Health and Wellbeing

Settling in at UWS

Can not believe I have been at university for three weeks now, time has flown by so fast and everything still feels very new and confusing. I have created this blog to help me record and reflect on my journey through the BA hons Primary Education course at the University of the West of Scotland, I have never blogged before therefore I am a bit hesitant and unsure of what I am supposed to be doing but hopefully as the weeks go by this task become second nature and I can look back on my posts and see how far I have come in my journey.

Having been out of education since 2013 it has been daunting stepping back into an educational environment, I feel so out of touch, its been a long time since I wrote an essay or solved a maths problem! However my literacy lecturer and maths lecturer have helped me put my worries at rest by being very welcoming and approachable. I also realise that I am not the only person in this situation, there are many other mature students who are returning to education hoping to become successful Primary Teachers.

I have a lot of reading to do for next week, it feels like it has all come at once so I anticipate a long week of reading ahead trying to understand what I have just read and making sense of it. At least I have my new highlighters to brighten the pages up a bit and help me remember important information.

Stress Hardiness

There are many factors that can contribute to poor health. Upon reading the Pengilly & Dowd (2000) article on Stress Hardiness I discovered the main 5 factors that can negatively impact a person’s health: Normative and non-normative transitions, lack of social support, loneliness and lack of human contact. Firstly, normative life transitions which are major … Continue reading Stress Hardiness →

Health Part 1 – Society & Lifestyles

A Review of The Glasgow Effect I recently took a look at a study by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health as part of the Health input in the Society and Lifestyles module. The Glasgow Effect is a research study that analyses the mortality rates of Glasgow compared to Liverpool and Manchester, two cities that …

Continue reading “Health Part 1 – Society & Lifestyles”

Our Perception of Health

Focusing on stress and our own perception of health was interesting. Personally I have never really thought about my own stress levels. I tend to put others before myself. As a student teacher it is vital that we understand that other people view things in a completely different way. How we see and feel things […]

Holmes-Rahe Inventory : Reflection on my score

After totalling up the major events that I have experienced in my life. Overall, I scored 159 which equates to the implication that there is a 50% chance of a major health breakdown in the next two years. At first glance I was quite shocked and felt my heart sink as the thought of having … Continue reading Holmes-Rahe Inventory : Reflection on my score →

Holmes Rahe Inventory: Reflection on my score

After taking the Holmes Rahe test reflecting on my life so far and the major events which have taken place in my life I scored 209. The category I fell into was ‘150-300 pts implies about a 50% chance of a major health breakdown in the next 2 years.’ I felt that my score was … Continue reading Holmes Rahe Inventory: Reflection on my score →

After taking the Holmes Rahe test reflecting on my life so far and the major events which have taken place in my life I scored 209. The category I fell into was ‘150-300 pts implies about a 50% chance of a major health breakdown in the next 2 years.’ I felt that my score was high at 209 and that the category I was in was scary to think I am at risk of a major health condition within the next 2 years, this would mean while I am still part of my course at uni and I can understand I will suffer stress while studying andf during my course but after reviewing my life so far I do not feel I have had too many very distressing moments in my life to cause a health problem major. However, in my life at the moment the main sign of stress would be with my exams coming up for uni and this putting stress on myself to study and ensure I do well during these; I feel this is good stress as I work well under pressure and feel that this will ensure I study well to pass my exams. Also, I feel another stress on my life at the moment would be trying to balance my social life with my uni work to ensure I habve a good balance and keep healthy. In order to combat this I am going to the gym with my friends twice a week in the evening to ensure I spend time with them and speak about what has been going on in my life and catch up on theirs. This allows me to talk with them but also allows me time to exercise and take time for myself. Alos, in order to combat stress I ensure to spend time with my family too and speak with them about anything that may be bothering me. Also, to combat stress during uni I ensure to be organised and keep up to date with my work to ensure I am on top of things and avoid unnecessary stress when not keeping up to date with work.

Are Scottish People “unhealthy”?

Are Scottish people unhealthy? It is a fair question. In a country famed for snacks like shortbread, tablet and deep fried mars bars (disgusting, I know) and drinks like Irn Bru it would be understandable to assume that Scottish people are unhealthy. Studies show 97.5 per cent of Scots are likely to be either cigarette … Continue reading Are Scottish People “unhealthy”? →

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect The Glasgow Effect refers to the poor health levels in the Scottish city of Glasgow and its surrounding areas compared to other cities in the UK and Europe. However, both Manchester and Liverpool suffer from similar statistics. As part of our Society and Lifestyle input we were to read a document titled … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect →

The Glasgow Effect Today within Society and Lifestyle we were discussing health and at risk behaviours. We were asked to read ‘The Glasgow Effect’ document that looks at deprived areas in the UK (Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool) and examines the mortality rate within these areas. From reading the document, I found out that even though […]

gcmb-people-make-glasgow

The Glasgow Effect

Today within Society and Lifestyle we were discussing health and at risk behaviours. We were asked to read ‘The Glasgow Effect’ document that looks at deprived areas in the UK (Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool) and examines the mortality rate within these areas.

From reading the document, I found out that even though income rates are almost identical in these cities, premature death in Glasgow is 30% higher, with all deaths 15% higher than Manchester and Liverpool. Around half of these deaths under 65 are directly related to alcohol and drugs. The way I interpret this information would be, by living in Scotland, culture must play a huge part in the mortality within Glasgow compared to Manchester and Liverpool. Scots have a 50% higher risk of having heart problems compared to those in England. Scots are famous for drinking and eating unhealthy so being engrossed in the culture could be one of the main reasons for such a high mortality.

‘Excess’ mortality is greater within the working class, ages 15-44 years (45% higher) and 45-64 years (30% higher) although childhood mortlity was significantly lower in Glasgow compared to Liverpool and Manchester. Glasgow statistics – 27% higher for lung cancer, 32% higher for external causes, 70% higher for suicide, 2.3 times higher for alcohol-related causes and almost 2.5 times higher for drug-related poisoning. Between 2003-2007 there were more than 4,500 ‘excess’ deaths in Glasgow. For deaths under 65 almost half of the excess was due to deaths from alcohol related causes (32%) and drugs related poisonings (17%).

From this document, I gathered that a high mortality rate is related to how deprived and area is, although Glasgow has proven that it isn’t the only cause of excess deaths. It is only a small part of a large topic that is still being studied.

To what extent are Scottish people healthy?

I would guess, without looking into it, that Scotland is not a healthy country. Scottish culture is predominantly unhealthy – whiskey, shortbread, irn bru, haggis – all of which Scots embrace.

By looking at the Scottish Health Survey, some of the statistics would strongly back up my initial thought. Mental health is a big problem in Scotland. Between the ages of 16-24, 23% of women had reported self-harm, many including attempted suicide. Poor health is strongly associated with living in a deprived area (34%) compared to more wealthy areas (18%).

Relating to the Scottish culture, binge drinking is a huge problem for the country. 36% of men and 17% of women admit to drinking more than the government advised safe limit – 14 units. I found this statistic untrustworthy as I would definitely have guessed that it was higher, especially because drinking has become something that is common from a young age. Also, 21% of the population of Scotland say they smoke.

Lack of physical activity is also a problem within Scotland. Men are more active than women. Only 26% of adults meet the guidelines for moderate of vigorous physical activity. This relates to the 65% of adults being overweight.

Reflections on Placement

Overview The night before on the Sunday I was feeling very apprehensive and anxious for going on the placement on Monday morning. I was worried about what the children and staff would think of me and if I would give off the professional but fun side that I wanted to show them. I was fretting […]