Mental Infection Awareness Week

Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) takes place October 3-9 and is an opportunity to learn more about serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Mental illnesses are medical illnesses. One in four adults experiences a mental health problem in any given year. One in 17 lives with serious, chronic disorders. "Many people in our community are directly affected by mental illness,” NAMI Acadiana, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “The good news is that treatment does work and recovery is possible. The bad news is that in many states around the country, including ours, they are being cut.”

While it's great to join together to raise awareness one week each year, we know mental illness affects us year round. Most of us are, or have been, affected by mental illness in one way or another, whether it is an illness we have personally, or one which affects a family member, friend, or acquaintance. In an effort to bring increased awareness to this prevalent illness, as well as to raise funds to promote education, support, and advocacy NAMI Acadiana is sponsoring its fourth annual fundraiser, NAMIWalks Acadiana 2010, to coincide with Mental Illness Awareness Week

Mental Fitness Program In Ottawa

OTTAWA —The Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health has received a $1.5 million donation that will fund a new women’s mental health program. The funding is coming from community builder and philanthropist Shirley E. Greenberg. The donation will help create the Shirley E. Greenberg Resource Centre for Women at The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, which was officially opened Tuesday, the hospital said in a media release.

The new program is intended to promote mental health and wellbeing for women, the release says by "ensuring that the unique biological, social and cultural needs of women are embedded into mental health care and research," the release said.“Women and men experience life differently from both a social and physiological perspective.“Women and men experience life differently from both a social and physiological perspective.

The program will focus on:

• Providing resources and support specific to women’s needs.

• Understanding and improving how women experience treatments for mental illness and integrating the female perspective into clinical care throughout The Royal and the region.

• Funding research that specifically examines women’s mental health.

• Providing education to promote early detection of mental illness, guidance in seeking care, accessible resources, coping skills.

• Educating caregivers, the community, and women everywhere about the unique ways in which mental ill health affects women and their families.

Mental Fitness in Children

Childhood mental illness occurs in about 20% of U.S. children during a given year, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Further, nearly 5 million U.S. children have some type of serious mental illness (one that significantly interferes with daily life).The term "mental illness" is not entirely accurate, since there are many "physical" factors -- including heredity and brain chemistry -- that might be involved in the development of a mental disorder. As such, many mental disorders can be effectively treated with medication, psychotherapy (a type of counseling), or a combination of both.

Identifying mental disorders in children can be tricky for health care providers. Children differ from adults in that they experience many physical, mental, and emotional changes as they progress through their natural growth and development. They also are in the process of learning how to cope with, adapt, and relate to others and the world around them. Further, each child matures at his or her own pace, and what is considered "normal" in children falls within a wide range of behavior and abilities. For these reasons, any diagnosis of a mental disorder must consider how well a child functions at home, within the family, at school, and with peers, as well as the child's age and symptoms.

Bipolar Shambles

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder, characterized by extreme mood swings which are beyond what most people experience. These extremes may include lows (depression) and highs (elation/mania) and it affects person’s daily activities in a bad way. If the fluctuation of the mood does not cause any problems in his/her daily activities, it is called cyclothymia and it is not an illness. But sometimes cyclothymia can go into full blown bipolar disorder. Features of bipolar disorder may change from one person to another or one episode to the next within the same patient. Classically patients present with prolonged depression alternating with mania.

Features of bipolar disorder
Elevated mood: - These patients have elevated mood that is out of keeping with the circumstances. They may be jovial and happy.
Increased energy: - Patients with mania usually gets up early in the morning and they say that they can do more work than usual. Their activity level is higher than the normal individuals.
Increased self-esteem:- They have overoptimistic ideas. Because of that they tend to overspend money.
Most of the patients can have social disinhibition. Due to that, they can become sexually promiscuous. In addition some patients may sing songs in inappropriate places

Illness Of Sick Leave

Mental health issues may not be a subject employees speak about as openly as heart problems or coming down with the flu, but research suggests they are using as much sick leave to address mental problems as any physical ailments. A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health concluded mental illness resulted in more sick days among Canadians than any other chronic illness, costing the country's economy $51 billion annually in lost productivity.

Closer to home, a 2007 study appearing in the Archives of General Psychiatry found mental disorders account for more than 1.3 billion lost productivity days a year in the U.S., whether they mean taking time off from work, school or unable to perform functions at home. Major depression was the second leading cause of lost productivity, eclipsed only by back pain. Psychologists say society is more open to talking about mental health problems than it used to be. But a stigma still is attached to the health issue. People who admit to suffering from some sort of mental disorder may face significantly higher insurance rates even if they present relatively little risk, and there always is the concern they could be passed up for promotions or important tasks because employers believe they can't handle the stress.

Reports Of Mental Illness

Canadian attitudes toward mental illness are a cause for concern, the Canadian Medical Association said Monday in releasing its annual report card on health care. The group's eighth annual report surveyed Canadians to measure attitudes and experiences with the health-care system."This year’s report card shines a harsh, and frankly unflattering, light on the attitudes we Canadians have concerning mental health," said the group's president, Dr. Brian Day, in a release.

The survey found:

• Almost half of Canadians, 46 per cent, think people use the term mental illness as an excuse for bad behaviour.
• One in four Canadians are fearful of being around those who suffer from serious mental illness.
• Half of Canadians would tell friends or coworkers that they have a family member with a mental illness, compared to 72 per cent for a diagnosis of cancer or 68 per cent for diabetes.
• Most Canadians, 61 per cent, would be unlikely to go to a family doctor with a mental illness, and 58 per cent would shy away from hiring a lawyer, child-care worker or financial adviser with the illness.

Being a part of our very poorly informed culture, my sisters and brothers were not really aware of any sort of mental illness.

Ridiculous Stigma Of Mental Illness.

OTTAWA - Bell will put $50 million into mental health programs over the next five years, the company said Tuesday. Canadians need to reduce the stigma associated with a problem that affects most families, the company's CEO said in a statement. "It's become apparent to Bell there's more to be done on understanding mental health issues," said George Cope. "One in five Canadians will experience mental health issues in their lives.

"Mental health is...still one of the least-funded areas of health," and accounts for 15% of health problems in Canada but gets only 6% of funding, Olympic medallist Clara Hughes added some star power to the event in Ottawa and will act as the face of the Let's Talk campaign. The campaign will donate 5 cents to mental health programs for every text message Bell customers send and every long distance call they make on Feb. 9, 2011.
Hughes, a six-time Olympic medallist, says the campaign is personal for her because she was depressed for two years after her first Olympic games. She asked to be part of the campaign because she wants to reduce the "ridiculous" stigma of mental illness.

End the stigma of mental disease

End the stigma of mental disease

A mental illness is n o more the fault of the patient than any other medical disorder. Those afflicted with mental illnesses are no different from those with cancer, heart problems or blindness. Mental illness reduces the job opportunities available to those who suffer from it. They often have difficulty in school, and find themselves lagging behind other students, even though many who suffer from mental conditions are intellectually gifted. Yet society tags them with a stigma that sets them apart from others.

Sweeping changes closed many health care institutions, leaving thousands of the mentally ill on the streets and contributing greatly to this country’s homeless problem. Newly developed drugs show progress, but prescribing them is still a crapshoot. It is virtually impossible to determine what will work and what won’t and most have horrific side effects.

Onslow County has experienced its share of suicides stemming from mental illness, including the recent death of a young serviceman who shot himself while struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. Tom Bagosy, a war veteran and the father of two small children, found no comfort or help within the system.

No one asks to be afflicted with a mental disorder; no one deserves to be treated as a pariah because they have one.

 

Sport helps young people strike mental health issues

Sport helps young people strike mental health issues

A SOCIAL enterprise scheme in Erdington which uses exercise to help young people with mental health issues is welcoming new members. Start Again is aimed at empowering young people with or at risk of mental health issues and encouraging them to regain control of their lives. Aimed at those aged 13 to 30, Start Again team gives the traditional approached one-on-one sessions, group work, help with housing issues, work placements, sexual health advice and confidence building. But they also offers exercise, which is shown to improve mental wellbeing. Their football coaching service provides young people with access to a structured and safe environment where football is used therapeutically and as a gateway into a wide range of developmental services

The scheme has proved so successful that it is now able to open up to new recruits and has a new base in the Erdington Health and Wellbeing Walk-in Centre, in High Street. Mark Peters, chief executive officer of the Start Again Project, said: "The results from our pilot project showed that at the end of the football programme, 90 percent of the participants enrolled in further education and there was a reduction in cannabis use and dependency on prescription drugs. Users continued to be involved with their own health after the sessions were finished, and one participant even signed up to start their own social enterprise in art and design."One in six people in the UK will have, at some point in their life, a mental health issue. It is widely known that effects of mental illness in early life have a negative impact upon people's opportunities to complete education, training, gain qualifications or become socially and economically independent."The Start Again team will be available at the Walk-in Centre, from 10am to 11am on Tuesdays and Fridays, from next week. Young people can drop in to sign up to the scheme.

HIV, AIDS disturbs Mental Fitness

HIV, AIDS disturbs Mental Fitness

                          

 Stress is a contributor to illness. Stress lowers the immune system’s ability to fight off viruses.

It is a “vicious circle,” in which people get ill, become stressed, and stress worsens the illness.
Doctors prescribe bed rest not just to allow the body to heal, but so the patient will calm down. .
It follows that a particularly stressful illness like HIV would be a great burden to a person’s mental health. People with HIV have weakened immune systems, and are advised by all means to reduce stress in their lives. This affects the way they earn a living and how they cope with family and personal relationships. Now it is learned from a meeting of mental health professionals in Johannesburg last week that people living with HIV and AIDS are at an increased risk of developing serious mental disorders. Such disorders go beyond the depression that inflicts people when they learn they are HIV positive–a depression that requires counseling and constant effort to overcome.For Swaziland, with its incipient psychiatric services, this is a tall order. But a foundation already exists – the incorporation of counselling into HIV testing services is well established.A counsellor is not a psychiatrist, however. A psychiatrist is a trained doctor who can detected serious mental illness and prescribe remedies, sometimes medication and sometimes talk therapy.

Participants in the Johannesburg meeting cited studies from all over the world that reported how in all populations it seems that mental health disorders are growing the fastest among people infected with HIV. Studies find that people with HIV have double the incidence of mental illnesses of HIV-negative people.

Oil-Spill Damage Spreads to people

Oil-Spill Damage Spreads to people

                                                          Psychiatrists and mental health professionals are responding to the emotional aftermath of the massive BP oil spill that disrupted the lives of thousands in states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil that spilled out of BP's Macondo well fouled the waters and shores of the Gulf of Mexico, then disrupted lives and communities along a coastline already devastated by a cascade of disasters.

Many were still struggling to recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Gustav in 2008 when the BP well blew up on April 20, killing 11 drilling-rig workers and spewing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf for the next three months. The blowout stunned the region's economy and stressed its residents psychologically.

Concern for contamination of fish and other seafood led to closing of some fishing grounds in the Gulf, crippling one of the region's major industries. Vacationers cancelled trips after seeing media reports of oil-soaked beaches. Fishermen, seafood processors, and resort workers found themselves without jobs for months, and perhaps longer.

Then the federal government's ban on oil drilling in the Gulf threw yet another segment of the economy out of work. Many people in the region work in both the oil and fishing industries and so were left with no way to pay their bills.

Mental Fitness Society Workers to be Furloughed

Mental Fitness Society Workers to be Furloughed       

                                          BATON ROUGE, La. - Some 250 employees of a local state agency that treats mental health and addictive disorders will be furloughed for seven days without pay to avoid a $518,000 deficit, the agency's executive director said. The move is being taken to avoid state employee layoffs, Capital Area Human Service District Executive Director Jan Kasofsky said Thursday. "If we did a layoff, it would really hurt our ability to deliver services," Kasofsky said. She said the furlough will affect services some, "but when we are up and running we will be able to run a better ship." 

                                                "It was the least disruptive of the options," Kasofsky said. Most of the affected employees are in direct service positions, including doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, therapeutic guards and medical records personnel, Kasofsky said. The Capital Area serves some 10,000 people in its mental health and addictive disorders clinics annually.

The district serves those in need of mental health and addictive disorder treatment in the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Ascension, East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana. Layoffs would have more severely affected the agency's ability to deliver services because ten or more employees would have lost their jobs, Kasofsky said. Under the plan, approved by Civil Service, affected employees will be furloughed at various designated times between now and the end of the year. The furlough days will be before or after state holidays

                                                                           

Medplus Service in USA

Medplus Service

                         MedPlus Services USA is the answer for many distributors that are not members of NDC who still need to buy medical products and supplies at competitive pricing from a reliable source. With over 100 healthcare manufacturers' products available from one source, you can bundle your purchase orders.    

                                           

Distributor rationalization and pressure to increase operating efficiencies are changing the way manufacturers evaluate their business models. What was considered an acceptable minimum order years ago may not be today. Worse yet, it may cost a distributor more money in freight and cause an unnecessary increase in order size to maintain access to a manufacturer's line.

MedPlus Services delivers a business solution designed to allow you access to multiple manufacturers, achieved in a single P.O., with no minimums. Online ordering is quick, easy and efficient and shipping directly. When you choose a supplier for healthcare products, look for a partner that will grow with you, provide the service you need and allow for future growth

Mental Health Sevice

                                                   Mental Health Sevice

                                     

People using community mental health services generally said they felt listened to and respected, but half didn’t know whom to contact in an out-of-hours crisis and many said they had insufficient understanding of their care, a survey by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has shown. The report also reveals a gap between provision of talking therapies and patients’ desire for them. The CQC has published the views of 17,000 adults who used specialist community mental health services – psychiatric outpatient clinic, local community mental health team or other community-based service – from July-September 2009. The survey covered 66 NHS trusts. Most service users (88%) said they were treated with respect and dignity, four in five (80%) said that their health and social care workers listened carefully to them, and nearly three-quarters (73%) said they were given enough time to discuss their condition and treatment. A similar proportion (72%) said they trusted and had confidence in their health or social care worker. However, many people said they felt insufficiently involved in their own care and had not been given adequate explanations of their treatment. Fewer than half (43%) of those prescribed new drugs in the past year claimed to have ‘definitely’ been told about possible side-effects of their new drugs and 29% said they were not told at all.

                                                                   

Fewer than half (48%) of patients said they ‘definitely’ understood what was in their care plan, 29% understood it ‘to some extent’, 15% were not sure and 9% did not understand it. Only just over half (57%) had had a meeting to review their care plan in the past year and only 44% knew the phone number for an out-of-hours mental health problem. Of the patients who said they wanted a form of talking therapy, more than a quarter (27%) had not received it. The survey also revealed large-scale unmet need for help dealing with people’s physical health problems and social problems such as finding and keeping employment or accommodation and claiming state benefits. Cynthia Bower, CQC Chief Executive, said: “There is no doubt that the added investment and attention over recent years has improved the quality of community mental health services. There are some very positive messages from service users, particularly about health and social care workers.

Physical Fitness For Womens

Women to Women: A Handbook for Active Aging by Catharine Stewart-Roache and Barbara Yarnell advises women on how to sustain physical fitness DENVER (MMD Newswire) September 15, 2010                                      

                                       

A Handbook for Active Aging by Catharine Stewart-Roache and Barbara Yarnell is a guidebook to women's health and fitness after the age of 50.Stewart-Roache and Yarnell were frustrated that the majority of women's health and fitness books on the market only targeted women up to age 45 or were written from a much younger point of view. Women to Women is written for mature women by mature women. Stewart-Roache and Yarnell take years of personal experience combined with scientific research to offer women tips on setting fitness and nutrition goals as they age. According to Stewart-Roache and Yarnell, maintaining or beginning an active lifestyle while aging can reduce the effects of many diseases common among women such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis and depression. Women to Women aims to demonstrate how participating in cardiovascular fitness, flexibility training, and strength training will greatly enhance mental, physical and emotional well-being. Within Women to Women, readers are given detailed advice on how to begin walking, running, swimming, strength training and flexibility training with a comprehensive appendix. Kirkus Discoveries Reviews says, "Stewart-Roache and Yarnell's refreshing, no-nonsense attitude toward aging can be summed up by their brusque, introductory statement that 'old can be active old or rocking chair old.' The book continues in a similarly conversational tone, with the first half consisting of a quick introduction to nutrition and aerobic exercise, interspersed with notes of friendly encouragement." With Women to Women, the authors hope to make physical fitness accessible and inspiring to women over 50.

       

One way to stop HIV in India

India has the world's fourth largest population suffering from AIDS. However, the estimated number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in India has declined drastically in recent years — from 5.5 million in 2005 to below 2.5 million in 2007. These new figures are supported by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Despite being home to the world's fourth largest population suffering from AIDS, the AIDS prevalence rate in India is relatively lower. In 2007 India's AIDS prevalence rate stood at approximately 0.30% — the 89th highest in the world. The spread of HIV in India is primarily restricted to the southern and north-eastern regions of the country and India has also been praised for its extensive anti-AIDS campaign. The US$2.5 billion National AIDS Control Plan III was set up by India in 2007 and received support from UNAIDS.

The main factors which have contributed to India's large HIV-infected population are extensive labor migration, low literacy level in certain rural areas resulting in lack of awareness and gender disparity. The Government of India has also raised concerns about the role of intravenous drug use and prostitution in spreading AIDS, especially in north-east India and certain urban pockets. A recent study published in the British medical journal "The Lancet" in (2006) reported an approximately 30% decline in HIV infections among young women aged 15 to 24 years attending prenatal clinics in selected southern states of India from 2000 to 2004 where the epidemic is thought to be concentrated.

The authors cautiously attribute observed declines to increased condom use by men who visit commercial sex workers and cite several pieces of corroborating evidence. Some efforts have been made to tailor educational literature to those with low literacy levels, mainly through local libraries as this is the most readily accessible locus of information for interested parties. Increased awareness regarding the disease and citizen's related rights is in line with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.