Atono Tskr Kense Kohima | August 23

While Nagaland reels under the daily detection of COVID-19 cases, there has also been a surge in the recovery cases. As on August 23, the recovery rate in the State was 62.2%, giving hope that the virus can be contained and with proper precautions, even cured.

In the first part of the series, The Morung Express spoke to some individuals who have successfully outlived Coronavirus infection. They included Advisor for Horticulture and Border Affairs, Mhathung Yanthan, John, a 65-year old sportsperson (name changed) and 17 year old Naro (name changed) from Kohima.

Continuing the conversation, these survivors shared their experiences and words of advice on how to deal with the virus and support the people affected by it.

Stigmatisation scarierthan being infected It was not easy for my family in this journey, particularly for my Mom who underwent mental and emotional stress said Naro with four members in the family who were tested positive but are all COVID-19 free now. Her mother tested negative.

Citing instances of the stigma and discrimination where people had the tendency to avoid them, she said the prejudice and stigma was scarier than being tested positive with COVID-19 which according to her is adding more woes in the lives of those who are tested positive.

I would say they are not matured enough to understand. Maturity does not come with age, it comes with our thinking ability and that shows how we are Naro stated matter-of-factly.

Yanthan, who declared his status publicly in social media said I made it a point to declare my status publicly so that those who have come in contact with me get themselves tested he however, rued that people tend to feel ashamed about to make known of their status due to the prevailing mental attitude of the people.

Stigmatising is happening and we need to revisit our SOPs viewed Yanthan, relating some instances when he was tested positive. All these fears and wrong notions should be dispelled from the minds of the people he asserted.

In times like this, the true nature and colour of the society emerged. It is our attitude which will carry us during this pandemic period pointed out John who also added that this invisible virus doesnt care about anyones status and that anybody in ones family or friends can be infected.

To this, he appealed dont point fingers at him/her or stigmatise a COVID-19 person but show sympathy and compassion as you might be the very next potential victim of this virus.

Psychological support required Rather than the physical pain or discomfort, I feel people like us are suffering more emotionally and mentally observed Naro.

Concurring to this, John said the virus is doing more damage, stress and strain on the psychological health of those infected with the virus and emphasised on the need for counselling, if not, even a short chat and talk which he said can be of a huge relief to the patients.

God willing, he said, he wants to help the people affected with the virus by reaching out to them through telephonic conversation to given moral support and encouragement.

Words of advice Sharing some tips and advices as ones who have been there, Yanthan said the virus is here to stay so we need to build our immune system, eat well, sleep well, rest well and most importantly follow the protocols.

Although three of them were tested positive, he said We were least bothered because we dont have any symptoms and we were pretty sure that we will be fine. He also added that early detection can help to a great extent.

Take precaution and care, be positive, then we will overcome the virus was his message to the people.

Being a survivor, I can say, everything is going to be fine. Have a positive attitude towards life. Dont stigmatise. Pray to God and take good care of your health said Naro.

For John, following the safety protocols by maintaining personal hygiene, social distancing and understanding the virus scientifically with a little bit of compassion and sympathy will greatly contribute in fighting this pandemic.

This is the last of a two-part series.

See more here:
Coronavirus survivors in Nagaland recount road to recovery-II - Morung Express

As he sat in the dirt after a young horse tossed him off while schooling in March of 2018 staring at an exposed portion of white bone, veterinarian Kevin Keane, DVM, knew he was in a bad situation.

I was doing very elementary exercises, and basically he let out a little bit of a buck, and I more or less stepped off of him, but when I did, my leg was at an angle, said Keane. This is apparently a common injury in people who are stepping off a ladder. It was really an innocent maneuver on the horses part.

What happened was, both my tibia and fibula splintered, and they came out the bottom of my leg, he continued. I was in an outdoor arena, where it had rained the day before, and so there was a significant amount of water and dirt around, presumably some horse manure also. I had what they call an open fracture, where the bones are projected out of the leg. The negative aspect of being a vet is the minute I saw my tibia sticking out I thought, Well, this is real, real bad.

Keane, 65, runs a practice specializing in equine sports medicine in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where his clients include eventers, steeplechasers, jumpers and dressage horses. Orthopedics and lameness are a central part of his work.

Sohe understood exactly how dangerous open fractures can be because of their high risk for infection when they happen around water. Or dirt. Or horse manure. The tibia, particularly the lower part of the bone, is notorious for poor healing in humans because of its decreased blood supply. Keanes fracture was just above his ankle, and his ankle joint was also exposed.

Keane directed those at the farm to call for an ambulance and get him to a trauma center. He picked up a call from coach, veterinary client and close friend PhillipDutton, whod heard about the young horse that had been found without a rider.

This isnt the worst thing, he told Dutton. Im looking at my tibia, but I didnt hit my head.

At the hospital, surgeons flushed out the fractures and put Keane in traction, but his leg was too swollen for surgery at first. Ten days later, he learned surgery would be complicated, so he flew from Aiken, South Carolina, where the accident happened, to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where top trauma surgeon Dr. James Krieg performed the operation.

Months later the pain persisted.

I wasnt doing particularly well for about four months, Keane said. I didnt look well. [Krieg] kept saying, Something isnt right. Of course, I couldnt walk. I was actually unable to walk normally for almost a year.

Keanes vitals were checked daily to detect any possible infection, and they remained normal, so he returned to work, observing his cases while perched on a stool or hobbling around on crutches. Then, a few months after the operation, his leg adopted a slight curvature that no one could explain. Krieg suggested another surgery, and this time, he took tissue biopsies of the area around Keanes tibia.

He came in a little bit like this Dr. House that we have on television and pronounces a brilliant diagnosis. He announced the name of the bacteria, which is an enterococcus, recalled Keane. Enterococcus actually grows in horse manure. Basically, they realized my leg had been infected for four months, but my body never registered any sign of infection with fever or bloodwork. If he hadnt done that biopsy they never would have known. He said, Now you realize most people that have what you have wouldve gone to the ER in the middle of the night for intractable pain.

I had been in quite a lot of pain from the bone being infected, but I thought it was because of the fracture and was more or less what I had to endure healing up, Keane continued.

Now that theyd identified the problem, they could treat it with a strong combination of antibiotics. But if the drugs failed, Krieg told Keane theyd likely have to amputate. For months Keane gave himself intravenous antibiotics every day at the same time.

The treatment was a success, and Keane believes his attitude was as important an aspect of his recovery as any other. Krieg agreed.

He told me that as doctors, we pretty much put the pieces back in order, but it really is up to the patients and their mental attitude and their tendency to keep trying to get over the injury, said Keane. Thats pretty much what I did.

It was nearly a year before Keane got back in the saddle. The many hours spent on crutches had left him with a loss of sensation in both feet, and Keane worked up gradually from short jogs to longer flatwork to crossrails. Eager to return to competition, he asked Dutton if he could enter a horse trial and just take the cross-country slow. Dutton cautioned him that jumping was going to be harder than he thought.

Naturally, Dutton was right. For several months, Keane had to look down at his feet before a jump to verify the position of the stirrup because he couldnt feel it.

I wanted it so badly that I basically did not have any fear, Keane said. What I would do is Id be cautious riding a horse by myself. When I rode Id make sure 1) I had a cell phone on me and 2) that there was someone in proximity to me so that if I happened to fall off due to weakness in my legs Id have a chance of getting some help.

Keane, who competed at the Rolex Kentucky CCI5*-L in 2014 with Fernhill Flutter, started competing again in January 2019, when he finished fifth at novice with HH Ontario, a now 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse.

Now, Keane is back to his usual schedulewhich is a busy one. In addition to his veterinary practice, he competes Sportsfield Candy, his 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse whom hes campaigned at advanced, and HH Ontario,whosbeen cleaning up at preliminary, winning at Sporting Days (South Carolina) and the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials this year. Keane sneaks rides in between cases and said that if hes awake, hes working or hes riding. There isnt room for much else.

He hopes to continue riding at the advanced level as long as he physically can and wants to do a long-format four-star later this fall if the pandemic allows. Keane has also enjoyed the process of training Ontario and looks forward to bringing more young prospects through the ranks. As he approaches his 66th birthday, Keanes vision of an eventual retirement from eventing is far off and probably involves show jumping.

I have no plans of slowing down whatsoever, he said.

Do you know a horse or rider who returned to the competition ring after what should have been a life-threatening or career-ending injury or illness? Email Kimberly at kloushin@coth.com with their story.

Original post:
The Chronicle of the Horse - The Chronicle of the Horse

Angeline Dukes, a graduate student in neuroscience, didnt intend to organize an entire movement.

But she did have a question. She had noticed other Twitter movements highlighting Black scientists in fields like birding, astronomy, and physics. She wondered: Wheres neuroscience?

So in early July, Dukes, who is Black, tweeted: Sooo when are we doing a #BlackInNeuro week?

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Within days, a group of nearly two dozen neuroscientists banded together to found Black In Neuro. Like many such groups, it started out as a kind of Twitter club. Its first act: a weeklong virtual showcase of the field and a series of events on neuroscience research, racism, and mental health.

They pulled in sponsors to pay their speakers, including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Stanford University. And theyre not stopping there: Now the group is making a list of Black neuroscientists, 300 and growing, for others to connect with as mentors or invite to present their research. Theyre hoping to eventually set up more formalized mentorships and travel awards.

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The goal: to develop a community for Black scientists who often feel alone or overlooked. Dukes has been there herself. She isnt always confident enough to lift up and showcase her own accomplishments. She still covers her computer and kitchen table with sticky notes of advice and encouragement shes heard along the way from mentors and colleagues, You can do this! and Make your voice heard!

Dukes said that her mentors and colleagues encouragement and support empowered her and now she wants to empower others.

Its important to know that we dont have to be pushed out of the field. We can keep going and we can find mentors and we can have this community, and we do belong here, Dukes told STAT.

Dukes, whos currently a student in the department of neurobiology and behavior at the University of California, Irvine, said it was wonderful to find a community of people who had not only succeeded, but overcome the same struggles shed experienced. She wanted to found the movement in part because of her own struggles as a Black scientist especially as she felt the mental health impact of the killings of unarmed Black people like Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd earlier this year.

In the summer of 2016, when the headlines focused on the police killings of Black men like Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray and 12-year-old Tamir Rice, no one in her lab at Vanderbilt University seemed affected by it, except her. Dukes was overwhelmed, empathizing with the family members of the victims seeking justice, and it affected her work in the lab.

I was so scared for myself and for my boyfriend and for my family and I didnt care about the science I wasnt paying attention, she said. Back then I felt like I was just an undergrad. Who am I to say anything or demand that you pay attention to this?

Earlier this year, Dukes demanded that her labmates pay attention. She spoke to her Ph.D. mentor, Christie Fowler, who is white, and they postponed an upcoming exam so she had time to focus on her mental health. Her mentors attitude helped her realize the power of support and how a broader community could offer more people the same attitude.

I did feel supported, and I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that Ive had professors and people in positions of power who were willing to try and fight for some kind of change to be made, she said.

In June, when her husband, who is also Black, was stopped without explanation by her own campus police officers, she was shaken. And though her mentor was supportive, and even rallied other faculty members to email university leadership, Dukes wanted to find a community of people who completely understood her experience. So she built it.

A part of me wanted Black In Neuro because I wanted something positive and I really needed a community that would understand without me having to explain why it was so upsetting, Dukes said.

I really needed a community that would understand without me having to explain why it was so upsetting.

Angeline Dukes, a graduate student in neuroscience who helped found #BlackInNeuro

Although Dukes describes herself as a small person who does like little things that maybe might make a change in a small sphere of influence, the people around her made it clear shes a natural fit to lead the group.

Dukes has experience organizing events shes the de facto party planner for the lab and even remembers everyones birthdays.

Shes also shown herself to be a powerful speaker about topics like racism in science. Dukes and two other neuroscientists at UC Irvine organized and led an anti-racism discussion this spring to teach others how to be a better mentor and ally to Black scientists, ultimately creating a better environment for Black colleagues. It was so successful that Nii Addy, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University who acts as an accessory mentor to Dukes, said the Society of Neuroscience highlighted it as a resource for the neuroscience community as a whole in July.

Just to be able to have an idea and to be able to run with it and implement it. Thats pretty remarkable, Addy said. Her leadership skills have been impressive to me, and her vision as well.

Dukes ability to turn an idea like Black In Neuro Week into a reality by organizing a group of scientists, finding sponsors, and scheduling speakers and events in a matter of three weeks speaks to more than just her leadership skills it demonstrates her perseverance, a quality that Fowler, Dukes Ph.D. mentor at UC Irvine, who is also an associate professor of neurobiology and behavior, emphasized.

When shes faced with challenges, she just pushes through and does amazingly well, she said.

Case in point: When a last-minute emergency kept Fowler from presenting at a conference in New Orleans in March, she asked Dukes to fill in and present research that was not her own.

Dukes, who was the only Black person in the room, was shaking.

I was absolutely terrified, she said. I guess [it was] just the imposter syndrome and feeling like I wasnt sure if Im qualified to talk about this

But Fowler said her colleagues in the audience thought she knocked it out of the park. Dukes was even offered a job by another researcher at the conference.

Several faculty in her department at UC Irvine recognize her as a force of nature. And they encourage it.

Fowler and another faculty member gave Dukes a painting of a black bird to recognize the important work she was doing as an advocate for Black scientists. She keeps it above her desk as a reminder to keep speaking up a more artistic version of the sticky notes on her kitchen table at home.

It just felt really nice to feel like they recognize the work that Im doing, said Dukes. And so this was just another form of validation for me that I am being heard and that my thoughts are being valued.

Black In Neuro also helped Dukes see herself as others do at least a little bit.

It makes me feel more secure that I do have a place here and I can make a positive impact in science, she said.

Dukes and her 21 co-organizers are still deciding whats next for Black In Neuro.

For now, they are focused on nurturing the community they created. They are gearing up to hold monthly socials, actively developing a list of Black neuroscientists, and profiling individual researchers. Other Black neuroscientists in the field think the increased exposure of Black students to successful neuroscientists like them will go a long way.

So those same folks can now say, OK, well, this theres this person here, this person here, this person here, that I can connect with, that looks like me, that I can relate to. Thats gonna go a long way, so that people arent dealing with imposter syndrome in isolation, Addy, Dukes Yale mentor, said.

Dukes was taken aback by the strength of the community she made. She teared up as she recalled a video meeting for Black women, late in the movements weeklong event in July, when she realized how similar her experiences were to everyone there.

Its so easy to feel like youre the only one and no one understands. And to just know there are people out there who get it, like 100%, they get it, and to not have to explain that, and just see how important that is for so many people. It really means a lot, she said.

It clearly did for the participants, too. Yasmin Hurd, the director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai and one of Dukes science idols, also attended. She, too, was moved by everyones experiences she even turned on her video camera despite her new haircut. But even more so, she was impressed with Dukes. Hurd said she had a way of making everyone feel special for who they are and the research they did.

Its this warm environment [where] people felt safe. And there were just a lot of emotions. And it brought out the raw emotions in me that a lot of these ladies are going through the same things that I went through, and that we havent really moved the dial enough, said Hurd.

Dukes wants to keep moving that dial, both with Black in Neuro and on her own. She participates in a biannual Saturday science event at her local church, where she teaches children, many of them Black, about things like what neurons do she said the students are always a bit freaked out that she works with mice.

At the end of it, I had at least one of them that was like, I think I can be a scientist! and I was like, Yes! Yes you can! Thats exactly what you can do, she said.

She wants to keep showing others that there is a place for them in research, if they want it. She intends to seek a professorship at a historically black college and university so that she can help other Black women see that a career in science, and specifically research, is an option.

I feel very certain that this is the career path for me, that this is what Im supposed to be doing, especially with all of the Black in Neuro stuff, I feel like this is really how I can make a difference, she said.

Elizabeth Cooney contributed to this report.

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Read the original:
The scientist behind #BlackInNeuro is building the hashtag into a community - STAT

We all have read the news of a collapsed bridge or a crumbled flyover. It is not rocket science to understand the reasons behind such accidents. More often than not, it is because of the low quality of construction. Sometimes, it may also be due to the overload of traffic. Somewhere, some rules have been compromised. Either during the construction of the bridge or at the time of usage.

I bring your attention to one more bridge which exists in the human mind. The one which connects a person from his/her current reality to the cherished dreams. The ability to walk through this bridge until the dream milestone is also coined as success.

Well, in most of the cases people spend their entire life navigating on this path. Regret happens when the goal is visible on the way, but people run out of necessary fuel to advance further. All this happens for the same reasons, which made the concrete over bridge collapse. Either the strength of this mental bridge is not appropriate, or it has become exhausted because of overuse!

Let me illustrate the six pillars of this invisible mind bridge, which can not only give it strength but also make it sustainable for a long duration. These are

1. Belief

The first pillar of this unseen bridge is an unquestionable self-belief. A large majority of people do not start their journey only because they lack belief. It is must to be self-confident and aware of the universal powers bestowed on to us.

If this pillar crumbles, there is not much of a scope for the reconstruction of the bridge. It would be wise for a person to step on this journey of dreams with a rock-strong belief!

2. Resilience

The road to success is never smooth. If you can overcome obstacles on the way, you are really worthy of your goals! Traffic jams, potholes, blocks, abrupt turns, rough weathers are part and parcel of this journey. A traveller has to be prepared to face such eventualities and cross over those. Sometimes one might be required to pause a bit or take a bye lane, come what may, but the engine should not stop. Keep moving with your focus glued in the right direction. When this pillar bends, the journey becomes unpleasant. So much so that, one gets tempted to surrender. Acceptance is the key to resilience. Be ready to face challenges, and the problems will never deter you.

3. Intuitiveness

It is said that logic can take you from a to b, but imagination can take you places.

The road less travelled is the one which leads to a never before milestone. To give strength to this pillar, it is mandatory to work on a powerful dream. When the destination is intuitively inspired, it creates abundant energy. For a person, withholding such a motivating goal, obstacles become insignificant, and the travel time becomes joyful.

Practising regular meditation and living a mindful lifestyle are the key sources of intuitiveness. A person who observes these virtues gets to experience peace and pleasure in synchronicity!

4. Decisions and choices

The unfolding of life as future is nothing but the fallout of the choices made by us in our present.

No one can ever be sure of the right decision in any given situation. However, a person driven by values and governed by the instinct of taking calculated risks can always rely on his/her choices. Decision making is an art. Learn it when you are a kid, and the stakes are not high. It is the responsibility of parent and society to inculcate this ability in children.

This pillar is the centre stone of the powerful mind bridge. Wrong choices can lead to misleading directions. The journey of a thousand miles can convert into that of ten thousand miles if decisions go haywire!

5. Giving Attitude

Our life begins with the lessons on acquiring. We strive for getting knowledge, wealth, property, richness, relations etc. In the zest to accumulate so much of all these, we miss out on the real joys.

Renounce, as much as possible, the attitude of getting and nurture the ability of givingthe joy of giving feeds a persons self-esteem and also delivers a sense of self-actualization.

When this pillar is compromised, the journey at the end of the bridge becomes stressful and challenging. Many people sitting on piles of wealth can be seen depressed only because this pillar has not been appropriately curated!

6. Eat & Exercise well

This pillar is the most fragile out of all. The primary fuel for human beings is the food that we eat. When age is in the favourable compartment, youth ignore these aspects grossly. For most of us, the realization to eat well and do proper body maintenance come a bit too late.

Once a very senior doctor said this: Start taking care of your health when it is in the right shape. Otherwise, you may have to do so as per the prescription of a physician!

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

Read more:
Six pillars of the invisible bridge - The Times of India Blog

Jeff Burkhead, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center

Note: September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or (785) 841-2345.

As soon as they received the text message, they knew. And in that moment, everything changed. Forever.

I want you all to know I love you. Its my time to leave. Thank you so much for being such a supportive and loving family. Im sorry I have to do this. I have been planning this for a while and the time is here. I hid it well but I have been depressed for so long I dont even know when it first began. Just know theres nothing you could have done and this is my choice. As much as I love you I cannot be on this earth anymore. Theres something wrong in my head and I cannot bear it anymore. I love you. Thank you for all the laughs and good times we have all had together. You are the most amazing people and the best family anyone could ever have. Im so sorry to do this.

April and Richard Ramos

For April and Richard Ramos, Dec. 2, 2018, was a parents worst nightmare. Thats the day their second oldest child, Adam Miguel Juan Ramos, killed himself. He was 24.

Thats a day we will never forget, Richard said. Its so vivid in my mind, finding him.

Adam was alone when he died. His parents found him in the basement of his house.

Ive never cried so much in my life, Richard said. But thats OK, Adam deserves every teardrop.

The day before Adam died, he and his father watched Adams younger brother, Anthony, wrestle at a tournament in Kansas City.

We had a great day watching Anthony compete and cheering him on, Richard said. Adam was so supportive of his younger brother, true brotherly love.

Adams younger sister, Allison, was the last person in the immediate family to see Adam. They went together to a University of Kansas basketball game on a Saturday night. Adam died the following day.

I remember that night so well because he seemed so happy, Allison said. I made him take a selfie with me, which is now the last picture we have of him, so I am forever grateful I took that picture.

That smile was always on his face; he hid behind it really well, said Abigail, Adams older sister.

Behind his ever-present smile, though, Adam was hurting on the inside. He tried to kill himself by driving off the road when he was a freshman in college, though his family didnt know it was a suicide attempt at the time. His mom, April, who works in the mental health field, convinced Adam to see a therapist. He went a couple of times, but then stopped going, saying he didnt think therapy was for him.

Allison Ramos

I struggle with blaming myself, especially being in mental health, April said. The guilt has been really hard. My family has been great, reminding me that it wasnt anyones fault. They said he kept it from all of us.

After Adam died, Richard received a phone call from a high school classmate whose brother had died by suicide.

One thing he said that stuck with me was to imagine the pain they must have been in to want to end their lives, April said. Thats what has gotten us through it, that hes no longer in pain. I wish we could have helped him deal with that pain. But it helps to think that hes no longer in pain.

On what would have been Adams 25th birthday, Feb. 4, 2019, the Ramos family gathered with friends to celebrate Adams life.

Adam deserves to be remembered, Richard said. He brought us so much happiness in his short 24 years. We need to keep talking about him.

Talking about suicide can make people uncomfortable, but its important to talk about, to bring the subject out into the open.

This has to be talked about, Richard said. I know suicide happens way too often and I want to help change that.

Growing up in Charles Town, W. Va., Carter Gaskins family didnt talk about their feelings. His father was the strong, silent type.

My father was a big guy and he was the type of person who thought men didnt cry, Gaskins said. So I kept my feelings hidden. I think more of the black community holds this topic of anxiety and depression inside. We are taught to be strong and not to be emotional. Unfortunately, in the black community, we have to run faster to get ahead, so we don't have time to feel emotion. We just must keep running to be successful.

Carter Gaskins

Gaskins was a skinny, quiet kid growing up. From first grade through the 11th grade, he was bullied. Pushed off his bike. Punched in the chest. Called names. He didnt tell anybody about what was going on. He put on a good front, but when he was by himself, he would cry.

I would think, why am I not good enough? he said. Why cant I be a normal kid?

In his senior year of high school, Gaskins chose a different path. He started hanging out with people who were on the streets. They were his protection. He started sticking up for himself.

Thats when I got into things I shouldnt have, He said. Street life, fighting, hanging out all night, going to clubs and parties.

But he wasnt happy.

Depression hits you in different ways, Gaskins said. I was angry, frustrated, didnt care about nothing.

When his father, this big, strong guy who seemed invincible, became sick and started having his own mental health issues, Gaskins sunk deeper into depression. His father, because of his physical problems, ended up going on dialysis.

Seeing my father on dialysis, helpless, hopeless, I started having a nervous breakdown, shaking, crying, Gaskins said. In March 2009, I had my first panic attack and Ill never forget it.

Three months later, Gaskins father died after suffering a stroke during dialysis.

The depression was still there, Gaskins said. I used to ride motorcycles. I would sometimes ride at a high speed and think about killing myself. I had no fear.

One year after the death of his father, Gaskins met Shanice, the person who would become his wife. About a year later, they were expecting a child. The child passed away shortly after birth.

Thats when everything went black for me, Gaskins said. Everything was numb. It was like there was a huge cloud sitting over me. There were a lot of times I would be in the car holding a gun and just wanted to end it. I really didnt care about anything.

Gaskins and his wife separated and she moved to Lawrence, while he stayed behind in West Virginia. He ended up joining her here in Lawrence. The move changed his life.

It took my wife to get me out of that place. I put her through hell, but shes such a strong woman, Gaskins said. I had to deal with all of my pain and my frustration and face those things head-on.

And he discovered a new passion.

Thats the reason I got into photography, he said. There are a lot of people who deal with anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts and they think no one cares about them. I take it upon myself, that its my job to show them how beautiful they are with my camera. You never know what someone is going through. I went through it, and I understand it.

When she was 13, Sierra Two Bulls contemplated killing herself.

It was really more self-harm; I cut myself, she said. What I really wanted was for the problems to go away, but not necessarily my life. I never attempted after that, but that became part of my journey. It was my familys addiction problems that really made me want to kill myself when I was 13.

Sierra Two Bulls

Two Bulls, an alumna of Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas, is an Oglala Lakota from the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. She grew up around her culture and traditions, but the poverty, addiction and despair are also a reality for her and her tribe.

As a Native person, we have ongoing intergenerational trauma caused by European colonization, the genocide, the boarding schools, and the forced removal from our land, Two Bulls said. Theres a saying, I have attended more wakes and funerals than graduations and other celebrations. That speaks to my reality. Suicide rates among American Indians/Alaska Natives are historically higher than those of the total U.S. population. We have that ongoing trauma.

Two Bulls experienced trauma in other ways as well. She is a sexual assault and domestic violence survivor.

Even though I come from a long line of resilient people, we still have ongoing trauma, she said. I have seen the effects of that.

In 2015, when Two Bulls was in graduate school at the University of Kansas, one of her best friends killed himself. Motivated by the loss of her friend and to earn her masters degree in Social Welfare, Two Bulls applied to do her practicum at Headquarters Counseling Center. Shes been a volunteer counselor ever since.

Its been a long journey, she said. Trauma and resilience have played a huge factor in my life. Thats what brought me to Headquarters and why Ive stayed.

Chris Maxwell has been working in the field of suicide prevention since 2013. His personal experience with suicide goes back further.

I had my own experiences between high school and college with a couple of suicide attempts myself and then went through my own recovery process, Maxwell said.

Chris Maxwell

Maxwell, who is director of public relations and media for the American Association of Suicidology in Washington, D.C., began working in the area of suicide prevention when he went through training to become a counselor for Headquarters Counseling Center in Lawrence, which is now Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ.

Now, looking back, I would say it absolutely influenced me to get into this line of work, Maxwell said. Through the Headquarters training, it became clear that this was something that was not only helpful for others but was helpful for me in processing and coping and connecting with others who had experienced similar things.

Maxwell found that opening up about his experiences was helpful when he was going through his own struggles.

Being more open and sharing how things are going and asking for help when I needed it was really big, Maxwell said. Its really hard to reach out and ask for help, and suicide is a hard topic to talk about. It can make you feel like youre a burden to those around you. But I found out I wasnt a burden; people really did want to know what was going on with me.

Maxwell said it is important for people to check in with each other, especially now during a pandemic.

With COVID-19, that isolation factor is huge, Maxwell said. We know that people are being impacted, we know that people are feeling worried. People are suffering in silence and not feeling like they have any way of dealing with their emotions. We need to be checking in on our loved ones all the time.

Amy Hammer is a member of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy team at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. She experienced bullying and suicidal ideation when she came out as gay in high school. After taking a psychology class, she knew she wanted to help people who were struggling with mental health.

In college, she volunteered at Headquarters and learned a lot about talking to people who were considering suicide. She has been a DBT therapist for almost 20 years now; for the past five years, focusing on transgender individuals and how to help them. The transgender population is at a higher risk for suicide; though research shows that trans people are less suicidal when their families are supportive.

I love DBT because its a respectful treatment for people who have suffered from traumatic, invalidating experiences and environments, Hammer said. DBT has shown in many studies over the past 20 years to be really helpful for people who are struggling with intense emotions, suicidal ideation and self-harm. Ive watched countless people get much better, stop wanting to die, and build lives worth living.

Like cancer, most people know or know of someone who has died by suicide.

Almost everyone is touched by suicide, in some way, said Allan Bunch, vice president of communication and development for Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ. I challenge anybody to meet someone who has never been impacted by suicide.

For many years and still in some circles, suicide isnt talked about. Adding to the stigma and shame.

Suicide is OK to talk about, Bunch said. When were talking about suicide were not talking about anything that anyone should be ashamed of. Someone died because they were in pain and they sought to end their pain. Most people who are considering suicide actually dont want to die; its just the only way they can see ending their deeply intense emotional pain.

Like every other business and organization has had to do during the pandemic, Headquarters Counseling Center has adapted and adjusted. But its counselors remain as dedicated as ever.

Were all focused on day-to-day living and staying safe while we experience a global pandemic, and our volunteers are not an exception to that, said Jared Auten, training coordinator for Headquarters. Theyre certainly having their capacity stretched and challenged. So were conscious of trying to keep them supported. Weve been so grateful for our volunteers.

Typically, Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ has about 55 active volunteers at any given time. A standard shift is four hours; the overnight shift is eight hours. The number of calls per shift varies. Headquarters is part of a national network of more than 160 crisis centers that answer calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Our volunteers are regular people in the community who have an interest or a passion for suicide prevention, Auten said. The volunteer opportunity attracts people who have some connection to suicide.

Jared Auten and Rachel Schmidt

For Auten, it was his father.

My main motivation for getting involved with Headquarters was the death of my dad in 2006 by suicide, Auten said.

Auten was 13 at the time of his fathers death.

I wasnt initially told that he had killed himself; I was told a day or two later, Auten said. When I was told that my dad had died, I knew that he had killed himself, but no one was saying it. I didnt think it was a hunting accident, which is how it was presented to me. Every family, every community is impacted by suicide. But those stories arent always told. The other reality is as a society we really arent comfortable talking about suicide.

Talking about suicide isnt easy but its necessary, Auten said.

Mental health issues, like suicide and depression and anxiety, are not talked about among men. The attitude is that asking for help is not masculine and that its a sign of weakness, Auten said. We as men have to acknowledge there are aspects of masculinity that get in the way of us doing things that promote health and wellness.

When someone is experiencing suicidal thoughts, its important to have open and honest conversations about access to services as well as access to firearms and other lethal means, and to encourage family members to work collaboratively with the person who is at risk.

When someone died by suicide, its easy for others, particularly family members, to blame themselves.

Even when someone displays warning signs and ultimately dies by suicide, its no ones fault, Auten said. But that blame is definitely something that suicide loss survivors experience. You start questioning, what could I have done? Could this have been prevented? A lot of survivors go through the mental gymnastics of trying to make sense of it. Its important to be reminded that its no ones fault.

When Matt Jackson started as a counselor at Headquarters Counseling Center, he encountered something he had never experienced before.

Its a safe place, Jackson said. Its the first safe place Ive ever known.

Matt Jackson

Like other suicide counselors, Jackson has his own history with the issue.

I have a history of depression, a history of anxiety, Jackson said. At one point in my life, I actually got to the point where I had gone and bought a knife. I think I was maybe 18. I had given away possessions; there were certainly warning signs.

Dealing with being gay and growing up in the South as well as working through childhood trauma that he had to unpack over time, Jackson has healed and grown. As a counselor, he has shared from his own experiences when its appropriate and he thinks it will be helpful, but, mostly, he listens.

We provide a mirror of self-reflection that allows people to open, Jackson said. Its all anonymous. We do everything to protect the callers anonymity and our own anonymity. So its a forum, almost like a confessional. My role, as I see it as a volunteer counselor, is to be an assistant. Im assisting people, Im here to hear you. That person, whether they realize it or not, by calling, by reaching out, theyve already made a step toward surviving, toward life.

In 2019, Bill Harkness, a longtime board member of NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) Kansas and board president, died by suicide.

It was a shock to everybody who knew him but a reminder that suicide can affect anybody, said Bill Wood of NAMI Douglas County.

After Harkness death, Gov. Laura Kelly issued a statement: Im deeply saddened to hear of Erics passing. He was a tireless advocate for the Kansas mental health community. He touched many lives with his unbridled passion for helping people who deal with mental illness every day access the help and support they need.

Eric inspired us during Mental Health Advocacy Day at the Capitol and other activities as part of his unwavering commitment to educate and increase awareness about mental illness.

Wood remembers his own personal experience with suicide, which occurred years ago.

It would be pretty unusual if somebody hadnt at least thought about it sometime in their life, Wood said When I was younger and not getting along with my wife very well, I was driving down the road one day and thinking about which telephone post am I going to hit. Fortunately, a little voice said, youre listening to a lie here; you can work this out. So, Im still alive.

Rachel Wolfe, an urgent care therapist for Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, has talked with many clients whose lives have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While working with clients over the past several months, I have noticed a topic that frequently comes up in session routine, Wolfe said. In crisis therapy and individual outpatient therapy alike, we often support clients in developing healthy, supportive routines which are shown to positively impact one's mental health.

The pandemic has dramatically changed those routines.

Throughout the pandemic, people have had their lives, and specifically their routines, flipped upside down without any notice, Wolfe said. Clients have told me that they feel like their mental health, physical health, and lives as a whole are out of their control; and this is often where suicidal thoughts come in. Whether they live or die becomes one of the only things they feel they can control.

Although the pandemic has posed our clients with many unforeseen challenges, I also am hopeful that it has shown them that they are resilient, resourceful, and well-equipped to overcome life's inevitable challenges, Wolfe said.

See the article here:
Suicide prevention awareness: Stories of hope and resiliency | LMH Health | Lawrence, KS - LMH Health

Look at the spastic! a voice sneered. It was the first time someone had mimicked my twitches an older kid at school attempting to impress his friends in the most malicious way possible. I was eight-years-old.

My head began to fog up and I felt like a circus act, as he continued to taunt me. I was too scared to cry. I put my head to the ground and walked away. The rest of that week I spent every break sitting alone in a classroom. Its unbearable to think that children still endure these traumatic experiences. But they do, not least because theres such a lack of awareness about my condition.

I have Tourette syndrome a neurological disorder that causes involuntary movements and vocalisations, called tics. Your mind may jump straight to people shouting obscenities - as is so often depicted on television, such as Channel 5s recent documentary Teacher with Tourettes but coprolalia, as its called, affects only six per cent of people with TS. Despite that, swearing is inaccurately portrayed as our defining characteristic, which makes it incredibly difficult for the other 94 per cent who have the condition.

Around 300,000 people in the UK have Tourettes, each with their own twitches and noises. These tics come and go in phases (mine last around eight months) and can be both conscious and unconscious.

The unconscious kind can be as simple as unknowingly jiggling your knee. As soon as someone mentions it, you become aware youre doing it and try to stop. The conscious type feels more like an electric buzz inside your body, urging you to make a particular movement or sound. The more you resist, the stronger it grows. You finally cave in to experience a moment of relief, but the buzz returns. If youre stressed, emotional or unwell, it gets worse. If youre relaxed, focused or feel like youre in a safe environment its reduced.

I was diagnosed at seven after developing a whooping noise, cough and neck jerk. My parents knew something was up, but the lack of research made it difficult to pinpoint. After a teacher guided us in the right direction, it was the specialist neurological department at Great Ormond Street Hospital who worked it out.

The medication I was forced to take made me put on weight, and then the bullying began. Some kids were really nasty, others protective. Same with my teachers. A twelve, I had an induction day before starting senior school. With a smile on my face I approached a new classmate to say hello. Dont talk to him, he has Tourettes, hes weird interrupted a pupil from my junior school. Being made to feel insignificant had become a way of life. But this time was different, Id had enough.

On my first day, I asked the headmaster to address the entire school of 800 pupils and staff about TS and to explain that I had it. My hope was that more awareness would curb my emotional battles I faced. I left the room to avoid everyone staring at me the whole experience was terrifying. But my courage came through. For the most part, the bullying stopped.

Over the years, as many with TS do, I learnt how to mask my tics with other body movements: a cough, a sniff or sitting in a particular way. I have also developed a number of coping mechanisms, such as breathing exercises, meditation, positive mental attitude techniques and cognitive behavioural therapies.

Sadly, theres a stigma that people with TS will never make anything of themselves. I remember discussing my university choices with a tutor. He scanned the page and upon seeing Oxford on the list let out an uncontrollable laugh. Children with Tourettes are burdened with the false reality that they cannot achieve success. They think the best thing to do is hide in the shadows to avoid the embarrassment they bring to themselves and others.

But what many at this young age dont realise, is that they also have a superpower. Tourettes is not a weakness, it can be a gift. At 15 I began to realise, when I focused my attention on what I truly enjoyed doing, I would excel. I discovered DJing and theatre studies. The moment I was on stage, or speaking into the microphone, my tics would reduce and the excess energy that would have otherwise gone into them became a catalyst to my success.

Ill be honest. The chances of being accepted for a major show or play was slim. So, I did what Id learnt to do: I took things into my own hands.

If I asked that little boy in the playground what hed be when he grew up, my answer would have been a world away from my reality. Today, I create and present TV series on Amazon Prime, most recently, an award-winning travel show called The Three Drinkers. I write a drinks column and travel the world to host events. You see, when we focus on our passions, our tics are almost non-existent. Watching me, youd have no idea I even had Tourettes.

Dont get me wrong - I still have everyday struggles. Public transport, for example. If Ive had a bad day, my tics (currently a pseudo-cough, discreet eye-roll and twitch in my abdomen) might be more pronounced. Ive lost count of the number of people who will glance over, before moving away from me. You cant begin to imagine how emotionally draining that is to be feared.

Relationships can be tricky, too. At what point do I tell someone about my TS? Even though my symptoms are now fairly mild, they do get worse when Im stressed. On first dates its not obvious, but as we spend more time together, I will put a twitch or cough down to allergies. Im still figuring out when to let someone in. Id be lying if I said there wasnt a small concern of will anyone truly love me?. But I do think the right guy is out there.

Thankfully, for many, the older you get the more your tics calm down, but they will never fully disappear. I suppose my life will never be normal, but I am happy. I might be one of the only TV presenters in the world with Tourettes - but I certainly wont be the last.

So, what next? If you learnt something from this article, please share it. Tourettes needs all the awareness it can get.

For my fellow Touretters. You are not alone. Find your coping mechanisms and in doing so, find yourself. Even though you might not know it just yet, you are capable of so very much. Talk to others experiencing similar things and channel your energy into what you love. Give The Tourettes Podcast a listen, its a great start to finding comfort.

Finally, to the parents of children with TS. Educate those around you; schools, clubs, friends and family. Amazing resources such as Tourette.organdtourettes-action.org.ukare out there. Embrace it, normalise it. Don't hide your children away. It's imperative we experience what it's like to be in public, no matter how tough it may seem. And most importantly, help them find their passion. Because one day you will look back and know that, against the odds, they accomplished their dreams.No one should ever feel alone.

There is a severe shortage of TS specialists in the UK and waiting lists are long. Recently, Alder Hey Hospital in the North West shut their doors to TS sufferers after the specialist left, with no plans to replace them. Waiting lists for the other three centres in the country make it difficult for children in desperate need to get the help they deserve and at this age, it's essential they embrace their Tourette's rather than running from it. Local parents have set up a petition to force the local government to take action but need help from people throughout the country. Please help us make a paramount difference to these kids' lives by signing a petition at Change.org.

Aidy Smith is an award-winning TV presenter and journalist. You can follow him@Sypped

Go here to read the rest:
'Tourette's is my superpower I've used it to forge a TV career' - Telegraph.co.uk

Technology is at our fingertips. Think of all the health monitors or wearable fitness trackers that people are using today. Virtual healthcare practices have changed our attitude towards the medical and healthcare industry. While there are loyalists as well as dissenters who rue the lack of personal connection with the doctor and quality care, tech innovations are breaking barriers meanwhile.

Technology in Healthcare

It could be as simple as information sharing between doctors and patients, or something as profound as robotic aid in a high-risk surgery. Better still, make it a remote surgery where the patient and doctor are separated by miles in between them! Clearly, recent tech advancements are disrupting the medical and healthcare industry with its dynamic applications.

It started with the online consultations and took off from there.

Telemedicine or virtual consultations are a thing of the past now. Even when they started, the dramatic impact it had on traditional healthcare roles has changed our collective attitude towards the industry. As these technologies develop further, more applications for professionals and patients stand to promote the overall wellness. Today, apps on the phone track our exercise and calorie intake, check obesity development, and monitor heart health.

Here are 5 recent tech innovations that have disrupted the industry for the long haul:

1. Virtual Reality or AR/MR/VR in Healthcare

Both medical professionals and patients stand to benefit from the multi-sensory, immersive experience that VR provides.

Think of realistic and low-risk simulated environment for training surgeons. On the other hand, in the arena of pain management or mental health, immersion in virtual worlds can produce better results. VRs therapeutic potential and rehabilitation chances in acute pain and anxiety disorder cases are far-reaching.

2. Nanomedicine

This is the stuff of sci-fi genres. Nanotechnology and nanodevices are arming the healthcare industry with control on the molecular level. Nanopharmaceuticals are aiming at smaller drugs and more precise delivery systems. For instance, delivering chemotherapy to targeted tumours rather than poisoning the whole body.

3. 3D Printing

Creating medical tools from buildable materials ranging from plastic to stem-cells, 3D printing has revolutionised the medical industry. Aided by the custom-friendly aspect of 3D printing, organ transplants and tissue repair, prosthetics and braces, even layered stem-cell organoids are possible today. Faster prototypes at a fraction of the traditional cost is a huge leg-up in the healthcare scene. The most dazzling innovation through this method is the poly-pill that holds several drugs for multiple illnesses with different release times!

4. Internet of Medical Things or IoT

Connected devices, cloud-computing, and the internet have allowed a larger the exchange of data, convenience, and automation. The IoT is significantly changing how healthcare professionals can manage patient records, control inventory, monitor and provide preventative care. In a way, this could be the most significant disruptive technology as a lot of other tech advancements have been possible only through this.

5. Precision Medicine

Diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care based on an individuals environment, lifestyle, and genetic makeup is a big shift from the all-purpose generic approach. Precision medicine is suggested based on diagnostic and molecular genetic testing processes such as genome sequencing and DNA mutation investigations. This will revolutionise preventive measures reducing treatment time and expenditure as well as healthcare requirement.

As healthcare and technological advancements grow together, the industry becomes more optimised providing quality care. It is evident in the cosmetic health industry where non-surgical procedures have advanced significantly. You can get Botox in Perth with breakthrough serums and great aftercare with minimal or no recovery time.

In fact, tech innovations have disrupted the healthcare industry so significantly, it is impossible to see it survive without them.

Continue reading here:
5 Recent Tech Innovations Disrupting the Medical and Healthcare Industry - HealthTechZone

There is a physical explanation to Caleb Fergusons emergence this season.

Second among frequently-used Dodgers relievers with a 0.66 ERA, the left-hander has added velocity to a mid-90s mph fastball hes able to locate at the top of the strike zone. Hes changed his secondary offering too, replacing a slow looping curveball with a firm sliding cutter that has generated six strikeouts and only one hit.

It's just a harder pitch, Ferguson said. I can remember talking to AJ Pollock, who told me that whenever I would throw a good curveball, it was slow enough where they would still have enough time to react and foul it off or even put it in play. So having a harder breaking ball like that, keeps the hitters guessing a little bit more.

But there is a mental progression Ferguson credits too, a simplicity of purpose that has allowed him to flourish in his third big league season.

Im just sticking to all my strengths now, he said. Im not trying to do something thats not me out there. I think Ive finally realized the kind of pitcher I am and what I do best. ... I know my stuff is way better that day than the hitter. Thats the attitude I roll with.

After combining for eight scoreless innings in a doubleheader sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, the Dodgers bullpen ranks top three in MLB in ERA (1.90), batting average against (.181), slugging percentage against (.269), walks per nine innings (2.9) and left-on-base percentage (80.4%). Ferguson typifies the improvement.

The 24-year-old, who opened the second of Thursdays games with his 13th scoreless appearance in 14 outings this year, boasts the mix of execution and poise evident across a bullpen that was solid yet at times inconsistent last season.

Mindset has maybe been Fergusons biggest change. The former 38th-round draft pick was a starter in the minors and maintained rotation aspirations even after moving to the bullpen as a Dodgers rookie in 2018, reaffirming the goal as recently as this spring.

Asked again earlier this month, however, Fergusons thinking had suddenly changed.

I think starting is fun, but I also think throwing leverage innings in the back end of a bullpen is a lot of fun too, he said. Those guys are talked about just as much. So I dont know. Its a good question.

"I was very outspoken about wanting to be a starter for the two years Ive been with the team now. Never would have thought I would be questioning that.

That clarity of role has helped him embrace a two-pitch fastball-cutter mix the latter of which he says he throws like a slider with extra velocity specialized for the bullpen. According to MLBs Statcast system, Ferguson is setting a career-low in zone contact and career-high in chase and whiff percentages, and is inducing ground balls more than half the time. Batters rarely hit the ball hard against him.

I think with Fergie, hes really found a routine every day thats really kept him consistent in his delivery, manager Dave Roberts said. That slider-cutter thing hes got now and has confidence in is a real weapon.

"And also, this is his third season. Hes really found his confidence and who he is. I still think theres more in there.

Other Dodgers relievers are undergoing similar transformations.

Closer Kenley Jansen (1.42 ERA, NL-leading eight saves) is effectively evolving in his 11th season, overcoming a decline in velocity with improved command of his cutter and continued incorporation of his fastball and slider.

Free agent signing Blake Treinen (1.32 ERA, team-high six holds) is getting ground balls on his signature sinker. Dylan Floro has been even more effective than Ferguson, allowing one run in 14 innings. And left-hander Jake McGee, signed to a one-year deal in July after being released by Colorado, has surpassed expectations by relying almost exclusively on a mid-90s fastball that has induced a .108 batting average against.

Even though veteran relievers Pedro Baez and Joe Kelly are on the injured list, Roberts has plenty of viable options, as evidenced by the six relievers that followed Ferguson in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader.

Theres some really good arms, Roberts said. Just really doing a great job of preparing and getting outs when theyre called upon.

Original post:
Caleb Ferguson epitomizes the strides made by Dodgers' deep and effective bullpen - Yahoo Sports

Photo by Whitehorse Star

Tiffanie Tasane

Many Yukoners reported worsening mental health due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to a Statistics Canada survey.

By Gabrielle Plonka on August 24, 2020

Many Yukoners reported worsening mental health due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to aStatistics Canada survey.

The survey reports that 52.4 per cent of participants felt their mental health was either somewhat worse or much worse now since physical distancing rules were implemented.

Participants describe several anxiety problems such as becoming easily annoyed or irritable, feeling nervous, anxious or on edge, worrying too much and having trouble relaxing.

The survey was conducted between April 24 and May 11.

Tiffanie Tasane, the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Yukon Division, told the Star last week she has noticed the downturn in mental wellness.

Those numbers may actually seem a little bit low, Tasane said of the survey results.

The CMHAs counselling team has seen increased anxiety in clients this year, Tasane said. For clients who already had issues with anxiety, the pandemic has exacerbated them.

Its two-fold, in that a lot of coping mechanisms have been removed, things like maybe team sports or social gatherings or travel, Tasane said.

If you dont have your healthy coping mechanisms, then sometimes you replace them with unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Yukoners with traumatic pasts or who struggle with anxiety may be more likely to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, she explained.

CMHA counsellors also saw an increase in clients with relationship issues.

Tasane noted that people spent extended periods of time home together during lockdown, which was straining on couples and families.

Even in a great, healthy relationship, everyone needs time to themselves, Tasane said.

We certainly saw relationship issues become a presenting issue far more often than they have been.

Isolation and the uncertain future are two aggravating factors for mental health during the pandemic.

Tasane noted that while the Yukon has been lucky in its low case count, Yukoners are worried about a potential second wave, the impending flu season and borders reopening.

Living with that uncertainty makes it challenging for people and hard to plan, Tasane said.

Were also grieving things that are lost people had looked forward to travel or seeing family from far away theres this big sense of loss with all of that, as well.

Tasane explained that maintaining healthy habits diet, exercise, good sleep habits are important for maintaining mental health.

Those basic things do go a long way, Tasane said.

Dr. Brendan Hanley, the Yukons chief medical officer, said during a COVID-19 update last Wednesday that ensuring Yukoners have access to mental health services has been a priority for him.

Mental health has been a particular concern of mine for many months now, since really the start of the pandemic, Hanley said.

We are facing an accumulation of restrictions, even as we are opening up, we still know that the impacts are still being felt.

Hanley said he thinks there are sufficient mental health resources in the territory, but Yukoners may not be aware of what those resources are.

This is an ongoing issue, a back and forth of reviewing services, how well they are being provided, Hanley said.

The CMHA currently has a two- to three-week wait list for appointments.

Most appointments are being conducted virtually, but clients are able to book an in-person appointment at request.

CMHA appointments are available within 48 hours for Yukoners in crisis, and there is also drop-in telephone counselling.

The CMHA launched a support line in mid-July that is available from 2 to 10 p.m., seven days a week, at 1-844-533-3030.

The Yukon governments Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services also offers rapid-access counselling.

Tasane recommended that Yukoners look into what employee assistance programming might be available to them, as well.

She said there is room for improvement in the territorys roster of support services.

I think there has been an improvement of resources in the Yukon, for sure, but there are still some big gaps, Tasane said.

One of the gaps I see is mental health services for youth.

Tasane says she heard from parents this year whose children struggled with the lockdown and school closures.

I think the isolation last spring is a huge thing, they are uncertain of their future, Tasane said.

I think they have a fear of COVID of disease but they may not even know that they have that fear.

Read more:
COVID-19 taking a toll on mental health - Whitehorse Star

In recent reports it has been indicated that North Korean households with dogs have been forced to handover their pets to authorities, who consider them to be a sign of Western decadence.

Horrible as this might be, sometimes I feel like Macau authorities are just one step away from banning or confiscating any pet dog in the city, taking into account the general attitude of local municipal authorities towards them.

Full conflict of interest disclosure: I do own a dog.

In general dog ownership in the city is a troublesome and arduous affair.

First of all, the fact that public transport does not allow taking pets on board, no matter how small they are, and taxis also refuse to carry them, its almost mandatory to own a car to be able to provide a decent quality of life to your pet in terms of carrying them with you.

Moreover, available green areas in the city are scarce, and most public parks do not allow dogs to enter.

In most cases, dog owners, especially in the Macau Peninsula area, are forced to either have their dogs do their business in depressingly small enclosed areas packed with dogs, or just walk along trafficked sidewalks.

In some cases, the pet dogs ban in some green areas is just outright absurd. Take for example the Cotai riverside bicycle and walking lanes, one of the only available decent public areas ion that side of the city.

Meters and meters of grass completely out of bounds for any canine, unless its one of the dozens of stray dogs who make the Cotai construction sites part of the local ecosystem, it seems their home.

Maybe having no owner ensures a better life quality for local dogs, since the same takes place on local beaches, mostly also out of bounds for any pet dog.

It is hard to comprehend why civil and respectful dog owners, who hold their dogs on a leash and take care of their droppings, are not allowed in basically any public green area of this city.

Sometimes even hiking trails, one of the only options for people to go on a leisure weekend stroll with their dog, are out of bounds.

A citys life quality is not only measured by how well gardens are kept and how well sidewalks are kept clean and tidy, but also by the good sense of its municipal regulations.

Unfortunately, in some cases the hassles of having a dog lets not even talk of the options available for taking pets outside Macau can even lead some despicable people to just abandon them and stop bothering.

Then theres the already horrible fact that a third of all stray dogs and cats collected by municipal authorities last year and that failed to be claimed ended up being put down.

Its sad, but it does happen, so it would be nicer to see municipal authorities have a more tolerant attitude towards the local four-legged furry city inhabitants.

After all, in these difficult times, they are working overtime to keep the mental health of their owners in check. Its only fair we also take care of theirs.

[MNA Editor-in-Chief]

Read more here:
OPINION - It's a dog's world - Macau Business