganda, I see the odd post saying the 'illegal immigrants' are taking our jobs...RUBBISH.  There is no such thing as an illegal immigrant, the definition of immigrant clearly states that an immigrant is a person who comes to a country to settle there. Every Immigrant must show they can support themselves in order to gain entry into a country, much like we do if we want to immigrate to America or Australia.   In days gone past, an immigrant was known as an emigrant, in other words, they were pioneers who farmed the lands, build the cities, and created the jobs!  So please can people stop with this incorrect use of our language!

I have also seen the occasional picture posted and its usually to do with a 'Muslim' doing something unacceptable.  It’s just a picture with words overlaid onto it with NO EVIDENCE, AND NO FACT. How on earth do we know this person is even Muslim.  Do we go about waving pictures showing what a Pagan did wrong, Do we label Christians, for example, "this Christian was banned for blah blah blah" or this "Pagan was caught for blah blah blah".  NO, WE DON'T SO JUST STOP!  This is horrendous, its causing misery to people all over the western world right now and do you know what else, it is downright arrogant.  

People are treating everyone with the same colour skin as a ‘Muslim'. Guess what, that is not their nationality!  It’s their faith, their belief, their religion.  It is also seriously annoying to see the comments relating to these people as if it was were they came from.  There is no country called Muslim, Muslimshire or the United Muslim of the Pacific Ocean for that matter.  These people come from all over the world, much like Christians, Pagans and any other religion.  You see the world is global, yes, global, and it is only if you fall for the 'alternative facts' that you will find yourself spiralling down the rabbit hole of naivety and negligence.  

Those who do fall to naivety and negligence will eventually turn around to find themselves the culprits of all that hatred they have poured onto other people.  Trust me, they will.  They will become the minority. In this world, it gladdens me to see so many human beings fighting back, standing up for moral justice, fighting for factual knowledge.  It saddens me that those negligent human beings will fall behind, and loose precious knowledge. They will continue to post these stupid, hurtful, false facts... oh sorry Mr 45th President, they are alternative facts now aren't they... alternative facts...that is an insult to our English language, there is no such thing.  I cannot believe a man with such power can be so moronic.

It disgusts me to my very core that someone so high in status can be so greedy as to manipulate thousands to his way of thinking, disparaging and segregating a whole western world over deliberately misleading, well-practised lies.  This has been done once before people, does no-one remember Hitler doing exactly the same with the Jewish people?  Today's UK and USA leaders have only replaced the word Jew with Muslim, and yet so many people are falling for this rubbish.

I ask simply that you stop and think before posting these pictures with words anyone could type, thus segregating out Muslims.  I ask that you stop and check the facts of everything you read and I ask that you stop and think about this following statement each, and every time you go to post such hateful and false information...

If you have a child, do you want that child to grow up tainted with hate, racism, or bigotry.  Would you prefer a kind hearted, caring individual that brings you so much pride and happiness, that you could burst from watching them flourish,  Can you honestly, hand on heart say you would be proud to see your son or daughter post the same hateful and false information that you do, I hope not, if you can, please remove yourself from my social media.  I care for a little girl and can honestly say I love the way she sees no difference in people, religions, or nationalities, I am so proud of her for being so open towards all people.  My only wish is that she could grow up in a world were these types of labels were gone and everyone could then truly be who they wanted to be without worry.  

Different psychological approaches and their treatments of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

At university you are asked to write a lot of Essays.  In year one, I was asked to discuss Treatment options for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.   This is the Essay I came up with and it was graded B.  I hope this helps anyone trying to learn about OCD and what is available to help with this. 

Discuss different psychological approaches and their treatments of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

When looking treatments for Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) we can approach the treatment from different psychological fields. Firstly we need to understand what obsessive-compulsive disorder is. 

OCD is classified as an anxiety disorder and defined as the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both.  Obsessions are defined as persistent thoughts that are intruding. Compulsions are repetitive or ritualistic behaviours, such as washing hands, counting or ordering. These are carried out to relieve anxiety caused by the obsessive thought (American Psychiatric Association., 2013). 

Throughout this discussion, this essay will explore the Behaviourist approach to OCD by discussing behaviourist treatments and utilising information of studies carried out by Foa et al (McLeod, 1997). Focus will also be given to the Cognitive theory and their treatment, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This will be done using the case study of Karen Rusa (Oltmanns, Neale and Davison, 1995). To conclude, there will be an evaluation showing why CBT is the most effective method for treatment for OCD.

Skinner (1948) argues that obsessive fears cause anxiety which are reduced using compulsive behaviours. These behaviours are maintained through this negative reinforcement (McLeod, 1997). As Behaviourists do not see these behaviours as symptoms of another issue, only behaviours are treated because they are seen as the key issues. (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg, 2011., Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, and Hood, 2011).

There are several studies which support the Classical conditioning method of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Using ERP, Behaviourists aim to break the connection between the obsessive fear and the anxiety it causes through exposure.  They also concentrate on breaking the habit of the performance of compulsive rituals after the exposure through response prevention. (Foa et al 1985., McLeod 1997). This entails the client being exposed, to what they fear, for instance, a ‘contaminated’ vase, then being delayed or prevented from washing their hands.  This treatment shows  effectiveness amongst patients who suffer from contamination, counting or checking rituals but cannot be generalised to other forms of OCD (Ball et al 1996., McLeod 1997).

Ost (1989) reviewed seven cases in which 85% of patients retained improvements after ERP treatment. Nine further studies by O’Sullivan and Marks (1991) showed improvements maintained from between one and six years.  Follow up findings continue to report improvement at 79% which strongly supports this treatment. (McLeod, 1997).  Keister et al (1994) however, stated that most often the documentation did not account for patients who discontinued treatment, when these were considered the success rate dropped to between 40%-50% (McLeod, 1997).

The Cognitive approach to this condition not only focuses on behaviours but on the thought process behind these. Becks argues that when in a state of depression/anxiety the patient has an unrealistic way of thinking.  They think themselves as useless, their experiences as terrible and their future as being worse.  Becks Calls this the ‘Negative Triad’ (Sammons, 2011) also known as dysfunctional beliefs. These beliefs inflate the patients perceptions of responsibility and they believe that they can stop negative outcomes (Olatunji, Rosenfield, Tart, Cottraux, Powers and Smits, 2013).  This theory also states that the individual controls their own thoughts and that abnormality occurs when that control is faulty in some way (Williamson, Cardwell and Flanagan, 2007). This faulty control is dealt with by working on these dysfunctional beliefs.

In the Case of Karen Ruso, she had put many rituals in place.  Shopping became difficult because of numbering rituals. Smoking was also transformed into a number ritual as she had to smoke one cigarette for each child, one after the other, to prevent harm coming to them.  Karen had a strong religious emphasis within her life.  It was noted that Karen no longer attended church as they had updated things and this horrified her, as she thought these modern changes were disrespectful. Her four children constantly misbehaved. Her husband was out of work due to illness, and was quite demanding of her; ie: asking her to get beers from the refrigerator as he was not supposed to walk far. Karen admitted that things had not been going well and that her situation was stressful (Oltmanns et al., 1995).  She felt unhappy with her life but did not make the connection between her beliefs, rituals and current situation. The demands from her husband and children had caused a lack of assertiveness. The loss of her church routine impacted on Karen's confidence. It was apparent that the rituals were Karens way of maintaining some form of ‘faulty ‘control over her situation (Oltmanns et al., 1995). Treatment began by developing assertiveness to deal with the family. Karen kept a diary to log all situations where she needed to be assertive. She was challenged to write down (dysfunctional) thoughts of what would happen if she was assertive and further challenged to test these thoughts.  She was asked to visit traditional churches, she joined one and gained more confidence. (Oltmanns et al., 1995).  When Karen felt confident, she began the next stage of therapy, ERP. She was exposed to an obsession (cigarette) but the compulsive ritual was delayed. (Oltmanns et al., 1995).  This removed the ‘faulty control’ by only allowing her one cigarette. By the  end of Karen’s treatment her family life had improved and the rituals were minimal with little anxiety.

CBT is widely accepted as the most effective treatments for OCD (Taylor, Thordarson, Spring, Yeh, Corcoran, Eugster and Tisshaw, 2003). Dysfunctional thinking may cause the patient to perceive the treatment as confirmation that they are incapable of improvement. It is apparent however, from Karens case, that by dealing with this dysfunctional thought process as the priority, you can then deal with the faulty control of the rituals with more optimism from the patient.  This can be done during the behavioural aspect of the treatment with less likelihood that patients will discontinue the treatment before completion.

The behaviourist treatment alone, is harsh and abrupt.  Behaviour is the key focus and puts the patient under immediate pressure as they are exposed to their fears.  There is no mental preparation for the patient and the focus is solely on the behaviours.  As evidenced by the CBT Karen received, the behaviours treated during ERP are highly unlikely to have been the cause of her OCD. Alone, ERP can make the patient feel out of control causing patients to discontinue treatment prematurely and success rates to drop as evidenced by Keister. Although Behaviourism does acknowledge fear is the obsession, they see this as a learned behaviour rather than a thought process.  This leaves a gap in the theory causing a lack of insight into the root cause of the patients form of OCD.

In conclusion CBT provides the insight needed to get to the root cause of the issue.    This treatment can support the patient on different levels because it focuses on giving ‘true’ control back to the patient through correction of dysfunctional beliefs, followed by Behavioural therapy to correct faulty control methods such as rituals.  The treatment of dysfunctional beliefs also helps to prepare the patient as treatment moves forward.  This makes the transition into ERP smoother as the patients beliefs are more logical and overall anxiety is lessened, as evidenced clearly in Karens treatment.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders American Psychiatric Association. Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Gleitman, H., Gross, J. and Reisberg, D. (2011).Psychology. New York: W. W. Norton & Co..

McLeod, D. (1997). Psychosocial treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. International Review of Psychiatry, 9 (1), pp. 119--132.

Oltmanns, T., Neale, J. and Davison, G. (1995). Case studies in abnormal psychology. New York [etc.]: Wiley.

Olatunji, B., Rosenfield, D., Tart, C., Cottraux, J., Powers, M. and Smits, J. (2013). Behavioral versus cognitive treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: An examination of outcome and mediators of change.. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 81 (3), p. 415.

 Sammons, A. (2011). Beck’s Cognitive Theory of Depression. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/resources/abnormal/a2_aqa_abnormal_moodcognitivebeck.pdf [Accessed: 11 Nov 2013].

Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D. and Hood, B. (2011). Psychology. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Taylor, S., Thordarson, D., Spring, T., Yeh, A., Corcoran, K., Eugster, K. and Tisshaw, C. (2003). Telephone-administered cognitive behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 32 (1), pp. 13--25.

Williamson, M., Cardwell, M. and Flanagan, C. (2007). Higher psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Overview of Mars One analysis

Mosaic image taken on Jan. 4, 2004, by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit

 Mars One, the project that aims to send 4 people to Mars and colonise it.  The project that cannot bring them back again.  Reality TV on Mars,  access to TV and email.  Four people to live out two full years on Mars before another four arrive.  Four people that will need to learn how to survive, not only on another planet, but in a completely different atmosphere with completely different terrain.

These four people will be responsible for building the next colonised part of Mars for the next group of successful  colony members and throughout all of this, they will be alone, dealing with such things as Engineering, Medical, physics, architecture, various science fields and many other factors to support them and their colony throughout the first two years.  When the next group are sent, they will be sent with further supplies to do the same for a further four to be sent 6 years after the first four.   This repeats, until I presume, funding runs out. 

Can it be done?  Can this rightfully be called a colony?  Why hasn't procreation been looked at further as yet?  What are the implications of this project and is it right to let 24 people do this knowing they can’t come back. 

A few days ago I wrote a blog about researching this topic.  As the days have gone on I have to say I have more questions than answers but over the next few weeks I plan on finding more answers to these questions.   

This topic is very complex in terms of financing and technology available so I will be working on several blogs regarding different key areas.    The Mars One Timeline Key areas to be critically analysed are as follows :

Crew selection and Training

Mars-bound Demonstration Mission

Communication Satellite

Rover mission

Operational outpost

Crew departure and Landing

Each of these is part of Mars one own road map to the success of the project, there are other steps however these areas are ‘standard’ for any exploration project and do not raise moral or ethical, philosophical or psychological questions.  The areas above however need in-depth understanding and further detail in order to conclude whether this project will be any of the following:

Successful

Ethical

Moral

Educational

Insightful

Beneficial

I have listed several of the websites I have taken much of my information from and will be adding to this list as I analyse each factor.

I hope you will join me on my journey to assess the Mars One Project.

Bibliograghy with links

http://www.mars-one.com/about-mars-one

MarsOneProject

In-text: (YouTube, 2014)

Bibliography: YouTube. 2014. MarsOneProject. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/user/MarsOneProject [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/overview/index.html#.UtBJFNJdU40

NASA.

Mars Overview

In-text: (NASA, 2014)

Bibliography: NASA. 2014. Mars Overview. [online] Available at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/overview/index.html#.UtBJFNJdU40 [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/life-on-mars-irish-man-signs-up-for-colony-mission-1.1648449?page=2

Irish Times.

Life on Mars: Irish man signs up for colony mission

In-text: (Irish Times, 2014)

Bibliography: Irish Times. 2014. Life on Mars: Irish man signs up for colony mission. [online] Available at: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/life-on-mars-irish-man-signs-up-for-colony-mission-1.1648449?page=2 [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5249354/mars-one-narrows-applicant-pool-to-1058-in-first-cut-for-2025

The Verge.

Mars One narrows applicant pool to 1,058 in first cut for 2025 colonization mission

In-text: (The Verge, 2014)

Bibliography: The Verge. 2014. Mars One narrows applicant pool to 1,058 in first cut for 2025 colonization mission. [online] Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5249354/mars-one-narrows-applicant-pool-to-1058-in-first-cut-for-2025 [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/more-2-700-pay-chance-take-one-way-trip-mars-8C11115364

Alan Boyle, S. E.

More than 2,700 pay up for a chance to take a one-way trip to Mars - NBC News.com

In-text: (Alan Boyle, 2014)

Bibliography: Alan Boyle, S. E. 2014. More than 2,700 pay up for a chance to take a one-way trip to Mars - NBC News.com. [online] Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/more-2-700-pay-chance-take-one-way-trip-mars-8C11115364 [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/mars-no-place-children-yet-6C10046900

NBC News.

Mars is no place for children -- yet - NBC News.com

In-text: (NBC News, 2014)

Bibliography: NBC News. 2014. Mars is no place for children -- yet - NBC News.com. [online] Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/mars-no-place-children-yet-6C10046900 [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.dvice.com/archives/2011/08/europe_russia_a.php

DVICE.

Europe, Russia announce joint mission to put boots on Mars first

In-text: (DVICE, 2014)

Bibliography: DVICE. 2014. Europe, Russia announce joint mission to put boots on Mars first. [online] Available at: http://www.dvice.com/archives/2011/08/europe_russia_a.php [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.dvice.com/2013-10-8/new-reality-shows-bring-private-spaceflight-your-tv

DVICE.

New reality shows bring private spaceflight to your TV

In-text: (DVICE, 2014)

Bibliography: DVICE. 2014. New reality shows bring private spaceflight to your TV. [online] Available at: http://www.dvice.com/2013-10-8/new-reality-shows-bring-private-spaceflight-your-tv [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.geek.com/science/lockheed-martin-receives-250000-in-ambitious-mars-one-project-1579513/

Templeton, G.

Lockheed Martin receives $250,000 from ambitious Mars One project | Science! | Geek.com

In-text: (Templeton, 2014)

Bibliography: Templeton, G. 2014. Lockheed Martin receives $250,000 from ambitious Mars One project | Science! | Geek.com. [online] Available at: http://www.geek.com/science/lockheed-martin-receives-250000-in-ambitious-mars-one-project-1579513/ [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.itv.com/news/2014-01-05/meet-the-britons-shortlisted-for-a-one-way-trip-to-mars/

ITV News.

Meet the British men and women shortlisted for a one-way mission to Mars

In-text: (ITV News, 2014)

Bibliography: ITV News. 2014. Meet the British men and women shortlisted for a one-way mission to Mars. [online] Available at: http://www.itv.com/news/2014-01-05/meet-the-britons-shortlisted-for-a-one-way-trip-to-mars/ [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_12_19/Mars-One-mission-one-way-ticket-to-new-life-8765/

Voiceofrussia.com.

Mars One mission: one way ticket to new life

In-text: (Voiceofrussia.com, 2013)

Bibliography: Voiceofrussia.com. 2013. Mars One mission: one way ticket to new life. [online] Available at: http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_12_19/Mars-One-mission-one-way-ticket-to-new-life-8765/ [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Mars+rover+photos+featured+exhibit+Smithsonian+museum+marking/9359648/story.html

www.calgaryherald.com.

Mars rover photos featured in new exhibit at Smithsonian museum, marking 10th year of mission

In-text: (www.calgaryherald.com, 2014)

Bibliography: www.calgaryherald.com. 2014. Mars rover photos featured in new exhibit at Smithsonian museum, marking 10th year of mission. [online] Available at: http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Mars+rover+photos+featured+exhibit+Smithsonian+museum+marking/9359648/story.html [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://ewn.co.za/2014/01/06/Mars-One-explorers-to-undergo-tests

Eliseev, A.

Mars One explorers to undergo tests

In-text: (Eliseev, 2014)

Bibliography: Eliseev, A. 2014. Mars One explorers to undergo tests. [online] Available at: http://ewn.co.za/2014/01/06/Mars-One-explorers-to-undergo-tests [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/11/mars-one-death-mission-delayed_n_4424300.html

UK, H.

'Death' Mission To Mars Delayed By Two Years

In-text: (UK, 2014)

Bibliography: UK, H. 2014. 'Death' Mission To Mars Delayed By Two Years. [online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/11/mars-one-death-mission-delayed_n_4424300.html [Accessed: 10 Jan 2014].

Picture is Courtesy of Nasa.com  and is the mosaic image taken on Jan. 4, 2004, by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit.  It shows a 360 degree panoramic view of the rover on the surface of Mars.

Mars One - Will it Work?

Over the next few days I will be looking into the infamous project named 'Mars One'.  This project aims to send 4 people to Mars and on a regular basis send another four along with further supplies and equipment. There were thousands of applicants willing to be sent to Mars but the real shock, to me, at least, is that the applicants know that they cannot return to earth.

The technology required to a return journey is not available so it would be impossible to bring them back.   There are several other crucial factors in this project which I will be looking into, such as surface radiation, Psychological impact to the applicants and skills needed to run such a small colony.

I find the concept fascinating but dangerous, very interesting but I doubt it.  I am hoping to gain a lot more insight into this and give a full analysis of this topic based on information gained.

Stay with me as I journey through this project to find out just what it entails and whether it is feasible.