Break Assignment: Falmouth, Jamaica 4/1109-4/16/09

This is the break assignment, but I have decided to incorporate my experiences into it, creating a short/mini recap or story of being in Falmouth, Jamaica.

Falmouth is the chief town and capital of the parish of Trelawny in Jamaica. It is situated on Jamaica's north coast 18 miles east of Montego Bay. It is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved Georgian towns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falmouth,_Jamaica

Over break I was in Jamaica for 5 days. We stayed in Falmouth, a town outside Montego Bay. I felt emotionally healthiest when we arrived and stepped outside the airport and I was standing in the sun. The warmth made me feel happy to be in an exciting and familiar place again.

As good as I felt standing outside, the journey to Jamaica was time consuming and was when I felt least emotionally healthy. Being cooped up i a car, airport, plane, airport, hotel, airport, plane, and then finally an airport in Montego Bay. All of this "box to box" movement had begun to feel depressing and I felt so bored. There was very little physical movement during this time of constant transportation, which is funny because transportation involves movement but I was not physically moving. It kind of defeats the meaning of transportation in a basic form.

Being physically trapped by the necessities of travel and transportation in life is emotionally damaging to me, and I believe it is the same for most people. Personally I would prefer to be outside where I feel free and can feel the air and sun on my skin, that feels real and comforting to me.

Going back to feeling emotionally healthy, stepping out of the airport, I felt exceptionally wonderful inside and out. It was a chance for my body to feel awake and rejuvenated. The sun on my skin was warm and the light breeze felt refreshing and new. The air smelled clean and raw, nothing compared to New York City air. In the mini-party-bus to FDR Pebbles Family Resort, I felt pleased to be going somewhere I really enjoyed spending my time. Even though I was in another box, it felt different and strange, which was a new change for my body, so I did not really notice I was in a box. I actually enjoyed the ride to the resort, I was able to see the landscape and the people who inhabited this amazing country.

When we arrived at Pebbles, I felt even better than I did outside the airport or in the bus, I felt exhilarated because walking through the lobby of the resort brought back so many memories there. I could not believe I was back and was able to experience this again. Right about then I was feeling emotionally healthy: I was in a good mood, I was glad to be back again, revisiting my memories-connecting with a part of my life which makes me feel gleeful, enjoying the atmosphere-the entire resort is basically outside and there are plants, flowers, and trees everywhere. Pebbles feels so natural, I don't want to call it a resort.

Pebbles feels very natural, everything is outside, dinning, the bar, the lobby, etc. The room are cabin like, divided into large blocks, 1, 2, 3,... and so on. The rooms have air conditioning but it is optional, so instead you can open the back door and windows for a nice breeze. Natural being the feeling of the environment, I walk around in my bare feet and where light clothing and/or bathing suit. I take naps in the shade or in a hammock. I also swim in the ocean and dance a lot while I'm there. Doing these things while I'm there, make me feel emotionally healthy, partly because they are things I like to do or they prioritize the physical. I am satisfied with the life I am living while in Jamaica, I feel mellow, relaxed, excited, energetic, peaceful, and many more. I also enjoyed laying in the sun and in the shade, the weather is always fantastic and great weather makes me feel enlightened.

While we waited to check in I made myself more comfortable by taking off my tights and flats, and putting sandals on instead. My toes felt free and I didn't feel constrained by my clothing.

Minutes after changing I cam back to the lobby and right in front of me was a familiar face. Ring in that moment I felt exuberant, shocked, stunned, and excited; almost to the point where I wanted to cry because I was so overjoyed. It was someone whom I had met and not seen for exactly one year and missed very much. I didn't think I would see him again so I was very surprised when I saw him standing in the lobby with a huge smile on his face. In the first few seconds of seeing each other, face to face, there were no words exchanged just smiles and gasps of joy. Huge hugs were given and in that embrace I felt a longing to be touched, I felt cherished, joy and protected.

Within the first day or two of break, I had experienced the journey of traveling, feeling great weather, and connecting with people and places that bring me joy. All of these things affect my emotional health both negatively and positively, but mostly giving my emotional heath a boost, needed to support my the way I want to feel.

Actions that I could take to support my own emotional well-being would be to spend most of my time outside and enjoy good (sunny-breezy) weather as much as possible. Travel when I can but try not to be in the air port r something like that for more than a needed amount of time. Although I will enjoy where they traveling takes me, part of the journey is being in a box to get there. I will also hang out wand sped precious time with valuable people who are important to me. They make me feel understood and supported, nurtured and full of purpose and they have an impact on my life.

Along with being in the sun and liking the weather in Jamaica, being on the beach pushing my feet into the sand and swimming in the ocean made me feel emotionally healthy. I felt free while swimming like there was no limit on life or where I was going. I also felt in touch with the world, as corny as that sounds it was how I really felt. Partly because it was something I enjoyed doing and I also don't get to push my feet into the sand or go swimming in the ocean that often. So it is a rare feeling that I had experienced, it felt refreshing and exciting to my body.

Sometimes being emotionally healthy is trying new things, breaking free from the norm, whatever that may be, and being spontaneous. Otherwise, one can become bored, annoyed, and sometimes I even feel depressed because I feel trapped like there is no way out and everything is the same all the time. The one bad part of being at Pebbles was that I sometimes felt like I was stuck eating the same food everyday and it was not changing. I easily became bored with the food because it was either the same food as lunch or a different variation of it. I yearned for something new and exciting. My emotional health at this point was pretty poor because I sometimes felt like I was in jail, just because the food was very similar at each meal. Also because the meals are on a timed schedule, if you want breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you have to eat each meal at its scheduled time. If you come too early the food is not prepared and if you come too late the dinning room is closed. You feel like you are on their schedule, you are being controlled.




I don't necessarily believe that being emotionally healthy is the same as being constantly happy. Sure anyone can feel how they want to feel, I won't argue against that, but I also believe that people should experience different emotions at different times. Expressing themselves using their emotions is a good way to know that they understand who they are and how they feel when they experience something that causes them to use their feelings. There are so many events that occur in life, it would be weird if one where constantly happy. At some point they would probably witness or experience something sad like death or feel hurt by someone they love, like in a relationship. In these situations it would be an odd approach to feel happy in order to deal with death or a relationship problem. Some would think this person is keeping their feelings bottled up and this may be because that person does not understand how to feel or know what emotions they are capable of expressing, which may be considered emotionally unhealthy.

I have no problem if someone feels happy for an extended period of time but if something changes like an event occurs when it would be the time to pay your respects to someone who has passed, they person should not feel happy, but instead they could try feeling neutral. I don't want to force anyone to feel a certain way but I don't think it would be respectful if a person who is constantly happy to feel happy when someone close to them dies. Although it does depend on the situation, for example if the constantly happy person had a bad relationship with the deceased, then they would probably be happy that they had passed. So it really depends on the situation and the person's feelings.

There are many different theories of therapy just to get a gist of the variety there is : CBT which is Cognitive Based Therapy, Psycho-Analysis Therapy, and Existential Therapy. I believe that emotional health should be a natural function of the body. People shouldn't be told how to feel, which is what some therapist do. I guess that feeling of being controlled, like the feeding schedule at Pebbles, is like going to a therapist. You go to them either because you feel you need the help or (more often) people or therapists tell you that you need help because you don't fit the norms of society and acceptable behavior.

I really enjoyed this vacation, having this experience of being in a country where everything is so beautiful and different from my own. It made me realize how miserable I feel when I am at home since I felt so pleasant when I was there. I would love to go back so I am able to have those feelings again and express myself with different emotions. Going back for an extended period of time would be a huge step in improving my own emotional well-being.

posted at 8:32AM, the time below is incorrect