319 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Summary You need to take an active role in keeping yourself physically fit. Maintaining good health can have a positive effect on your school, work, and family life. Getting daily physical activity will help you stay in shape. Enjoying leisure activities and getting adequate sleep will also help you perform at your highest level. Caring for your body will affect your appearance as well as your health. Your mental health as well as your physical health can affect your overall well-being. Occasionally using defense mechanisms and learning to cope with stress can help you protect your mental health. Clinical depression is one type of mental illness. Counseling and other sources of help are available to people who are having trouble maintaining a healthy mental state. Some people knowingly take health risks. Using tobacco products can cause heart disease and various types of cancer. Drinking alcohol can impair muscle coordination and cause organ damage. Abusing other legal and illegal drugs can lead to a range of long-term health risks. Behavior that causes the spread of sexually transmitted infections is also an extreme health risk. When faced with decisions regarding risky substances or behaviors, carefully consider how your health might be affected. Your health and fitness include deciding what makes a quality of life for you. You need to be aware of possible roadblocks that may lie ahead. Developing tactics that can aid your personal development will help you along the way. You need to be aware of certain high-risk behaviors that can have negative consequences. It is best to avoid these risks. Finally, building supportive relationships can have a positive effect on the quality of your life. Critical Thinking 1. Make inferences. Give examples of defense mechanisms used by literary characters. What was the situation in which the defense mechanism was used? Why was that particular situation stressful to the character? How did the use of the defense mechanism affect the character’s relationships with others? 2. Analyze trends. Interview an older adult and a young professional in the same occupation. Ask about the factors that cause stress in their jobs and how they manage that stress. Compare the older adult’s entrance to the career field to the young professional’s experience. Has the occupation become more or less stressful? Share your findings with the class. 3. Analyze risks. The health risks associated with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, and sexually transmitted infections are widely known. However, people still take these risks. How do you think people could be encouraged to show more consideration for their health regarding these risks? 4. Make predictions. List some quality of life factors that are important to you right now. Create another list of quality of life factors that will be important to you in ten years. 5. Analyze behavior. Choose a song, story, book, or movie that illustrates a supportive relationship. Write a paper describing the relationship and the role the relationship played in each person’s development. Chapter 12 Review