Blog #14 - Eve Ensler

After watching the video clip from our supplemental readings, I am a true fan. Eve Ensler not only brings acknowledgement, support and prayers to women who are suffering, but she brings about change. After all the well wishes and good intentions, change is the one thing that truly makes a difference in this world. She has brought the sad truths for women who have been beaten, burned, mutilated, raped and even murdered to the attention of people who care and who are able to create change for these circumstances. The story of her own sad truth and how helping others allowed her to heal was a true testament to where humanity stems from.

 Her story of  "Mr. Alligator" was touching and inspiring, and the true meaning of the difference it made in her life really hit home for me. I did not suffer to the extent that many girls and women have growing up, but childhood was a very unhappy time for me. All my life and well into my adulthood, I would ask God why he made me the way he did and why I wanted the things I wanted if they were never to be mine. I felt as if my questions and prayers went unanswered until one day, I had children of my own. I knew when they came into the world, being a mother would be the most important job of my life...the one thing I would have to excel at and sacrifice for without resentment. I wanted to be a good parent above all else. As with most children and their parents, both of my kids have recognizable traits of mine, my daughter in particular is so much like me it is sometimes scary. Then one day I realized that I had to go through all of the things that I experienced to understand what my children needed; what would make them happy, successful and kind people. Ever since that day, with each opportunity and joyful experience I can provide for them, I am able to overcome a little more of that sadness and instead appreciate that I am able to recognize the little things I can do that make all the difference in my quest to be a great parent. While I still feel I fall far short of being the "perfect mom", I know I am creating a happier life for my children, and that makes me feel great!

TED Ideas worth spreading. (2004). Talks Eve Ensler: finding happiness body and soul. Retrieved on May 8, 2009 from, http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=e_ensler 

Blog #13 / Is it better to put drug addicts in jail or to send them to mandatory drug treatment programs?

Substance abuse and addiction are complex problems. Many people who find themselves with an addiction are abusing the drug because of a traumatic emotional experience or a physical ailment that caused the initial introduction to the substance. Once an addict reaches a point where they are unable to function properly in society or they are caught with an illegal substance or by committing a misdemeanor, they should receive mandatory treatment from a substance abuse treatment facility.

            However, if the addict chooses not to stay as required or commits a crime that physically or emotionally harms or takes the life of another person, he or she should be incarcerated. While an addiction may impair the judgment of an addict, it does not excuse them from responsibility to society. Drinking and driving for example, an alcoholic may not be able to control him or herself when it comes to drinking, but a person does not have to drive to satisfy the addiction. Unfortunately, there are said to be a number of drugs available within prison walls and the experience of incarceration may cause recovering addicts to relapse when released back into society, so drug treatment should be offered to all inmates upon release for optimal results for ex-convicts and the public that they are released into.

There is an interesting PBS documentary on the Narcotic Farm. This was actually a prison facility and a drug treatment center that was opened in 1935 Lexington, Kentucky. If the prison's scientist had not practiced experimental treatments on inmates and past inmates, we might actually have similar drug treatment prisons today. The experimentation did lead to helpful treatments such as the discovery of how methadone can assist recovering addicts. The facility eventually closed in 1975. (Article Archives, 2009) It is a shame, we were so close to creating a productive solution, but as often happens, corruption set us back.

Supporting drug treatment for prison inmates is the humane thing to do. There are people who have committed unspeakable crimes, but there are also people who just lost their way when trying to deal with the hardships life can present. Remembering that most prisoners are not serving life sentences may remind opposers that someday these people will be among the rest of us and our families. Treating anyone without compassion and understanding will likely result in those people reflecting the same attitudes toward society.

Article Archives. (2008). The narcotic farm: the rise and fall of America's first prison for drug addicts. Retrieved on May 1, 2009 from, http://www.articlearchives.com/crime-law/criminal-offenses-controlled/2298398-1.html

Blog #12 What can be done to reduce the stigma and shame that still surround mental illness?

Mental illness is just that... an illness. As with any stigma or stereo-type, the only way to get people to see past it is to educate them. Unfortunately with negative stigma, there is usually a great deal of shame and denial, which prevents people from coming forward with their conditions. This chain reaction prevents people who support the stigma from understanding that they interact with people suffering from mental illness every day. People who incorporate treatment into their everyday routine to function normally in society. People who have hopes and dreams and families just like the rest of us. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has a wonderful public education program "in which two trained consumer speakers share compelling personal stories about living with mental illness and achieving recovery." (NAMI, 2009) During the presentation, audience members are encouraged to interact with questions and personal experiences to get a better understanding of what living with mental illness is like. 

Another effect of the negative stigma is that people are less likely to seek help and those that do may suffer more intense feeling of depression or social rejection because of the way they associate themselves with the stigma. According to our text, more than 50% of those suffering from a mental disorder fail to seek professional help. (Alexander, L.L., LaRosa, J.H., Bader, H. & Garfield, S., 2007) It makes you wonder how the criminal, homeless and suicide rates would be affected if we could eliminate the shame associated with this illness. 

Change always starts with one. Do not use negative or derogatory names for those suffering from mental illness. If you know someone with a condition, read up on the symptoms and treatments to better understand that this is a normal person affected by an illness. And always treat them with dignity; remember, that man on the corner who begs and talks out loud to himself may be the same person who marched the Dr Martin Luther King Jr., or taught science to a chemist who invented a vaccine that saved thousands, or protected you from harm during wartime. Even if he is not any of those things, he is a person who once held as much potential as the rest of us until one day he became ill. It can happen to any of us, so please make an effort to treat him with respect.

Alexander, L.L., LaRosa, J.H.,Bader, H. & Garfield, S. (2007). New dimensions in women's health 4th ed. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (2009). In our own voice. Retrieved April 24, 2009 from, http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=In_Our_Own_Voice

Blog #11 If everyone lived "with our future in mind", do you think that we would live differently?

I actually think most people do live with their future in mind, too much future to be exact. We start our days off hurrying through breakfast (donuts today/we'll do better tomorrow), we shuffle the kids off to school (we hug them, but don't have time to tell them how much we love them/we'll do better tomorrow). We then go about our day in a hurried fashion counting down the hours until our work or tasks are done; swiping our credit cards (we'll pay them off 'soon') and we try to figure out what dinner we can grab for our family in between the PTA meeting and soccer practice (fast food tonight/we'll do better tomorrow). Then we hurry the kids into bath, teeth brushing and bed (no time for stories tonight/we'll do better tomorrow). Now it is finally time to hit the sack, we lay down and remember we never got that workout in and forgot to call our grandmother to wish her "Happy Birthday" (we'll remember next year). Then for a moment, we think about the kind of person we want to be, the kind of people we were meant to be, and wonder how we got so far off course... so we console ourselves by remembering, there's always tomorrow.  It may not always be a day full of shortcomings, but over scheduling and not planning for real priorities are things we all struggle with. If we could all remember that there are no guarantees, that no one lives forever, and that every moment does count, but only if you are in it, less progress may be made, but more potential would be met!

Blog 10 What factors can influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles and engage in preventative behaviors so as to reduce their risks of CVD

One of the most difficult obstacles US women face is society's all or nothing attitude. "If you do not come out of the gym looking like a super model, why bother? If you have donuts for breakfast you might as well have fast food for lunch since the whole day was blown from the start. If you don't put your child's every need ahead of your exercise routine, you're not a very good mother." Do any of these thoughts sound familiar? Maintaining your health is not an all or nothing task. Even small changes, such as eating a salad with every dinner (even a fast food salad), can contribute positive results to your health status. Women need to give themselves a break. Sure Martha Stewart is great, but even she ended up in prison! There is no way to meet the expectations that the media creates. Even movie stars try to sell themselves off as "perfect". Pitt and Jolie have given interviews where they talk about always having their children with them, but what they fail to mention is that they have a different idea of being "with" them. Think about it, have you ever seen even one of their children on their hip during a film? And I doubt the children are present during their two hour daily workouts.  When an average American mother refers to this, it means her child is screaming at her through the bathroom door! Women need to recognize that taking their children for a walk around the block may not give body sculpting results, but it can contribute to their heart health. If you can't even manage that with your kids, get down in the floor and wrestle with them. The American Heart Association (2009) recommends 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise (breaking a sweat that has nothing to do with the temperature) for heart health and one hour on most days for optimal health. It does not have to be continuous. You can wrestle the kids for 15 minutes in the afternoon and turn up your favorite CD to dance around the kitchen while you make dinner. There are easy steps anyone can take to increase heart health and reduce their risk of cancers, you just have to find the ones that work for you. The most important thing to remember is that if you don't make time for yourself, you increase the chances that you will not have any more time for anyone else!

American Heart Association. (2009). Exercise and fitness. Retrieved April 11, 2009 from: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200013

Blog #9 - The Biggest Challenges to a Healthy Lifestyle

The biggest challenges I face regarding a healthy diet and ideal exercise are family, family and family. I love my children dearly, but since becoming a mother, my time for self care has all but disappeared. When my husband and I decided to start a family, we agreed that I would stay home with the kids. I remember thinking that I was going to have so much time I wouldn't know what to do when everything was done. What a joke! My advice to anyone who is planning to stay home, is to lie about it if possible. Suddenly my husband forgot how to cook and clean, and because he worked, it was very important that he get enough rest. I don't have to tell anyone who has children how having a baby affected my time, and for those of you who don't have kids yet, its best that you don't know. What surprised me most was the extended family that assumed I didn't have anything to do, so I could easily feed their pets, run small errands and take grandma to the doctor. For a while, I struggled with everyone else's feelings, but when I started getting ill more often than not (with no one to help with my responsibilities), I started learning to say "no". It wasn't easy, and I still struggle at times, but I am getting better at it. 

Now I take action help myself. I have a membership to a gym with dependable childcare and a treadmill at home. I plan my meals in advance and try to incorporate a salad with every dinner. And when a family member asks me to commit to something that simply overwhelms me, I tell them I don't know how I would fit it into my busy schedule and then I precede to describe my responsibilities in detail until they get tired of listening and hang up.

Blog #8 - What can be done to change societal images of menopause, aging and older women?

The answer is so simple it almost seems silly. If women want to change the way we view ourselves as we get older, we simply have to voice our support of it. Think about it, women were told they weren't meant to work outside of the home, but one day women decided they wanted to and proved opposers wrong by fighting for equal rights in the workplace. Now, women run multi-million dollar companies, many of which were started by women. There was a time, not so long ago, when women were told their vote shouldn't count. Then one day, they got tired of that and decided to fight for that right. Now, women are running for president, and will probably soon exceed that milestone. If a woman wants to succeed in creating a new image for herself, she must first imagine herself in that image. By deciding that birthdays are just an excuse to dress up and feel great, that menopause is just another of many changes to come and embrace, and by creating, promoting, and supporting images of older women in a competent seductive light. There is no rule that says grandmothers have to be described, written and portrayed by women who don't promote sex appeal. So one day, hopefully soon, we will get tired of being told that is what getting older means, and we'll change it.  We will create social circles that include older women. We will continue supporting actresses we love by going to see their films and it will become socially unacceptable to use the term "old hag". Women will create beautiful clothing lines  that don't include elastic and flatter an older woman's figure. And we will tell our daughters that living a full life means living it up your whole life!

Blog #7 - Views on STDs

Many people seem to think that sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are for people who have multiple partners, that they are dirty or that they are deserved because of their behavior. The truth is, an STD can happen to anyone. It is true that you are more likely to contract an STD if you have multiple partners or partners with whom you know little about, but they can also occur when someone is in a serious relationship with someone who has an incurable STD. Even married people who are victims of infidelity can find themselves with a double insult. Judgement only creates shame. If a person suspects they have an STD, it is very important that they be tested and treated as soon as possible. Many STDs are curable, but can become progressively worse and the damage may be irreversible (ex. syphilis). Any sexually active person outside of a committed relationship should be regularly tested. Unfortunately, false assumptions of STDs and the "type" of people who have them can also lead to false assumption of type that does not. Unless a person is in a committed relationship with someone who they trust, protective measures should always be taken. Single people who are sexually active should educate themselves on the signs of STDs and more importantly, be aware of the diseases that do not have signs or that can remain doormat (ex. HIV). There is no prevention that will protect a person 100%,

so it is vitally important that a person be aware of their current status and take responsibility for their health.

Blog #6 - To Be Or Not To Be...A Mother

I spoke with a good friend of mine who is actually trying to conceive her second child. When I first found this out it surprised me a little, because she has always said that if anything were to happen that would end her marriage, she would allow her spouse to retain primary custody of their daughter. She is also, like most of us, struggling to find balance between family, career and quality of life. When I asked her why she had decided to have her first child, she responded that she always expected to have children. Her husband loves children and she felt it was inevitable. As far as her decision to have a second child, she simply feels that it would be cruel to make her daughter an only child. She would like for her to experience the same bond she and her sibling share and when she and her husband are gone, she doesn't want to leave her alone in this world. 

These answers made me wonder just how many American women are having children based on society's expectations of a woman's role? How many women feel that having children is inevitable in a marriage? I also wondered why it surprised me that she would give her husband primary custody. After all, isn't he just as much a parent as she? And is having another child for the sake of the first one a good reason to have a second child for yourself? As a mother, the one thing that did not surprise me in her responses, was that she was considering her family's wants and needs first. Perhaps she has more internal reasons for wanting children, but her first instinct is to consider those who she obviously loves so much.

Blog #5 - Dangerous Advice

Dear Classmates, 

I read an urban legend on Snopes, called Assaulted Tale (aka This Bird Won’t Fly). The article addressed a false circulating e-mail that describes ways to protect you from being raped. The description of defensive moves and instructions was apparently created by a self-proclaimed, self-defense expert with no real credibility. True self-defense experts are appalled by instructions such as confronting a suspected attacker with small talk so that you can get a good look at this potentially dangerous person’s face and you can make a positive ID later on if needed. As I was reading these ridiculous suggestions, I wondered how many women had suffered from believing them. According to the records of the United Nations (2002), there were 95,136 reported rapes in the United States in the year 2002. With these kinds of statistics, people, especially women, are always looking for helpful information as to how to avoid being attacked. Someone who received this e-mail from a trusted friend or family member might associate the advice with the trust they have for that person, and made the mistake of following these bogus suggestions. This world is dangerous enough without the added threat of potentially harmful advice. There are, however, a number of legitimate sites that offer good advice for potential victims including the Snopes site that can help distinguish the good advice from the bad. While I still believe people are basically good, there is no avoiding the fact that some just are not. Obviously being suspicious of every stranger in every situation would be socially unhealthy, but being able to identify a potentially dangerous location or situation could make a difference. I encourage everyone I know to educate themselves on how best to avoid becoming victims and to keep in mind that for every criminal, there was a first crime committed. And perhaps most important, is the old saying, “follow your gut”. If you feel something is off or strange, it probably is. Even if you run away from a perfectly harmless stranger, there’s no harm done. 

 

Snopes.com Rumor Has It. (2007). Assaulted tale (aka that bird won’t fly). Retrieved February 27, 2009 from:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/rape.asp

 

United Nations. (2002). Office on Drugs and Crime Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs. Eighth united nations survey of crime trends and operations of criminal justice covering the period 2001-2002. Retrieved February 27, 2009 from:

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/eighthsurvey/8sv.pdf

Blog #4 - The Talk

I never really received "the talk" when I was growing up. My mother and I were not very close and I don't remember her ever approaching me about it.  If I had a thirteen year old girl, I would start with the basics. I would talk about the different ideas that seem to be common among boys and girls. I would tell her stories of girls I knew and the lessons I learned talking with them. I would tell her about my friend who slept with the high school coach that all the girls thought was so hansom and how her life seemed to spiral down so quickly. The last I heard, she dropped out, started  drinking heavily, and was stripping to make rent. I would tell her about the teacher that later dropped hints my way, and because of my friend, I knew to avoid any and all private contact. I would tell her about my friend who got pregnant on purpose hoping to get the father, who was all of twenty years old, to marry her. He did not and her life was forever altered and her options were forever limited. And then there was my friend who was so "in love" with a rebellious boy at school. She put the statement out that if he were to come to her house after school and before her mother got off of work, he could have her virginity. He heard and he did. The next day, he told everyone she was awful, that it was like "doing a dead fish". Everyone talked about what a "nasty whore" she was, until a year later when everyone was talking about how his father was physically abusive and his mother abandoned them when he was small. 

The next thing I would do, is to make her an appointment with a trusted female gynecologist and let her know that anytime she was not comfortable talking to me, she could call her doctor. I would explain that with puberty comes a new responsibility to take care of your own body. That sexually transmitted diseases are out there and how they affect one's health. I would pull the epidemiological reports for my county to show her how prevalent these diseases were and explain how quickly they can spread. I would also tell her that people are not always truthful when discussing their sexual history.  And although it is certainly not their fault, I would explain the rate of sexual abuse of children and the diseases they are exposed to, and because it often goes on unknown, the victims may be unaware of any risk they would expose others to. And I would do my best to explain how becoming sexually active alters one's state of emotions and self image, whether good or bad. 

The last thing I would explain, would be the physical side of it. How birth control in any form other than a condom, is just back up until you are in a committed relationship with someone you trust. I would walk her into a store, purchase a pack of condoms, and leave explaining to her that until she is mature enough to do that on her own, she has no business being sexually active. Contraceptive should never be left up to the guy. If a boy walks around with a condom in his wallet, it may be damaged by the time he uses it. Also, there may be a boy who thinks more of her than she does of him. It is not unheard of for a boy to deliberately damage a condom in hopes of getting a girl pregnant. If you leave the responsibility up to the other person, that person is responsible for your life! And, even using a condom does not offer a 100% guarantee against pregnancy and disease, choosing your partners wisely is a must.

Last, I would explain that waiting for the right person and the right time in your life is ideal, but if she is mistaken, and that person turns out not to be "the one", having the self respect to protect her own body will allow her to continue her life and to eventually find him.

Kally Smith

HS3133.50

Blog #3 Healthy Behaviors in Adolescents

As an overprotective parent of two young children, I completely sympathize with the denial that children will grow up to become sexually active. The problem is, whether they are six or sixteen or twenty-six, they are still our "babies". Like it or not, pretending that it is never going to happen is likely to cause more harm than provide protection. 

As discussed on page 97 of our text, increasing knowledge of protected sex for adolescents does not increase their initial or existing rate of sexual activity.  It actually prolongs initial behavior and increases the rate of safety in existing practice among adolescents. (Alexander, LaRosa, Bader & Garfield, 2007) With these statistics, it makes you wonder why anyone would object to sexual education being provided in our schools by credible health educators. 

Many parents feel that it is the responsibility of the parents and should be left at their discretion. This stirs up memories of childhood friends who told me that you couldn't get pregnant the first few days after your period ended, that you couldn't get pregnant your first time, and that sexually transmitted diseases only existed in the adult world. 

Adolescents should be told the truth! They should know that oral sex is sex. In fact, they should be knowledgeable of all sexual acts and the diseases and consequences associated with each. They should know the majority of adolescents will discuss their intimate experience with others and may or may not add false details. Girls should know that getting pregnant does not obligate a boy to marry them or take advantage of their visitation rights. Boys should know the mandated child support payment amounts they will be responsible for and that the amount can increase as new financial goals in their lives are realized. 

Many adolescents feel peer pressure and may feel as though they need to face their fear to adhere to their age group's subjective norm. Good advice for such teens would be, to tell them if they are too shy or embarrassed to walk in a store to purchase contraceptives, they are not ready. If they are too shy or embarrassed to ask their physician or health care professional for advice, even in private, they are not ready. They should know beyond any doubt that the decision to engage in sexual activity is not just emotionally life changing, but also physically life changing. Becoming active subjects their bodies to life threatening disease. They should know that even when engaging in an intimate act with a self proclaimed virgin, that person may not be telling the truth. And when they do feel ready, there should be an open line of communication should it be needed. If a parent does not feel comfortable with this, they could provide the name and number of a medical professional or credible clinic. A teen should never be made to feel they are a disappointment or source of shame for be sexually active. This may increase the likelihood that they will delay seeking treatment if a related complication or emergency should occur. Parents should remember that subjective norms change and that they are a least a generation removed from their children. And that as uncomfortable as they may feel when their child seeks guidance, the feeling pales in comparison to how they would feel if their child came to them to reveal they had contracted an incurable sexually transmitted disease.

Kally Smith

Alexander, L.L., LaRosa, J.H., Bader, H. & Garfield, S. (2007). New dimensions in women's health. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett

 

Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege?

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written and accepted by the United States. Some of the most familiar and powerful words, were our stated rights to "...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, 1776). However, today, this seems to apply to everyone in America who are capable of managing their healthcare expenses, and the rest have only the right to find a way to earn enough money to do the same. Where is the right to life when a patient can not get approval for an "experimental" treatment to save his/her life? And what makes a treatment experimental? Just because it has not been done a million times yet? All treatments are susceptible to complications that can affect their success rate, so if a new treatment has been tried on one person, and it worked, that should be considered a  treatment option. I am curious as to how many treatments are considered experimental when they cost 100.00 or less. And if a person is not covered by health insurance and can not afford treatment costs, then they too are out of luck. The United States is the only industrialized country that does not offer universal healthcare. (Skolnik, 2008) Our tax dollars apply to many important aspects of our lives, like education and economic development, yet our healthcare is considered optional. 

There have been considerable efforts towards improvement, such as the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid to assist those who are physically incapable of helping themselves, but what about all the people who fall in between? America has many things to be proud of, but our healthcare system isn't one of them. Money has become the central variable in our system. Hospitals are forced to conduct themselves as businesses, cutting corners and overcharging when possible. Doctors are forced to limit their care and make decisions based on what the hospital or office can afford, rather than what the patient needs. Our citizens accept this, because we are scared into thinking that universal healthcare means limited care, but the opposite is true. America is notorious for adopting new ideas and improving them. My hope is that we will all come to the understanding that health is sacred. It can not be replaced. Good health is the essential gateway to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, 1776)

Kally Smith

Declaration of Independence. (1776). Retrieved February 6, 2009 from:http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

Skolnik, R. (2008). Essentials of global health. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett

Blog #1 - What are health concerns for women?

For this question, I asked my mother and my sister. My mother responded with breast cancer and access to medical care. According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that 182,460 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, 40,480 of whom died as a result. (American Cancer Society, 2009).

As for my sister, her major health concern for women was healthy body composition and adequate exercise for a healthy heart. It is a well known fact that heart disease is the number one deadliest disease worldwide. 

My own concern for women is more emotional/mental than physical. For a woman to successfully beat a life threatening illness or successfully maintain a healthy body composition, or whatever the challenge may be, they must first believe that they are capable of succeeding. 

I think that people relate best to the challenges they face. My mother is a breast cancer survivor who still struggles with the medical costs five years later because her insurance was limited in its coverage. My sister is at a point in her life where her goal is to achieve a healthier body composition and some of her friends are beginning to experience heart health challenges. I have struggled with self confidence my whole life, so it is easy for me to recognize it in others and the important role it plays in any story of success.

American Cancer Society (ACS), 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009 from http://www.cancer.org/downloads/PRO/BreastCancer.pdf 

 

Hello. K Smith here up and running ready to discuss topics pertaining to women's health!