Defend yourself: A mix of martial arts and practical self defence

In India, post the now infamous, tragic, Delhi gang rape, the number of women signing up for martial arts based self-defence classes has increased by leaps and bounds, resulting in a mixed response in context with the actual effectiveness of some forms of what is popularly known as "MMA" or Mixed Martial Arts. Understanding the pros and cons of some popularly taught forms of MMA, and juxtaposing them with practical knowledge such as learning how to remain calm during an attack, will allow us to develop an easy-to-master and easy to implement set of personal safety skills which will serve to protect us in case we are attacked.

One of the most popularly-taught forms of self-defence is Krav Maga, which constitutes a blend of mixed martial arts techniques such as boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu and Wing Chun, is non-competitive in nature and was developed in order to train Israeli Military Forces. Krav Maga is popularly taught, and is said to be effective for women as it is easy to learn and focuses on attacking vulnerable parts of the attacker's body such as the throat, eyes, groin and joints.

Aikido is another method which is popular due to its philosophy of combining self-defence without causing harm to the attacker. The philosophy behind Aikido is that when someone attacks you, they automatically lower their own defences, and that you remain defensively invulnerable if you do not counter-attack them. The technique involves learning how to fall, learning how to throw, and also involves mental and physical conditioning exercises. Its effectiveness is high but it could take time to master.

Jiu-jitsu is said to be one of the more female-friendly forms of self-defence as it allows relatively smaller people to disable larger and heavier attackers by disabling their centre of gravity. The method also involves gouging, kicks, choke holds and joint locks, which, if practised regularly under a trained instructor, would be highly effective during a fight.

Wenlido offers a combination of practical moves such as using specific words [learning to say "NO"] and various other preventative measures which are aimed towards avoiding a physical confrontation; physical confrontation, unlike the other aforementioned methods, is a last resort. Wenlido focuses mostly on mentally training women on how to ward off an attack, and can be mastered within 2 days.

Apart from popular MMA based self-defence techniques, some classes offer a blend of other, lesser-known but equally effective arts such as the Philippines based Escrima, which teach people how to use everyday articles and objects as "weapons", such as newspapers, umbrellas, even mobile phones. Escrima is a technique made popular by the Bourne series of films.

For those who are not interested in investing time and money into developing MMA-based skills, there are a host of other forms of self-defence, which range from wearing a whistle, to carrying cans of pepper spray, to loading handbags and purses with sharp objects to poke an offender with, and in extreme cases, carrying actual weapons. On a practical note however, it is safe to conclude that the most legal and lethal weapon every person can have is their own body strength, which is why learning some basic self-defence techniques, whether MMA-based or not, is not only recommended, but a valuable life skill.

This is a guest article by Glad2bawoman (www.glad2bawoman.com), an online, media, marketing company which publishes women centric articles. They have an ever growing community of over 75,000 members and publish articles revolving around Health, Empowerment, Relationships, Leisure and Fashion. Visit their site, to know more.

5 Side Effects of Drugs

Drugs are not to be messed around with and can be genuinely damaging to your health if not used as prescribed. The indiscriminate usage of medicines or substance abuse possesses its own negative effects, and some are either because of incorrect application, not taking the preventative measures or over using the medicines. A few of the recognized side effects of substance abuse as a result consist of:

1. Over dosage: although the individual does not have any inclination to increase the dose of the medication to be able to create a preferred effect, he might unintentionally take more than the required dosage either because he fails to realize what dosage he should take or due to the fact he thinks that the greater the dosage he takes the quicker the drug heals his ailment. Some over dose produce slight symptoms while some could be deadly.

2. Under dosage: another side-effect of substance abuse is under dosing. The individual might want to take the medication to be able to deal with or get rid of his condition however eventually ends up using a dosage insufficient to manage the condition or the offending organism. This means that the condition may advance unchecked because the medication taken is not really sufficient to prevent its improvement, and at the final resources and time period are lost. Death might at the same time result should the rate of acceleration of the illness is quick.

3. Drug resistance: One significant problem associated with drug under dosage is the organism that the person looks for to eliminate gets subjected to a low dosage of the medication and finally builds up resistance to it so even the usage of a greater dose of the identical medication later on will not take care of the disorder. This is actually the same reason treating malaria is becoming difficult since the plasmodium keeps building resistance to brand new suitable medicines because of under dosage. This over time means that many people wind up losing their lives to some illness that could have been healed by basic adherence to the correct medication dosage.

4. Potentiating illness: a few micro-organisms are normally safe to people even while they habit several areas of the body. These types of microorganisms that are referred to as commensal organisms can be possibly pathogenic or trigger illnesses when their organic state is changed by the indiscriminate usage of antibiotics specifically for a very extensive period of time. Because of this, antibiotics must not be mistreated or used without having a physician's prescription.

5. Drug reaction: a number of drugs can trigger serious toxic responses when used without the guidance of a doctor who must make sure that specific medicines are given at the same time with them or just before their administration to reduce their responses. However with substance abuse these types of preventive steps might not be taken prior to giving the drugs therefore increasing the likelihood of serious reactions. A few of the serious reactions are anaphylactic response, asthmatic attack, serious diarrhea, ringing in the ears, deafness, severe hypotensive response, wheal, vomiting, and so on.

John is a professional blogger writes interesting articles about Health and Rehabilitation and this article was researched and written with the help of Utah Drug Rehabilitation

Senate sends bill for prompt payment by managed-care firms to Beshear, who won't say whether he will sign or veto it

A bill aimed at resolving payment disputes between medical providers and Medicaid managed-care companies passed unanimously Monday in the Senate, and has been sent to Gov. Steve Beshear for his consideration.

House Bill 5, sponsored by House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, would apply existing prompt-payment laws to managed-care firms and would set up an appeal process in the Department of Insurance to handle disputes between them and medical providers. Those claims are now handled by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which administers Medicaid and has had some problems with the bill.

Hospitals, doctors and other health-care providers have complained that the cabinet is not resolving their payment disputes with managed-care firms, putting many rural hospitals, clinics and health departments in serious financial binds.  Mental health centers have also reported cutting back services.

Asked last night what he would do with the bill, Beshear said the cabinet "has worked with the managed-care organizations and health-care providers to reduce problems during the change, and many concerns have been addressed.  However, I recognize that some issues persist.  I will review this bill carefully.”

Beshear has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to decide whether to veto the bill, sign it into law or allow it to become law without his signature. Stumbo said that if bill is vetoed it would likely be House Bill 1 in the 2014 session, reports Jessie Halladay of The Courier-Journal. The bill is a top priority for many health-care providers.

Managed care, pension payments causing problems for community mental health centers; Edelen, C-J call for changes

"Kentucky mental health centers are cutting back services and struggling to assist patients the first time they’re admitted because of ongoing struggles with Medicaid managed care," Don Weber reports for cn|2. "At the same time, they’re losing out on federal grants because of red flags caused by their administration costs being inflated by increasing contributions to the public pension system."

NorthKey Community Care Mental Health Center in Northern Kentucky, which serves eight counties, had to close its adult day-treatment programs for the seriously mentally ill. Dr. Owen Nichols, the president and CEO, told Weber, “I get calls periodically from elderly parents in the community wanting help with their adult child that suffers from schizophrenia because they’re now wandering the streets, having some difficulties with local authorities.”

A recent editorial in The Courier-Journal addresses Kentucky's need for better mental health treatment, saying that Kentucky has "an underfunded, fragmented and now —thanks mostly to Medicaid managed care —hopelessly complicated system of mental health care."

The editorial notes last week's C-J articles in which reporters Laura Ungar and Chris Kenning uncovered the problems families face when navigating a fragmented mental-health system while trying to provide appropriate treatment for a loved one suffering form a severe mental illness, in addition to the "F" grade Kentucky received for its poor mental-health funding.

The editorial also describes how structural issues with managed care, which began in November 2011, have complicated the state's mental-health system. It notes the community mental-health centers asked to be left out of managed care, "pointing out they already operate efficiently and amount to only about 3 percent of the state’s $6 billion a year Medicaid program."

In addition, the editorial notes, "State Auditor Adam Edelen recommended the Cabinet for Health and Family Services take mental health out of managed care and let the state resume running it." Against his advice and the requests of community mental-health centers, the state expanded managed care of mental health. Now some haven’t been paid for Medicaid services since January, when managed care took effect, the editorial says.

"The nightmare needs to end for the many Kentuckians who need basic mental health services," says the editorial. "It’s time for the state to fully explore this system and, if folks are serious about improving it, fix the problems and find the money to fund it." (Read more)

Women's continued meth use

Women are more likely to use meth than other drugs and often have a harder time getting free of the drug than men.

Why Women Continue to Use Meth

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that forms a quick, strong dependency, even with limited use. Once a methamphetamine addiction has begun, it is a very difficult dependency to break, and women face unique challenges in this area. Many women in turn to meth to help them lose weight and have more energy to keep up with the demands of life, including child care, work, and home care.

Many women are unwilling to seek treatment for their meth addiction because they are afraid of having their children taken away from them when their problem is revealed. Many female meth addicts are single moms with no constant father figure in the lives of their children. Addiction is an isolating disease and these women have no one to care for their children while they're in treatment, leaving them with only the option of turning their kids over to the state until they can get clean. Many women feel that it would be better to try to get clean on their own in order to stay with their children.

For those women who do manage to enter a treatment program to address their addiction, the road to recovery is a particularly difficult one. Many women who are being treated for meth leave treatment early because they are worried about their kids. Even those who do finish have a very hard time staying clean at home. The demands of raising children, attending treatment, going to work, and caring for their home cause a level of exhaustion that they feel they can only relieve by returning to meth use. Out of all of the Utah women who have managed to get clean after a meth addiction, most have failed at treatment at least once and returned to using the drug. Many of these women have lost custody of their children and even been to jail, but they still continue to use the drug.

One of the answers to the increasing meth problem in Utah is to make treatment more available to those suffering from addiction, especially women. Treatment programs tailored specifically to meet the needs and address the concerns of women can encourage moms to complete their program. Sober houses where women can live with their children during recovery have been shown to increase the success rate of staying clean after inpatient treatment is completed. Making support groups for women dealing with addiction more available and visible in our communities may also help decrease the rate of relapse.

John is a professional blogger writes interesting articles about Rehabilitation and this article was researched and written with the help of Las Vegas alcohol rehab

All About Mental Health

Source: Best Mental Health Degrees

Mental health issues are more prevalent in Americans than almost any other type of health problems, but often go untreated because people are conditioned to believe that there may be something wrong with themselves if they suffer from emotional difficulties. Even though anti-depressant use increased about 400 percent between the years of 1998 and 2008, many people still elect to ignore symptoms of depression and anxiety or try to mask them with alcohol or other recreational drug use.

Women in their 40s and 50s take more antidepressants than any other group. Children are also prone to have mental health disorders; it's estimated that 20 percent of the children on the planet suffer from some type of mental health problem. Major depressive disorder is the major cause of disability in people between the ages of 15 and 44.

About half of all mental health disorders begin before the age of 14, so monitoring children for signs of them can be especially beneficial.

Lamictal Depression And Medication

Lamictal is a GlaxoSmithKline product and is described as an anticonvulsant medication. While Lamictal is the trade name, it is also known as Lamotrigine.

Lamictal is prescribed for quite a few conditions such as:

• BPD or bipolar disorder
• Seizures of various kinds
• Epilepsy and
• Depression

Lamictal also comes in a few forms and each of them is prescribed differently. Mainly speaking, this medication can be found as:

• ODT or orally disintegrating tables
• Tablets
• Chewable Dispersible tablets

Use in depression

One of the main uses of Lamictal is in treating depression. In fact, in the year 2003, the FDA had approved the use of Lamictal in treating bipolar disorder. In the recent past, the drug has shown some benefits in treating patients with unipolar depression too. A doctor will prescribe Lamictal based on the patient’s condition and health history but the one thing to watch out for is the fact that Lamictal will take a long-ish period of time to start showing its effects. Similarly, when coming off Lamictal, the medication has to be tapered off gradually.

  How does Lamictal depression treatment work?

Very simply put, this drug is capable of affecting the way the brain functions via neurotransmitters. By altering this mechanism, Lamictal is able to bring down attacks such as seizures and reduce the occurrence of depressive disorders too. In fact, one of the ways in which it helps in reducing the occurrence of depression triggers is by reducing the amount of glutamate produced by the brain. This action on glutamate levels is one of the hallmarks of the way Lamictal works in treating depression.

Why is Lamictal depression treatment slightly different?

• One of the things about using Lamotrigine is the fact that does not have the same chemical nature as other anti- convulsant drugs and this makes its workings slightly more difficult to study.
• Apart from the fact that it works on glutamate levels, Lamictal depression treatment is also known for its action on preventing the activation of nerve cells based on sodium presence. This results in the nerve cells being unable to release chemicals that otherwise go on to cause depression
• Lamictal has also shown to be greatly effective in treating depression that has resisted other medication or treatments. This is especially true while treating BPD patients who have not had effective results with anti-depressants.
• Bipolar disorder treatment with the help of Lamictal has also shown very effective results when the patient is in the depression phase of the cycle.

Kentucky families struggle to care for violent, mentally ill children, and say their plight has been made worse by managed-care firms

Kentucky families struggle to care for violent, mentally ill children, and say their plight has been made worse by managed-care companies that fragment mental-health care and make it harder to find appropriate, stable treatment, which ultimately places the larger public at risk, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal.

Ungar writes that the lives of these Kentucky families resemble in part the one that lead to a devastating outcome in Newtown, Conn., where 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who had poor mental health and was under his mother’s care, went on a shooting rampage in an elementary school and killed 20 students and six staff members.

To represent the Kentucky families fighting, this battle, Ungar tells the story of the Davies family, who battle to keep themselves safe from the violent rage of their 14-year-old daughter, Lucy, while struggling to find the help she needs. Lucy has threatened to kill her 16-year-old sister, Katie, and herself, she’s tried to throw Katie and her father Dan down the basement stairs, and she’s been abusive to her mother.

Lucy suffers from a long list of disorders: neurological problems from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cognitive difficulties, Ungar reports. "Since Lucy was adopted at age 9, she’s received fragmented treatment in more than six facilities and doctors’ offices, none of which have been able to stop her violent outbursts," Ungar writes. Now, her Medicaid managed-care insurer, Coventry Cares, won’t cover her treatment in an Illinois facility called NeuroRestorative, which Ungar says offers her the best chance at improvement.

"The care tracking is just so fragmented, and we have managed-care companies that determine from afar what care people can get. They go from provider to provider. It’s a tragedy," said Louise Howell, president of Buckhorn Children and Family Services, where Lucy was treated briefly before becoming too violent for the staff. “This child is a perfect example of someone in need of a strong therapeutic community," Howell said. "And there’s so many of them."

Before going to Buckhorn, Lucy was at Rivendell Behavioral Health Services in Bowling Green, where she received brief treatment after threatening to kill her sister. From Buckhorn she got an emergency transfer to Our Lady of Peace in Louisville, which could handle her high level of violence. She was released when she moved from the Medicaid plan Kentucky Spirit, which plans to break its contract with the state, to Coventry Cares, with which Our Lady of Peace had severed ties.

Lucy's mother told Ungar that every switch of caregiver and facility increases the trauma to her daughter, who desperately needs stable care. Lucy’s parents say she would have such stability at NeuroRestorative, where her fetal alcohol syndrome could be addressed on a long-term basis. But two doctors working for Coventry, who have never examined Lucy, told her parents that Conventry "won’t cover the placement because there’s no evidence that inpatient care for brain trauma is medically necessary," Ungar reports.

Her eyes full of tears, Cynthia Davies told Ungar, “You cannot look into my daughter’s eyes and tell me she doesn’t deserve care. She’s a human being.” (Read more)

Kentucky receives an F grade for its low funding of mental-health services; supply falls short of demand

Kentucky's supply of mental-health services is much lower than demand for those services, in terms of state funding, and the state spends only 45 percent of the national average in mental-health funding per person.

In 2010, Kentucky dedicated about $232 million to mental-health services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is $54 per person, compared with a U.S. average of $121 that year. That ranks Kentucky among the bottom 10 states without including individual mental health reimbursements for Medicaid, reports Chris Kenning of The Courier-Journal.

The state's Medicaid rates for mental-health services haven't been raised substantially in years, and only a fraction of mental-health facilities offer residential treatments, reports Kenning. He also reports the most recent “Grading the States” report of the National Alliance on Mental Illness gave Kentucky an F in 2009. The group considered measures such as the number of programs using evidence-based practices and the number of psychiatric beds.

Kentucky officials cite new efforts to improve care, such as partnering with the University of Kentucky at a new Eastern State Hospital that will open soon, and pursuing a change to allow Medicaid funding of community outpatient teams, reports Kenning. Kentucky also funds 14 regional community mental-health centers, which served 160,000 people last year, and there are 179 mental-health facilities, which include 40 offering residential care, reports Kenning.

Yet, these efforts fall short of providing mental health services for those Kentuckians in need.  In 2011, a surprisingly high 42 percent of Kentucky adult females and 31 percent of Kentucky males reported having poor mental health. Experts estimate that one in four people will suffer from some form of mental illness in a given year, which is nearly 1.1 million people in Kentucky, Kenning reports. 

It is critical for Kentucky officials to examine this issue in light of the Department of Health and Human Services rule that included mental-health benefits and treatment of substance-abuse disorders as part of the 10 "essential health benefits" insurance plans must provide when federal health reform takes full effect next year. HHS estimates it will expand mental-health and substance-abuse treatment benefits to 62 million Americans, and there is already a shortage of such services in Kentucky.

Essential-benefits rule expands mental-health and substance-abuse coverage; Ky. needs more facilities to treat newly eligible

The Department of Health and Human Services has defined the 10 "essential health benefits" insurance plans must provide, and it included benefits for mental health and treatment of substance-abuse disorders..

Nearly 20 percent of Americans don't have access to mental-health services and over 30 percent have no coverage for substance-abuse treatment. This rule will expand mental health and substance-abuse treatment benefits to 62 million Americans, according to HHS.

Expanded coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs in Kentucky could bring about a dramatic shift in the delivery of these services. There is already a shortage of treatment options and centers for Kentuckians, and those suffering from addiction have not had coverage for such treatment; the proposed rule will change that.

Recovery Kentucky, a public-private partnership with residential facilities, was created to help Kentuckians recover from substance abuse. It has 10 centers, in Campbellsville, Erlanger, Florence, Harlan, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Morehead, Owensboro, Paducah, and Richmond, according to the 2012 Justice & Public Safety Cabinet report, which included the map below. 

Health-insurance plans must cover the 10 essential benefits beginning in 2014, so the state must prepare for the newly insured in addition to newly covered services. The rule defines what must be covered in insurance plans and bans discrimination based on age or pre-existing conditions. Among the core package of items and services, known as “essential health benefits" are items and services in the following categories:

1. Ambulatory patient services
2. Emergency services
3. Hospitalization
4. Maternity and newborn care
5. Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment
6. Prescription drugs
7. Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
8. Laboratory services
9. Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
10. Pediatric services, including oral and vision care

States are given flexibility in implementing the federal health-care reform law with a benchmark approach. The Kentucky Department of Insurance has recommended that the Anthem Preferred Provider Organization plan serve as the “benchmark” plan for the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange. HHS will review the recommendation and accept public comments prior to making a final decision. (Read more)

5 Tips for Promoting Women's Mental Health

Gabriela D. Acosta is the community manager for the University of Southern California online MSW programs, which offers a mental health social work concentration. She is also passionate about social justice, diversity workshops, and community development.

5 Tips for Promoting Women's Mental Health

Women face stressful situations every day, but how they handle them depends on the state of their mental health. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, emotionally healthy people have control of their thoughts, feelings and actions; they have positive self-esteem and good relationships, and can keep problems in perspective.

"Good mental health isn't just the absence of mental health problems. It's about having a sense of balance in your life time alone and time with friends and family, work and play, rest and exercise. It's about taking care of yourself body and mind," advises Susan Kornstein, MD, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publication "Women's Mental Health: What it Means to You."

To improve your own mental health, try following these five tips:

1. Learn to cope with stress.

Everyday stress can take its toll on women's bodies as well as on their coping skills. Stress can come from many sources, both positive and negative: losing a job, death of a loved one, getting married and being promoted. Your body produces stress hormones, which can lead to headaches, high blood pressure, sleep problems, sexual difficulties and other problems.

One way to cope with stress is to not take on too many commitments. An overloaded schedule can lead to anxiety and depression. Also, try learning relaxation techniques such as meditation, massage, muscle relaxation, yoga and Tai Chi. Additionally, recognize the impact of negative thinking, and try to turn negative thoughts ("I can't do this") into more positive ones ("This may be difficult, but I'll tackle it one step at a time").

2. Connect with others.

Make sure that most of the people in your life are positive and supportive; pessimists, critics and complainers can deplete you. Seek out friends and family members who affirm your worth and who support and listen to you. Look for friends at the gym, book club, women's organizations and spiritual community who may be able to help you. Positive relationships can increase your self-esteem, reduce your stress and help you cope with crises.

3. Eat the right foods.

What you eat may also affect your mood. Have you ever felt sleepy after eating greasy take-out burgers and fries? Do you feel refreshed after eating a green salad or sauteed vegetables? The right foods keep the central nervous system functioning. Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and seafood (if not vegetarian), and minimize processed, refined foods to boost your mental health.

4. Keep moving.

Exercise can create beneficial brain chemicals call neurotransmitters and endorphins, and lessen immune system chemicals, which can cause depression. Exercise can also boost your confidence as you meet your goals and feel better about how you look. Working out can help you cope with depression and anxiety in a positive way. Exercise also doesn't have to be restricted to going to the gym or running; it can be as simple as yard work, walking around the neighborhood or doing housework.

5. Get enough sleep.

If you don't get enough sleep, your immune system may decrease and your judgment may err. If you're tired, you may get more irritated over little things and have a hard time coping with larger problems. Most people need seven or eight hours of sleep each night. If you have trouble sleeping, you should train your body to stick to a consistent schedule, limit your caffeine, nicotine and alcohol consumption, and try not to go to bed too hungry or too full. Exercising and avoiding daytime naps will also help put you on a more regular sleep cycle.

Ways to Acquire Fitness without the Plight and Cost Restraints

Often people consider the acquisition procedure of the membership of a health club or a gym as a daunting task. It comprises of detailed forms to be filled that include facility equipment information, timing constraints, rules and regulations, payment methodology, workout levels and so on. Sometimes you want to visit gym to relax and tone your body but find it closed or at times you want to stay alone during your workout but people tend to disturb your privacy and cause annoyance. You have to bear unpleasant people sometimes and don't want to be rude to them. However, a gym is a good place for the people who like to meet and get to know each other, but not for the reserved people.

There are numerous ways to achieve fitness and vigor without the troubles and payment issues of the health club or gym memberships. One has to keep a practical approach and make wise decisions in spending money because of the prevalent economic dilemma. Prioritize your needs and wants and try to save your money instead of spending it lavishly on workout or other activities. Gym is a good place to acquire fitness and to enjoy but it involves finance, therefore be wise and try to achieve fitness without spending your money.

Following are few tips to acquire fitness without the plight and gym membership cost:

1. Opt for Walking or Jogging

Walking or jogging require no spending and are considered the greatest ways to get into shape. You can make walking or jogging as your routine either before leaving for work or during weekends. You can take your dog along you or ask your spouse to join you to make it more fun.

2. Meditation

Meditation helps to avert all kinds of stresses and mental pressures and keep you fit. Meditate before going to bed or every morning every day. There are no hard and fast rules for meditation, you can meditate whenever you want to in any part of the day. The results of meditation are amplified in a calm and quiet place but you may turn on any soft music of your choice at the background to soothe your senses you more.

3. Enjoy Nature or Gardening

Gardening refreshes your mind and body as you are close to nature that relaxes you completely. Try to do gardening at weekends by watering your plants and related work. This will make you healthy as it is a natural psychotherapy which involves no money. You will feel more comfortable and happy as it will free you from all negativities of life.

4. Picking up the Right Nutrition

Pick those food items that possess essential nutrition to keep your body healthy. If right type of food is not picked then you might suffer from malnutrition. Therefore, consult experts or dietitian to suggest you the right nutrition your body requires and don't depend on your craving habit.

5. Sustain a Healthy Living

Healthy living refers to opt for good things in life and avoid all the bad ones. All those things that can cause harm to your health should be discarded at the earliest like, alcohol, drugs, smoking and eating excess food. Be smart in sustaining a healthy living.

6. Constructive Attitude

Constitutive attitude or approach is really beneficial in keeping the body healthy and toned. For acquire complete package of fitness you have to be positive in everything you think or do, otherwise all your efforts like workout and consumption of healthy food will not accomplish your fitness goal.

Fitness doesn't require huge finances. It requires determination and wise decisions for opting what is best for your health. So, be smart and keep your body healthy and fit.

Report says veteran suicide rate is up from 2007

Almost every hour in this country, on average, a veteran commits suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 22 veterans per day took their own lives in 2010, up four a day from the 2007 rate. Perhaps contrary to public perception, the report said most suicides occurred among veterans over 50. It recognized Vietnam-era veterans as a risk group, as well as female veterans.

Military service members come disproportionately from rural areas. Kentucky has two army posts, Fort Knox and Fort Campbell.

(Among active service members in 2012, more died from suicide than in combat, we reported here. The Army said Friday that 325 soldiers committed suicides last year; if the tentative number is confirmed, it would be a historical high. "If that bleak total remains at 325, the toll in 2012 would have risen by 15 percent over 2011 when the Army sustained 283 suicides," NBC News reported.)

Reactions to the VA report ranged from encouragement to outrage. The VA pointed out that the daily veteran suicide rate has "remained relatively stable over the past 12 years," but the percentage of the overall national suicide rate accounted for by veteran suicide has actually decreased.  Veteran suicides accounted for about one-fifth of American suicides in 2010, down from one-fourth of suicides in 1999.

The VA said that showed its programs are working, but promised to take "immediate actions." NBC reported that "the top strategy" on the VA's agenda was an already-established task force that could help suicide screening identify warning signs earlier.

Some groups were dismayed by the VA report and demanded more action. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America called for more research and collaboration. "The country should be outraged that we are allowing this tragedy to continue," IAVA found and CEO Paul Rieckhoff told NBC.

On Feb. 13, the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs will hold a hearing on veterans and mental health care. The Veterans Crisis Line -- 800-273-TALK -- is available for veterans who are concerned about their mental health. (Read more)

Improving Kentucky's mental health calls for the action of schools and doctors to identify children's mental health needs early

Many people may think that addressing mental health needs in Kentucky relies mostly on more funding, but its effectiveness hinges more on the ability to identify children who need help and make sure they get it early, two experts said on cn|2's "Pure Politics" Tuesday.

About half of mental illnesses begin to appear before a person turns 14, reports cn|2's Ryan Alessi. Mental-health experts say it’s often more effective and efficient to treat children, and it’s easier for parents to make sure their children get help than it is for someone to convince or coerce an adult exhibiting symptoms that he needs treatment, said Dr. Allen Brenzel, a child psychiatrist.


Encouraging school officials and doctors to identify children with these needs can be a challenge, Brenzel said, because it is difficult for a teacher to have tough conversations with parents about this topic. Also, while doctors may be most important in this process, obstacles exist because our current "system of care doesn't promote the amount of time and effort and importance on these issues," he said.

When a primary-care doctor's offices are jammed with sick patients and a parent comes in to discuss problems their child is having in school, "That’s a challenging environment in primary care,” Brenzel said. “But people trust their primary care providers very often, and that is where they go. So some of what we need to look at is co-location of services.”

Brenzel said we need a system with a single point of access, where a family can be greeted, there is a period of engagement and a reimbursement structure that supports the time and efforts required by behavioral health.

"We need to integrate behavioral health into the overall health care system," he said. "We have a very fragmented and inefficient system that leads to confusion when a family identifies that their child needs help and this isn't going to be fixed by a medical model.  We now know that the kinds of services need to be much more comprehensive and supportive. A system that allows a comprehensive mental and behavioral health assessment of needs will allow us to triage many kids out of the juvenile justice system."

Benzel said this is a societal issue and for every $1 that we spend in supportive services, we can avoid spend $5 later on adult incarcerations and adult prison. On average, it was more than $2,000 cheaper per person to treat a child than an adult. It amounted to $4,328 per child compared to more than $6,500 for each adult treated, Alessi reports.

Families may be fearful of the cost of mental-health services, but there are resources for people without mental-health insurance coverage at the 14 mental health centers in Kentucky, said Steve Shannon, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Mental Health/Mental Retardation Programs.

In terms of resources, Kentucky spent nearly a half billion dollars on mental health for people under 21 in the 2010-11 fiscal year. For adults, the state spent more than $730 million, according to figures from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. (Read more)

Information on CNA Job Description

After completing the CNA program and acquiring the CNA license, the next step is to begin your CNA career. So, you need to be aware of different types of job you will require to do in the future. Remember job of a CNA is not so simple. Most of the certified nursing assistants perform their duties in hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities. CNAs are the professionals who offer primary treatments to the aging, recovering or terminal patients. Thus, it is necessary that a CNA needs to be ready for the job. CNA training schools can prepare the students for this specific job.

CNAs can work in different settings including hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, psychiatric care center, adult homes, rehabilitation center, long term care unit and other healthcare facilities. Similarly, then can even work as private nursing assistants in home, travel, military and schools. However, the CNA job description differs as per the health settings. The job description of a CNA in one facility can be different from another.

General CNA Job Description

Typically, the CNA job description involves personal care including dressing, feeding and bathing of patients. They may also need to help the patients in brushing teeth and combing hair. They help to transfer the patients from location to another as required. When the patients are recovering certified nursing assistants need to help them with wide range of group and motion activities including daily exercises.

Mental Health Care

The duties of CNAs employed in hospitals differ from that of CNAs in mental health care unit. In this unit, nursing assistants will have to deal with people who have anxiety, trauma conditions, behavioral disturbances, mood disorders, suicidal tendencies, along with other signs of mental sickness. CNAs work under the direct supervision of registered nurses in this setting. Normally the job description includes gathering and documenting the data, giving emotional support, respecting the rights and independence of the patients, maintaining privacy and confidentiality of patients, and other duties as per the necessity.

Nursing professionals who work in mental health care unit should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. They should be able to work closely with the members of emergency department. In order to report the condition of patients to the superiors good communication skill is essential.

Private Nursing Assistant

A CNA is hired privately in this setting, which means the nursing assistant perform the duties inside the home of patient. The duties of CNAs in this setting include helping the patient in grooming, feeding, bathing, administering glucose injection, counting and measuring the vital signs, and measuring the consumption of liquid.

The nursing assistants also assist the patients in moving around either by wheel chair or through walking. They may even require performing some other duties such as cleaning the rooms, changing bed linens and emptying bed pans. Sometimes they also need to do cooking of food, housekeeping and several other duties.

There is no doubt the job description of a CNA is quite tiresome. Because of this the nursing assistants need to have strength to perform their duties during their shifts. It may be difficult but it is surely a rewarding job.

Author Bio: Scott Garcia is a career counselor with many years of blogging experience. Know how to become an ultrasound tech right from him.

Laser Treatment - An Easy Way For Tattoo Removal

Body art or Tattoo design is a big business in New York City & even all over the world. Since a 36-year ban against tattooing was lifted in 1997, the city issues hundreds of two-year tattoo licenses each year to the artists. In 2011, there were a total of 2,127 tattoo licenses issued; according to the statistical reports given by the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene.

A research shows that as many as 22% of U.S. college students have at least one tattoo, and about half of people who get tattoos later try to have them removed.

According to researchers older tattoos are not easy to remove. Some say removal is not only painful, but is also expensive, but thanks to the technological advancements it has become really easy to get your tattoo removed at a cost effective price.

Is Laser Treatment The Safest Way For The Removal Of Tattoos?

Yes, Laser tattoo removal is the safest method as there are no side effects of this treatment. It is considered as an effective treatment because it makes tattoos of all sizes and colours to simply fade away. Most of the doctors and tattoo professionalism prefer to use laser treatment to avoid pain and all sorts of side effects.

The light from the laser targets pigments in colour of tattoo. Over time the ink is removed through the body's lymphatic system. This way the tattoos get removed without any spin-off.

How Tattoo Removal Works?

To know how a tattoo removal works, a person must know the actual process of the formation of a tattoo on to the body.

Tattoos are made by using a motorized needle. This needle perforates holes in the upper skin of a body which is visible by naked eye as upper skin is known as epidermal layer, and at the same time this needle injects or inserts the ink into these holes. After the ink is injected, it is then made to connect together with the skin molecules and as a result a permanent tattoo is formed.

The tattoo removal works, in an effective way to remove tattoos. Researchers have determined the wavelengths of light that must be used as well as procedures for best removal of a tattoo ink. (In case you're wondering whether the laser treatment may remove normal skin spots, then you don't have to worry as this does not happen at all.

Getting Help for Adult ADHD

You struggle with organizing your life. It seems hard to focus on information. You're constantly lost in your own world. Most adults don't realize that ADHD is more than just a disease for children, it also affects close to 5 percent of the adult population in the United States, many of which were undiagnosed cases when they were growing up. If you think you have ADHD, the good news is that you're not alone. There are medications to help you control this disorder, but many patients benefit more from getting help from others and learning tips and tricks to teach themselves how to better manage their condition. Before you consider medicines, you want to take a look at your resources.

1. Your Family Doctor

Quite a few adults with ADHD discover that they may have the disorder at the same time one of their children is diagnosed. If you're working on controlling your child's ADHD with your doctor, you could feel comfortable enough to discuss with them the possibility of you also seeking treatment. Explain to them the difficulties you've faced that are similar. Some doctors are happy to admit that they're not familiar enough with ADHD to make a firm diagnosis, but they can refer you to an ADHD specialist who can.

2. Mental Health Centers

You might feel that there is a stigma attached to seeking help from mental health professionals, but many of the reasons people need therapy or assessment are very common. If you find out what kind of mental health resources are available in your area, they will almost certainly have someone on staff who is an expert in ADHD and can give you more information. If there is a college or university near you with a strong psychiatry department, they could be a good source of information as well.

3. Therapists and Coaches

If you're going to get serious about controlling your ADHD symptoms, there are professional coaches available that are accredited through the Institute for Advancement of ADHD Coaches. These professionals can help you with both long-term goals and daily life. They will discuss with you the changes you want to make in your behavior and what steps you can take to get there. Many therapists have experience in adult ADHD as well, and they will be able to teach you ways to change your thinking.

4. Support Groups

Support groups are incredibly essential for anyone struggling with a mental disorder, and adult ADHD is no exception. When you listen to other people's stories, you will know how many regular, everyday people like you are affected by ADHD and be able to relate to what they're going through. You can also get ideas for how other people cope with the condition, which can leave you feeling less worried about your future.

Adult ADHD can have a major impact on your life, and it is not something to be taken lightly. If you suffer from ADHD, you have a much higher chance of problems at work and problems in your relationships. Along with that comes the feeling of never really being in control of your life. You owe it to yourself not to struggle anymore, and the first step to making that a reality could be reaching out to someone who is willing to lend a hand.

Sarah Martin writes for medical blogs. If you've been dealing with a short attention space, look into the ways in which training and mentoring can help you be more focused.

UK, not questioned mental-health agency, will run Eastern State

Herald-Leader photo by Mark Mahan: Hospital nears completion

The University of Kentucky will manage the new Eastern State Hospital, replacing the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, which has operated the current facility since 1995. The new hospital, being built on UK's Coldstream Research Campus off Newtown Pike, will replace an outdated facility along that boulevard in central Lexington.

Gov. Steve Beshear "said the state and UK intend for Bluegrass Regional to remain an 'integral part' of the new hospital, and would help with the transition, but he provided no details," Linda Blackford reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. The state and UK HealthCare have signed a letter of intent to enter into a contract, but details remain to be worked out, said Audrey Tayse Haynes, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. She said the initial contract would be for one year and $43 million.

"Beshear said talks between the state and UK began before the Lexington Herald-Leader reported in June 2012 on questionable spending at Bluegrass," leading to a state audit, Blackford reports. "The audit found lax board oversight and lavish spending on executives while front-line workers went without pay raises."

"Beshear said the new partnership would put Kentucky at the forefront of mental health care because of the clinical expertise that UK brings in neuroscience, psychiatry, pharmacy, nursing and social work," Blackford writes.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/01/18/2481231/university-of-kentucky-expected.html#storylink=cpy

State Auditor Edelen faults Bluegrass mental-health agency for executive compensation, lax management and board oversight

The Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, a nonprofit agency that gets two-thirds of its money from taxpayers, "paid more than $2.8 million in executive-benefit contributions since 1997 to the president/CEO and various other employees solely at the discretion of the President/CEO with no scrutiny by board members," state Auditor Adam Edelen said in a press release this morning. "The contributions, which are designed to retain talent within an organization, were largely awarded to a core group of central office administrative staff while health-care employees received either no contributions or less significant amounts."

Edelen's release said the audit, made in response to "news media reports and anonymous concerns," also "found problems with . . . spending without supporting documentation and lax management practices." For example, Bluegrass spent $172,025 on lobbying from January 2011 to September 2012 without adequate documentation, and President/CEO Shannon Ware, right, and a consultant "spent nearly $38,000 on credit cards during an 18-month period without detailed receipts to document the business purposes," the release said. The full report is available here. It confirmed several findings by the Lexington Herald-Leader; for the H-L story on the audit, by John Cheves, go here.

UK team gets $1.5 million NIH grant to continue success with cell-level study of Alzheimer's disease factor

University of Kentucky researchers have provided the first direct evidence that activated astrocytes could play a harmful role in Alzheimer's disease.

A UK news release explains, "The astrocyte is a very abundant non-neuronal cell type that performs absolutely critical functions for maintaining healthy nervous tissue. However, in neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, many astrocytes exhibit clear physical changes often referred to as 'astrocyte activation.' The appearance of activated astrocytes at very early stages of Alzheimer's has led to the idea that astrocytes contribute to the emergence and/or maintenance of other pathological markers of the disease."

UK researchers gave mice gene therapy at a very young age and assessed them 10 months later. The astrocyte activation improved brain function and preserved cognitive function. The research, published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience, has led to a five-year, $1.5 million National Institutes of Health funding grant to the researchers and the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging to further this line of study. Chris Norris, an associate professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology, is the senior author of the study. (Read more)