Thoughts and opinions (simple) on numbered responses. Please number and separate to not cause confusion.

1. How would you use mindfulness to reduce stress? Have you done so in the past? Is it a strategy you would promote to others? (The person struggles with anxiety and works with special education students, so some days could be very challenging.)

2. The topic I chose for this week's discussion that relates to the topics in the textbook is overeating. The article I read discusses how eating disorders are so prevalent modern day, and overeating, also known as binge eating disorder (BED), is no exception. (Razzoli, et al., 2017). Research correlates binge eating to stress, especially. Environmental stressors are predisposing factors, and BED can lead to obesity, which can also lead to severe health issues, and an overall lower quality of life. (Razzoli, et al., 2017). BED is also the most common eating disorder, shockingly, and can children and adults can suffer from it. (Razzoli, et al., 2017)."During chronic stress and the corresponding hyperactivation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, glucocorticoids and insulin increase craving for calorie-reach meals, a phenomenon explained by the "comfort food" hypothesis." (Razzoli, et al., 2017).Obesity can lead to diabetes, which can be life threatening, and often seen as a homogenous condition, which can make it difficult to have treatment options. (Razzoli, et al., 2017).BED is likely a psychological disorder that sends signals to your brain to have a desire to overeat, in order to reduce stress levels. (Razzoli, et al., 2017).Two main takeaways from this resource are that BED is an extremely common eating disorder that does not discriminate on age. I have personally noticed that obesity seems prevalent, especially since the pandemic. I have also noticed that so many children are overweight, compared to when I was a kid. I personally believe that a lot of these unhealthy eating habits can be related to the artificial (and addicting) ingredients and dyes in processed food. I think finding healthier coping skills to stress will be beneficial to reduce the risk of BED.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5403578/

References

Razzoli, M., Pearson, C., Crow, S., & Bartolomucci, A. (2017). Stress, overeating, and obesity: Insights from human studies and preclinical models.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews,76(Pt A), 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.026