Author: belladonna98

Definition Argument-belladonna98

DBT Should Help, Not Hurt

In its purest form, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is very regimented and time consuming. Clive J. Robbins and Zachary Rosenthal describe the therapy, originally developed by Marsha Linehan, as requiring multiple group and individual therapy sessions weekly, skills training, phone coaching, and meetings among a person’s team of therapists. I do not subscribe to this definition, described in the DBT section of Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. DBT is, essentially, whatever dialectical behavior skills a person needs in order to improve their life.

Marsha Linehan (as relayed to me by clearviewtreatment on borderlinepersonalitytreatment.com) found that there are five different types of dysregulation that occur in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). These are emotion dysregulation, interpersonal dysregulation, self dysregulation, behavioral dysregulation, and cognitive dysregulation. On the whole, each type is characterized by some sort of dysfunction in each aspect of a person’s life. DBT was created to treat this dysregulation, which, though commonly found in patients with BPD, can affect anyone at any time.

According to the website of Sierra Tucson, there are four main principles of DBT; these are “1. The primacy of the therapeutic relationship, 2. A non-judgmental approach, 3. Differentiating between effective and ineffective behaviors, and 4. Dialectical thinking.” These principles, specifically the first two, apply to both patient and therapist, assuring that all parties are comfortable with and prepared for what is to come. The third and fourth dictate what the patient will learn. Dialectical thinking leads to radical acceptance by teaching patients to become aware of their own judgements and accept them, according to Rachel Gill of ilovedbt.com.

There are also four treatment modules that go along with DBT’s principles. They are “1. Mindfulness, 2. Distress Tolerance, 3. Emotion Regulation, and 4. Interpersonal Effectiveness.” These go hand in hand with the principles, teaching patients through various methods to accept and handle the reality in front of them. Mindfulness leads to learning distress tolerance and so on, each skill building on the next, teaching patients how to handle their life’s dysregulation.

The workbook Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens breaks down DBT perfectly to fit most people’s lifestyle. The book teaches individual skills and outlines which situations call for which skills, giving exercises on how a person is going to apply said skills. It builds upon itself, starting with the basics that apply to everyday life and getting more specific as it goes. That is how DBT should be, and that is how I learned to apply it to my own life.

For a person with BPD, life is hard enough already. The disorder is almost entirely made up of life-interfering behaviors such as impulsive actions, dysregulated relationships and emotions, and some symptoms of depression such as lack of motivation. We cannot expect such individuals to keep up a schedule like Robbins and Rosenthal require. However, we should supply them with the skills necessary to improve their daily lives.

For someone without BPD, say, a college student who still shows many signs of dysregulation, life is incredibly busy. No college student has time for class, homework, and a social life in general let alone when paired with multiple therapy sessions a week with phone coaching in between. Along with the lack of time, society still stigmatizes going to therapy as a sign of weakness, which may deter many college students from such a regimented form of DBT. Students will still need to go to therapy, but at a more relaxed pace, giving them more time for it and welcoming less judgement.

A less intense form of DBT is an effective compromise for all recipients of the therapy. Going to therapy once a week and working from a book like Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens was enough to make a difference in my life, and could do the same for many others. For BPD patients, it requires less effort and is not as overwhelming. For college students, it takes up less time and welcomes less stigma. DBT can be redefined, and this new definition will help many people.

Works Cited

@DbtPeers. “An Introduction to Dialectical Thinking According to DBT.” DBT Peer Connections. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Clearviewtreatment. “Five Areas of Dysregulation in People with BPD – Borderline Personality Treatment.” Borderline Personality Treatment. N.p., 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

“Dialectical Behavioral Therapy & Treatment – Clinical Excellence at Sierra Tucson.” Sierra Tucson. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Robbins, Clive J., and Zachary Rosenthal. “Dialectical Behavior Therapy.” Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. John Wiley & Sons, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Van Dijk, Sheri. “Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens.” Google Books. Instant Help Books, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

White Paper- belladonna98

 Content Descriptions

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was created specifically for the treatment of chronically suicidal patients. Therefore, it can help the college students that experience suicidal ideations. Validation is an important part of DBT, so that the patients do not feel like their feelings aren’t being taken seriously. This kind of emotional validation is something everyone needs, as we all need to know that what we feel is okay.

DBT is also effective in the treatment of people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), something that many college students show symptoms of; symptoms include dangerous/risky behavior such as drinking to excess or relationship violence. In general, DBT covers five types of dysregulation; these are emotion, self, behavior, relationship, and cognitive dysregulation. The article goes on to describe how these problems affect people with BPD, but I intend to prove that they also affect most students on a college campus.

DBT has four main goals. These are to get the patient to control behavior, experience emotions, experience ordinary happiness and unhappiness (as opposed to these emotions to a degree that causes problems), and to form a sense of freedom and joy. These are accomplished primarily through group and individual therapy and phone coaching that help the patient develop skills, work through obstacles to skill use, help translate skills to daily life, and to help the therapist stay motivated and skilled. Obviously, the average college student doesn’t need this extensive of treatment, but one-on-one work with a therapist such as that which I have done could benefit them greatly.

 

Courtship Violence Among College Students: A Comparison of Verbally and Physically Abusive Couples

            The researchers distributed 2000 surveys about relationship violence and students’ pasts with drinking and abuse, and used 572 to gather their data. This found that 82% of college students admitted to using verbal violence against a partner, and 21% admitted to the use of physical violence. Emotional/verbal violence is so often overlooked, especially among young people, but this statistic shows that it should not be so. These types of emotional and relationship dysregulation that cannot be ignored.

The violence, whether verbal or physical, often came from a place of darkness in the student’s far or recent past. Many of the abusers had experienced abuse at home as children, and many had admitted to drinking prior to violence. Regardless of reason, this dysregulation cannot be excused or ignored, but it can be prevented. Students who had learned to deal with their emotions in a healthy way, and knew how to maintain a healthy relationship, would not have committed relationship violence. DBT teaches people how to assertively, but not abusively, communicate thoughts and feelings. This could have prevented many cases of abuse on campus.

Correlates of College Student Binge Drinking

            This study was conducted in 1993 nationwide and included over 17000 students. The researchers define binge drinking as five or more drinks at once for men and four or more for women. The results were that 44% of college students were binge drinkers, with factors such as race and belonging to a fraternity or sorority playing a role.

While this is not a majority, it is still a number to be concerned about. This type of impulsive behavior is a textbook example of behavior dysregulation, often implemented to “treat” emotional dysregulation. Again, if the students knew how to properly handle emotions (i.e. if they were taught DBT skills) this could be avoided all together.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (2nd article with this title)

            DBT has four main principles, carried out by four main modules of treatment. It prioritizes the patient-therapist relationship, a nonjudgmental approach to treatment, teaching effective behaviors (and how they differ from the ineffective) and teaching dialectical thinking. These are carried out by teaching mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT is designed to treat people with various mood disorders. However, DBT can help many everyday problems such as stress and mood-dependent choices, and can reduce the risk of self-harming behaviors.

Depression, Desperation, and Suicidal Ideation in College Students: Results from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention College Screening Project at Emory University

            This national study found that 11.1% of college students experiences suicidal ideation in the past four weeks. It also found that 16.5% of students had a past suicide attempt in their lifetime. While these numbers are not overwhelmingly high, they are too high not to do anything. It was found that 85% of the students who admitted to suicidal ideation were not receiving treatment. The solution? Treat them, it’s simple. These are prime examples of students who need DBT desperately, especially considering it is aimed at those with self-destructive tendencies.

Treatment Failure in Dialectical Behavior Therapy

            This article is essentially the complaints of a novice therapist unable to properly administer DBT, and I have so many problems with it. But those can be found in my “Rebuttal Argument” section, along with many specifics about this case. Basically, this researcher, who is a therapist, had a patient for a few months (which is not enough time to make that much significant progress) who was resistant to DBT treatment. She chronically overstepped the therapist-patient boundary and caused the therapist a lot of distress. So instead of reaching out and helping her patient, the therapist withdrew the treatment she so shoddily tried to give. She failed to validate her patient’s emotions on multiple occasions and did not take into account that a rigid DBT schedule may not be right for the patient. She needs more experience. This source shows how DBT must be administered correctly and that not all therapists are reliable.

Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens

This is a workbook for teenagers that teaches Dialectical Behavior Therapy in a simple and accessible way. It includes definitions of the different aspects of DBT, such as mindfulness, assertive speaking, and the difference between the wise, reasoning, and emotional minds. Each chapter has stories of different people’s problems and how DBT could help them solve said problems. The chapters also have exercises for the reader to complete in order to start applying DBT to their own life. It does not focus on any specific disorder, but focuses on the every day emotions that everyone feels and how to deal with them, making it a great book for college students that have not been diagnosed.

1.   Working Hypothesis 1

DBT could benefit the majority of college students, not just those with diagnosed mental illnesses.

1a. Working Hypothesis 2

DBT can be very helpful, but only when the person administering it is extensively trained and knows how to properly execute treatment.

2. Topics for Smaller Papers

Definition/Classification Argument

How DBT is seen as too much for BPD patients, but it isn’t!

Initial Argument

It seems like multiple therapy sessions a week and phone calls in between is a lot, especially for someone who struggles with their everyday life in the first place. So how do we get people characterized as being hard to motivate and unpredictable to conform to this model? We don’t. DBT doesn’t have to be this rigid, overwhelming program that takes up someone’s entire life. Even in the most extreme cases that seem to require this, it could actually do more harm than good.

BPD patients already often suffer from social isolation, so taking time out of their life that they could be part of society for therapy sessions could be detrimental. The constant doctors’ appointments turn a person into a stigma of the person who is always at therapy. While other’s judgement should not be considered, it often is, especially in BPD patients who so often rely on outside validation. So, when a person only has a few close peers and they never get to see her because she is always doing DBT work, it further isolates her and stigmatizes her, creating a vicious cycle of problems to therapy to more problems.

I learned DBT from weekly 45-minute therapy sessions and one workbook. Now, I haven’t even received a BPD diagnosis (let’s say I’m on the borderline of being borderline) but the therapy was prescribed for my anxiety and depression, and it worked. The small amounts of information I was receiving and putting into practice were just enough to be useful, but not overwhelming. It helped me become, essentially, a whole, functioning person.

What I’m trying to say from this anecdote is that small doses (for lack of a better term) of DBT can be effective, especially when treating immediate crises. A therapist could bring up, say, one skill per session that pertains to what a patient has described as their most recent problem. Classifying a problem into a category of dysregulation should be easy for anyone trained, and finding a skill to match is simple from there. That way, the patient is literally learning DBT as it applies to their life, making them feel validated and like there is something that can help them immediately. This gives them opportunity to use the skills right then and there, making them more effective and more likely to be remembered. Overall, this more relaxed approach to DBT would most likely solve people’s misconceptions about the practice.

A08 Argument

In its purest form, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is very regimented and time-consuming. Clive J. Robbins and Zachary Rosenthal describe the therapy, originally developed by Marsha Linehan, as requiring multiple group and individual therapy sessions weekly, skills training, phone coaching, and meetings among a person’s team of therapists. I do not subscribe to this definition, described in the DBT section of Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. DBT is, essentially, whatever dialectical behavior skills a person needs in order to improve their life.

The workbook Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens breaks down DBT perfectly to fit most people’s lifestyle. It teaches individual skills and outlines which situations call for which skills, giving exercises on how a person is going to apply said skills. It builds upon itself, starting with the basics that apply to everyday life and getting more specific as it goes. That is how DBT should be, and that is how I learned to apply it to my own life.

For a person with BPD, life is hard enough already. The disorder is almost entirely made up of life-interfering behaviors such as impulsive actions, dysregulated relationships and emotions, and some symptoms of depression such as lack of motivation. We cannot expect such individuals to keep up a schedule like Robbins and Rosenthal require.

For someone without BPD, say, a college student who still shows many signs of dysregulation, life is incredibly busy. No college student has time for class, homework, and a social life in general let alone when paired with multiple therapy sessions a week with phone coaching in between. Along with the lack of time, society still stigmatizes going to therapy as a sign of weakness, which may deter many college students from such a regimented form of DBT. Students will still need to go to therapy, but at a more relaxed pace, giving them more time for it and welcoming less judgement.

A less intense form of DBT is an effective compromise for all recipients of the therapy. Going to therapy once a week and working from a book like Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens was enough to make a difference in my life, and could do the same for many others. For BPD patients, it requires less effort and is not as overwhelming. For college students, it takes up less time and welcomes less stigma. DBT can be redefined, and this new definition will help many people.

Cause/Effect Argument

College life causes dysregulation by nature, but said dysregulation is seen as part of the college experience

Initial Argument

It is common knowledge that at college, people experience change. This change can cause dysregulation in students, but often that dysregulation is overlooked. In general, there are a good amount of college students who party and are in relationships. I’m not going to say that these are inherently unhealthy or cause dysregulation, but it is interesting to see the related statistics.

82% of college students have admitted to using verbal violence against a romantic partner, often brought on by the use of drugs or alcohol. In that vein, 44% of college students have been classified as binge drinkers. This means that, in those relationships and parties seen as part of the college experience, relationship, emotional, and behavior dysregulation exist.

I think that the immense change that college students are undergoing, and the immense pressure felt by many of them causes this dysregulation. If a person is under almost constant stress and/or feels lost in life, and they are not receiving any type of help, dysregulation is bound to happen. This brings me to my original point; college students need DBT. Once we stop looking at dysregulation as a part of being at college and see it as a real problem that has a clear solution, we are on the path to fixing it.

A09 Argument

It is common knowledge that at college, people experience change. According to Brian Harke of the Huffington post, students come to college “overly optimistic and confident in their ability to manage the challenges they will encounter at college.” This can cause an amount of stress that student have never dealt with before, and therefore do not know how to manage in a healthy way. Many students may look to partying or other relationships to cope with their stress. These relationships and parties are not inherently problematic, but when they are forced or done with the wrong people, they can create dysregulation.

First off, of course, there is the academic side of college, which is the main cause of stress. Students think that they can handle college academics, and often get a reality check in the form of a failed test or paper. There are entire textbooks dedicated to teaching students how to deal with college-level academics, such as “College Success” created by the Extended Learning Institute and Lumens Learning. This book describes college as being inherently stressful, and attempts to guide students in the right direction towards success. It is interesting that even an academic source sees the immense pressure felt by students in all aspects of life. But stress is not limited only to academics in college.

Many students know only what other people have told them in terms of college. For many students, information and stories come from their parents, who have most likely been out of college for many years and are focusing only on the good. They talk about the “College Experience” as if there is a standard for activities in college, like partying or falling in love. This puts pressure on students to not only achieve academically in the ways they have been encouraged to, but also to achieve socially. The wild and sometimes-exaggerated stories set even more expectations for students to fulfill, so forced relationships and parties with acquaintances occur. These non-organic interactions can cause dysregulation simply by nature, they did not happen naturally, they are forced, and they are unhealthy. This is not to say that to say that all relationships and parties are inherently unhealthy or cause dysregulation, but it is interesting to see the related statistics.

82% of college students have admitted to using verbal violence against a romantic partner, often brought on by the use of drugs or alcohol. In that vein, 44% of college students have been classified as binge drinkers. This means that, in those relationships and parties seen as part of the college experience, a good amount of relationship, emotional, and behavior dysregulation exist.

The immense change that college students are undergoing, and the pressure felt by many of them causes the dysregulation described by the earlier statistics. Not only academic pressure, but that to somehow “succeed” socially, if that is even possible. If a student is under almost constant stress and/or feels pressure to succeed and they are not receiving any type of help, dysregulation is bound to happen. This brings me to my original point; college students need DBT. Once we stop looking at dysregulation as a part of being at college and see it as a real problem that has a clear solution, we are on the path to fixing it.

Rebuttal Argument

Initial Argument

Therapists themselves have had many failures in implementing DBT, stating that in some extreme cases of BPD and emotional dysregulation, it doesn’t work. In one case, Shireen L. Rizvi had a patient named Barbara who was not affected, and whose disorder may have been worsened, by DBT. Barbara had BPD, social anxiety, severe depression, PTSD, and was an abuse survivor.

Over the course of six months, Rizvi struggled to treat Barbara, often blaming her “therapy-interfering behaviors” such as not making eye contact, asking her very personal questions, and calling her in crisis almost daily. The response to these behaviors is what makes the argument that DBT didn’t work here completely invalid. Rizvi admitted to outright ignoring some of these behaviors, when the very basics of DBT state that a patient must feel validated in order to receive treatment. Instead of indulging and therefore validating these behaviors, maybe partially answering a question or asking her why she didn’t make eye contact, Rizvi let them agitate her and obstruct her own practice.

While Barbara did overstep the patient-therapist line (she had had a romantic affair with a previous therapist, so she didn’t understand it in the first place) the response should have been one of understanding and willingness to help, not one of agitation and rejection. Rizvi admitted to being a “novice therapist”, but as someone who is not even a therapist yet, I can see that that is no excuse. She saw someone who clearly had a mistrust of authority and no concept of patient boundaries, and did not take that into account. The bottom line is, she didn’t try hard enough to understand Barbara as a person rather than as a set of symptoms. It is these therapists who most often fail with DBT. It is not the therapy’s fault; it is the fault of the therapist administering it.

A10 Argument

Therapists themselves have had many failures in implementing DBT, stating that in some extreme cases of BPD and emotional dysregulation, it doesn’t work. In one case, Shireen L. Rizvi had a patient named Barbara who was not affected, and whose disorder may have been worsened, by DBT. Barbara had BPD, social anxiety, severe depression, PTSD, and was an abuse survivor.

Over the course of six months, Rizvi struggled to treat Barbara, often blaming her “therapy-interfering behaviors” such as not making eye contact, asking her very personal questions, and calling her in crisis almost daily. The response to these behaviors is what makes the argument that DBT didn’t work here completely invalid. Rizvi admitted to outright ignoring some of these behaviors, when the very basics of DBT state that a patient must feel validated in order to receive treatment. Instead of indulging and therefore validating these behaviors, maybe partially answering a question or asking her why she didn’t make eye contact, Rizvi let them agitate her and obstruct her own practice.

While Barbara did overstep the patient-therapist line (she had had a romantic affair with a previous therapist, so she didn’t understand it in the first place) the response should have been one of understanding and willingness to help, not one of agitation and rejection. Rizvi admitted to being a “novice therapist”, but as someone who is not even a therapist yet, I can see that that is no excuse. She saw someone who clearly had a mistrust of authority and no concept of patient boundaries, and did not take that into account. The bottom line is, she didn’t try hard enough to understand Barbara as a person rather than as a set of symptoms. It is these therapists who most often fail with DBT. It is not the therapy’s fault; it is the fault of the therapist administering it.

Therapists themselves need to take into account the state of their patients and how to best treat them. They cannot look at every patient as the same textbook set of symptoms, they have to see the patient as a whole person. Though a person may fit the criteria for rigorous DBT, the person may not be able to handle it. This is another issue with the Rizvi case. Barbara most likely would have done better under a less structured form of DBT, as one who has had little structure in her life to begin with. She is not familiar with such intense dedication to one thing, a thing which she is not even convinced is worthwhile yet. So, giving her small tidbits of DBT in her therapy sessions would have not only given the therapy more meaning to her, but may have made her more receptive to it.

But obviously not all college students are Barbara and not all therapists are Rizvi. However, they may still have therapy interfering behaviors and not be the most eager to start DBT. That is why a very relaxed form of it is best. If someone doesn’t want to do something, it makes no sense to completely immerse them in it against their will. Introducing DBT slowly in small pieces makes much more sense. The therapist doesn’t even have to officially declare “We’re going to do DBT now.” They can simply give skills that pull from DBT and mention the name, intriguing the patient. If they see that these skills are helping them, and they know they come from DBT, they will be more eager to dive deeper into the practice.

But of course, the person has to be willing to use the skills in order for them to help. If someone completely ignores their skills and makes no progress, then what? That’s where the emotional validation comes in. As Robins and Rosenthal say, that is one of the core principles of successful DBT. Patients have to believe that the skills will help them, and that they can implement them successfully. The safer and more empowered a patient feels, the more likely they are to use therapy skills outside of the office.
The bottom line is, it all comes down to the proficiency of the therapist. If they look at patients as textbook sets of symptoms who all need the same thing, no progress is going to be made. However, if they change their style to meet each patient’s needs, looking at them as a human being, it makes all the difference. This kind of care could benefit everyone, from the most resistant BPD patient to the scared college student. Therapists just have to be willing to try.

3.   Current State of Research Paper

I’m getting there. I need more sources, which I will gather. A lot of my arguments are based on personal experience, which I guess I’m proud to say I have a lot of. I’d also like to get more patient’s opinions rather than therapists describing patients’ experiences. I think the patient perspective is very important, I mean, they’re the ones we’re treating after all. But I feel like some of this, with revision, is going to go directly into my paper. The information I’ve found so far has been fascinating, and I’m both excited and terrified to fall further down the DBT rabbit hole. Wish me luck, maybe send me a rope or something so I can get out eventually.

Polio Notes-belladonna98

  • Polio is not nearly as harmful in our lifetime as in past lifetimes, so we have made progress.
  • Any country can have an outbreak of polio; we are all vulnerable in some way.
  • Polio clings to war-torn, chaotic countries because of the lack of immunizations in children and unsanitary conditions.
  • If the world is polio free once, it will always be so.
  •  Polio vaccination efforts are common, but people resist because polio is not seen as a problem.
  • People in poor countries generally distrust vaccinations, but they are not the only ones. As they resist polio vaccinations, the United States resists measles vaccinations.
  • It is important to get vaccinated, as one person who has not been vaccinated can cause an outbreak for those around them.
  • The theory that most people being vaccinated protects us all is ludicrous, as proven by the above note.
  • States should require parents to vaccinate their children in order to protect everyone around them.
  • Just because a disease is declared “wiped out” doesn’t mean it is going to stay that way.
  • Doctors should be trained to recognize all diseases, even those considered eradicated.
  • Outbreaks caused by one person do not just harm a few; in our world of international travel, disease spreads faster than ever.
  • Though adults are more naturally resistant to polio, booster vaccinations should still be required, as they could pass it on to someone more vulnerable.
  • The system of vaccinating people en mass is broken, as it often fails to protect everyone by pure lack of effort to do so.
  • The benefits of vaccinating every child under five far outweighs the cost of giving very few children polio; it protects more people than it hurts.
  • Even if polio only effects a few hundred kids a year, those kids could spread the disease and cause detrimental harm; we need to vaccinate everyone just in case.
  • Use the inactive virus to immunize people. Even though it is expensive, it prevents about 250 ruined lives.
  • It doesn’t take much to make a disease go from nearly eradicated to nearly epidemic.
  • People simply need to care more about immunizations. We need more funds and volunteers willing to help people across the world.
  • In many cases, one small flaw in a system can become blown out of proportion. This does not mean this flaw should not be fixed, but it may not be as horrible as people say.
  • Vaccines do not cause autism. Six children that could possibly, maybe have been “given autism” by vaccines does not make for a basis of worldwide panic about vaccines.
  • If people think that the measles virus causes autism, they should vaccinate their children against measles. That way, no measles, and no autism. Very few children actually get measles from the vaccination.

Practice Opening

It will not be easy, but it is entirely possible that we will eradicate polio in the next 20 years. Put very simply, we need people to care more. More financial donors and willing volunteers would make it possible to safely and extensively vaccinate children and eliminate the disease. As far as resistance, some sort of collective effort to require immunization would be necessary, such as needing vaccines to attend school. If we are able to come together, and I believe that we are, we can and will eradicate this terrible disease in the next 20 years.

Safer Saws- belladonna98

1A. Manufacturers

When you’re cutting wood, if you accidentally run your hand into the blade, it’ll stop it so quickly that you just get a little nick instead of maybe taking some fingers off.

1B. Another saw could cut your fingers off, but this saw will stop before you have the chance to accidentally do so.

1C. This is a factual claim stating that running your hand into the blade causes it to stop.

1D. This claim is accurate and proved in the video it was taken from. Because it was a quote spoken to another person, let’s assume that the deadly “you” rule doesn’t apply as it does in writing; if it did, this claim would be a disaster. Because of the visual proof, it is logical and persuasive. However, on its own, the claim seems very casual and not very convincing at all; there is no concrete proof in the actual sentence.

2A. Customers

To hold Bosch liable for not making a bad business decision that would cost them lots of money seems a bit unreasonable if not ludicrous.

2B. It would be a bad decision for Bosch to install the SawStop in all of its products, so they should not be held accountable for not doing so.

2C. This is an opinion claim saying that holding Bosch accountable is borderline “ludicrous.”

2D. This claim is not stated very well. First off, to go from “a bit unreasonable” to “ludicrous” is a big jump when you’re trying to equate things of similar value. I get that he’s saying that holding them accountable is crazy, but they could have done it better. Also, “lots of money” is not nearly scholarly enough for the grown man who wrote this. How much money? He could have said thousands or millions of dollars, but he decided not to do that research and settle for “lots.” Even less scholarly is “bad business decision.” This man needs a thesaurus. Overall, it is accurate and logical, but not at all persuasive due to the sloppy rhetoric.

3A. Industry Spokespeople

SawStop is currently available in the marketplace to any consumer who chooses to purchase it.

3B. SawStop is available, but a customer must choose to buy it, as it is not yet required for it to install it on all saws.

3C. This is a factual opinion, stating that SawStop is available, but giving the opinion that a customer should choose to purchase it (and it should not be required on saws).

3D. This claim is a little passive aggressive, subtly asserting that if a customer wants safe stop, they should buy it and stop complaining. It is accurate, as we know that SawStop is not required, and we know it is available. It is reasonable to assume that customers should just buy the product. This claim is quite persuasive due to its complexity and abundance of reason.

4A. Consumer Safety Advocates

As I have stated many times before—and as is now reflected in the

agency’s new strategic plan—one of the CPSC’s primary goals is a commitment to

prevention.

4B. The CPSC has a strategic plan which includes the goal to prevent future table saw injuries.

4C. This is a factual proposal stating that the CPSC has a plan and suggesting its commitment to prevention.

4D. This claim has a tone of exasperation; the author is stating something that they have said a million times. They prove the truth of their statement by referring the reader to their plan, which they say proves their point. Whether or not that is true is for the reader to find out, but it seems so. It is logical that they would want to prevent injuries, they’re the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Overall I am persuaded; this claim seems to be true.

5A. Injured Plaintiffs

Wec says his permanent and “traumatic injury” could have been prevented if Bosch and its competitors had not rejected and fought against the safety technology.

5B. The author is saying that Wec said that his injury was at the fault of Bosch.

5C. This is a proposal advocating for Wec.

5D. If this was a direct quote from Wec, it would be much more convincing. The author is paraphrasing his words, giving it the feeling that it is simple here say. The quotations around “traumatic injury” give away that the author doesn’t think the injury was traumatic, but rather it is Wec’s opinion (and also a direct quote) that it was traumatic. It is reasonable to think that his injury could have been prevented by Bosch, but it is not without disputability. Overall, the claim is not very persuasive because it is not directly quoted and it can easily be disputed.

5E. Wec could have been more responsible. It is not Bosch’s fault that he chose not to add the safety equipment that was available to him. Of course required SawStop would be beneficial, but it is not necessary. If he thought he was going to get injured, he should have bought and installed the product himself.

6A. Personal Injury Lawyers

Although SawStop safety technology has been around for more than ten years, not all table saw manufacturers have adopted it.

6B. Although SawStop safety technology has been around for more than ten years, not all table saw manufacturers have adopted it.

6C. This is a factual evaluation, stating that SawStop has been available and evaluating how not all manufacturers have adopted it.

6D. This claim is okay overall, but it could be more specific. How many years has SawStop been around? Which manufacturers have adopted it? Which haven’t? For something factual it doesn’t actually give concrete facts, but what it does give is accurate. The lack of specificity makes it less persuasive than it could be, but it gets the point across.

7A. Government Officials

The benefits of improving table saw safety clearly outweigh the costs.

7B. This is a proposal claim advocating for table saw safety.

7D. This is a very straightforward claim, but it doesn’t give specifics on how the benefits outweigh the costs. Obviously one can’t do that in one short sentence, so I can assume that the specifics come later in the writing. It is logical to assume what the claim states; safety is usually the best option. The word “clearly” gets rid of any doubts in the readers’ minds; this is the only way to go. It is persuasive in that way, giving the sense that the author’s way is the only way. It is convincing overall.

8A. News Reporters

But as well as the technology works, the major tool companies have failed to put this kind of device on any of their table saws — even eight years after Gass offered to license it to them.

8B. The technology works, but major tool companies have rejected it, although Gass offered them a license years ago.

8C. This is a factual evaluation, giving the facts about SawStop and the license, and evaluating how despite the offer and the product working well, no tool companies have installed the device.

8D. This claim gives the facts and reveals the craziness of the tool companies not adopting Gass’s technology. It gives the readers the sense that the tool companies should have adopted it, making it quite persuasive towards that point. It makes it seem like that was the best option; if the technology was there, and they had the license, why not? It uses this reasoning to get its point across. I applaud this claim for its clear statement of facts and concise statement of opinion.

Visual Rewrite-belladonna98

0:00-0:03

Nicely framed pictures are panned in what seems to be a family home. Three pictures of a smiling little boy are shown. In one, surrounded by a thin, brown frame, he is wearing a yellow casual shirt that has a U on it surrounded by some sort of banner with words that cannot be read. It seems like a candid that the family treasures. Another, encased in a slim silver frame, is more posed, he is wearing something formal in front of a blue background with a lighter blue surrounding him; the family most likely got it done professionally. It could be a school picture, but he does not look to be old enough for school. Behind this, the audience sees a gold ring that they soon learn belongs to a candle stick that houses a white candle. A small picture of the boy is half-shown; the audience sees the top of the silver and white frame with a flower on top, and the boys smiling face is seen wearing the same yellow shirt as the casual picture.A fourth picture is a wedding photo, most likely belonging to the parents of the little boy. It has the nicest frame, it is gold with a dash pattern surrounded by two solid black lines. The bride and groom are mid-dance, embracing and smiling. They seem to be a very happy family. The pictures appear to be on a nice wooden table, indicating comfortable financial standing.

0:04-0:07

The camera moves to the wall beside stairs in the home, and a shadow is seen against a white wall below a staircase. The stairs are dark wood, with many white posts supporting a wooden banister. The only parts of the shadow that are seen are the head and one shoulder. The head seems large and a bit square, it is most likely male and possibly the father of the boy seen in the pictures. No long hair is distinguishable, reinforcing this idea. Because only one shoulder is seen, the breadth cannot be determined, but judging by the head size, they are most likely broad. The shadow moves as the camera does, seeming to walk forward. A flash of motion is seen, possibly a hand gesturing with emotion.

0:08-0:11

A little boy, the one from the pictures, is seen sitting on the aforementioned steps. He is maybe three or four years old. He sits with his yellow toy truck, possibly as a security measure. Some kids have blankets, maybe he has a truck. He is wearing a white patterned onesie as pajamas, indicating his young age. He is initially looking down at his truck, but then looks up at about second 10. His legs move apart as he looks up, changing his stature completely from relaxed to alert. He seems a bit startled, and is watching what is transpiring in the room below the stairs. He is not smiling; he seems concerned for what is happening.

0:12-0:13

The shadow is seen a second time. The boy’s brown head of hair is seen from behind, and the wall next to him shows the shadow of what is most likely his father. The shadow is seen through that of the banister posts, giving it an eerie feeling. The shadow of a hand is shown, it looks as if it is pointing in authority to its counterpart, or possibly threatening to strike. The head moves with the hand, indicating an emotion so strong it takes over the body.

0:14-0:23

The boy’s face is shown in close-up; we see his face and the top of his pajamas, which we can now see have cartoon hockey players on them. His dark eyes shine with emotion against his pale skin. Shadows dance against his profile, but they cannot be depicted. Light from the room shines against his face and his hair. He is trying to ignore what is happening, and begins to play with his toy truck, indicated by him looking down and his arms moving back and forth. Then he is startled out of his play, he jumps as he looks at the room below, frightened. His shoulders rise and fall with heavy breathing as his eyebrows rise in surprise. His nose crinkles, flinching away from whatever is happening. He looks forlornly at what has happened, he does not want it to be this way, but it is.

0:24-0:26

White, all capital text against a black background reads “Children have to sit by and watch. What’s your excuse?” What was he watching? It is an ad for domestic violence prevention, so the odds point to the fact that his father has hit his mother. Maybe for the first time, due to his surprise, or maybe it happens all the time and this is just the first time he has seen it.

0:27-0:30

A multitude of logos appear. A blue and black logo outlined by white has text inside it that reads “There’s NO excuse.” Text below it in italics reads “for Domestic Violence.” Under that, a phone number for victims and bystanders to call reads “1-800-END-ABUSE.” An Ad Council logo is seen in the bottom left corner, and text in the bottom right reads “Family Violence Prevention Fund.” These are probably the producers of the PSA. The logos fade, and one is left with a sense that they have to do something to help this little boy and those like him. The ad has hopefully done its job to inspire action.

Open Strong-belladonna98

Mental health does not, by any means, ensure a healthy life or healthy choices. However, many people claim that practices such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) should be reserved only for the mentally ill, the people who need help controlling their lives. But normal, “healthy” college students need help as well; the majority of them have experience with violence, suicidal ideations, and binge drinking. These are all examples of dysregulations in their lives, the very problems that DBT promises to help with. College students, both the healthy and the mentally ill, could all benefit from practicing DBT.

 

Mentally healthy people make some very unhealthy choices, but refuse to do anything about it, such as practice Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). We, as a society, squander away practices such as this, claiming that they are only necessary for the mentally ill. We stigmatize them, praising the health of people who make their own terrible decisions- messing up their life without the help of any therapeutic practice. Many college students do just this, experiencing dysregulation by way of binge drinking, suicidal ideation, and relationship violence. This dysregulation could be avoided by practicing DBT regularly, and could help all college students become healthier, happier people.

belladonna98’s Proposal

For my research essay I will be examining the hypothesis that Dialectical Behavior Therapy could benefit the majority of college students, not just those with diagnosed disorders. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a form of behavior therapy that focuses on the treatment of emotional, relationship, cognitive, behavior, and self dysregulation. When most of these problems are found in one person, diagnosis is often given and DBT is prescribed. However, one or two of these problems are found in the same majority of “normal” college students mentioned earlier, whether diagnosis is possible or not, and DBT has not even been considered. This is not only unfair to the students, but unfair to the people around them that they will inevitably affect with their dysregulation. DBT could help all of these students to a healthier, happier existence.

In my research I have found that 82% of college students have admitted to using verbal violence against a partner, creating relationship and emotion dysregulation. 44% of college students have been classified as binge drinkers, which falls into the category of behavior dysregulation. And finally, 11.1% of students reported having suicidal ideation in the past four weeks, another example of behavior dysregulation.

Sources

1. Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy – Herbert, James D.,Forman, Evan M_.pdf

The Essential Content of the Article: In its section on DBT, it outlines the basics of the therapy and for whom it is necessary. It mainly specifies people with personality disorders, but gives breakdowns of what issues can be treated by DBT. It defines the different types of dysregulation and shows how DBT helps fix them.

What it Proves: Common things, such as emotional dysregulation, can be improved with DBT, even if a disorder is not present.

2. Courtship Violence Among College Students: A Comparison of Verbally and Physically
Abusive Couples

The Essential Content of the Article: The article gives statistical analysis on the percent of college students who have engaged in verbal and physical violence with romantic partners, and why they did so. It shows that the majority have engaged in verbal violence.

What it Proves: Verbal violence, a form of relationship and emotional dysregulation, is common among college students.

3. Correlates of College Student Binge Drinking

The Essential Content of the Article: The article gives statistical analysis of how many college students engage in binge drinking, showing that almost half do so.

What it Proves: Binge drinking, a form of behavior dysregulation, is common among college students.

4. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

The Essential Content of the Article: This is another article that outlines the basics of DBT, but it also includes the benefits. These include decreasing harmful behaviors and learning to make emotion-independent choices. It also gives a list of disorders that DBT can treat. However, the benefits seem to be universal.

What it Proves: There are benefits foreveryone in DBT, regardless of whether or not they are mentally ill.

5. Depression, Desperation, and Suicidal Ideation In College Students

The Essential Content of the Article: This article gives statistical analysis of how many college students had suicidal ideations in the past four weeks, showing that 11.1% did. It also gave information on how this percent fluctuated among certain demographics.

What it Proves: Suicidal ideation, while not exactly common, is present on college campuses.

E03- Critical Reading- belladonna98

Brennan sent Katie to the school therapist, once.

  • Katie goes to school.
  • Katie’s school has a therapist.
  • Katie has been sent to said therapist, but only once. The addition of the word “once” makes it seem like Brennan wanted it that way, she was not sent again on purpose.
  • Brennan is the one who made Katie see the therapist. The phrasing suggests that it was Brennan’s decision, not Katie’s to see the therapist.

 She hasn’t seen any other therapist, or a therapist trained to deal with PTSD—Brannan knows what a difference that makes, since the volunteer therapist she tried briefly herself spent more time asking her to explain a “bad PTSD day” than how Caleb’s symptoms were affecting the family.

  • Katie has only ever been to the school therapist. This is most likely because other therapists cost money, which the Vineses do not have.
  • Katie has never seen a PTSD-specific therapist.
  • Brennan has seen a PTSD-specific therapist.
  • PTSD therapists are different than regular therapists, but in a good way. They “make a difference,” specifically to Brennan.
  • Brennan saw a volunteer, not a paid therapist.
  • Brennan only went to the therapist “briefly”, in fact, she only “tried” her, meaning that she is no longer seeing her.
  • Brennan’s PTSD therapist asked her about her own experiences rather than the experience of the family.
  • Other therapists have only asked about the family.
  • A “bad PTSD day” is a unique experience and a valid one.
  • Caleb’s symptoms are affecting the family.

 When I visited, Katie was not covered by the VA under Caleb’s disability; actually, she wasn’t covered by any insurance at all half the time, since the Vineses aren’t poor enough for subsidized health care and the Blue Cross gap insurance maxes out at six months a year.

  • The author visited the Vines family.
  • Katie is not covered under VA insurance. The VA most likely doesn’t believe in Katie’s symptoms, because they mainly treat veterans and have no experience with how they affect their families.
  • The Vineses are poor, but “not poor enough.” That says a lot about how our government classifies who it wants to help and who it doesn’t. There are some people worthy of subsidies, and some who aren’t.
  • The Vineses are some who apparently don’t deserve subsidies.
  • Their insurance is Blue Cross.
  • Their insurance maxes out at six months a year. Maxes out like a credit card? With all the pills and procedures that Caleb has taken and undergone, it seems the Vineses are using their insurance too much.

 She’s never been diagnosed with anything, and Brannan prefers it that way.

  • Katie has never received a formal diagnosis.
  • Brennan doesn’t want Katie to receive diagnosis.

“I’m not for taking her somewhere and getting her labeled. I’d rather work on it in softer ways,” like lots of talks about coping skills, and an art class where she can express her feelings, “until we have to. And I’m hoping we won’t have to.”

  • Brennan doesn’t want Katie to be “labeled.” This wording gives a negative connotation to a diagnosis, as if it immediately puts Katie in a box labeled “mentally ill” that she can’t escape from.
  • There are hard and soft ways to work through mental illness. Brennan makes standard treatment seem harsh, ignoring the fact that the things she later describes are a part of standard treatment.
  • Katie goes to and art class to express her feelings.
  • Katie has coping skills.
  • Brennan doesn’t want to “have to” get Katie diagnosed, but acknowledges that there is a point when it is necessary.

 Certainly she seems better than some other PTSD vets’ kids Brannan knows, who scream and sob and rock back and forth at the sound of a single loud noise, or who try to commit suicide even before they’re out of middle school.

  • There are other PTSD veteran kids at Katie’s school.
  • Katie is “better than” them. That seems harsh. Brennan obviously has a very low regard for people with mental illness, and doesn’t want her child to be considered one of them. Is this a form of self-hatred coming out, as Brennan is mentally ill herself?
  • Other PTSD kids’ symptoms include screaming, rocking, and attempting suicide.
  • PTSD kids have triggers, including a single loud noise. Only one, singular loud noise. Not multiple loud noises. The word singular is unnecessary and draws from the meaning. I get what Brennan means, but it just doesn’t come across the way she wants it to.
  • Some PTSD kids attempt suicide at a young age. There is no reason given for this, just that it happens. Could it be that their parents never got the proper treatment, Brennan?

Caleb spends enough time worrying that he’s messing up his kid without a doctor saying so.

  • Caleb worries that he is “messing up” Katie. Obviously people with mental illness are “messed up”. They are some kind of subspecies, not fully human because their brains don’t work the same.
  • A doctor could definitively prove that Caleb is indeed “messing up” Katie. So PTSD could be confirmed to be contagious, or at least picked up on, by a doctor.

Stone Money Rewrite- belladonna98

Kit-Kats for Nerds

Children do not understand the value of money. On Halloween, they’ll trade a Kit-Kat for a box of Nerds, but they won’t take a dollar for that same box. Humans, on our most basic level, value trade of goods and services for something comparable in return. This system of trade has become bastardized, however, from exchange of goods to exchange of gold, to paper, and so on, until we don’t even know if what we’re exchanging even exists. For the most part, it doesn’t. It is simply numbers on a screen that tell us that we have the power to buy something that we need. People agree that something is worth a dollar, so it is, but that value can change at any time, leading me to believe that money has no intrinsic value whatsoever.

In his essay “The Island of Stone Money,” Milton Friedman describes an island in the Western Pacific Ocean, as a piece of the Caroline Islands, called Yap. Its inhabitants are fairly unremarkable, save for how they do business. Their particular form of currency consists of sometimes giant limestone discs gathered from over two hundred miles away. The stones hardly ever actually change hands, as carrying them would result in breaking said hands. So instead, everyone just agrees that a stone has a certain owner. Something large is purchased, and everyone is notified that the stone’s owner has changed. One family is incredibly rich, but has never seen its riches, as they rest at the bottom of the ocean. However, everyone knows that it is theirs, so it is.

Friedman also mentions a similar situation between the United States and France. Concerned about the value of the dollars they held, France wanted something more tangible in their possession to assure them of their fiscal security. However, instead of physically sending gold to the French, the Federal Reserve set aside gold for France. Gold was put in a drawer, labeled “France’s Gold” and everyone went about their business. The actual gold did not travel anywhere, but everyone now knew that it was France’s gold. This is no different from the family whose wealth lies at the bottom of the ocean. It is as if the child on Halloween has set aside a Kit-Kat for their friend, but the friend never eats it, and the child starves without their Kit-Kat to eat, as the setting aside of gold essentially ruined the US economy.

The fiscal cliff is a relatively modern term, but can be applied in the situation of 1933, when the US economy came tumbling down because of gold in a drawer. Calmes states in “Demystifying the Fiscal Impasse That Is Vexing Washington” that in recent history, the fiscal cliff refers to the possible rise in taxes and cuts in spending that would take effect in 2013 due to a federal deficit reduction plan. This would essentially destroy the economy just because someone made the decision to, meaning that any specific set of circumstances could send an economy into chaos at any time.  If any set of circumstances could manipulate the value of a form of currency and its spending power, then it must not have that much power to begin with. As previously stated, the dollar is worth whatever people agree it can buy, but at this point, that could change at any moment.

In an NPR broadcast entitled “How Fake Money Saved Brazil,” Joffe states that in Brazil, they don’t have dollars. But that doesn’t mean that their currency is not easily manipulated and their economy not fragile. In 1990, inflation was so horrifically high that prices were increasing by 80% each month, with no federal government able to successfully intervene. That is, however, until 1992 when four economists put the Unit of Real Value into play, which was essentially currency with nothing to back it up. Prices stayed stable at a certain amount of URVs, wages were always in the same amount of URVs, everything was in URVs and inflation practically disappeared. Glass expands on this in “423: The Invention of Money.” by saying that people had not had faith in their previous currency, but they certainly had faith in URVs, and that is what fixed the Brazilian economy.

This goes to show how much sway public faith in currency has on the economy. Even if fake money is being used, people will see stable prices and believe in a stable economy. But who is to say what is fake and what is not? The legitimacy of money lies in what valuable commodity it represents. In the United States, that used to be gold, but in recent years the federal government has denied that gold has any bearing on the modern dollar. So the dollar is worth whatever it can buy. In one store, this may be a pack of gum. In another, it may be a child’s toy. People simply agree that something is worth one dollar, and everyone seems to accept it. But in modern times, physical money doesn’t even have to change hands in order for payment to be made.

We live in a digital age, and that ushers in digital money. In “Bitcoin Has No Place in Your – or Any – Portfolio,” Reeves describes one very prominent form of digital money, Bitcoin. This is a completely digital “mine-able” currency that some businesses accept as payment. From the beginning, its creators have admitted to its lack of true worth, as it is not backed up by anything physical, but customers still spend dollars on bitcoins. The linen and ink of a dollar is gone from their hands, and in return a number on a screen increases. Instead of trading a Kit-Kat for Nerds, they have traded it for an imaginary friend. A child believes wholeheartedly in the existence of their imaginary friend, and that makes it a part of their reality. The imaginary friend can provide entertainment and companionship, just as the Bitcoin can provide goods and services from certain businesses. But neither the child nor the Bitcoin customer have anything physical, and their fantasy only exists because they believe it does.

If anyone can make currency out of nothing, such is the case in Brazil and with Bitcoin, then what value does traditional currency have? That is, if currency is even used, and it is not just numbers on a computer screen that tell a person that they have currency. People are told to work for this number, people die because they don’t have this number, people base their entire lives around numbers on a screen, simply because everyone agrees that that number is the be-all-end-all of economics.

In the end, the United States is not that different from the island of Yap, of 1990’s Brazil, or any economy that uses money with “no value.” Items have value, such as the Kit-Kat that is traded on Halloween, or the food exchanged for labor in the dawn of economics. Money used to be backed by valuable metals, but that is no longer the case. Virtual money is coming into power and even physical currency has no concrete backing. The only logical conclusion is that money as we know it today has no intrinsic value. We have all been tricked into believing in the URV, we all have giant stones that we agree someone owns. The economy that fuels millions of lives could disappear tomorrow and no one would have any less. In fact, a lack of a modern economy, at this point, sounds like a better idea. The world may be better off going back to trading corn for labor. At least I can eat corn. How am I going to make dinner out of Bitcoins?

 

 

Works Cited

Calmes, Jackie. “Demystifying the Fiscal Impasse That Is Vexing Washington.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

Friedman, Milton. “The Island of Stone Money.” The Island of Stone Money(1991): 3-7. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

Glass, Ira, Chana Joffe-Walt, Alex Blumberg, and Dave Kestenbaum. “423: The Invention of Money.” This American Life. Prod. Planet Money. 7 Jan. 2011. This American Life. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

Joffe-Walt, Chana. “How Fake Money Saved Brazil.” NPR. NPR, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Reeves, Jeff. “Bitcoin Has No Place in Your – or Any – Portfolio.” MarketWatch. MarketWatch, 31 Jan. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.