I chose to come to Austin College because I heard many great things about the academics here and how each person can receive an education that is personalized to them and their academic needs as well as their lifetime goals. Austin College is also away from my home but also not so far away that I can’t visit when I need/want to. For me, instincts are what keep me motivated during times of low academic motivation here at Austin College. The want to succeed and do well is intrinsically planted within me and my home life and academic life have helped me to realize that I should keep up with college in order to succeed in life.

With the increase of weight loss “methods” and societal pressures to be “fit” in the media, the idea of healthy eating has become widely popular today, particularly with millennials.

I would consider the provided criteria to be a valid way to define the boundary between eating healthy and having a mental disorder. I believe healthy eating becomes a disorder when it becomes obsessive, emotionally distressing, and/or compulsive. The criteria also lists evidence of when the line is drawn between healthy eating and disorder.

The first source I found on orthorexia nervosa suggested the disorder as similar to eating disorders, emphasizing orthorexia as an obsession about healthy eating rather than about weight loss and the the idea of being “thin”. Although I agree with the source’s statement that orthorexia is mainly motivated by wanting to be “healthy”, I disagree with its claim that orthorexia is not motivated by weight loss. I believe the obsession with healthy eating can result from an obsession with body image, and therefore orthorexia could be considered as an eating disorder. One can develop orthorexia along with other mental disorders due to societal pressures to be “fit” or look “thin”, both of which are associated with being “healthy” and healthy eating in today’s time. The source also pinpoints orthorexia becomes a problem when it takes up an inordinate amount of time in one’s life, a statement which I agree with.

The second source provides additional information on the effects of orthorexia and compares it with anorexia nervosa that was not as clearly stated in the previous two sources. The source add that those who suffer from anorexia or orthorexia seek self esteem through controlling food take, avoid certain foods, possess co-occuring disorders such as OCD, and may become socially isolated as a result of their disorder. All these factors add to my opinion that orthorexia can be classified as an eating disorder.

Sources:

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/orthorexia-nervosa

http://www.timberlineknolls.com/eating-disorder/orthorexia/signs-effects/

Austin College is definitely one of the more challenging experiences I have come across.  Motivation definitely has an ebb and flow throughout my time here as I have other things going on within my personal and family life to deal with at the same time being a single parent.  That being said being a single parent is one of the motivating factors I have towards graduating.  This ties into Maslow’s theory of needs as it is part of acceptance from family and achievement as well for my own personal self esteem.  By graduating I can make my family and especially my son proud of me and set a good example for him.  This ties into most theories of incentives because I can use the idea to push my self to have a better life for my son than I did as a child.  So with these why did I choose to come to Austin College?  I chose Austin College because of the location of the school to where I would have the incentive of being near my son at all times.  I am at the point where I need to start on a more straightforward path and remain focus as I have lost focus throughout the semester on what I need to accomplish so in order to create my intervention I am going to remind myself on a daily basis what my original motivation was to come to Austin College and why I want to graduate in the first place.

Motivation is driven by many different factors ,whether physical or emotional. Choosing where I wanted to attend college was definitely driven by motivation. I have lived in Sherman, Texas ever since I moved to the United States when I was 5 years old. Ever since I was little and my family and I would drive past Austin College I would always say “that’s where I want to go to school.” Throughout my high school career I got involved in many different health care related classes and I became fascinated with the idea of becoming a doctor. After I attended a tour on campus I fell in love with the environment and the fact that everyone was so nice. My decision was definitely driven by the incentive theory of motivation as we talked about in class. The incentive theory describes how people accomplish things do to different intrinsic or extrinsic incentives. To me knowing that I could be a part of such a great pre-med program at Austin College and become a doctor later on was motivating because I was associating my hard work as being paid off later on by the reward of fulfilling my dream of becoming a doctor. I could also attach my decision of attending this school to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. My basic need was first graduating with a high gpa from high school in order to be accepted into Austin College and receive a good scholarship, and the higher levels are accomplished as I surpass all the prerequisites for medical school. The further along in my pre-med career the more higher level needs that are accomplished. As Maslow explained, there is a combination of needs on this pyramid of hierarchy that drive our behaviors, and as for me the highest need would be achieving my dream of becoming a doctor and attending medical school once graduating from Austin College. All these are positive things related to my motivation, but at times I can find myself lacking that motivation. When dealing with so many deadlines, lab reports, and exams I question whether or not I am capable of this. Like any typical college student I stress and I have a mental breakdown every week ( or maybe once a day). They way that I can continue pushing myself is by working through with a reward system and knowing that if I stick to this it will pay off in the end. When I breakdown and I question my capabilities, I always sit down and talk to myself about the pros and cons of becoming a doctor. Most of the time there are definitely more pros and I can relate this back to the incentive theory. The satisfaction I get after getting a good exam grade, or meeting a deadline is what drives me and fulfills my needs that continue pushing me. I just think about me receiving my diploma and one day being able to wear that white lab coat with pride. The satisfaction of all these things is what I use everyday to continue pushing me until I accomplish the journey I set out to do.

This week in Psychology, we are discussing types of motivation and how various strategies could be applied to our own lives.  Motivation often plays a large role in the decisions we make about our career paths, relationships and many other things throughout our life.  For example, when applying to colleges I had many things which motivated me to choose the college I chose.  When beginning the application process, I started out with applying to the much bigger, well-known schools in Texas.  As I received acceptance letters and continued my search for the right college, I started to narrow down my options.  It was starting to become apparent that I was drifting towards two particular schools in Texas.  One, however, had about 40,000 students attending that college every year and the other had about 1,300.  Although, this is a large difference in size, both schools had aspects that I really liked.  What motivated me to choose Austin College, however, was how personal it seemed to be for the students, because of its small population size.  I was also impressed by the many praises the college had gotten throughout its years.  Being a liberal arts school, it covered many different areas of studies and it seemed like a perfect fit for me and my future endeavors.

Now that I have finished my first semester at Austin College and are in the middle of my second, I can definately relate to the many tired and overworked faces I often see on campus.  As most students know, it can be hard to stay motivated in one’s academics throughout the year.  I definitely have those weeks where schoolwork can feel very overwhelming and tedious, and almost like there’s no point in doing it.  After I’ve had a week like this, I often take a step back and try to look at the bigger picture, the real reason why I am here.  Although, there may be certain exams or projects adding to my stress right now, in a week I will be working towards new endeavors and goals.  This mentality of pushing forward and looking beyond the present moment is what gets me through those difficult weeks of college.  What motivates me greatly is the fact that I want to be here.  My parents, although they encouraged it, did not force me to attend college.  I am working hard in my classes, towards a degree, and although, it may feel like a struggle now, the end result and the experiences I have made and will make along the way are well worth it.

What is orthorexia nervosa? Orthorexia nervosa is a condition that includes symptoms of obsessive behavior in pursuit of a healthy diet. This obsessive behavior to become healthy is actually very dangerous to the body, so people who are motivated to be excessively healthy are not very healthy after all. Some of the standards of orthorexia nervosa are found in this article: http://www.orthorexia.com/orthorexia-proposed-formal-criteria/. Some of the standards include: (1) Violation of self-imposed dietary rules causes exaggerated fear of disease, sense of personal impurity and/or negative physical sensations, accompanied by anxiety as well as shame, and (2) Positive body image, self-worth, identity and/or satisfaction excessively dependent on compliance with self-defined “healthy” eating behavior. Besides understanding some of the criteria for orthorexia nervosa, this column is a good way to define the boundary between eating healthy and having a mental disorder because these standards I just discussed is not normal for just eating healthy these standards of orthorexia nervosa play a psychological role in the human body.

There are two other sources that also discuss orthorexia nervosa: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/obsession-healthy-eating-dangerous-risk/story?id=26866895

& http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/health/orthorexia/. Both of these sources are very credible because they are well known American network news channel whose info are usually trustworthy, up to date on current events, and supported by many individuals. The ABC News article talks about a woman, Jenni Victor, who has orthorexia nervosa, how it has affected her body, including not having a period in over a year, along with a video of that woman as well. The CNN talks about a woman named Ashely Bailey who also has orthorexia nervosa, professors who have heard of her and discussed her problem, as well as discussing orthorexia nervosa in general.

The message of these articles is that why eating healthy is good, compulsively eating healthy is bad for a person’s health, and because of this these sources add to my opinion that orthorexia nervosa is a disorder. Before I end this blog post here is a fun fact, the name orthorexia nervosa literally means ‘a fixation with righteous eating.’

Works Cited

Chang, Juju, Chris James, and Lauren Effron. “When an Obsession With Healthy Eating Becomes a Dangerous Risk.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/obsession-healthy-eating-dangerous-risk/story?id=26866895&gt;.

“Orthorexia: Proposed Formal Criteria.” Orthorexia. N.p., 26 Dec. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://www.orthorexia.com/orthorexia-proposed-formal-criteria/&gt;.

Richards, Sarah Elizabeth. “Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes an Obsession.” CNN. Cable News Network, 12 Oct. 2014. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/health/orthorexia/index.html&gt;.

Motivation is not an easy thing to obtain. It is hard enough to find motivation when you are not in the mood or when you are in a sub-optimal situation. And as it turns out, it often seems that keeping the motivation going is even harder to accomplish. In times of extreme difficulty and stress, I often find myself in a state of hopeless- if I were to personify my life, my life would be one that lost her balance and fell into a well-camouflaged cliff- and every time she tried to climb out and the light on the top of the hole seems to be close, my life just loses her grip and falls right back done.

Thus, I seriously am in need of some strong motivation. Two theories of motivation that could help me rediscover my purpose and passion for learning and working, are incentive motivation and hierarchy of needs theories. Thinking back, I once did seek out these motivators when applying and making my choice in attending Austin College. The most basic and surface theory I feel, is the incentive motivator. I was really drawn to Austin College because of its prestigious pre med program. The beautiful image of becoming a medical doctor and redeeming myself; taking this second chance to show the world and myself that I could make something of myself and that my intrinsic reward would be the pure satisfaction that I made something of myself in the eyes of others as well as to myself. The extrinsic reward was also one of little importance now thinking about it: the prospects of wearing a fancy lab coat and strutting around in whatever cute outfit I would like; so, looking cute while saving lives.  Another theory that led me to my current school, is the arousal theory. Again, it was the fantasy of becoming a doctor, telling myself that college would be a fresh start and that if I desired it, I could become a great success of a student. Thinking about doing well in school, getting all A’s and getting into medical school used to give me pleasing feelings.

I feel as if I should change my incentive motivation into something new. My new driving mindset could be the desire to attain the extrinsic reward of seeing myself improve- not so much as focusing on the grades that get better, but by my work ethic, responsibility, study methods, and outlook on life. I would continue to do this, while getting other extrinsic motivators such as praise and reassurance from my caring professors. I should set my goal in mind and reflect on my actions and see if they are bringing me closer to my goal every single day. The arousal theory could be modified and used in part of my path to success. I would try to be more “aroused” by obtaining new knowledge and be excited as I learn something new. I will try to write down something new I learned and make sure I do learn something new every single day. I will try to get to the point where my goals are about obtaining knowledge and try to make studying and reading fun for myself. As I see my grades improve and my understanding expand, hopefully, my arousal levels will increase and my motivation to work hard will never stop, but instead, continue and lead to actions that will give me great success and happiness.

Undoubtedly, many Austin College students feel the ups and downs of motivation. As said in the description of this proposed blog, “motivation is not a stable force”. I believe that I inquire much of my motivation in school from the Incentive Theory; whereas, my behavior is motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic rewards. My external award for attending Austin College is getting my degree from here and receiving a good job in the future. My internal award is taking in the satisfaction of all the hard work paid off when receiving my diploma and future job. I chose Austin College because of the endowing opportunities the school gives out later in life, as well as being given the chance to compete in NCAA DIII softball. Some key principals of motivation that are able to be applied to classes would to be to keep in mind the motivations that are provided by our own well-being or state of mind, our external and internal motivators around us; in other words, we need to keep our multitude of motivations in check in order to complete the hierarchy of needs.

My motivation to attend Austin College was that I wanted to go to a college where I could become a successful person and be able to have a high education. Since I’m the first member of my family to go to college I’ve decided that I worked hard through my high school years to get to where I am and I want to show everyone in my town that I made it to a college with a lot of prestige and honor.I want to be successful, because I want to help the people struggling in life to live a descent life by giving back to my family and community.Being successful and working hard is the incentive theory of motivation since that kept me motivated into going to this college by giving my full effort and having the desire to want to keep moving forward. The giving back to my family and the community is related to the hierarchy needs theory of motivation since it is part of the need to feel secure and stable and self actualization. The intervention to keep me motivated until I graduate is the achievement of earning a degree and being the first in my family to graduate college. Giving up is not an option for me so I must stay focus in my goals by being determined to always give my full effort through my years at Austin College.

We can use motivation to push through the tough times by giving ourselves the building blocks of a foundation to rest upon. If we go without motivation or without anything to work towards our determination to work toward our previous goals are lost. By using motivation we constantly have something to strive for making the work seem more worth it in the long run.

In terms of what drove me to Austin College, I would definitely have to say most of the reasons fell into the acquired needs category. For me a big part of my motivation require extrinsic motivation (Football rings, a promise of a masters degree in education, and a step forward in the job process when concerning first look schools). The schools main hook line and sinker for me was the promise of half of my fees paid for every year in relations to a scholarship. This made the money hungry side of me come out and take the offer right away being it was the best money payment system combined with education I was offered. Another reason I decided on Austin College involved that of the Self Determination Theory. This theory involves my willingness to be in control of my life and have the internal strength to believe I could succeed in anything I wanted to do. With this theory in mind the school offered a chance at a 4 and a half year masters program to those who were considering the education field. When I was presented with the opportunity of a masters degree, my internal drive never thought for a split second I would not be able to achieve this. In fact my mind went into a stage of thinking this was a way to prove anyone who had ever doubted me, wrong. I knew in my head I was capable of achieving what I set my mind to.

Dear future self,

Keep on the path that you chose to follow involving the self determination model. All the extrinsic awards you sought out to begin with may seem nice now, but having the ability to put your mind to something and stick to it will be very valuable in the coming years.

When you find yourself falling off I need you to remember the reason you chose Austin College, the opportunity it provided for you. This is your chance to earn the diploma that will enable you to pursue your dreams and letting the pressure of college get to you is not a valuable excuse. When you find yourself in trouble, refer back to this paper and remember your self determination reasons for attending here in the first place.