Bog 14

Balancing a personal life, professional life and continuing with your education can be hard. I think the strategies for doing this are the samefor men and women. Making sure your priorities are the important ones is the key to success. A person can have many roles and obligations. The challenge is giving each part of your life the amount of time that makes you feel good about yourself and your life. It is not a crime to ask for help. In fact, it is a sign of a great leader. There may be some tasks that only you can complete but some of your daily routine can be delegated to someone else. Knowing what is important is deciding if cleaning the kitchen or helping your child with homework. Both may need to be done but which one can wait! At the end of our lives I think we will care more about our relationships with our family and our accomplishments than if we had a super clean house or not. I think asking yourself, Really, is this going to matter, is it going to make a difference? is the number 1 strategy for balance in your life.

Blog 13

Is it a sign of personal weakness or strength for a woman to admit that she has a problem with alcohol or drugs?

Admitting you have a problem with a drugs or alcohol is a sign of personal strength. Fear or embaressment has to be overcome for someone to admit a weakness in their lives. I would think that not being in control would make someone feel weak but taking the initiative to get help and overcome a problem shows strength of character. Women have the feeling of being the weaker sex sometimes so maybe the admission of a problem like drug or alcohol abuse would add to the stigma of being weak. We need to educate people to focus on their strengths when overcoming things that hold them down.

Blog #12

I believe the media has played a major role in making people with metal illnesses feel shame. When you in the past have seen shows with “crazy” people, they are always ranting and raving and paranoid. This is a fear that many people with forms of mental illness face. People need to recognize that there are many forms of mental illness from severe to mild. There is no reason to be ashamed of something that you did not choose to have. People are embarrassed to tell people they may need medication for anxiety or depression and this heightens the feeling of shame and embarrassment. People need to realize that mental illness can be controlled and people can actually recover from it. There is a need for education for people to realize that mental illness is not necessarily what you see in the movies. The fear of people with mental illness is not accurate or logical in many cases and our embarrassment in things we can’t control needs to be brought to the forefront by health educators.

Blog #11

We have our heads in the sand when it comes to our future! Living with our future in mind is how everyone should be living but I actually believe not many people do. With the fast paced lives that everyone seems to lead the assumption is that we are living for the moment. I think if we all took a minute to pause and look at our lives, our behaviors and health habits we could see what we are doing to our futures. It is easy to write or say the words but not so easy to actually make drastic changes. We can look at our diets and know what we need to eat but most of the time we don’t. We can see that our bodies need rest and exercise and again most of the time we don’t get either of those things. I believe that people know instinctually what they need for their bodies but we live in a time that is so busy that we ignore the needs. We are all about self-reward in out culture. We know what taste’s good, feels good and sounds good and 9 times out of 10 it is not good for our future. We are shortening our lives and actually the quality of our lives in the process.

Blog # 10

The thing I think is most interesting about heart disease in women is that women are rarely studied like men are. Most of the studies that are done are focused on men. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 40% of all deaths in women (Texas Heart Institute, 2009). The prognosis for women is sometimes worse because women don’t find out about their disease in time. Women don’t have the same symptoms as men and sometimes don’t know that they are having an issue. We as health educators need to turn the focus on all groups equally. Women and men need to be looked at separately since the disease acts different in women and men and women need to be more educated on the symptoms. Heart attacks don’t always look like they do in the movies or on TV and until that fact is taught to women we will have more and more women facing heart problems that they are unaware of until it is too late.


References:

Texas Heart Institute (2009) Women and Heart Disease Retrieved April 11, 2009 from

http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/HIC/Topics/HSmart/women.cfm

Blog #9

Exercise should not be a four letter word. My schedule does not permit me or should I say my laziness does not permit me to exercise on a regular basis. I am so tired after work and relaxing and unwinding sounds better than working out. My eating habits are not any better. With the busy schedule of my children fast food has been an option more than I would like. When starting in the Health Studies program, I had a project that I did on incorporating family time into active exercise with my family- not basic go to the gym workouts but things that my family and I would enjoy that would get us moving. This has been a great success and hopefully one that we continue. Playing basketball together, bike rides and just running around at the park get us moving more than you think. I have learned much from my sweet daughter about exercising. She is a sporty girl, she loves basketball and volleyball and cheerleading. When spring came around we wanted her to try track to keep her in shape for the off-season and she was not happy about it. After one week of track she thought she might die! Then miraculously the next week passed and she started seeing some major changes in her body and her endurance. Now she loves it! She has lost about 10 pounds which is basically just toning her up and she feels very confident in herself and her abilities. I think seeing that change has helped me. Sometimes we don't want to do what we know is good for us but when we just make ourselves do it it is all worthwhile!

Bog #8

One of my wife and my daughter's favorite shows is America's Next Top Model. There is always a marathon of this show on our TV somehow. A major concern for me when watching it with them is the critiques that they give. A few of the girls have been what they consider "plus size" models. The scary thing is these girls couldn't be more than a size 10 in clothes! When watching the video this week in our Supplemental reading it was a bit scary for me as a dad. I have a beautiful healthy 14 year old daughter and hearing some of the things that come out of her mouth about her body is a bit terrifying at times. I have heard my daughter call herself fat numerous times and can't even believe she can think the way she thinks. I certainly blame the media, the entertainment industry and the actual clothing designers. When my daughter tries on clothes it is all about the size. If it says medium or large then my daughter has a hard time wanting to buy it. The clothes are made so tiny that most people would have to wear a larger size and it is misleading to young girls that are unsure about their bodies. Watching the people in the video that were affected by eating disorders was heart wrenching! I can certainly see what leads to women having body issues. We as a country need to stand up and say no more! We have to take care of our daughters and mothers and friends that should feel good about themselves and their bodies. Healthy living should be the priority not how skinny you can be and that is what our young girls need to be taught.

Blog #7

There is such an embaressment and feeling of being ashamed when people think about STD's that many of the diseases are left untreated. People seem to be even afraid to discuss symptoms of a sexual nature with their doctors. The numbers are high, about 19 million people a year are diagnosed with an STD. My belief is that it doesn't matter your age, gender or social status if you are not protecting yourself you have the chance to get an STD. This is why I have such a strong conviction that we need to educate our youth on prevention. I believe in abstinence only but that doesn't mean that all teens and pre-teens will abide by this. Ignoring the problem has not helped reduce the numbers. We have to realize that anyone that has sex no matter where they are in life needs to know how to protect themselves from disease!

Blog # 6

To Test or Not?

Prenatal tests can help identify health problems that could endanger both a woman and her unborn child, some of which are treatable. There are many things that parents would love to know about their unborn child. With prenatal testing this can come to life. There are pros and cons to prenatal testing. The major pro would be finding problems that can be treated. Many prenatal tests are given only if the woman has a high risk pregnancy. When this occurs, many factors come into consideration. It is the belief of many that finding out things that are beyond our control is wrong. I have to say that I agree to a point. Certain tests that were done on my wife when she was pregnant were routine. I would not have wanted to know if the chances were high for Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida or Cystic Fibrosis. Only God knows what we have in store for us and what we are meant to be or do. We need to leave some things in God’s hands and not to medical science sometimes.

Blog # 5

Dear Classmates,

There are so many urban legends in the world that we want so much to believe and hope are true but we know in our hearts that they couldn’t possibly be. One legend that stands out to me is the one about the pulling out method. Can you get pregnant if your partner pulls out before he ejaculates? Absolutely. According to Planned Parenthood, “Of every 100 women whose partners use withdrawal, 4 will become pregnant each year if they always do it correctly.” We need to educate boys and girls so that they know exactly how the can become pregnant. Hoping and praying is not going to do it. Girls need to know that any contact with sperm could result in pregnancy. I believe as a young man, I thought I was invincible to anything that could happen to me. Knowing that I could have gotten someone pregnant by not using protection and pulling out was a big eye opener to me. Many of my friends have had babies when they weren’t expecting them. I think teen-age boys need to be aware just as much as teen-age girls and we need to not be embarrassed to talk about all aspects of sex ed even if it feels uncomfortable for us because there are so many false legends out there that kids will believe because they sound better to them then the truth. Parents have to step up and say what is really the truth!

References:

Planned Parenthood (2008) Is withdrawal for me? Retrevied on February 27, 2009 from

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/withdrawal-pull-

out-method-4218.htm

Blog # 4

The question of whether sex education should be taught in schools is a hot topic for many people. There are many people for and just as many against. I believe that sex education should start at home with an open honest communication between a child and their parents. Age appropriate answers to questions and ongoing dialogue should be important in a family when discussing sex. That being said, I also believe that many children are missing out on that open dialogue with their parents due to embarrassment on the part of the parents and the child. I believe we should have trained professionals who are devoted to pre-teens and teens and that these professionals provide open honest teaching of all aspects of sex education with the parent’s permission in some sort of school setting. I believe that abstinence only programs are the most valuable morally to teach student’s how to respect themselves and their bodies but I also believe that the student’s should have the knowledge to deal with situations that might happen. Teaching abstinence only without the other pertinent information just leads to more problems. That is where STDs and unplanned pregnancy come from. I want my children to know that abstinence only is what I expect from them but I am open to discussing sex and what it means to them.

Healthy Behaviors??

In today’s society, healthy sexual behaviors seem to be more and more accepted because of an increase in awareness and communication. Although some families may communicate with their children more than others. According to the Vital and Health Statistics report in 2004, “Nearly half (46%) of all 15-19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once.” (Abma, 2004). There are so many ways that we can help our children become more educated on health sexual behaviors. Parents need to be the key. When parents speak age-appropriate language regarding our bodies and sex, children respond with understanding. Studies show that kids who feel they can talk with their parents about sex are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior as teens than kids who do not feel they can talk with their parents about the subject. I think parents who feel strongly about communicating all aspects of sexuality including the emotional parts not just the physical. Health care providers and educators need to be also open to communicate according to the child’s age. They should also be aware of the child and their families believes. Many people believe in abstinence only and don’t want to teach about safe sex practices because they feel it would condone having premarital sex. This is where families need to be honest with each other and make sure their teens know what they expect. When no sexual advice is given, that is when negative things can happen like pre-marital sex, unprotected sex, STD’s and unplanned pregnancies. Our society needs to recognize what open communication without shame can accomplish.

References:

Abma JC et al., Teenagers in the United States: sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing, 2002, Vital and Health Statistics, 2004, Series 23, No. 24.

DB #2

Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege?

When asked the question whether health care should be a right or a privilege, I have to say I believe it is both a right and a privilege. I believe every American should have the right to affordable health care. Insurance companies don’t seem to want that. Insurance companies seem to be raising premiums and choosing not to cover more and more people Affordable healthcare is needed to prolong life and make America a healthier place to live. When we lose the right to health care, we lose the right to a high quality of life. We are dependent on our health. The life expectancy rate has increase so over the years that people are living longer and needing more health care as they age. So many people can not afford insurance and when they don’t have insurance they choose not to seek medical attention until the last minute. When people have insurance they almost always use prevention as a key part of their health. Healthcare being a privilege is also an important key in a healthy life. We need to take better care of ourselves and our children and know that our health depends on it. Without using the health care system to our benefit, we lose certain privileges. Taking care of all aspects of our wellness should be required. Physical wellness should only be part of how we take care of ourselves. We were given the right when we were born in the Unites States to be “ endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Declaration of Independence, 1776.) Without good health there is no life!


References:

The National Archives. Archives.org (n.d.) Retreived February 5, 2009

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

Assignment #1

The health issue that concerns me the most is obesity in children. I feel that lack of physical activity is the contributing factor. Children seem to spend more time indoors rather than playing outside. When I was younger, children didn't have video games and they didn't spend as much time watching TV. I work daily with children and physical activity is not their main priority. If given the chance to play outside or watch TV they would almost always rather watch TV. Research has already shown that after 3rd grade the physical fitness of students declines tremendously. In the public school setting, a new program has been implemented called "The Fitness Gram." This is a program where PE instructors keep statistics on children completing roughly 8 to 10 different types of basic exercises. It will be interesting to see what the numbers are in the next 3-5 years.

I asked my 72 year old mom what her main health issue was and her response was Breast cancer. My sister was diagnosed with Breast cancer 4 years ago. Our family went through this experience with my sister and learned alot. She is cancer free and doing well but this issue is very important to our family. Early diagnosis was the key for my sister and teaching how to read certain signs and have regular check-ups is something we want people to be aware of.

I also asked my wife and her health issue would be dealing with anxiety and depression after childbirth. Knowing that this is an issue that makes some people uncomfortable makes this an issue that needs to be addressed and show women that there is no shame in getting the help that you need to mamke you a better woman and mother.

This range of different health concerns shows me that we need multiple areas of research in so many different areas. Research is the key to finding cures and information.