Month: January 2019

Children Taken To Mental Health Facilities, From School Grounds!

Posted on by blogger

Children taken to mental health facilities, from school grounds!

Taking “care” or taken for a ride?

by Ms. Laurie Anspach, Mental Health Activist and Executive Director of Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida (CCHR)

There has been a real “buzz about town” regarding the controversial subject of mental health screening within our public schools. Many parents are left with questions about their rights to protect their children. Parents have the right to know what actions will being taken, by the school, when their child is late for class, skips class, doesnt sit still in class or generally, is deemed inappropriate by a school counselor or teacher.

One young girl made the news after she was subjected to a so-called suicide prevention movie that provided extremely controversial criteria for how to determine if someone is at risk. The idea of mental health entering our childrens school day, is perhaps surprising to some. Unfortunately, the public schools are ridden with different programs that ask intrusive questions of the students; shows them films in the name of suicide prevention; and generally opens the door to diagnosing any child with an apparent disorder that is not backed up by any medical proof.

According to the Florida, WESH T.V, channel 2 report Jenny Helmick, a student at Wolf Lake Middle School, went to see a guidance counselor and ended up spending the night at Lakeside Alternatives. (a mental health facility). This student was involuntarily committed from the school grounds following the showing of a movie about suicide prevention. That is just one way a student can end up being extracted from school and involuntarily committed through the Baker Act (Floridas involuntary commitment law). Jenny was one of four students taken to Lakeside from Wolf Lake Middle School in one year, according to the WESH report.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida is a non-profit watchdog group that investigates and exposes violations of human rights in the field of mental health. At our offices, we have received many calls regarding children who were taken from school grounds and brought to a psychiatric ward.

A sample of the typical mental health questionnaire is below. The child needs to answer a multiple choice set of statements and rate them per this numerical system.
1= None of the time
2= Very rarely
3= A little of the time
4 = Some of the time
5= A good part of the time
6= Most of the time
7= All of the time

__________ I feel I get pushed around more than others

__________ I feel that I am a likable person

__________ I am afraid I will appear foolish to others

Imagine if children, who know they have already broken a school rule, under the pressure of getting in trouble at home, answer these questions and 20 more questions like it, but in addition, depending on their answers, they may be deemed by the psychologist administering this questionnaire, to be a risk to themselves or a risk to others. Once the child is deemed such a risk, they are escorted by a law enforcement official, to a receiving facility for the Baker Act, involuntary commitment.

There is an entire array of intervention programs that have been implemented throughout our public schools. Teen Screen, Signs of Suicide and On Campus Intervention Program are a few of them. CCHR Florida has received calls from parents who have told us that their children are subjected to the questionnaires for wearing a shirt that is too short, for being late to school, skipping class or fist fights in the playground. The problems seem to be problems that anyone who is 30 years or older, would have remembered as being handled by detention after school, extra school work and cleaning erasers for the teacher. Now, we have intervention programs, mental health counselors, psychiatric drugs being dispensed to children right in the school by the school nurse.

Perhaps, it is important to either fully educate the parents about the full procedure of these intervention programs, which would include educating them about the potential of their child being involuntarily committed and held in a psychiatric facility for up to 72 hours, minimally. Perhaps, it is time to fully educate the parents about the fact that there are no medical tests, chemical imbalance tests or blood tests to prove that any mental health disorder exists and that the psychiatric drugs that are prescribed to these children are in the same class as cocaine and carry dangerous side effects (some include the FDA black box warning of suicidal ideation).

Additionally, perhaps it is time to review the aspect of parental consent.

CCHR Florida has copies of the mental health screening consent forms. One of these is a two page parental consent form written in 8pt type (which is very difficult to read due to it’s small size) and does not mention the potential of a students evaluation leading to the involuntary commitment.

Minimally, we need to ask ourselves, are parents fully informed? Are the childrens rights fully protected and are the children’s best interests being looked after?

How To Stop Mental Chatter

Posted on by blogger

Have you tried to Stop Mental Chatter using various techniques and failed miserably in the past?

If your answer is yes, then this article will provide you with valuable information on how to stop mental chatter easily and effortlessly.

We human beings are the only species on earth that are capable of thinking. But when thinking is coupled with past memories and emotional attachments it becomes what is known as mental chatter or mind chatter. This is not healthy for our mind and body.

Thinking is useful and creative when used in the present moment to handle a situation or problem at hand. But it is harmful when used to think about past memories and re enact the negative emotions of the past.

Mental Chatter is mostly about the past and not the present. The conscious mind fears quietness or silence and will always try to keep on chattering about the past. This mostly happens without even your awareness.

When this mind chatter is stopped altogether, you are totally in the present moment and you access your intuition and inner guidance easily and effortlessly. This is the ultimate goal of anybody who wants to stop the mental chatter.

But how do we stop mental chatter?

It is easy said than done. Because the mind fears a vacuum and will always try to find some thing to chatter about.

Meditation is the most effective technique to stop mind chatter. Sit quietly and start concentrating on your breath, if your mind wanders, bring it back to your breath. This should be done for at least 2 hours daily in order to be effective. Any one who has tried to meditate knows how difficult it is. In the current busy world it is near to impossible to sit in one place for 2-3 hours without being disturbed.

But do you know that you could use Latest Patent Pending Technology instead of meditation to calm and relax your mind and body. In fact this is much easier and need only 30 minutes a day of your busy time. And it is much more powerful than meditating for 2-3 hours a day. It has untold mind and body health benefits too, than meditation.

This technology is scientifically proved to not have any side effects whatsoever and can be tried for FREE now.

The Mental Fallout Of Pimples

Posted on by blogger

Acne, whether or not the frequent teenage variety or the rarer adult variety, is one among several kinds of skin infections that could produce serious epidermis blemishes and aesthetically undesirable consequences. Aside from the obvious physical markings that come with the onset of the acne pimples, there is also the possibility that the breakout would leave scars on the facial area . While only adult acne and a select few epidermis infections leave marks, these marks are often difficult and costly to eliminate. Facial marks due to acne may have serious mental and social implications. Acne pimples and epidermis infections can have mental health side effects that can be more serious than the infection itself since epidermis concerns often have an effect on a person’s self-esteem.

A temporary bout of social anxiety is typical among people who suffer from acne pimples. Since most individuals view your skin as a visual indication of any individual’s physical well-being and cleanliness , imperfections might often be perceived quite negatively. People can interpret the acne as signs of lousy health or physical health, as well as being possible signs of unhealthy dietary options. Some individuals to slowly stay clear of individuals with acne pimples, especially in communities or groups where physical attractiveness and sameness are major to social survival, a situation located in a typical high school campus. This detachment, along with the pimples individual’s own perception one that is all too often affected by outside influences may result in social withdrawal. The acne pimples sufferer’s withdrawal and sense of being socially unacceptable could even worsen and lead to an onset of social stress and anxiety in some instances.

Another potential predicament brought about by pimples is status anxiousness. As previously stated, some communities embrace a culture of sameness that triggers members to subconsciously ostracize those who are perceived to be different. While extreme in interpretation, people with acne pimples are often noticed to be among those whore different. But for the popular, high-rating members of society, any sign of skin imperfection could even trigger status anxiety. Modern society often puts pressure on people to either retain their status or strengthen it, which is among the leading triggers of tension and stress and anxiety in people. This pressure is an underlying force behind social interactions with one’s perceived peers and superiors, but might come into the foreground with the onset of acne. As acne pimples becomes manifest, concern over one’s physical look as a factor in one’s social standing develops. Once a certain point, which is different for each person, has been reached, status anxiousness sets in as the person becomes increasingly worried about how the infection will affect his status within his social circle.

Perhaps among the more drastic effects of acne pimples on the human psyche would be depression, though this is arguably more like a side effect of the previously mentioned troubles. Usually, depression makes itself manifest if the Acne pimples has been typical for a prolonged period. As the social isolation continues, the individual also loses more and more self-assurance in his social abilities and standing. This social stress and anxiety, combined with worries over the perceived decline in his standing among his peers, may often make your situation seem hopeless for any individual. The state of depression, which might only be perception and not an accurate reflection of your situation, could have dangerous consequences on an individual’s mental health. The feasible psychological fallout brought on by prolonged depression can effortlessly outlast even the worst acne pimples outbreak, with the possibility of becoming worse if the patient develops acne pimples again later in life.

The potential emotional fallout caused by pimples should be a significant concern for virtually anyone who is fighting acne. As such, acne pimples should be taken seriously and treated properly from the start. If otc medicines are failing to alleviate the situation, then seek advice from a professional for guidance. Be sure to follow the instructions given for the acne pimples medication, whether this is over-the-counter or prescribed, to minimize the chances of unwanted effects occurring. While doctor prescribed acne pimples treatments and pimples scar removal surgery may seem high priced, they can prove to be worthwhile long-term investments when compared with the costs of therapy and anti-depressants.

If browsing for the best acne products be sure to check out the web page. We have a comprehensive overview of all the greatest solutions on the market. The choices include rosacea treatment, natural acne treatment, blue light therapy, cure for pimples, and acne treatments that work!

Role of Mental Imagery in Sports Injury Recovery

Posted on by blogger

When sports injuries occur, there is a lot of emphasis on physical rehabilitation. While physical rehabilitation is an important step to recovery from injury, the importance of mental imagery in expediting the recovery cannot be underestimated. Many athletes across the globe rely on imagery to expedite their return to their trade. Experts note a marked difference between the recovery times of athletes who use imagery and those who do not. Imagery enables an athlete to visualize scenarios that depict healthiness and peak performance, among many other positive scenarios.

What is mental imagery?

Mental imagery, also known as self-hypnosis and guided imagery is the technique of mentally visualizing the desired outcome of an action, such as recovery from sports injuries. You typically use all your senses to visualize the outcome as though the outcome has already occurred or is happening. Mental imagery, though now widely treated as part of exercise program to overcome injuries, can be applied to multiple areas such as sports or academic performance and other disease recovery programs.

Benefits of mental imagery

According to Herbert Benson, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, “What patients believe, think and feel has profound effects on the body. Thoughts and emotions are 50 to 90 percent effective in most conditions.”

Among many mental imagery benefits, an athlete can feel:

More motivation. More personal responsibility towards the injury. An improved quality of life. Less depression, if any. Less time spent at rehabilitation process. Reduced pain. Improved mood.

A lot of real-life examples are to be found on the use of self-hypnosis. For example, gymnast Janine Rankin used guided imagery to find relief from severe back pain. According to Rankin, -I didn’t know much about the biology of my injury, but I knew that I needed oxygenated blood circulating through troubled areas, so I imagined it going through the heart and through the inflammation of my back and the troubled areas, I pictured the inflammation breaking up and getting carried away.-

Self hypnosis applications

Mental imagery can be, among other things, used for pain reduction and healing. Positive visualization can relax muscles which can hold a lot of tension. Relaxed muscles release tension and that can result in pain relief. Imagining sitting by a tranquil and steady stream or getting a hot bath are all examples of imagery. Of course, different examples may work better for different individuals.

Experts believe that imagery and physical rehabilitation can complement each other. Many are of opinion that focusing on physical aspects of a sports injury alone may not be a comprehensive treatment solution. An injured athlete goes through varied emotions after injury and many of those emotions are negative such as fear, anger and depression. Guided imagery can enable an athlete to manage such emotions well. An athlete, with imagery, can perform rehabilitation exercises or actions with a positive mindset and that will hasten the results. It, however, makes sense to perform self hypnosis under the guidance of an expert.

About Author:

The author Brian Anderson has been a medical journalist for the last 5 years and has written several medical journals and articles about sports injury recovery. His articles for http://www.mobilephysio.ca/ are quite informative and can be found in several submission websites.

Guide To Mental Math For Management Consulting

Posted on by blogger

Many people do have rather poor mental math skills. You might ask yourself why mental math is important, when you can use Excel and calculators. To succeed in a management consulting interview, however, you have to know mental math. Firstly, management consulting interviews emphasize math skills, and you will get tested in detail. Secondly, in the day-to-day consulting job, good math skills are very handy. During case interviews the interviewer will often test your quantitative skills by asking questions that require some sort of calculations (e.g. during a market sizing exercise).

The top tier firms as McKinsey, Booz, Bain and BCG all require great mental math skills. This is also the case for smaller consulting boutique firms.. By doing a few minutes of practice every day, you can turn your mental math problems into a strength. Rad our tips below.

What should you prepare? The sort of math questions you might encounter are often quite simple. You have probably not used your mental math skills since high school. Sometimes a candidate is allowed to do the calculation on paper – especially if the complexity is high. You will use math skills as part of the case interview process. Say that you are answering a pricing case study. You might get a question to calculate the bottom line impact of a new price. This is a calculation that management consulting recruiters expect you to be able to solve. You need to know some quick rules for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Addition
Many people will think it should be the easiest above of all calculations. But what if an interviewer asks you what 1891+1640 is, can you blurt out your answer within 3 seconds? Well, this should not be as hard as it looks if you know how to break it down and calculate them separately. Let’s break this down: 1891 needs 1200 to become 3091, so 1891+1200=3091, then you just need to plus another 440 (1200+440=1640) to get the final answer, 3091+440=3531. This process may seem long, but think about doing this out loud. As you know that the result will be 3XXX, you can firstly say 3XXX out loud. While you say it, you can finish off the rest of calculation.

Subtraction
Generally, the basic idea is the same with addition. Let’s try one, what is 6734-89? You could break it down like: 6734-100=6634, 6634+11=6645. Maybe you have realized what we are doing now – we are simplifying the calculation. But there are still so many ways to break one number down. The basic principles are: it’s always easy to do with hundreds and people are more familiar with addition rather than subtraction.

Multiply
When it comes to multiply, many people will just surrender. It only takes a bit more time to master than addition and subtraction. Still, the basic idea is the same. What is 49*73? Notice that when we can’t find hundreds, we look for tens. Let us break it down as: 50*73=3650, 3650-73=3577. It takes more time, but still, a lot easier. When you are doing the breaking down, you will find all the calculations follow the simple rules. The only thing you need to work on is your memory. Paper is also useful as your aid.

Division
Division takes mental math to another level. You need to find the common factor quickly when you are dividing. For example, what is 35/210? If you practice a lot, you will find the common factor is 7 right away. Then you divide both 35 and 210 by the common factor. This gives a new calculation: 5/30. Now you have 5 as the common factor, and a calculation of 1/6 shouldn’t be hard.

Set up a practice routine After you have reviewed the basics, you need to set up a practice routine so you can increase the speed of your calculations. If you have some time before the case interview, you should spend it wisely. Some ideas for practicing are:

1. During grocery shopping: Add all items in your basket before you head for the checkout counter and remember to include the decimals.

2. When travelling: A natural great way to practice currency conversion.

These examples are far from exhaustive, but the main point is that you need to build your practice into your daily routine, so it feels more natural for you to work with numbers. Hope this give you some good ideas on how to practice math.