The Dangers of Stigma

Awareness. I think awareness is the only way to diminish the stigma associated with mental illness. Stigma can be so detrimental. Some people do not get help because they know that some people will treat them differently if they knew. They might be afraid that their family would ostracize them. They might be worried that they will lose their job if people thought they were unstable. People with mental illness should not feel ashamed because they need help. They need supportive people in their lives to help them get treatment.

I am blogging today about mental illness because today is Mental Health Month Blog Party over at the American Psychological Association. Not that I don't blog about mental health all the time - I just have a good reason to today :)

As many of you know, I suffer from clinical depression, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. I take five pills a day to combat these. I am not ashamed of my illness or of the fact that I see a psychologist and a therapist. I will tell anyone who wants to know. It wasn't always like that, though. I did not get treatment until well into my college years. My family thought there was nothing wrong with me, so I would just be a cry baby if I went to a doctor for it. I was always worried that people would assume I was crazy, when I knew I wasn't. It was difficult for me, the same that it is for millions of Americans.

There are lots of consequences of not seeking treatment. Homelessness, incarceration, episodes of violence, and suicide are just some of the major consequences. Others include loss of time at work, difficulties with relationships, and worsening of the disease. We need to help fight stigma so that these people who suffer from mental illness can seek treatment without fear of being judged.

Passions

Today's prompt from Mama Kat is:

What lights your fire? Describe five things you are most passionate about.

1. Family - Not just being a mom, everything about family.  Extended family and friends that feel like family.  All are so important to me.  (Click the link, it is one of my favorite posts)
2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - I know that there is no 'saving' the environment, but I can help lessen the damage.  I want there to still be beautiful places when my son is old enough to enjoy them, and then when his children are old enough to enjoy them.  I try to incorporate these principals into all areas of my life.
3. Busting Stereotypes - I am not an idiot.  I know that there is some truth in stereotypes; they came from somewhere.  There are Jewish bankers, flamboyant homosexuals, bad woman drivers, lazy poor people, and some African Americans do like grape soda.  But I want everyone to understand that not everyone is like that.  Not everyone follows the stereotype.  I actually find it a bit annoying when people do.  Like that kid in high school that everyone said was gay, but he adamantly denied it, then turns out that he is.  That makes me a little sad.
4. Conscientious Consumerism - I do not support large corporations.  Especially the ones that treat their employees poorly.
5. Health Care - So many people I know and love have been affected by the crappy health care system we have here.  I know how many times I was sick and could not go to the doctors because I could not afford it.  Seeing people I love struggle with disease and medical bills.  It is not right.

So, if anyone knows of any ways that I can make money doing any of these things (without going back to school), I am open to suggestions!  

It is Bad Politics to Bend

No, I don't mean bending like John Edwards.  Although, come to find out, that is bad politics too.  Nor do I mean break like Joe Lieberman.  I mean finding a middle ground, splitting the difference, compromise.

Obama has removed the public option from the health care bill and in it's place put government subsidies.  Republicans are against it because they are against everything and the Democrats are pissed because it is not the public option.  Obama has reached out into the aisle and been snubbed by both parties.

This reminds me of Martha Coakley's stance (not that it matters anymore.)  She is pro-choice and would not vote yes on a bill unless it allowed abortions.  In a way, I think this is admirable, I am pro-choice too.  But there is no way the Republicans will agree with it.  Abortion is such a hot topic, can't we save that fight for later?  Health care is the issue here.  But if Coakley submitted, she would lose her pro-choice supporters.  Can't win elections without supporters (which she ultimately didn't.)

How do you get 75 people to agree on something?  Compromise.  Everyone has to bend.  But, if you do not stand firm, you may be called a flip-flopper (like John Kerry).  And, like Kerry taught us, that is bad politics.  Compromise just does not get you reelected.

I admire the president for going forth with his plans, despite them being bad politics.  He is certainly not winning any popularity contests.  I also admire what Nancy Pelosi said last week telling House Democrats to step up even if the bill is unpopular at the moment.  "We're not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress," she said. "We're here to do the job for the American people."source

Dissecting All This H1N1 Information

Disclaimer: First off, I am by no means suggesting that H1N1 is not a serious virus that causes many people to become sick.

A coworker was explaining how he was definitely not getting the H1N1 vaccine because it causes paralysis. This got me to wondering. I am a scientist, therefore numbers are what make sense to me. Here we go.

The odds of contracting H1N1 is 5-30%. The odds of contracting the seasonal flu is 5-20%.

0.1% of H1N1 cases end in death. So, the odds of dying from H1N1 worldwide is 5 million to 1.

The odds of dying from the flu (any flu) during your lifetime is 1 in 62.8.
source: CDC

So what is the big deal? It seems comparable to the seasonal flu. The big deal is that severe seasonal flu reactions usually occur in people 65 and over. Not with the H1N1. They seem to be somewhat immune to the virus. So the severe reactions to H1N1 are occurring in younger people. Mostly from high risk groups still, though.

Here are some interesting facts in case you are still really scared of dying from H1N1.

The odds you will die from cancer is 1 in 6.8
The odds you will die from a vehicular collision with a deer is 1 in 28,831.3.
The odds you will die from lightning (this is a good point of reference) is 1 in 79,746.1.
The odds you will die from a dog attack is 1 in 208,225.9.
The odds you will die from a collapsing sand hole is 1 in 3,982,321.3.

source: Political Calculations

Those are all more likely than you dying from H1N1.

Okay the vaccine. You cannot get H1N1 from the vaccine. It needs cold to activate and your body is not cold.

Everyone seems to be worried about Guillain Barre Syndrome. Basically it "is a rare neurological illness with symptoms ranging from mild muscle weakness to complete paralysis." source: The Faster Times You can contract this syndrome from the virus itself. If the vaccine increases this risk, it is very slight bringing it up to 1 in 1 million. So basically if you are worried about contracting this then you should be worried about it whether you get the vaccine or not.

The big deal is that in 1976 the H1N1 vaccine was produced differently. The odds of getting Guillain Barre Syndrome in '76 was 1 in 100,000. That is indeed much higher. But now the vaccine is produced the same as all other flu vaccines.

Like with vaccines such as Tetanus and MMR the odds of getting serious side effects are smaller than contracting the disease. This is why people get vaccinated in the first place.

I know that there are people who do not believe in vaccines and they will not get this one. I respect that. But to say that this vaccine is more dangerous than any others, I believe, is a fallacy.

So, yes, wash your hands, cough into a tissue, get your vaccines and stop worrying so much about dying. You are far more likely to be killed going home from work today than being killed by this virus.

Story Time

Let me tell you a story. This story is about a woman. This woman got into a car accident. This car accident was caused by the other driver. This woman was seriously injured. She was in serious pain. She was uninsured.

The way that insurance companies work is her insurance (theoretically) would pay her bills. Then her insurance company would go after the other driver's insurance company for reimbursement. Because she was uninsured, she could not afford the treatments. She went to physical therapy as long as she could, but it is expensive. What she really needed was surgery. Surgery may have alleviated the pain that she will now feel for the rest of her life.

She sued, but lawyers, too, are expensive. The lawyer finally told her to settle. It was the best she could do under the circumstances. The settlement was not enough for the surgery.

Let me tell you another story. This story is about a man and a woman. The man is employed by a hospital. This hospital gives its employees good insurance, as hospitals do. The woman got cancer. The man's insurance covered some of the bills. It did not cover enough. The woman is currently fighting cancer. Both are fighting to keep their house.

Here is another. This story is about a boy. This boy is only 19, but has been away from home for several years now. This boy does not have a job. This boy gets some assistance for health care through the state. This assistance does not cover dental work. This boy has immense pain in his mouth. It is more affordable for this boy to wait until the pain is completely unbearable so he has to go to the emergency department than if he went to the dentist. The assistance will help pay for the emergency visit. This boy must wait until it is a medical emergency before he can get help.

Okay. One more. This is about a woman. This woman had some knee pain. She has insurance and goes to her primary care physician who refers her to a specialist. The specialist says that she needs a MRI. He cannot order one, though, until an xray is done. The specialist knows that the xray will show nothing, but must order it because the insurance company will not pay for the MRI until an xray is done.

The xray is done. The MRI is done. The specialist tells the woman to get a prescription knee brace and go to physical therapy 2 - 3 times a week. This woman cannot afford to go 2 - 3 times a week. She cannot afford to go once a week. This woman goes every other week for six months. One of the underlying problems, they find out, is that this woman has flat feet. With the proper shoe inserts, this can be fixed. Then she would not have to go to the physical therapy. The insurance company does not cover any of the costs of the inserts. The insurance would, however, continue to cover the p.t. indefinitely. They would rather spend hundreds of dollars a month on p.t. than a couple of hundred dollars up front.

I could tell you more stories and I am sure that you could tell me thousands of similar stories. These are the reasons for health insurance reform. These people are the reasons for health insurance reform.

People claim that the quality of their health care will go down. First I ask: Is your care really that good? Second I beg these people to listen to these stories. Listen to the people who are getting screwed by the insurance companies or who are uninsured. Listen to your family, friends, and neighbors. I am sure that each person will hear stories similar to mine. Finally I ask that these people to listen to what these bills in congress are actually saying. Not just what they are told that they say by uninformed sources.

Okay, I am coming down from my soapbox for the night. I just believe in this so passionately. It always saddens me when the people who would benefit from change the most are the same who oppose it. For instance, the poor southern states. These lower class people who were being screwed by the republicans, are also their biggest supporters.

The last story, btw, was mine.