Public Spark

Last year I wrote a blog about what depression is and the possible treatments is. This week will focus on famous people who have or had depression and treatments that have worked for them. Today’s blog describes some actors and entertainers who have suffered from depression.

• Mike Wallace

  He is a news journalist and correspondent of TV show “60 Minutes.” He was diagnosed with clinical depression in 1984 and had a series of severe depressive episodes. Mike Wallace attributed recovery to therapy and antidepressant medications.

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Breast cancer is a serious condition and can be life-threatening, but there are ways of reducing the risk of getting breast cancer.

• Maintain a healthy weight

  Excess fatty tissue is a source of circulating estrogen in your body and breast cancer is linked to how much estrogen you are exposed too in your lifetime. Regular exercise, as well as limiting fat in your diet can help maintain a healthy weight. Eating cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables regularly can provide protective phytonutrients. Also 2 grams of fish oil or eating fish, which contains high omega-3 fatty acid can significantly reduce your risk of getting breast cancer.

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TREATMENTS

Treatment of breast cancer will typically involve surgery followed by a combination of chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and radiation. Treatments however do vary depending on the patient and depending on the stage of cancer.

• Surgery

  Lumpectomy-removal of cancerous tumor and possibility removal of lymph nodes

  Mastectomy-removal of whole breast

• Chemotherapy

  Medicines that interfere with cancer growth and division, intended to reduce and kill tumors.

• Radiation Therapy

  X-rays or high energy rays applied to the tumor and surrounding areas to destroy cancer cells.

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October is breast cancer awareness month. Last year, I wrote a blog about a dear friend whom I lost to breast cancer. There are also a set of links with general information, support group information, as well as recommended books. This year, I will do a three part series on what breast cancer is, early treatment options and ways to detect breast cancer available for breast cancer.

Breast Cancer is a group of abnormal cells that form in the breast. There are a variety of different types of Breast Cancer. American Cancer Society lists these types in more detail.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, if left untreated can lead to serious consequences and harm. There are a couple of ways that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is treated.

• Psychotherapy

  A type of therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been shown to be the most effective. It is active, problem-focused, and goal-directed. CBT involves retraining your thought patterns and routines so that compulsive behaviors are no longer necessary. One approach in particular is called the exposure and response prevention (E/RP). It involves gradually exposing you to a feared object or obsession (exposure) such as dirt, and teaching you healthy ways to deal with it (response prevention). The cognitive portion of CBT is often added to E/RP to help challenge the irrational beliefs associated with OCD.

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Many have suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder including famous, legendary minds. These are some of those people who have had OCD yet accomplished great things.

• Howard Hughes (Wikipedia Howard Hughes,IMDB Aviator,Disabled World)

  Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer and director. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world with his net worth totaling 43.4 billion dollars. By the late 1950s Hughes had developed debilitating symptoms of social avoidance behavior and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which included compulsive hand washing. The Aviator (2004), directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes focuses primarily on Hughes’ achievements in aviation, in the movie industry, and on the increasing handicaps imposed on him by his obsessive-compulsive behavior.

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I was washing my hands thinking about the act of washing my hand. I like to put the soap on my hand first and then wash it under the water. I have rituals like this, but they don’t consume my life. I wanted to research more about this topic of how a simple ritual is different from obsessive compulsive disorder.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? (National Institute of Mental Health, Mayo Clinic)

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Part I and Part II was on warning signs of suicide. The last part of this series will be on how to help a suicidal person. These are some of the ways to help in no particular order.

• Be aware

  learn warning signs to understand what to look for

• Listen

  Let the person suffering tell you how they are feeling

• Be ready to accept their feeling

  Although you may not agree, it is important to provide support for them

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Part I blog was on identifying some of myths and facts of suicide. Today’s will outline the warning signs and risk factors to look for in a person that may be contemplating suicide.

Warning signs of suicide:

• Expressing feelings directly or bringing up the topic of suicide

  People contemplating suicide suffer great psychological and emotional pain. They often seek and want help.

• Giving away prized possessions, settling affairs, making out a will

  They feel a sense of responsibility to have things in order before ending their life.

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Since initially writing a blog last September on why people commit suicide, I wanted to explore this difficult issue once again.

An average of 1 person every 16.1 minutes has killed themselves. There are more suicides than homicides. Each suicide intimately affects 6 other people. These are some of the staggering statistics taken from American Association of Suicidology 2005 statistics .

It is often hard to distinguish what is fact from fiction, especially with the stigmas that exist in our society. Here are some of the myths and explanation of facts:

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