ON BEING – A Time to Breathe, A Time to Push
By (@OSTADJAAN), Columnist
Martin Luther King once told us that when the night is darkest is when we can see the stars most clearly.
Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Joint fluid injections may provide the relief to keep you going
Are you are suffering from knee osteoarthritis that is keeping you from participating in the activities you love? Are you looking for non-surgical options for treatment?
Beyond ‘poor and uneducated’ — demographics show WNC’s complexity
When it comes to wealth and education levels in Western North Carolina, the region is sharply divided in ways that could have substantial political implications.
Domestic Violence – Know the Signs
Know the Signs
Domestic violence is often more than just physical abuse. It encompasses sexual, emotional, economic and psychological violence. Initially, identifying the signs of an abusive relationship can be difficult, especially if the abuser uses subtle tactics to gain power and control. It is very common for survivors to recognize the beginning of the abuse as the first time the abusers hit them, but really the cycle of violence may have started early on in the relationship. Perpetrators tend to be charming and very convincing when exerting power and control tactics. However, understanding common occurrences or patterns in an unhealthy relationship and being able to begin an informed conversation is a major step to healing and helping others to join in understanding why and how domestic violence occurs.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND Mental Workouts To Strengthen Your Brain
Have you ever walked into a room and forgot what you went in there for? Perhaps you lost your train of thought mid conversation after being distracted by a noise. Maybe you forgot a name or a number or to buy milk. We’re human! We forget things. However, the more we multitask, the less we focus and the verdict is out on how this affects our brains long term.
So how do we strengthen our brains? Dr. Sanam Hafeez PsyD a New York City based licensed neuropsychologist and teaching faculty member at the prestigious Columbia University Teacher’s College, shares how we can exercise our minds and master our memory.
How do brain activities play a role in strengthening the brain?
Dr. Hafeez explains that just like physical exercise, brain exercises strengthen and keep the mind agile and active. “You have a cognitive reserve, a finite amount of memory, problem solving and visual motor even verbal reasoning skills that declines over time. The more you engage your brain, the longer you can hold on to your cognitive reserve,” explains Dr. Hafeez.
What are some brain-boosting activities someone could do before work?
There are a lot of activities one can do to boost your brain. Research shows that any stimulating activity will “boost” circulation and activate areas of the brain. According to Dr. Hafeez things like writing with your left hand, trying to remember phone numbers, doing mental math calculations, the daily crossword, or looking up a new word in the dictionary on a daily basis, helps your mind stretch in ways you can’t see but certainly feel. “The frustration that you feel when doing something that’s mentally taxing is when you know your brain is getting a workout. It’s good for you,” she says.
How do brain-boosting exercises help when it comes to work life?
There are a lot of websites and computer generated programs that offer memory training and visual spatial exercises. Dr. Hafeez suggests looking for puzzles, numerical sequences, and recall activities that can help boost processing speed, attention and memory. Just like your body, the more you do, the more your brain can stretch and accommodate.
How does doing these exercises before work enhance our performance?
“Doing something stimulating and challenging, before work, gets your brain geared up for the day. If you run two miles in the morning, walking seems like a stroll. Similarly, if you perform math calculations as you’re driving or insist on spelling words backwards for the fun of it will make the stuff you do at work every day seem like a breeze. It’ll make you more aware and vigilant not to mention focused and almost raring to keep moving from one task to the next,” Dr. Hafeez explains.
Can it enhance our performance in other areas of our lives? If so, which areas and why/how?
Mental health practitioners agree that over time, brain boosters such as learning a new language, a sport, a musical instrument, or painting, sewing, arts and crafts, boost the brain in bigger, more long-term ways. “It may even reduce or delay the onset on Alzheimer’s and other mental decline, again by strengthening the cognitive reserve. Brain exercises are good for one’s overall daily health and may actually protect one from more serious ailments. Daily smaller brain boosters can help with mental agility, daily memory, an active work and even social life, by helping increase attention, focus and creative, problem solving skills,” adds Dr. Hafeez.
About Dr. Sanam Hafeez:
Dr. Sanam Hafeez PsyD is an NYC based licensed neuropsychologist. She is a teaching faculty member at the prestigious Columbia University Teacher’s College and the founder and clinical director of the Comprehend the Mind Institutes in Manhattan and Queens. She was a long time child school psychologist. She specializes in providing neuropsychological, educational and developmental evaluations to both adults and children in her practice. She works with individuals who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), learning disabilities, autism, attention and memory problems, trauma and brain injury, abuse, childhood development and psychopathology (bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, etc…) In addition, Dr. Hafeez serves as a medical expert for various news outlets and programs, and as an expert witness providing full evaluations and witness testimony to law firms and courts. Connect with her via twitter @comprehendMindor at www.comprehendthemind.com
Bringing Pelvic Organ Prolapse Out of the Shadows
Recently, I was at a baby shower. I overheard a mother of two teenagers relay the story of her many postpartum surprises to a young woman with no children who wondered out loud what kinds of changes happen to a woman’s body after giving birth. One of the shocks the older mother shared included problems with urinary incontinence that followed her pregnancies and never entirely went away. It may not have been typical party conversation, but as more women dig past their embarrassment to share their experiences with urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor disorders, we chip away at the stigma that prevents women of all ages from seeking help. Continue reading
Growing Up the Internet
MS. KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: Tiffany Shlain thinks of the internet when she thinks of her favorite quote of the naturalist John Muir, that “when you tug at a single thing in the universe, you find it’s attached to everything else.” She is an internet pioneer and a filmmaker committed to reframing technology as an expression of the best of what humanity is capable, with all the complexity that entails. She founded the Webby Awards — the “Oscars of the Internet” — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. And for over six years she and her young family have held to a technology sabbath or “shabbat” — 24 unplugged hours each week. Her perspective on our technology-enhanced lives is ultimately a purposeful and enriching one — the internet is our global brain, towards which we can apply all the wisdom we are gaining about the brains in our heads and the character in our lives. Continue reading
*ON BEING & How Trauma Lodges in the Body – with Krista Tippett
Bessel van der Kolk— How Trauma Lodges in the Body
Human memory is a sensory experience, says psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk. Through his longtime research and innovation in trauma treatment, he shares what he’s learning about how bodywork like yoga or eye movement therapy can restore a sense of goodness and safety. What he’s learning speaks to a resilience we can all cultivate in the face of the overwhelming events — which, after all, make up the drama of culture, of news, and of life.
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UNCG professor offers six messages you can send to an abuser
Journalists and experts focus on victims of domestic violence, and rightly so, says Dr. Christine Murray, associate professor of counseling at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and co-founder of the See the Triumph campaign to empower survivors. But, Murray asks, what should you say to a friend or loved one if they are the abuser?
“Assuming the person trusts and respects your opinion, you have an opportunity to send some powerful messages that could encourage them to stop the abuse,” she says. “Ask yourself, ‘If I’m not taking action against the abuse, am I actually helping to perpetuate it?’ By taking a strong stand against the violence, you have the opportunity to send important messages to the person that the abuse is harmful, it is their responsibility, and they can choose to change it and get help to do so.”
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Message #1: “The abuse is wrong.” Message #2: “You are hurting your partner.” Message #3: “There are other negative consequences of the abuse.” Message #4: “You are responsible for your own actions. You are also responsible for doing whatever you need to do to change them.” Message #5: “There are resources available to help you stop abusing your partner.” Message #6: “If you do not stop abusing your partner, I will….” ### |
| The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a challenging, supportive and engaged community where learning is carried forward to Do something bigger altogether. Founded in 1891, UNCG is the largest and most diverse university in the Triad, serving nearly 18,000 students. Standing apart from other universities, the UNCG community is joined together by a shared value: We define excellence not only by the people we attract, but by the meaningful contributions they make. |
“End ME/CFS” Mega Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Project Begins
Now this is exciting.
The Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) has announced it has created and is raising funds for a huge “End ME/CFS” project. They’re looking for five million dollars a year to fund it — about double the NIH’s current annual spending on all ME/CFS research. That’s a really ambitious project. Could they actually pull it off?
“What is needed is a total attack on the problem.” – Ron Davis PhD
( This information was submitted to SheVille by Amy Mandel )
Read more: “End ME/CFS” Mega Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Project Begins http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2014/10/11/end-mecfs-mega-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-project-begins/
Read more: “End ME/CFS” Mega Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Project Begins http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2014/10/11/end-mecfs-mega-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-project-begins/
The Politics of WOMEN’S HEALTH
WMC News: New Research on Sexism in Media, Religion, Single Mothers in Malawi, Talking Sex, WMC Live & More
There is agreement among voters that social media followed by cable news and broadcast news are the top places that they see the most sexist treatment of women candidates and elected officials, according to research conducted during the final days of the U.S. presidential election. Continue reading
A Reason to Celebrate Morning Sickness?
Morning sickness does not have a stellar reputation. You’d be hard-pressed to find a woman who recalls nausea or vomiting during pregnancy (morning sickness) with fondness. Yet a new study finds that there may be an “upside” to these symptoms: a lower risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.
Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) studied a group of approximately 800 women, all of whom had experienced at least one or two prior pregnancy losses, and found that those who experienced nausea (with or without vomiting) had fewer pregnancy losses. Continue reading
Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation News
This fall, WWD-F is developing some exciting programs at its Hillcrest Resource Center.There will be some practical workshops and classes for the residents, including a course in soap making, a doula training for residents, and GED tutoring classes. We have also partnered with the Manna Food Bank to run a monthly food pop-up for the community that provides fresh produce and other grocery items to families in need.
The HRC is also expanding its Get Fit Hillcrest initiative by offering a variety of workshops and opportunities for residents to get serious about their health through diet and exercise. And new on the horizon is the Hillcrest Youth Initiative, a week-long after-school program for middle school youth.
WNC BIRTH CENTER – a 501(c)(3) organization
WNC Birth Center is the first of its kind in our region to provide comprehensive primary and preventive care from adolescence through menopause and beyond to women seeking high-quality, personalized healthcare in a homelike environment. Complete maternity care, from pregnancy planning through childbirth, postpartum and breastfeeding, is an important component of our services and is available to all pregnant women with a low-risk pregnancy.
WNC Birth Center believes:
*Compassionate care for women of all ages is beneficial to the family and society
*Birth is a normal process that is enhanced by a safe, familiar and relaxing environment
*Education, knowledge and evidence-based practices form the foundation of optimal health
*Family participation is an important aspect of quality patient care
*Breastmilk is the optimal food for babies
*Raising awareness about midwifery, normal birth and birth center care is one of our priorities
*Education of medical residents and midwifery students results in better healthcare for many who never enter our birth center
*Everyone deserves respect regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation or marital status
*All women have the right to quality healthcare and the unique services offered at our center.
For more information visit our website WNC Birth Center
*WNC Birth Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Photo credit: Seana Berglund at Babymoon Birth Services
Take Heart: Three Important Steps for Heart Health and Why Minority Women are at Greatest Risk
For years we’ve been focused on improving heart health overall. For men and women. Yet cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death among women here in the U.S. and women are still at high risk – minority women even more so. Racial and ethnic minority populations confront more barriers to a heart disease diagnosis and care, receive lower quality treatment, and experience worse health outcomes than their white counterparts.
A Loving-Kindness Meditation to Boost Compassion
By Mindful Staff The Daily Good
Appalachian School of Holistic Herbalism
Crisis Pregnancy Centers and the Myth of “Post-Abortion Syndrome”
“Post-abortion syndrome” — the idea that abortion causes significant mental health damage — is not a real, evidence-based diagnosis.
While individuals who have abortions may have a wide variety of positive and negative feelings afterward (as do women who continue their pregnancies), there is no sound evidence that having an abortion itself leads to psychological harm. Studies that anti-abortion activists claim support the notion are often methodologically flawed, or have been misinterpreted. ( this article suggested by Va Boyle ) Continue reading