Childhood stress causes illness

The American Psychological Association says that early experiences "cast a long shadow" on health. In a study held by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, it has been proven that those children from worst-off families has stiffer arteries and higher blood pressure. Unpredictable and stressful environments, as researched by the same team, causes children to be anxious.

Another study showed that children who experienced abuse or loss of a parent are more vulnerable to the effects of stress in later life of even during their teenage years.

Telomeres - protective caps on the ends of chromosomes which have been linked to age-related diseases, of children who faced sexual abuse or any kind of abuse and such adversities are shorter than the norm. Also, they have increased levels of inflammation even after controlling for age, care-giving status, gender, body mass index, exercise and sleep.

Long before, it has already been established that childhood stress can affect on mental health and now, it shows that it also has an effect on one's physical health.

This is truly alarming because in the Philippines, there are more children who lives in a poor community. In a poor community, it isn't just about not having enough to eat or not being able to study in a prestigious school. A lot happens behind closed doors. Who knows, maybe half of the children who lives in a poor community are also enduring abuse.

In our General Psychology class, we've discussed that one's regressed emotions or experiences can affect one's thinking and feeling unconsciously. I completely agree with this because I am a living proof to that. During my childhood, I've seen countless acts of violence, and now that I'm older, I tend to reenact those actions without my awareness. Yes, it is truly alarming but I believe that one can control his/her action; although one cannot change the past, one can absolutely change his/her present by not duplicating and imitating what one has seen in the past. Our future and destiny is in our own hands.

A Skyless Earth

Have you ever imagined the earth without the sky? What if the sky was just avoid?

Dark, cloudless, starless, and moonless--that is how our sky would be if it would just be a void. No sun will come up in the morning to wake everyone up, no rain will pour to nourish the plants and the soil, no moon will signal the onset of night time, no stars would shine for everyone. Have we even thought of these things? I bet not. We simply go about our daily lives, not minding the sky because we are already so used of waking up each morning and seeing the sun rise or seeing the beautiful hue of the morning sky. And at night, we await for the stars to come and shine for us.

Most of the time, we are not grateful of what we see simply because getting used to an idea sometimes makes us forget of God' s blessings like the sky and things which constitutes it: sun, clouds, stars, and the moon.

Take a deep breath for a second or two. Realize the ceaseless beauty of one of God's most inspiring creation: the sky.

Stars in the Sky

Stars--they come in two different colors; blue and yellow yet from afar, it looks like it emits the color of yellow. They seem like they are only dots way up in the sky, but in actuality, some stars are even bigger than the sun.

You see, sometimes, what we see is not what we always get. The seemingly little stars we see are not really little and their color are not of yellow. Sometimes, we have to look deeper; we cannot just stick to our usual paradigms because they aren't correct most of the time. Our perspective should not only be limited to what we already know. We, as individuals, need to listen and learn in order to grow and be better.

Take a look at the sky right now. Do you see the stars shining? Do you realize how bright they are? Don't be so fooled by their yellow bright color for what we perceive is not always correct.

The Blazing Fire

While on my way home, I noticed a commotion which I initially thought was caused by another motorcycle accident. But then I saw the sky lit up by a great fire. My initial reaction: amazed and disappointed. I am amazed how people can bear to talk for hours about such tragedy. I'm disappointed because it seemed like they have no plans of calling for help.

Although the fire was a tragic incident, I couldn't help but admire the astonishing contrasting colors of the fire and the deep dark sky. The almost blinding hue of the blazing fire illuminated the dark starless sky. Indeed, the fire was a tragic incident yet the light that it brought was astounding. In life, we sometimes experience a similar terrible yet enlightening tragedy. Like the sky, our minds are sometimes so clouded; we cannot think and decide straight, we sometimes get lost in our own disturbing thoughts. Then comes a seemingly plain terrible tragedy. We might not see what good it brings us but if we only step back a little, we can see the bigger picture; we can see the enlightenment that it intends to bring us.

So when there is a fire, let's take two steps back in order to see the bigger picture. And maybe, just maybe, we can see the light behind our clouded minds.