Tag Archives: body language

Suicidal Language

In my last two blog posts, I talked about the body language of babies when they are first born and the body language of teenagers when they flirt with the opposite sex. Both of those topics are cute and funny, but it is now time to move onto a more serious topic: Suicide. According to Merriam-Webster, suicide is “the act of killing yourself because you do not want to continue living”. Through body language, we can help decrease the stunning rate of suicides around the globe.

The biggest emotion that relates to suicide is depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest”. There are multiple obvious signs of depression, such as crying and fidgeting; however, there are many other signs that are not as easily spotted.

“THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME”

One sign to look out for is a person’s body posture. Studies show that a depressed person will tend to slump their bodies and they will not “stand tall” while walking (5 Body 1). They will look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, so it won’t be hard to miss. Besides slumping their bodies, they will also keep their feet very close together (5 Body 1). They do this to take up as little space as possible. With that being said, watch a person’s feet while they are standing still.

“THE UN-SOCIAL BUG”

Another sign to look out for is a person’s social abilities. If a person is depressed, they will tend to isolate themselves from the world and not talk to anybody (Depression 1). However, if they do decide to talk to anybody, they will spend more time looking at the ground or distance objects than your face (A.K.A. Very little eye contact) (Depression 1). Outside of school, these individuals will stop attending events, such as extracurricular activities, and will use that time to sleep. DO NOT let them become a UN-social bug.

I have personally encountered a situation where my best friend in high school was suffering depression and luckily I caught it. My friend began to attend less events and used that time sleep, which was the biggest red flag to me. She went from an energized softball star to a fading athlete, barely making any practices and she eventually quit the team. Despite her downward slope in athletics, her grades were also following that slope as she started receiving C’s and D’s on her report card. When I confronted her about this, she seemed to not care. In the hallways, she became the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the UN-social bug of the school. I am lucky to have caught these signals that she was giving off.

In my school’s history, there has been many heart-breaking suicides. High school kids taking their own lives… it is insanity. What if one of their friends realized their body language and did something to help them? What if these people were confronted and got help? What if their lives were saved? What if. WHAT IF.

Be a hero, this is your time to save a life.

Work Cited

“5 Body Language Signs of Depression.” 5 Body Language Signs of Depression. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.

“Depression.” Counseling and Psychological Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.

The Act of Flirting ;)

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In my last blog post, I talked about the body language of babies when they are first born. Now, I want to fast forward to an avalanche of years later when these babies grow up to be teenagers. Yes, they are older, but they still use body language every single day; especially towards the opposite sex. You see it in college all of the time, especially at fraternities. Yes, I am talking about the act of flirting.

You do it. I do it. Your friends do it. Your roommate does it. Your siblings do it. Your mother did it. Your father did it. Your grandparents did it. I think you get the drift… the fact is that we all have done it and seen it before. Let’s get real, it is almost impossible to go to a frat party without seeing at least one couple grind on each other or playing tonsil hockey on the dance floor. Those actions are a result of the phenomenon of flirting. But, you may not realize, body language is a huge part of flirting.

In the past, I have seen pretty hysterical attempts of flirting and it is extremely entertaining. Some people just do not know when to stop. Here are some hints to when you should really stop or continue “macking” on the male or female that you have been flirting with.

FOR GUYS “PICKING UP CHICKS”

After polling a couple of my female friends, I asked them what they did when they flirted with a guy and I got some pretty interesting feedback which was surprisingly very similar.

According to my female friends, if they are interested in a guy they will play with their hair, lean in close to them, and act like they are overly interested in the topic, even if they are not interested. Another thing that they told me was that they would laugh at the guy’s joke even if it wasn’t funny. Apparently, girls do this to make the guy feel confident and confidence is the “sexiest” thing ever… Weird. Finally, I was told that that they would usually place there hands on a guy’s arm or lick/bite their lips if they are interested in them.

However, if they are disgusted with the guy that came up to them they would cross their arms to show their discomfort or lack of interest. Also, they will not make any eye contact with the guy or play with something, such as a phone or accessory (bracelet, earring, necklace, etc.). By doing this, they are telling them that they are bored.

FOR GIRLS “TRYING TO HOOKUP WITH A GUY”

After polling my boys, I asked them what they did when they flirted with a girl and I got even more interesting feedback.

According to my male friends, if they are interested in a girl they will lean in close to them and stare into their eyes to show them that they are only paying attention to them. Also, they like to flex a little bit to show a girl their “guns” (muscles) to demonstrate that they are healthy, fit, and strong. Finally, they all told me that they will try to be as nice as can be to ‘woo’ them. Doing things such as holding the door, holding their purse, and giving compliments are used tactics to make a girl feel wanted.

However, if a boy is not interested in a girl, they would of never even have came up to you… which is horrible but kind of true.

So, now you all know what to look for if you want to know if a boy or girl is or is not interested in you. After gathering all of this information from my friends, it was easy to figure out that most of a person’s ‘game’ has to do with their body language.

Work Cited:

Your fellow classmates at Penn State

“Goo Goo Ga Ga!” What Babies Are Really Saying

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Body language is like the unsung hero of communication. It’s beautiful. It gives a human the ability to talk to someone without even speaking. A simple gesture or sound can tell a thousand words. However, in some situations, you might not even know what gesture a person is trying to make towards you. For example, what are babies trying to tell you?

They do not talk. DUH! However, they can certainly communicate with humans, especially their parents. The moment a baby comes out of the womb, they immediately use their body and sounds to talk to other humans. Body language does not have to be taught to a baby; it is innate.

“WAHHHH WAHHH”

Why the hell are these babies making this sound? To annoy the living crap out of you or are they trying to tell you something? According to studies, when a baby cries, they are just trying to tell someone that they are hungry or that they just left a nice little goodie in their gift-basket (Infant 1). Another reason a baby would cry is if they are angry or in some kind of pain (Infant 1).

“GOO GOO GA GA!!!!!!”

Oh jeez, now what the hell are they trying to say? It is so cute, but why are they making these noises at you? Whenever a baby moans at you, they are trying to tell you that they are satisfied (Infant 1)! So if you hear a murmur from a baby, that is a good sign! That is their way of saying “Keep doing what you’re doing!”

As babies start to grow up a little, they start to use their hands as a way to communicate with others. They will point at certain objects to say “I want that!” or “Give that to me!” (Infant 1). Besides the hand gestures and sounds, babies also communicate by reflexes. There are so many different types of reflexes which helps parents understand what their baby is trying to say. According to various studies, when a baby is hungry they tend to grab onto their mother’s breast or nipple, which is known as the Sucking Reflex (Infant 1). Another reflex that babies tend to use is the Startle (Moro) Reflex, when babies spread out their arms and legs. A baby would support themselves like this to tell people that they are avoiding a fall (Infant 1). Another example is the Hand-to-Mouth Reflex, which is when babies start to suck on an object (Infant 1). This reflex is used to tell their mothers that they are hungry or that they want to get breast fed (Infant 1). How gross.

Babies are more than a cute little thing that you can play with, they are people as well. Even though they can not physically say words to us, they can still use body language to tell people what they want or how they are feeling. Babies are smarter than you think.

Actions speak louder than words.

Bye-Bye!

Work Cited

“Infant Reflexes.” BabycareAdvice.com Articles:. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.

N.p., n.d. Web.

SiOWfa14 Science in Our World: Certainty and Cont

The course website and blog for the Fall 2014 instance of Penn State's SC200 course

Tag Archives: body language

Suicidal Language

The Act of Flirting ;)

“Goo Goo Ga Ga!” What Babies Are Really Saying