By: Zachary Branco 7-19-19 11:35pm
As a child, I was always taught that no matter what, you should be comfortable talking to your parents or relatives. There was no judging from anyone, only people who cared and wanted to help. If the entire family was comfortable talking with one another there would be noting to hide. Now I know this isn’t always the case for everyone but it should be something that anyone can have.
In chapter 4, “Relationships and Sexuality”, I learned some helpful and interesting content that I didn’t know before. The chapter varies in multiple ways, discussing the male and female anatomy, characteristics of a relationship, strategies and methods for a healthy intimates relationship, as well as what can tear apart a relationship, and how the use of alcohol and/or drugs can lead to unsafe sex, which may lead to further worse actions such as an STD (sexually transmitted disease) or becoming pregnant.
One of the rather more interesting subjects involved sexual identity. The term sexual identity is the recognition of yourself as a sexual being which is determined by how one interacts and reacts with genetics, physiological, environmental, and social factors. A huge factor in knowing your sexual identity is one’s biological sex (if they have a male or female anatomy), gender identity (what do they declare themselves as), gender roles, and sexual orientation. To me this was interesting because of what has been on the news within the past year involving gender identity and sexual orientation. A couple examples is the debate of placing transgender bathrooms in schools and other public places. Personally, I don’t know where I stand with this debate, but I do believe that putting these bathrooms in schools should not be allowed. The reason for this is because at that age, kids don’t know enough about that and shouldn’t be exposed to that kind of a situation at an early age. That is just my input and I am open to hearing ones argument. Another topic that has sparked the news is should the armed services (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and National Guard) allow transgender people serve. My answer to this question is yes, without a doubt. The reason for this is because men and women can fight for their country so why can’t they? If they are part of the USA and want to fight for their country, they should be allowed to.
In chapter 5, “Reproductive Methods”, I found this extremely useful and helpful for multiple reasons. The most important was learning and now knowing which types of “barriers” prevent sexually transmitted diseases and which don’t. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each option makes sexual intercourse more safer than before. One of the advantages of a male condom is that if put on properly, the condom is supposed to be 98% effective. Now just because it is 98% effective doesn’t mean it will always be 98% effective due to the fact of putting it on wrong or breaking. But, the chapter shows a diagram on how to properly place a condom on/in both the male and female anatomy.
The chapter mentioned other barriers that could be used such as oral contraceptives such as birth control pills, spermicide, skin patches, vaginal rings, implants, injections, and emergency contraceptives (The Day After Pill). Now every person has a different situation, so knowing which barrier would be most useful and convenient for your sexual activity is very important. For example, a person who is not in a relationship may use a condom for sexual intercourse with a partner. But a couple who is very sexually active may use birth control pills, if they can afford it or if their health insurance company covers them. If a women were to use the skin patch, she would have the responsibility of replacing the patch once a week for the first 3 weeks. The patch is an effective barrier, but there are limitations to the patch. The patch won’t work to its full effectiveness if the women is 35 years old and smokes. Also, the patch isn’t very effective for women who weigh slightly more than 190 pounds. The use of the vaginal ring is very effective, 99.7% to be exact. The only issue with this barrier is that it may cause some discomfort for the women as the ring is lodged inside the female anatomy and can stay there for up to 3 weeks. A major disadvantage of this barrier is the expense and planning that goes into it. In order use this barrier, you must first be examined and prescribed by a doctor or specialist, monthly changes of the ring, and purchasing the ring.
When I was in a relationship, yes we were very sexually active but we did not know about all of these options (which would’ve been nice to know but oh well). The only 2 we knew about were condoms and birth control, which she didn’t want to take because she didn’t want her parents to know that we were sexually active. So it was my responsibility to make sure that I always had a condom around, which I didn’t care but for convenience wise it wasn’t the best. Also, the use of condoms protected from any possible STDs which is nothing to “play” around with..(see what I did there). But if we were to be more open with our parents at the time, we could’ve found a convenient, cost effective, and safe barrier method.
In chapter 6, “Addiction and Drug Abuse”, it taught me that almost anything can become an addiction. While taking the chapter coursework assignment, one of the questions mentioned a women who has a compulsive shopping disorder and the first thing that clicked into my head was “wow that sounds like my mom”. In order to find happiness, enjoyment, and personal satisfaction, this women would purchase numerous clothing items, which she did not need. This women had an addictive behavior, which is a behavior that is done more than necessary to get a sense of excitement or thrill. Other addictive behaviors include, disordered gambling, work addiction, compulsive exercise, compulsive internet/technology use, and sexual addiction.
The term addiction gets thrown around more than it probably should. Addiction is a continued use of a substance or activity despite ongoing negative consequences. Every type of addictions share 4 common symptoms, compulsion, loss of control, negative consequences, and denial. If you notice that a friend or family member could be a possible fit to the symptoms listed above, you would want to become an “enabler”. An enabler, is a person(s) who protect addicts from consequences from their behaviors.
There are many drugs that one can be addicted such as alcohol, caffeine, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, recreational drugs, herbal preparations, illicit drugs, and commercial preparations. There are also controlled substances, which are what most people are using and can be considered the most addictive. These substances include, cocaine, marijuana, opioids, depressants, hallucinogens, inhalants, and steroids. In terms of commonly used, most places you go you can find marijuana, cocaine, opioids such as heroin. These drugs are very addictive and can become very dangerous to your body. In any situation you find yourself or someone you know abusing drugs you want to try to get them to quit. Some ideas to consider are AA meetings, which may form a comfort level with the addict because they are regular people who are in the same situation as the addict. Another idea is detox, which is the process of cleaning out your body and not using any of the drugs. This is a hard method because the addict may experience withdrawals but eventually will help them in the long run.
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