Transitions: Help Your Kids with Winter Break

After the mad rush of the holiday festivities, a lot of us can feel let down. Don't forget to mind the mood of your kids and help them make the most of this quiet time to recharge their batteries. It's great to keep our kids occupied, involved and give them a sense of belonging. My teenager performed in A.C.T.'s A Christmas Carol this season. It was exhilarating but exhausting for everyone. I thought she would welcome the down time after the show was over to just kick back, relax and "veg out" for a while. Instead, last night she was wallowing on the living room floor, moaning, "My life is over...I feel like an empty tube of lip gloss...I have nothing to live for...". Well, it's not for nothing I got my little Drama Queen into acting...

But seriously, January is a peak month for depression. We tend to feel our losses more acutely. We offer these tips to help kids make the most of their winter break and get ready to return to their hectic routines refreshed:

• Eat a balanced diet to boost energy and promote sleep and a sense of well being
• Talk about your feelings of sadness, loss, people you miss with loved ones and friends
• Get out of doors and take a walk in a Green Space for an hour every day.

The National Wildlife Federation is concerned that we are raising the first generation of Americans who are disconnected from nature - the plugged in generation. Plugged into cell phones, computers, TV, IPods and completely out of touch with the beauties of nature. A Green Hour - an hour spent outdoors in unstructured play everyday helps kids get stronger, healthier, fitter, happier. It reduces stress, enhances creativity and imagination and improves sleep.

Thank you cmeaux for use of photo of Little boy with geese!

Labels: green space, kids health, transitions

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Money really isn't Everything: Health Advantages of Creative Work

Doing challenging creative work that you enjoy and having control over your daily routine is the equivalent, in terms of health advantages, of being 7 years younger than your stated age, having 2 more years of education or 15 times higher household income.

Sociology professor John Mirowsky found that work itself has health benefits for people - providing opportunities for engagement in problem solving activities and having opportunities for learning. People who give up working tend to have fewer opportunities for creativity - despite the sacrifices of independence.

In one of my former lives as a disability case manager, I worked with people who were disabled due to occupational injuries. The majority of people of worked with wanted to continue working in some capacity and did everything in their power to return to work. It was the railroad workers - heavy laborers who had basically been married to their jobs for decades that had the most difficulty transitioning to disability retirement. Psychologically, it was devastating for them, as devastating as a divorce. Their identity, their friendships, their youth was tied up in their jobs and to be unable to continue working was really hard on them.

We hear a lot about insurance scammers, but honestly, I met very few in the course of my career. When they were bad, they were very bad. The energy, creativity and resourcefulness that some people would devote to trying to get out of working and winning a disability retirement package indicated a higher level of functioning better suited to a different line of work any way - say politics?

Much as we all complain about work, coworkers, bosses, projects deadlines - we are fortunate to have jobs. Especially me these days - I have a teenager at home...I need my job to keep me somewhat sane...

Thank you M dot for use of photo...

Labels: creativity work health

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Santa Claus forgot about the Drive-by: Helicopter Shooting in Rio de Janiero

Residents of a Rio de Janeiro favela (slum) shot at Santa's helicopter, mistaking it for a police raid. He was on his way to a party in the Nova Mare favela when alleged drug traffickers in a neighboring shantytown opened fire on his "sleigh".

Samuel Loewenberg, reporting on poor health in The Lancet in 2005, states that poverty is the reason for the 10 x higher death rate in the favelas in Rio, compared to wealthier neighborhoods. Open sewers, a breeding ground for disease, run through some areas, attracting rats. Sewage overflows into people's homes in the rainy season. But health care workers in community health clinics know that treating disease is not enough to stem the tide of untimely death in the favelas. 1.2 million people live in the slums on less than $2 per day. Favela residents are denied basic services - health care, education, space for recreation. Malnutrition, diarrhea, pneumonia, skin diseases, stroke and hypertension are rampant.

If you have seen the movie, City of God, you have some glimpse into the life of the youth of the favelas. Directed by Fernando Mereilles and Katia Lund, the movie employs actual children from the slums of Rio to act in the film. 4000 kids died from gunshot wounds in 2004 - ten times more than died in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "...public health is not only a question of disease but of bullets..." . Violence keeps teachers, health care workers and even the police away - unless they fly in by helicopter during military type raids - which explains Santa's mishap.

Poverty, discrimination, gangs and drugs. Too many children are caught in the crossfire. We need to resolve the issues of poverty and health disparities and give them better options, and hope for their future. For those who want to get up close and personal with the favela experience, there is The Little Slum Inn or Pousada Favelinha for $35 a night.

Thank you meltingman for use of photo of Rocinha favela school.

Labels: favela, gunshot wounds, public health, violence

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Help Loved Ones Beat the Holiday Blues

The American Geriatrics Society wants us to know that the elderly are particularly vulnerable to holiday blues at this time of year. People may have health or financial concerns or be thinking of loved ones who are no longer around. If someone you know appears sad and blue at this time of year, we offer these tips to help them:

1. Offer to help with transportation to shopping, parties or chores.
2. Be a good listener and encourage them to talk about their feelings of loss or sadness.
3. Encourage them to socialized with others and to volunteer. Helping others is always a good way to forget our own sorrows.
4. Discourage the use of alcohol, which can actually depress the mood.
5. Encourage the person to speak to their health care provider if the blue mood persists and becomes clinical depression (lack of sleep, lack of appetite, lack of pleasure or interest in anything.)

Thank you borya for use of photo.

Labels: winter blues

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Tis the Season - To Be Careful with Your Heart

Deaths from heart disease peak during the holiday season. It may be the season to be jolly, but it is also the season for heart attacks. Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center speculate that a lot of people ignore the warning signs because of family obligations and not wanting to spoil every one's fun. Hmmm...that just does not make sense.

Here are five helpful hints to keep your heart ticking through the New Year:

1. Continue your diet and exercise program - don't fall off the wagon!
   
2. Drink alcohol in moderation - too much is toxic to the upper chambers of the heart and can set off arrythmias
   
3. Don't forget to take your medications as prescribed!
4. Pay attention to symptoms of discomfort, weakness, shortness of breath, sweating. Don't ignore them - seek medical attention no matter what is going on!
5. Get some rest. Deep breath. Relax. Smile. Stick around to see another year!

Thank you Savenna, for use of Flickr Holiday Card.

Labels: heart healthy holidays

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Holiday Spirit: Cut Down on Too Much of a Good Thing!

The holiday party season has started. Don't ruin the holidays for yourself and your loved ones by drinking and driving impaired. Over the legal limit will land you in jail instead of home for the holidays. Designate a driver. Hand your keys over if you must drink. Be safe and warm for the holidays. Don't put yourself and others at risk. It's just not worth the cost.

Labels: driving under the influence

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