Bhard

Archive for June, 2010

The padded room. The straight jacket. The nurses tightening the leather confines on a writhing patient. That is the image that comes to my mind when I hear “state mental health hospital.” Unfortunate as it may be, this is not an entirely outdated image. While community- and university-based treatment facilities for mental illnesses have slowly begun progressing into recovery-based approaches, state hospitals on the eastern reaches of the country seem to be lost in the past; focusing on stabilization rather than treatment.

In the 1950s, those with mental illnesses were seen as societal misfits and were, consequently, jailed. The prison system became stressed and, as a result, the government issued funding for the creation of mental health asylums and hospitals. It is more then mere coincidence that such facilities were constructed directly next to state penitentiaries.

As mental health hospitals cropped up along the eastern coast, the mental health population was transferred from jails to asylums. Yet something was still wrong; the focus was still on simply removing the individuals from society. In the opinion of many practitioners, the purpose of hospitals was, to a large extent, to warehouse humans rather than to treat mental illnesses. Even for the most well-intentioned facilities treatment was largely an impossibility; the staff to patient ratio was incredibly imbalanced, meaning stabilization, rather than treatment and progression, became the priority.

But mental health workers did the best they could do with what they were given, and such workers should be commended and applauded for their bravery and devotion. As the years have progressed, treatment facilities have become far less stressed, making quality treatment within a state hospital a possibility in regards to patient-staff ratios. Unfortunately, as the mental health community has progressed into the concept of mental health recovery rather than mere treatment, the state institutions have not yet followed.

State practitioners still largely focus upon stabilization rather than systematic recovery. The difference is in the end result. Recovery focuses upon creating an improved living condition wherein those suffering from mental illnesses can continue to live rich, fulfilling lives while living on their own and being self-sufficient. Recovery is also largely driven by the consumer rather than the practitioner. Treatment and stabilization plans, on the contrary, do not focus upon self-empowerment and enrichment, but rather upon finding the right combination of medication to insure minimal down-spirals while the mental healthcare consumer remains in their current condition. Stabilization tactics are also largely driven by the mental healthcare practitioner, thus lack motivation goals innate to inwardly driven recovery methods.

The problem arises in the fact that stabilization might truncate symptoms with medication at a certain level, but such a treatment plan does not encourage a reduction of symptom interference levels or self sustainability. Stabilization of mental illnesses assumes the current condition of the mental healthcare consumer is as good as their life is going to get; the assumption that one can recover from a severe mental illness to live a fulfilling, successful life is not even made evident.

Mental illnesses and mental recovery demand a systemic, systematic treatment plan that addresses several factors of an individual’s life. The social network needs to be addressed. Housing needs to be addressed. Employment needs to be addressed. And yes, medication and symptom stabilization does need to be approached as well, but it is one factor of the overall treatment plan, not the entire purpose of mental healthcare systems.

To find out more about recovery-based facilities, check out the Mental Health Center of Denver’s homepage at MHCD’s homepage, or access their research and evaluation team’s homepage at Research and Evaluations.

The mental health recovery movement is continuously growing. State institutions are a great improvement over mental hospitals of the past, but the road to recovery lies in mental health recovery based approaches; those that treat multiple levels of a consumer’s life simultaneously. Recovery needs to be the focus, not stabilization. Fulfillment rather than existence. Happiness rather than mundaneness.

We live in a health-conscious country, yet our consumption of processed food and drink has made obesity out of control. Adult diseases like diabetes are showing up in our children and there seems to be a growing impression that being overweight is not that harmful to your health. Have you ever heard someone say, “I am fat, but fit?” Nothing could be further from the truth.

Overcoming obesity and overeating are not simple tasks. It takes a lot of effort to break bad eating habits but it can be done. There is not one solution or diet that will work for every single person, however, there are some general guidelines that will make a dramatic difference in almost everyone’s health.

1. Cut out sugar, soft drinks and fried foods. Eliminating these three on a daily basis can help you drop twenty pounds of extra weight in a very short time. Plus, you will help prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, plaque formation, stroke, heart attack and blood flow blockages.

2. Make sure you are getting enough Omega 3′s (Essential Fatty Acids) by eating fish, ground flaxseeds, pumpkin and black currant seed oils which contain linolenic acid.

3. Do not forget about Omega 9′s, another essential fat found in olives, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, avocados and a variety of nuts including macadamias and cashews. Nuts are one of the best sources for natural vitamin E and are good sources of magnesium and potassium. They contain the amino acid arginine, which the body uses to make nitric oxide. Nitric oxide improves blood flow to the heart and acts as a powerful antioxidant.

4. Eat your fruits and vegetables - they can dramatically change your body’s nutrient levels and increase your antioxidant activity. Eat sweet potatoes instead of a baked potato, add blueberries to your morning oatmeal or smoothie. Fill 1/2 your plate with vegetables or leafy greens.

5. L-cysteine is a very effective antioxidant and the benefits come from it’s sulfur content. Egg yolks are the best source for this sulfur, but you can get sulfur from garlic, onions and corn too. Sulfur is a great remedy for any skin or hair condition, and arthritis. Enjoy 2 eggs per day and include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale.

6. Exercise - you need to be in good physical condition and people who have poor muscle strength are more likely to suffer a fall or a broken bone. Do whatever you can to stay active and maintain muscle by doing weight-bearing exercise. There are 3 exercises you can do that will work all areas of your body from head to toe. They are push-ups, squats and stretching. You could join a gym or fitness facility and it will be well worth it.

The point is you have to include whole, unprocessed foods every single day. The key is to start now and be consistent with your efforts. Take it one step at a time from the list above and then add another to your routine. Eat more colorful foods, dark leafy greens, and take a good quality multi-vitamin every day.

Many of us rely on technology to solve our health problems and it has caused us to lose sight of the basics of good health. Our children are now aging prematurely, and diseases are popping up at a much earlier age. Drugs do not prevent disease but people can, by taking the necessary steps to take care of their own health. I wish you glowing good health, always!

Discount health and beauty products online allow you fast and easy access to many top cosmetics retailers at discount cosmetics prices. You can buy all your discount health and beauty products from secure discount health and beauty shops online. Shopping for discount health and beauty products online also provides discretion that you won’t find at the discount health and beauty stores that you have to go to in person. There are separate discount beauty aids for men and women. You can have discount cosmetics and discount health and beauty products delivered right to your door with just the click of a mouse.

On these sites you can find skin care products, discount cosmetics, makeover products, perfumes and other skin supplements. You can also find discount health and beauty products that are made from natural herbs and essential oils that you might not be able to find at your local drug store. There are a variety of different online discount health and beauty shops. Certain online department stores specialize in offering discount beauty products and cosmetics. There are also online shops that sell only discount luxury beauty products and top quality brands.

Many beauty product manufacturers have their own websites that provide more details regarding their products as well as discount prices. There are also a number of websites displaying lists of some of the best shops selling discount beauty products online. You can even find sites that display the week’s top seller of a particular product group, which makes it easier for you to judge the market value of a product. Discount health and beauty products for sale on the Internet have to satisfy specific guidelines to ensure quality.

Most discount health and beauty products purchased from websites include shipping charges along with the listed price. Some companies may charge shipping fees later during the delivery of the product however. Make sure to check into shipping and handling fees when buying discount health and beauty products online to determine whether you will actually be saving any money in the long run.

There is no question that being a youngster is hard. The stress of making important choices about the future, romantic entanglements, a changing body, a first job, driving lessons, & so many other limitless items only serve to craft the teenage years more complex. One thing that doesn’t have to add not needed pressure to an already frantic life is make up application. The following make up tips for youngsters cover a multitude of problems. Superior yet, these Make up tips will assist in avoiding general mistakes made by immature women learning to use Make up for the first time.

Make up Tip #1: Covering Basic Problems
o Concealed
o Powder
o Foundation

Acne is the plague of youth, but with the above items, most pimples can be covered well if not completely. The key is to choose both concealed & foundation that matches your skin tone. It is ideal to have a professional consultation performed to determine the perfect shade for your skin. If money is a concern, you can ask for samples from the area store performing the conference & use those samples to locate similar shades in less costly, drugstore brand make up.

Make up Tip #2: Read Your Lips
o Lip liner
o Lip gloss

Painting lips should be left sweet & simple. Select a lighter shade of lip liner & line all about the lips. Be careful not to line on the outside of the lips – simply stick to what nature gave you. Fill in the lips with the liner & then wrap with a pale gloss. Don’t go overboard with lips color lest you be left with Kool-Aid lips for the remaining day.

Make up Tip #3: Adding Color
o Shimmer
o Blush
o Bronzer

Using just one of the above items will enhance a youngster’s face delicately yet considerably. Blush, when used along the cheek bone, can create definition where there is none. When used on the apples of the cheeks (that is the area between the cheekbone, eyes, & nose), it can add plumpness to faces that may be drawn. Shimmer can be applied to the T-Zone with excellent results, & bronzer can be used all over to create a natural looking glow. It is important that, whichever of the three items that are chosen, they are used sparingly so as to not look excessively done, & to let your normal beauty excel through.

Interval training can mean several things to several individuals, but in the context of fitness training, a generic definition could be: a fitness training method that involves deliberately varying the intensity level of the training session at consistent intervals throughout the session. While interval training is not limited to the muscles of the lower body, for purposes of example, this article will focus on lower body interval training.

There are many reasons for one to incorporate

The government in most countries provides free healthcare facilities to most people. But some people still prefer to get medical treatment in private health care centers.

There are many such private hospitals that are present all over the world’s countries. This system of health care is called commercial health care as opposed to the more common public healthcare. People take to private health care as it provides better facilities and prompt services.

A lot of the patients that come to a non-public health care provider do because they have insurance. Many of the private hospitals provide link ups for patients to the insurance companies and help them process their insurance swiftly.

In spite of all this, private healthcare is much more expensive as compared to public healthcare. For the general public, even though the insurance plans do provide all that is required, they still do not provide complete cover to the individual. Some or the other diseases are not covered in most insurance policies.

There are many reasons why risk management is and should be a very important part of all planning that happens in any private health institution. For any private health center, the patients that it treats are charged much higher as compared to what it costs them in any government funded hospital. This means that the customers expect that good services from you.

Risk management strategies like getting customer feedback from time to time and also having a patient grievance forum to listen to their problems will help you determine your risk mitigation strategies in such a private medical center.

Risk can also be managed by methods of risk avoidance, risk retention and risk transfer. Risk avoidance has already been explained before, risk retention means accepting the risk. When that happens, you actually let the problem occur and handle it later. Risk retention usually occurs when you are ready to bear the cost of the risk rather than take an insurance policy and transfer that risk to someone else.

For the corporate health care centers, the best way to mitigate risks will be to put in place a proper risk management plan. Through this plan after careful assessment and prioritization of risk, they should try risk avoidance strategies. When they cannot do so, risk transfer should be done. This can be usually done by getting insurance etc. And finally depending on the economics, risk retention should be done.