Blog #13

I completely disagree that admitting a problem involving drugs or alcohol shows personal weakness. I think that if you are able to admit a problem, you have to have personal strength. When people have a problem, they are basically saying “Okay, I’m messing up and I need to fix this”. Let’s just face it. Admitting that you made a mistake is a really hard thing to do. A lot of times when people have made a mistake, they try to put a few little excuses in here and there, but to admit that YOU have a problem with drugs or alcohol is putting it all on yourself. Admitting a problem can be embarrassing to a person, and to their family and children. People know that being addicted to drugs or alcohol can also affect employment and pretty much every aspect of your life. It would take a strong person to deal with the emotional and physical distress. 

I also feel that if you are able to admit that you have a problem, then you are probably ready to change for the better. Hopefully, anyone who has had a family member or friend that was addicted to drugs or alcohol was very supportive. I have known people that have had to go to rehab for both things and during this time, you really need your family. I think that it is important for family members to be involved in the process if that is what the patient wants. When family and friends are involved, caring, and supportive, it shows the patient that someone believes in them. Knowing that someone believes in them could be really helpful when they are starting to lose faith in themselves. 

As we all know, alcohol and drug abuse is a very serious problem. Once you get going, it is pretty hard to stop yourself because you need the substance. When people admit they have a problem, they know that they are going to get weaned off of the substance. They know how hard it is going to be to go through the process and stay sober or drug-free. They also know that this could be a lifelong problem. It’s not a problem that just goes away and they will have to stay strong and be able to resist relapse. To know all of this and to make the decision to go through it, would take a very strong person.

Meghan McGehee

Blog #12

I think that it is very important for the stigma and shame around mental illness to disappear. By reading our power point, I realized that one half of people will experience a mental illness at some point. I think this is a statistic that should be shown more often so that people suffering from mental illnesses will realize how many people actually will have one. It would also point out to people that look at mental illness negatively that so many people suffer from mental illness and that it is not fair to assume that they would be thieves, substance abusers etc. 

People that suffer from mental illness should not feel ashamed of their condition. There are a lot of factors that can play into it such as trauma, daily stress, deaths, and many more. People with a mental illness need to feel support from their family and friends to receive treatment to help them feel better. Family and friends also need to remember to be patient. I think that this would help the patient because they wouldn’t feel so ashamed of their condition. 

I also feel that having PSA’s about mental illness would really help. If these announcements contained facts and statistics about mental illness and also encouraged people to receive the treatment that they needed, it would reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Blog 11

I think that if everyone lived with their future in mind, most of us would have completely different behaviors.

Two of the things that would definitely change for a lot of people are diet and exercise. Everyone would need to focus on eating the recommended servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and also get the recommended amount of exercise.

People would also consider not drinking and smoking because this can be bad for your health. Alcohol can be linked to depression, cancer, and can also cause poor judgment. Poor judgment can cause someone to drive while intoxicated or have unsafe sex, which can lead to car wrecks and STI’s. Of course, whether or not alcohol is involved, unsafe sex can be damaging to a person’s health. Smoking can cause cancer and gum disease, decrease lifespan, and increase your risk of heart attack. Smoking can also have a negative impact on those around you due to secondhand smoke.

Prescription drug abuse and illegal drug abuse would not happen if people were concerned about their futures. These drugs can affect the heart, brain, lungs, GI tract, kidneys and many other things.

Then there are also minor things that most people don’t even think twice about. Not wearing a seatbelt, driving too fast, being a “couch potato”, not washing your hands, taking good care of cuts and scrapes, having dangerous hobbies such as riding motorcycles and skydiving, and good dental hygiene etc. These can really have a big effect on health.

Sometimes it seems like you can’t do anything without it being bad for your health. Every time you check the news, there is new research that found something else that can cause a disease. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that you can prevent it, because so many things cause it. But even if we do have one bad habit or behavior, it doesn’t mean that we should take on a bunch of bad behaviors. We should do the best that we can to keep ourselves healthy and disease-free.

References

WebMD. (nd). Alcohol abuse health center. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/default.htm

WebMD. (nd). Mental health. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/cocaine-use-and-its-effects

WebMD. (nd). Smoking cessation health center. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/default.htm

Blog 10

I think that there are many factors that can influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles and preventative behaviors.

One very important factor is having a safe place to exercise. Sometimes people don’t want to pay gym fees, so having a good outdoor area to walk, run, and ride bikes is important. Women also need to be able to buy healthy foods to maintain a proper diet so it is important to have a nice grocery store around. They also need access to information and health care. I think that a lot of good information can be found on the internet, but since not all of it is reliable, women need to learn which sites to trust. Speaking to a doctor about nutrition and exercise can also be very helpful. Overall, access is important.

I also think that it helps to have a support group. I know women that have joined gyms together and gone to Zumba and water aerobics courses. I feel that women can really encourage each other and help each other get motivated. I know that when I am not motivated to work out, I need someone to give me the extra push. Support groups can also help with other things, like trying to quit smoking. 

For preventative behaviors, I think that having a newsletter sent through email is a good way to get information out. A lot of people don’t want to go to a class or clinic to learn about the behaviors, but the internet is a great way to get information to a lot of people. With the internet, people can read the information and watch videos that explain the disease and the behaviors used to prevent it. For women that would rather have face-to-face meetings, I think that classes where flyers and power points are used can be very effective.

Meghan McGehee