Q: Do baby squirrels carry any diseases of any particular concern?
I captured a baby squirrel that was injured (brain injury most likely) and am going to turn it into a wildlife rehab center in the morning – he seems to be calmed by petting with a paper towel. Is there any harm to myself from touching it with my bare hands to pet it? I’m pretty sure they don’t carry any diseases of any concern as long as I don’t like, stick my fingers in my mouth or anything but if anyone knows anything about this sort of thing let me know

A: Squirrels do NOT carry rabies, nor does any other rodent, including rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, or guinea pigs, nor do rabbits, even though those are not considered rodents. (The booklet put out by The Health Department stating this also says that no post-exposure shots are ever necessary after having been bitten, even though a lot of unknowing people do like to perpetuate this myth. — Bitty baby squirrels don’t bite anyway.)
Squirrels are virtually disease-free and are very clean little animals (though they do make big messes when they are older, IF they are healthy). They do NOT carry diseases transmissible to humans. They can get abscesses in 10 days to 2 weeks from biting each other but do NOT infect people when bites are sustained from mishandling the older babies or adults.

Cats do NOT infect squirrels, either, so no antibiotic is EVER necessary if a cat finds one, baby or adult, and brings it home. Sometimes the small scrapes or scratches found on babies are caused by his fall from the tree and what twigs he hit on the way down, not necessarily by the cat.

Q: Ethology question about owls: What does “Clack clack clack” mean? Also, what does eye blinking mean in a GHO?
{Great horned owl} I volunteer at a wildlife rehab center and we have a bunch of wild ones there, plus a few that are educational animals because they can’t be released into the wild. I’m guessing that the clacking is a threatening sound, but I’m stumped about the eye blinking. My cats blink in a slow and sultry manner to show love. Why do owls blink at you?

A: Yes your right its a threatening sound.

Owl blink because it eyes to cleans and moistens the owls eyes.

Q: what are the requirements for opening a non profit wildlife rehabilitation center in California?
I have worked with wild/exotic animals for many years and am interested in opening a non profit rehab center for wild animals. I live in Sacramento and the one that I used to go to off Auburn road shut down. It is probably because they were non profit and had a lack of volunteers. But I know these animals need somewhere to go and am sincerely interested in this so please only answer if you can honestly give beneficial info. I don’t need anyone to criticize me or put down my good intentions. Thank you very much in advance for any help.

A: Contact your secretary of state, most the information you need should be located there.

Q: What should I do with a baby bird-not a fledgling-to keep it alive until I can take it to a wildlife rehab?
I rescued the bird from my cat. It seems unhurt. I tried to put it back in a nest I made in the tree and it keeps jumping out. Judging from pictures on the internet, it is about 6-8 days old and not a fledgeling. Its feathers are too underdeveloped for flight. I know baby birds have to eat frequently-but I can’t even get baby bird food from the store. My problem is that it is 12:30 at night-no place is open. If I were to leave it outside, it would die inevitably. What can I do to help it’s chance of surviving through the night to be taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center?

A: Place him in a small box lined with paper towel – not cloth, as the bird’s nails could get caught in the material. Make a small “nest” out of paper towel or tissue, to help the baby stay in the correct position and not be laying, splay-legged, in the bottom of the box. Punch some small air holes in the lid to the box, and cover the box securely. Place it in a warm, dark, quiet area. Do not allow any animals, children or excitable adults near it. Do NOT attempt to feed the bird – no injured birds should be fed before being evaluated by a medical expert. Do NOT attempt to give it any water – it could aspirate and die.

Do NOT leave a dish of water in the box – the baby could fall into it and drown. Do NOT give it any milk – birds are not mammals, they do not drink milk, and they can not digest the lactose in milk and milk products.

Make sure you contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator asap – you can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm or here: http://www.wildliferehabber.org/

Tell them that the baby is not only out of the nest too soon, but that it is the victim of a cat attack. It will need a course of antibiotics to survive, as a cat’s saliva contains bacteria that is deadly to birds.

Q: Wanting to open own animal clinic? What education do I need? ?
What type of schooling do I need if I would like to open my own clinic, possibly a wildlife rehab center?

A: You need to go to college for four years for Pre-Veterinary school, then four more years for Grad school, but only if you want to work on the animals and all that stuff…so 8 years or school. Unless you want to hire other Vets… hope this was helpful… AND YOU DO NOT NEED A BUSINESS DEGREE… my entire family consists of multi million dollar businesses that have been unbelievably successful… NONE of them have business degrees…trust me..

Q: I have a baby wildlife rabbit! I don’t know what to do!?
I have three cats and one dog. One of my cats is an outdoor cat and she keeps bringing home dead or half alive animals. A few days ago she brought in a baby sparrow that my mom and I tried rescuing but it died! Today she brought home a half alive baby rabbit! It’s breathing fine.. but.. it looks like one of it’s legs is damaged! It can’t sit straight, it lays weirdly because for some reason the legs are screwed up or something. I took it to the vet but they said they didn’t accept wildlife animals. So then, they gave me a few numbers of wildlife rehabilitation centers around my area but none of them worked. -_- They didn’t seem to care much. So next I went to the pet store and they told me to give it some goat milk so I bought that and some droppers and tried to feed it but it didn’t seem to want any. So right now it’s in my room and it’s still breathing but I don’t know what to do! I don’t want it to die. I’ve been trying to call wildlife rehab centers all day but no one seems to pick up so I left some messages. I was willing to pay the vet but even though I’m only 16 and I don’t make much money but yeah I don’t know what to do!
Oh yea! And it still has the white star on it’s forehead! D:
From reading descriptions online I believe it’s over 17 days old… D:

A: Vets usually do not or will not handle wildlife……There is a book called..MY ORPHANS OF THE WILD, by Rosemary K. Collett with Charlie Briggs…if you can find a copy at the local library, it is a old book,but packed full of info for wild animal rescues. Rabbits are vegetarian,(strictly) so feed for now………….this is an EMERGENCY ONLY FORMULA for infant rabbits,,1/3 cup evaporated milk,2/3 cup cool boiled water,2 drops Zymadrops vitamin supplement (liquid baby vitamins) , blend on medium for 20 seconds. For tiny rabbits feed every hour…for others feed baby food carrots and small pieces of lettuce and a small bowl of oats or baby cereal…BITE WOUNDS can br treated with PANALOG Ointment(check with your vet) and kept quiet and warm in a box with a fuzzy, soft blanket…Keep them quiet as they have a high death rate. I hope this helps. if you need more info email me.

Q: I have an injured bird in a box! What do I do?
The bird was hoping on the ground with what appears to be a wing injury. It might also be a head injury. right now it is in a shoebox lined with a cotton towel. There are no wildlife rehab centers any where close to me. What should I do?

A: if its really injured than it would stay in one place without talking, well mostly not active. u should let it rest, and give the bird some seeds or go outside and get some ants. dont try to hold the bird, since it might make it worse! if its a baby bird, than give it a little big of bread soaked in water. feed it with tweezers.

Q: Wildlife rehabbers?
I’m 15 right now and interested in pursuing a career working in wildlife rehab. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about ever since I was little, though I now have a better understanding of the dedication, sacrifice, and how emotionally tiring it can be.

I have a few questions though:
1.) Generally, at what age can I start volunteer work (no matter how miniscule)? I’m planning to call my local private rehabber, but I don’t want to sound like a moron if I’m too young.
2.) What happens to the animals that can’t be released? I know some are euthanized and others are used for education. What determines this?
3.) What veterinary school has the best programs available in wildlife medicine?
4.) How hard is it to get an internship?
5.) If I have a degree in veterinary medicine & work at a rehab center, will I make enough to support myself?

I feel like I’m missing something. Well, if I think of it, I’ll add it.

A: First off, I think it’s wonderful that you are interested in this type of work. Don’t pay attention to the last poster who said that people shouldn’t work with rehabilitating wildlife. They are ignorant and should know that the main reason why wild animals get hurt is because of HUMANS and we actually CAN be helpful.

1. The wildlife rehab clinic I work for requires that you be 18 or older. You can work there at age 16 if you have parental consent.

2. The animals that can’t be released usually are euthanized or put into public education. Determination of whether or not they can be used as pub-ed animals depends on the species and whether or not we (or other institutions) need more pub-ed animals.

3. I’m actually trying to get into veterinary school to be a small animal vet, so I can’t give you much information on wildlife medicine. You probably need to find a vet school that focuses on exotic animals.

4. Getting an internship shouldn’t be too hard. You can take it for college credit (in which case you’ll need a professor to sponsor you) or you can work something out with the organization’s director if you are not in school. Just be dedicated and responsible to do the work required.

5. I think you’ll make enough to support yourself. You’ll have a very special skill that many people don’t!

Q: I found a Baby Blue jay and i don’t know what to feed it.?
i know i’m supposed to give it to a wildlife rehab center and just need to know what to feed it and do with it till then. i just gotta know what I can do with it until then.

A: If this blue jay has all/most of his feathers, he’s not a baby. He is a fledgling. Baby birds fledge (leave the nest) several days before they can fly. They hop around on the ground and climb low branches until their wings are strong enough for flight. The parents continue to feed the fledglings until they are able to care for themselves.

If it is a fledgling, you need to put it back where you found it so mom and dad can continue feeding it properly.

If it has mostly fuzz, and few/no feathers, it is a nestling, and needs to be returned to the nest. Birds do not reject their babies if a human has handled them, so don’t worry about that.

If you can not return it to the nest, then get it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center asap. It is illegal in the US to have most native wild species, including blue jays, for even a short time without the proper permits. If you are having trouble locating one, try here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

Until then, keep it in an escape-proof, well-ventilated box. Keep him warm and quiet – no pets or noisy children around him. You can place a dish of seed in the box, and see if he is feeding himself yet. If not, try some very well moistened dog food. Place it on the tip of a very small spoon – not the round end you eat from, but the smaller end, and see if he will grab it. If you have to truly hand feed him – dropping the food into his mouth – it is best not to do that without having been trained, or at least watching someone do it. When I was a volunteer at the Avian Rehabilitation Center, we had a volunteer start to hand feed a baby without the proper instruction, and she almost killed the bird, who aspirated some of the food.

Good luck with him!

Q: Rehabilitating rabbits?
Not going to go into the full story, but my girlfriend and I have been rehabilitating baby bunnies (confirmed their mother abandoned them). Everything has been going great (we got lots of information from the local wildlife rehab center), only now we’re getting to the release date. We plan on releasing them within the next week or so, but I had a few questions I wanted to throw out there.

A: Is it a good idea to keep them on an alfalfa substrate so food is readily available (they’re already eating it)?
B: When should I stop hand feeding them (using an eyedropper)?
C: When should I stop feeding them formula?
D: How do I keep them hydrated? The alfalfa/timothy hay is dry, and they keep spilling their water dish. I don’t want to give them a water feeder, because they’ll get used to it and not be able to find water in the wild.
E: Any other tips on what I should do to prep them to go into the wild?

A: A: yes thats fine
B: when they are a few weeks old
C: when they are a few weeks old
D: get a better bowel thats wider
E: dont handle them to much and aside from that it sounds like your doing great!

Q: I found a baby hummingbird?
I am bringing it to a wildlife rehab center tomorrow. (they were already closed closed when I found the bird.) In the meantime, how do I care for it? How do I give it protein? Is baby food okay? I have a jar of beef baby food with beef, corn starch, and lemon juice. Thanks!

A: Hummingbird are very hard to care. Just give it 1 cup of sugar for every 4 cups of water and it’s fine. If you could, you can also get some bugs, but it isn’t necessary. Don’t try to feed it anything else you listed above, it will kill it. As long as you keep it safe with the right food, it should survive.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of good luck!!!

Q: baby bunnies…HELP?
there is a nest of baby bunnies in my backyard. i think the mom has abandoned them & there was already one dead laying outside the nest ……wat do i do???? should i wait to make sure the mom did abandone them, call the wildlife rehab center, or wat??????
i didnt touch any of them, not even the nest. i went out there this morning & seen that one laying there & then i seen the nest & i seen atleast 2 still in the nest

A: wild mommy bunnies don’t sit on the nest, or it attracts attention to their pups. I would remove the one dead one, (maybe a cat got it.) and leave the rest alone. The mom will sneak up, nurse them, cover them up with grass etc. and run away throughout the day/night.

90% of baby bunnies do NOT survive in wild life re-hab. They reallllly need their mommy.

If they all start dying, go ahead and call wild life rescue, otherwise, they will do better out back with mom.

Q: do rabies vaccines hurt?
more specifically, are they more painful than an average shot? I would like to volunteer at a wildlife rehab center.

A: OH NO THEY ONLY HURT WHEN YOUR A PUP!!

Q: Injured baby robin — help!?
I have a baby robin that is injured — its wing bones are intact, but it looks as if a large chunk of feathers has been bitten out of the center of its wing. It moves both wings very well, and jumps around inside the large plastic tub I have him in (I had him in a cage, but his wings kept slipping between the bars and I was concerned they were going to get stuck and get injured/broken). Obviously I have to get this little guy to a wildlife rehab center tomorrow (I found him today), but still, I’m curious. How long will it take for those feathers to grow back? What is his future prognosis? His energy level is great, as is his appetite (I’m feeding him earthworms, raspberries, and canned cat food), and his eyes are bright. What else should I do until I can take him to an expert? Thanks!!!

A: Keep him in a quiet place away from people, pets and noises to keep him calm. I had an idiot neighbor kill a bird I was trying to help once by letting her kids into my shop where they watched it and scared it all day.

Call your local wildlife center first thing in the morning. If the baby isn’t really hurt the best thing to do it get him back to his mom if at all possible.

Q: Injured turtle laying eggs, what should I do?
My brother hit an Eastern Pained Turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata) with his car today and the front of her shell is cracked and there is a fair amount of blood. The wildlife rehab center is closed right now but we looked online and just bandaged it up. Then she laid an egg… so now we have a possibly dying turtle and her egg in a box in the garage. The box is filled with damp moss and leaves. I’m taking her to the rehab center tomorrow, but is there anything else we should do right now? It’s very sad to watch and help is much needed/appreciated. Thank you!

A: If you rotated the egg, it is probably dead. Place the box in a plastic bag, seal it. and leave it on top of the refrigerator for a couple of months.

Q: What jail will my friends be moved to?
So my 2 friends have been sentenced for 2 years in juvie, and they have barley been there for a month and have been put in isolation more then once..i think 3 or 4 times for both of them. So after that they were on a good streak and not gettin in trouble..but then they were both caught smoking weed together…they are both potheads and smoke alot. They are both in a gang, and have been causing gang fights, and riots in this juvie. They are in the giliam youth services center in denver colorado. They have assulted people, stabed someone, and have been caught smoking weed, and they had been warned if they got in anymore trouble there would be a VERY serious problem. They have now been in isolation 5 times and they havent even been there for a month. First isolation=huge fight in gym second isolation= they both jumped a kid and hit him with 20 lb weights 3rd=one of them were smoking weed, other one was fighting again 4th= HUGE gang riot with fights 5th=the 2 were both involved in seperate fights that involved shankings, and major trama. And now they have been caught smoking weed out of a pipe. They are gonna be in rehab classes for weed, and get drug tests, but they are getting moved out of that juvie. WHat other juvie will they be in and will it be a detention only center or will it be a juvie with high security and rehab clases. Please tell me a name of what juvie they will go to.

A: Hopefully they will get transfered to an adult prison where the older inmates will treat them with all the respect they deserve – none.

Q: Financial Legal Help from NAACP in Denver, CO?
My sister is a resident of Colorado. She has legal custody of our nephew (16) who resides with her. She had just renewed her lease with this apartment complex. After renewing the lease a burglary occured at the complex. My 16 year old nephew was accused of the burglary. Because of being in rehab the year before he was on probation he was immediately sent to a youth detention center. He insisted he had no involvement although his finger prints were on the accusers outside window. (He admitted staring in the apartment when it was empty prior to the tenant moving in.) When he was arrested my sister was given a 3 day eviction notice and was told she had to continue paying the $1300 a month rent until it was rented or the lease was up. She abided- and moved out, has paid one month rent since being gone. My nephew had a trial and was found not guilty. Does she have to continue paying this rent? Does she have a case for wrongful eviction since he was found not guilty? HELP!
Does anyone know if the NAACP would help. We think because of his ethnic background that he was just profiled. Does the NAACP charge money?

A: Find the local chapter in the phone book and call them!

Q: Wrongful Eviction Please HELP!?
My sister is a resident of Colorado. She has legal custody of our nephew (16) who resides with her. She had just renewed her lease with this apartment complex. After renewing the lease a burglary occured at the complex. My 16 year old nephew was accused of the burglary. Because of being in rehab the year before he was on probation he was immediately sent to a youth detention center. He insisted he had no involvement although his finger prints were on the accusers outside window. (He admitted staring in the apartment when it was empty prior to the tenant moving in.) When he was arrested my sister was given a 3 day eviction notice and was told she had to continue paying the $1300 a month rent until it was rented or the lease was up. She abided- and moved out, has paid one month rent since being gone. My nephew had a trial and was found not guilty. Does she have to continue paying this rent? Does she have a case for wrongful eviction since he was found not guilty? HELP!
The contract says: ” Resident, occupant or gues engages in or is arrested for any criminal activity including but not limited to, conviction or receiving a deferred judgement, deferred prosecution, diversion continued adjudication, continued petition or adjudication as a deliquent child for any felony or terrorism related charge at any time during lease term.”

Also they didn’t give her anything in writing. Doesn’t eviction have to be court ordered with a statement of reason? The lease also says that the resident shall remain liable to Landlord for all amounts enumerated herein.

A: If they made her move out then she does not have to pay the rent anymore. She would only have to continue paying the rent if the lease would have been broken by her. The landlord just told her that she had to pay because he doesn’t want to lose that money every month. She needs to get a lawyer and dont’ pay any more rent until this is figured out. If the amount is directly taken out of her banking account then contact the bank and have them stop all payments going to him. I have rented twice and have never heard of a landlord doing this.

Q: WRONGFUL EVICTION, Please HELP!?
My sister is a resident of Colorado. She has legal custody of our nephew (16) who resides with her. She had just renewed her lease with this apartment complex. After renewing the lease a burglary occured at the complex. My 16 year old nephew was accused of the burglary. Because of being in rehab the year before he was on probation he was immediately sent to a youth detention center. He insisted he had no involvement although his finger prints were on the accusers outside window. (He admitted staring in the apartment when it was empty prior to the tenant moving in.) When he was arrested my sister was given a 3 day eviction notice and was told she had to continue paying the $1300 a month rent until it was rented or the lease was up. She abided- and moved out, has paid one month rent since being gone. My nephew had a trial and was found not guilty. Does she have to continue paying this rent? Does she have a case for wrongful eviction since he was found not guilty? HELP!
The contract says: ” Resident, occupant or gues engages in or is arrested for any criminal activity including but not limited to, conviction or receiving a deferred judgement, deferred prosecution, diversion continued adjudication, continued petition or adjudication as a deliquent child for any felony or terrorism related charge at any time during lease term.”

Also they didn’t give her anything in writing. Doesn’t eviction have to be court ordered with a statement of reason? The lease also says that the resident shall remain liable to Landlord for all amounts enumerated herein.

Does anyone know if the NAACP or any other organization or person that could help. We think because of his ethnic background that he may have been profiled.
FYI– He was arrested and was apparently being treated as if he was guilty prior to the trial in which he was found NOT guilty for. The bottom line question is… can a the evict her without an actual conviction?

A: It’s not wrongful. The lease says “arrested” not convicted. She’s stuck. They don’t need to put it in writing. She violated the lease.

Q: What do you think court will do to me?
Well I was charged with 5 or 6 different charges on Thursday.
1. Possession of marijuana and spice
2. Paraphernalia of marijuana
3. Use of an inhalant ( 2 empty bottles of Air duster)
4. Possession of someone Else’s prescription pills (Street drug)
5. Possession of Alcohol (underage drinking)
6. Not sure if I was charged with distribution of drugs but I had about 20 Ziploc bags sitting in my drawer with shake left of marijuana, and spice but I think there letting me off on that.

I also got in trouble for stealing but it was under 5 bucks so Im not sure if that was on my record or not but I did not have court for it.
They said I will definitely be going to rehab, they want me in a full time rehab for the Air duster and inhalants.
What else do you think the courts going to do.
We still haven’t received my court date in the mail yet but it should be here soon and they let me off in the custody of my parents because JCYC (our youth detention center) was full and I would have to wait in the waiting room.
BTW I’m in Kentucky, so its under Kentucky law and spice is illegal here, which I don’t know how because local smoke shops sell it.

A: 25 to life

Q: how to get a meeting with the governor?
about 12 years ago i was in the navy and was discharged for failing a drug test. before i got out of boot camp i was given an entry level discharge so i am able to re-enlist. but when i got out i got into more trouble and kept using. about 5 years ago i checked my self into rehab. i got involved with narcotics anonymous and youth in addiction. i have been clean for 4 years and 8 months. and i want to go back into the military. the navy wont take me because of my charges. they told me to try the guard be cause of easier regulations there. but they said no and told me that my only chance is to get the governor to let me in.. so over the last few weeks i have been getting letters from my counselors from rehab and from the assessment centers. as well as getting all the paper work on my criminal charges. iv also got letters from people who have known me and seen me get clean and change. so i am almost ready to meet with him but im not sure what to write. or even if it will get me a meeting

A: contact your state senator he will help you do the paper work i don’t think you will meet with the gov his self i think it’s a paper board

Q: Please Help Me Im Desperate For Help!!!?
Im 18 and I have no friends. I just finished high school and I’m going to college next September. But in the mean time, Ive been thinking of every way possible for me to make some new good friends. I joined a new church to join their youth group, and the youth leader told me that the youth group takes place at Marsh’s youth drop in center. Well Marsh’s is a place for teenagers that just got out of jail or rehab and want to start their lives over. A gothic girl that went to my high school that was mean to me goes to Marsh’s and I’ve seen pics on the internet, everyone there is gothic and weird. I have no idea how to find out if the youth group at my church will be the same people that normally go to Marsh’s. I THINK and im HOPING that my church just uses Marsh’s BUILDING for our youth group, Im scared I will walk in on Friday and it will be all those goth weirdos (including the mean one from school). Marsh’s website however says the drop in is Monday-Thursday, and Saturdays and Sundays, it doesnt say anything about Fridays, so you think that my church just uses the building and the youth group I want to join is all nice church people?

A: You are very judgemental. Stop forming opinions about people based on their beliefs. Try to see the good in people and you will make more friends.

Q: Do you think this man was out of line?
Im 19, had just turned 18 at the time that this began.
When i was 17 i went to rehab and got clean off drink and drugs. I had been using them since i was 15 because of rapes and sexual abuse in the past and it was the toughest thing ever doing a stint in rehab because we had to face our demons, it was very emotional. But i was determined to make it.
I had an aftercare service so when i came out of rehab i went to a drug/ alcohol centre which still gave me support in staying clean. One of the youth workers there always used to talk to me and we had deep conversations etc. He knew that i was very untrusting of men because of the rapes and stuff and he knew i just wanted to find someone to look after me but wasn’t sure how i would ever find that guy.
Even though i was really anti- men at the time, i found myself developing feelings for the youth worker, but “knew” it would never happen. And sure enough, i was shocked that out of the blue he told me he had feelings for me but knew it
was wrong. He made me keep it secret.
So i have because i really liked him. Anyway i really wanted a good relationship with him and we ended up having sex with each other which i was hoping would lead to a proper relationship. It didn’t..
I told him before we became physical that i have difficulties saying no to people because of my experiences. Maybe i was being to open with him and stuff, but i like being honest and thought my honesty would make him like me more.
Anyway us having regular sex turned into him demmanding threesomes with his freinds and stuff. I went along with all of that.
To top it off, i found out he deals a bit of coke on the side. He doesn’t take it himself but he puffs weed and a couple of times he let me smoke it with him, knowing it caused me problems with my mental health. I should have been strong enough to say no but i wasn’t at the time.
It was my birthday last week and he gave me a wrap of coke. I used it and felt really bad. Now i’ve been avoiding him
ever since. It kind of got me thinking, why would he do this? He’s a youth worker/ drug and alcohol worker AND mental health worker.. It doesn’t add up. I’ve been staying away from him because i dont feel strong enough to say no to him ever. My mobile phones been switched off for a week.
He only ever calls me up for sex/ doesn’t seem intrested in me as a person any more, though before we got physical he was always having deep n meaningfull chats with me which made me excited because i thought i had finally found someone who liked me for me.
I feel quite used and stuff and have now lost total faith in men (sorry dont mean to be sexist but thats the way i am feeling right now). Why did all this happen and was he out of order or was this all my fault for not being strong enough? Sorry this questions really long. Please help and give me some advice, i havent been back to the service which was orginally there to help me as i can’t face it anymore. Thanks
Btw he’s 31

A: This man has taken advantage of a young vulnerable girl. What he has done is very wrong. Please seek help regarding this; this man needs to be reported for the safety of others…please talk to your GP about other support & counselling or help centres you could attend, you need time to heal, you need to be safe. You were looking for love/comfort, this man took advantage of that

Q: Parents, what should I do? My 16 year old son is beating his pregnant girlfriend.?
My son is 16 years old. He has been dating his current girlfriend/fiance ( I insisted that they marry eachother because of the baby..) for about two years. My son has a violent temper and oftent talks back to me and his teachers, throws stuff when he gets angry, and frequently throws tempur tantrums. When he was younger, we forced him to go to counseling. After he turned 14, he refused to go anymore, and I couldn’t make him. Last year, he dropped out of high school and began doing PCP, which as you know, can make people extremely violent. After I made him go through detox at a rehab center for teens, he promised me that he would stay clean. I don’t think that he’s doing PCP anymore, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was using cocaine or herion or even crack. Anyways, ever since they started dating, she has ALWAYS gotten into some sort of “accident” with a doorknob, or a toaster, or a bookcase. She’s extremly “clumsy”.It seems like she always has hand-shaped bruises on her arm (she tries to wear jackets all the time to cover them, but she always ends up taking the jacket off eventually), and every other week, she has a black eye. She’s had a broken nose about three times this year. Last Christmas, she had three cracked ribs and what looked like bite marks on her shoulders. I didn’t want to ask her about it because I didn’t want to be intrusive or upset her, especially on Jesus’ holiday.
Anyways, last week, she called me from a payphone and said that she was sleeping at homeless center because my son told her to get out of the flat (they have a flat in the city.) and threatened her with a knife. She also confessed to me that he had been violent with her before, but she didn’t give out specifics. I ordered her to get out of that homeless shelter and find another place to stay because it was just plain irresponsible of her to put herself in a situation like that. Crazy people sleep in homeless shelters, especially the youth ones. I’m not sure what to do anymore! As bad as I feel for her, she’s behaving irresponsibly and she’s putting me in an awkward position. Last night, she slept on my front lawn because she had nowhere else to go. I’m just so sick of having to clean up my son’s filthy messes. This morning, I had to cook breakfast for her and buy her prenatal vitamins. I don’t know if I can feel sorry for this woman anymore. Her parents pretty much dumped her on me, and my son won’t take care of her. My son refuses to get a job, but I’m praying every night for him to get a job as a lawyer or a doctor. I just have no idea what to do anymore. How can I getting my son to clean up his act and take care of his messes without me?

A: I would have your son arrested and take in his girlfriend since she’s carrying your grandchild.

Q: Parents, what should I do? My 16 year old son is beating his pregnant girlfriend.?
My son is 16 years old. He has been dating his current girlfriend/fiance ( I insisted that they marry eachother because of the baby..) for about two years. My son has a violent temper and oftent talks back to me and his teachers, throws stuff when he gets angry, and frequently throws tempur tantrums. When he was younger, we forced him to go to counseling. After he turned 14, he refused to go anymore, and I couldn’t make him. Last year, he dropped out of high school and began doing PCP, which as you know, can make people extremely violent. After I made him go through detox at a rehab center for teens, he promised me that he would stay clean. I don’t think that he’s doing PCP anymore, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was using cocaine or herion or even crack. Anyways, ever since they started dating, she has ALWAYS gotten into some sort of “accident” with a doorknob, or a toaster, or a bookcase. She’s extremly “clumsy”.It seems like she always has hand-shaped bruises on her arm (she tries to wear jackets all the time to cover them, but she always ends up taking the jacket off eventually), and every other week, she has a black eye. She’s had a broken nose about three times this year. Last Christmas, she had three cracked ribs and what looked like bite marks on her shoulders. I didn’t want to ask her about it because I didn’t want to be intrusive or upset her, especially on Jesus’ holiday.
Anyways, last week, she called me from a payphone and said that she was sleeping at homeless center because my son told her to get out of the flat (they have a flat in the city.) and threatened her with a knife. She also confessed to me that he had been violent with her before, but she didn’t give out specifics. I ordered her to get out of that homeless shelter and find another place to stay because it was just plain irresponsible of her to put herself in a situation like that. Crazy people sleep in homeless shelters, especially the youth ones. I’m not sure what to do anymore! As bad as I feel for her, she’s behaving irresponsibly and she’s putting me in an awkward position. Last night, she slept on my front lawn because she had nowhere else to go. I’m just so sick of having to clean up my son’s filthy messes. This morning, I had to cook breakfast for her and buy her prenatal vitamins. I don’t know if I can feel sorry for this woman anymore. Her parents pretty much dumped her on me, and my son won’t take care of her. My son refuses to get a job, but I’m praying every night for him to get a job as a lawyer or a doctor. I just have no idea what to do anymore. How can I getting my son to clean up his act and take care of his messes without me?

A: Stop helping he is using you. Also, report his *** to the police if he is hitting that girl Send him to jail.

Q: ACL surgery-I am 13 years old!!!?
Ok I just had ACL reconstruction yesterday and it hurts a lot haha. I am 13 and I tore my ACL dec. 21st during soccer. I had been doing tons of physical therapy before surgery to build up my leg strength because I know that is important. Anyways how soon do you think I will be back playing soccer on the premier level?? I start my rehab tomorrow and will continue to do that twice a week and at-home exercises every day. I am working really hard and want to play sports again!!!

A: Sounds like you are doing everything right…good for you.

Generally the timeline for return to sports is 6month to 1.5 years depending on your age, injury and how hard you work on your physio.

I returned to soccer at 8 months and re-tore my ACL….this was mostly because I did not follow through on my physio the way I should have.

Q: ACL Rehabilitation-Dodgy physio?
I had ACL reconstruction about 3 months ago, using a hamstring graft, and i’ve found that i can’t really trust my physio. After talking to my consultant he told me to simply do my rehab at hom doin 20 minutes a day on an exercise bike, as well as few minutes of a day of running on a trampette and also using a wobble board.

However, because of waiting lists i can only see him every 2 or 3 months. Im not really sure whether i should be doing more on my knee than just cycling and running on a trampette.

Can anyone who’s already had ACL surgery advise me what to do.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A: In the first 3-4 months of rehab not much else other than exercise bike and small strengthening exercises such as the ones you described are generally advisable. This is simply because the tissue is so weak still. It sounds like a fairly stock standard program.
People often become disgruntled, make a program up themselves, and rupture it again by going too hard too early.

Remember, unless you have access to state of the art facilities like in a football club etc, this is really a 18-24 month injury, and the process is going to be a long one.

Q: I haven’t been doing physical therapy for torn ACL?
I tore my ACL about a year ago.. I got the surgery about 2 months after injuring it and started physical therapy.. I only stuck with it for like 2 months and since then I haven’t really been exercising it at all..I stopped going to physical therapy because I couldn’t handle it anymore for personal reasons… [not trying to make excuses, but I had a lot of personal problems in my life and mental state and I couldn't handle being around people] I know I’m stupid… but now it’s a year later and my knee is weak and I can barely run.. sometimes it feels stronger than other times….I can walk fine but running and shifting my weight in certain ways feels dangerous because it feels like it’s going to tear again..

So my question is .. even though I haven’t been exercising my knee is it possible I can still rehab it back to relatively normal again? or is it too late? It kinda sucks to think I might never be able to run properly again in my life…and I will just die if it tears again and I have to go through surgery again!

A: You can probably still have some benefit from physical therapy. Theoretically, however, since it was not properly rehabilitated in the first place, tissues may have degnerated somewhat and may respond a lot slower.

Overall, I still think you’d do better than not going at all.

Good luck.

Q: How to add 6-10 inches of your vertical leap…?
I can grab the rim but cant dunk…i also tore my ACL before but can play ball now after knee surgery and 8 month rehab..I can still grab the rim but still cant dunk..is it still possible to dunk??? by the way im 5′11-6ft and 194pounds.. I do exercises in my quads(300pounds) Hamstrings(110pounds) and squats(110pounds)

A: I’m 5′10 and I was dunking with ease in Hish school & college, I’m 30 something now and to be honest I havent tried it in a while, but its possible, keep working on your quads and do squats,you will get there.

Q: How to relieve Knee Stiffness and Weakness?
I tore my left ACL and haven’t been doing a lot of exercise for about 2 months. As a result my right knee is really stiff now cause I haven’t been bending it a lot of anything. I figured that with exercise after I went through rehab it’d just get better on its own, but it still feels funny. I can bend it but it feels really funny, there’s clicking whne I bend and straighten it, it hurts to walk down stairs, and it feels as if its about to slide out when I bend it. (My rights knee has subluxed a few times before, the most recent being about 4 months ago, but the stiffness hasn’t been a problem until recently when I didn’t do a lot of exercises for it)

I don’t think this is too serious of a problem but I didn’t ask my therapist since I didn’t think a lot of it back when I was going through the rehab. I was just wondering if anyone here could give me some tips and adive to help relieve the pain in my knee.

A: Keep going to therapy. Take 2 liquid advil, they work best and fastest. if you cant take advil, take 2 extra strength tylenol. “if you are not a teenager, should probly just take one but ask your parents” try to keep your leg stretched so it doesnt get stiff. i know if i sit for a long time without stretching my legs, they start hurting. good luck and i hope your knee gets better

Q: Question about post op weight loss?
I had a knee operation 7 weeks ago (ACL reconstruction) and have obviously been less active since then although I do fairly intensive rehab sessions.

I have been cutting back on calories a fair bit, and my weight has dropped from 12 stone to 11 stone (I am a 5ft 7 female).

Is this possible to lose this much in just muscle?? Or is this fat I have lost? Will it return when i return to more vigorous exercise?

Thanks

A: A good amount of it will have been in muscle, I’m afraid. You can compensate for muscle loss by eating more protein. Some weight will (and should) return once you get your muscle back.

Q: Should I wear a knee brace during weight lifting?
I tore my ACL a little more than a year and a half ago and have done rehab and basically recovered as much as possible. I am starting to finally get back into heavy weight lifting. I am able to squat and do other leg exercises without a brace with little or no pain. However as I start doing my heavier weight reps and continue to go up in weight my knee starts to hurt and sometimes give out. My doctor never said anything about my knee health this far down the road so I am unsure as to whether or not I should be lifting with a leg brace or not. If I should be lifting with one, can you also make some recommendations as what kind of brace to buy? Thanks in advance for the help.

A: i would definitely wear a brace. i had a total knee replacement, and can not do leg curls on a weight machine. i can do leg presses, but as i,m only four months into recovery, i don,t know my final weight limitations. you should get a recommendation form the ortho doc about the brace.

Q: Loose Knee, uneffective surgery?
I had my right ACL replaced with my patellar graft from the same knee back in October. Post-surgery, it seemed to all be going great, I was mobile in a week. Very slow mobile, but not bed ridden. I began working on strengthening the muscles and quads again and started rehab.
Now the issue, my knee still kind of twists outward. If I am sitting and I twist the lower part of my leg counterclockwise, the lower part twists out substantially. I’ve had a chiropractor look at my knee, and the ACL is in there, and it does catch, it may simply have not been tightened enough or something.

Any idea’s??? What kinda exercises etc should I look into.

A: Did you have physical therapy? If not then go see a physical therapist to learn exercises you should be doing to continue the rehab on your leg. If you did PT then do the exercises you were shown near the end of your treatment. Leg press, lunges, squats are all good to work on the strength in your leg. As far as the knee being loose, the only way to tell is to have the orthopedic surgeon examine the knee or a really qualified PT can tell also. Best of luck.

Q: How injured is my knee?
I have a diagnosis of a torn ACL, but my PCP could not tell me the severity. He referred me to physical therapy to see if I can rehab the injury. He also did so so my insurance would be more likely to pay for an MRI if one is indicated for after the PT is done. I have been doing PT for 2 weeks now, and my knee feels near 100%. I have no pain, aside from a slight ache inside the joint periodically, that usually goes away after a very short time. I have most of my range of motion. Squating down unassisted is still awkward, as I can bend about halfway before needing support just from a sense of stiffness, still no real pain. But I can feel instability in the joint. Certain flexing exercises causes a little pop inside the joint, and I was recently in a squating position with my legs spread far apart and I could feel a bit of give, like it wanted to give out, but again no pain. So my question is just how bad of an injury do I have? I have little pain, most of my range of motion, but still joint instability. I know an MRI will be the most definitive method to determine the extent of the injury, but I am at least a month away from maybe having one done, and I was hoping someone with experience treating this kind of injury can provide some feedback as to how severe an injury this might be.
Wanted to add, when I was injured I did not feel or hear a ‘pop’ that is often attributed to a significant ACL tear. What I am trying to figure out is based on my current symptoms, can anyone make a pretty accurate diagnosis to the extent of my ACL tear absent of an MRI? If I’m going to need surgery, I’d rather get it done ASAP, and not wait another month or two. I’m going to have my first child in June and would like to be able to walk when she gets here, so I figure if I need surgery and I can get it done maybe by Feb., I should be pretty far along in my PT by the time my baby is born. I’m worried if it takes too long to decide if I need surgery, I might be forced to put it off because of my baby. And if I put it off, I’m worried I won’t get it done for awhile. I am pretty active. I play recreation level rugby and basketball and I am into backcountry hiking. Having a bad knee will make most of those activities very difficult.

A: Hi There
Having had the same injury myself its a devastating one for people who like playing sports. If you have no ACL you knee will not be able to support you and give way if you are playing Soccer/Football or any sport which involves turning quickly.It’s probably as bad, if not worse, than breaking a leg – although a lot less painful.

Like myself you appear to have little pain following the injury. It’s very likely however that if you return to sport your knee will give way, this is compounded by the fact that your still complaining of “instability”.

I understand the UK and USA have different medical systems – but you really should get an MRI scan ASAP.
If the scan confirms an ACL rupture I would advise on a reconstruction. No amount of Physio will help you return to sports if your ACL is defective.

Good Luck

Q: Dog with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear?
Okay, my 10 year old, 15 pound rat terrier tore her ACL.

We have talked to two vets and gotten completely different reccommendations. One said surgery was the only thing to do (the vet he reccommended does the surgery for $1,500-$1,800!!) and the other said that you can use conservative treatment with movement restriction and careful exercise of the leg over a period of several weeks. (of course, rehab for the surgery would take the same time)

With either, there is like a 50% chance of the other leg having the same thing!!

My dog wouldn’t walk on it for the first few days, but now she uses it a little bit to limp around and “toe-touch”. She also runs a little bit, jumps up on her hind legs and goes up the stairs when we can’t stop her in time.

The non-surgery version says that this is the progression of careful management, but the surgery-version is quick to point out that your dog may appear to get better at first.

So, anyone have anything to say that would help??

A: Is it a total tear or partial? If it is partial, dogs do sometimes improve with rest and physical therapy. If the tear is complete, surgery is the only way to go. That price is about right for a TPLO surgery done by an experienced vet, if you decide to go the surgery route. Are these opinions from regular vets? If so, I would ask for a referral to a vet who specializes in orthopedics. They will have seen a LOT of dogs with ACL tears and can give you a better idea of recovery rates and treatment options. Good luck!

Q: do i have a case?
back in january i injured my knee, i was taken to a hospital i am not going to name. they told me i probably just strained my acl, they let me walk out of the hospital without any crutches or a stiffener or anything. they told me i would recover if i just stayed off it for a few weeks and iced and rested and took ibuprophen.

well, after a few weeks, a little longer then they told me, my knee seemed fine, i started biking and exercising without any problems, started jogging again, then i started playing basketball again, and it didn’t take long for me to do the same thing to my knee.

i went to a different hospital, they said i probably injured my meniscus and acl and referred me to a couple orthopedists, after an MRI it has been determined that i have a torn acl, which needs to be replaced via surgery, and i have torn both of my menisci which need to be repaired with surgery.

then i will be in rehab for 6 months.

can i sue the first hospital? or will i be defeated?

A: How will you be able to prove that the injury wasn’t due to the exercise you were doing after the first injury?

Your proof will be difficult, but you can probably get a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer and get his opinion.

Q: Should I wear a knee brace during weight lifting?
I tore my ACL a little more than a year and a half ago and have done rehab and basically recovered as much as possible. I am starting to finally get back into heavy weight lifting. I am able to squat and do other leg exercises without a brace with little or no pain. However as I start doing my heavier weight reps and continue to go up in weight my knee starts to hurt and sometimes give out. My doctor never said anything about my knee health this far down the road so I am unsure as to whether or not I should be lifting with a leg brace or not. If I should be lifting with one, can you also make some recommendations as what kind of brace to buy? Thanks in advance for the help.

A: I’ve seen guys in the gym who have had knee surgery often wear knee wraps, which is the same as knee braces in essence. You can easily find these at most sporting goods stores or online (ex www.bodybuilding.com). They are pretty effective in isolating the knee when doing heavy lifts. The only thing to keep in mind is that these do add a certain “spring constant” to your leg, which in effects somewhats assists in the movement, much as squat suits and bench shirts do, but it will allow you to lift heavier than when you don’t have them.

Q: Form of seasonal affective disorder and night shift?
I work nights and know that I’m tired but something dawned on me today when I couldn’t sleep and went outside in the sun. I used to live in the midwest (usa) and suffered from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) I now live in a sunny state (Arizona) but since I work the night shift I am always in the darkness. It’s not too light when I get off. When I do get to sleep I wake up when it’s dark again. I am just wondering if as well of the lack of sleep, I may be suffering a form of SAD since I’m never in the sunshine. Have there been any studies about this? The thought of it just came today and it would explain some of the depression symptoms besides the lack of sleep. Thank you for anyone who could look into this for me.
I guess I don’t need to invest in any light therapy because I could just go sit in the sun for awhile here in AZ. The only problem being, it would cut into my sleep time. I think I may have to get a day job. I hate to think I would have to quit my job because all the other aspects of my job are wonderful. I hate having to quit over one stupid little thing that is in fact the biggest thing…depression because of lack of sunshine

A: Hi sweet heart it.not only sun light or sleep,it’s your mind and your body,which is revolting against the system you are going so long.
If you see around you find always change around you,even in your house,your bed room your kitchen,your car etc you like to change things there lying from long time other wise the get dusty and rusty,same is with your mind and body,they also need some change and some rest and some light,that is the reason to have free days in week and holidays in year.
Best is first talk to you boss as I told same in your question before also.And ask him to change your shift and hours,if you need job badly they also need good worker like you,I don’t know how old you are,tell your boss if he don’t change you will quiet and before you quite look some other job,because to find new job is also difficult with your age factor,BUT YOUR HEALTH IS ON FIRST PLACE BECAUSE YOU YOU GET SICK YOU LOOSE JOB AND HEALTH so talk to your uncle boss and try to find some solution on same job.Rest we will see later what happens.wish you good luck and good health.Love you and warm hugs.
Your Friend and well wisher.

Q: Can weight loss or gain have an effect on seasonal allergy symptoms?
I had seasonal (autumn) allergies as a kid. I’m 32 now. I haven’t had allergies probably since I was about 20 or so. In the last year or so, I’ve gained maybe 20-30 pounds (Ew. I think because I’ve been drinking more than usual…started biking again to try to lose it). Now for the last month or so, I’ve been having allergy symptoms. It’s pretty much only in the morning, but occasionally I’ll have a sneeze attack in the late evening too. Could this have anything to do with the weight gain? Or maybe the extra alcohol kind of made a detriment to my immune system? I’m healthy otherwise. I mean I’m vegan, very rarely get sick at all, not even colds…just have been having issues lately which have led to drinking more & lack of exercise, etc. Really probably a bit of actual clinical depression, but who the f*ck knows. I live in America & can’t afford health care other than free clinics which pretty much only treat emergencies or common viruses & such. :/

A: this shouldnt really happen unless your sniffing herbs or sumthing then you should be fine witha healthy diet

Q: Seasonal Affective Disorder early spring symptoms of hyperness then irritability but no mania?
I have been diagnosed with SAD and ADD for many years. I find that I have uncomfortable symptoms with the changing of ANY season (though crippling fatigue with depression severe in winter). My body is super sensitive and I have migraines and mood swings even if the weather changes are due to a brief storm. Has any one else had experience with yoyo-ing from very happy and hyper to PMS irritable in March when spring is just starting (near DC on the eastern shore)? I have heard of spring setting off Mania but I have never had a true manic episode just extra mood swingy? I liken it to a month long episode of PMS.

A: I have a lot of very similar symptoms. In the winter in a temperate climate in Australia I had SAD and was very depressed. Then I moved to the tropics and became photophobic, couldn’t stand the glare of the light and became highly anxious. I fixed the SAD by using homemade blue LED light glasses which I wore for an hour a day, shining blue led lights into my eyes. When I moved to the tropics, my problem was too much blue light and I coped with the added anxiety by using red led lights which instantly calmed me and made me feel very blissful.

I believe the secret to dealing with these type of conditions is through light therapy because it has been the only thing to really help me. I am also a weather sensitive like you.

See if you can find someone in your area that will work with you and coloured light. It is possible to buy little torches with color filters to use yourself.

Q: I have a few questions about seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?
So a few months ago a started to feel a little down. It seemed pretty normal to me and I didn’t really notice (until now when I look back). I started writing poetry and what I wrote always shocked me, it was some pretty grim stuff. I also got into a lot of really sad music, not just for the sound but because they lyrics were really good and I felt I could relate. Whenever it got into the evening I would feel extremely sad and overwhelmed and alone and I had no idea why. I also felt like my friends, and the world, were all out to get me. I felt like every day I put on a facade so no one would realize anything was wrong. I desperately wanted someone to save me but at the same time I didn’t want anyone to help. I was, at some points, ready to kill myself if I had the means to. I couldn’t understand what made me feel so down and figured there was no other way to fix it.

The other things that I just heard was a symptom of depression was sleeping a lot. And lately, the past week or so, I just seem to need so much more sleep than I used to. I’m usually fine with 7 or 8 but today and yesterday I actually could not get out of bed until I had 10 hours, I also started sleeping through my alarm.

But I have started feeling a lot better with the whole sadness thing. Though I do still feel the same way to some extent, it’s getting better. I started taking Omega-3, Vitamin C and D so I was wondering if that could be why. The weather is also improving a lot. It’s getting sunnier, the days are longer, it’s not freezing cold anymore. So could that play a role in me feeling better?

I didn’t exactly snap out of it, but over the past week or two I’ve been steadily feeling more happy. Now I’m able to look back on the past few months and realize that that’s not how I should feel.

But more importantly, do you think I suffer(ed) from SAD? My mom suffered from major depression as a teenager and my dad now has depression. I’m not sure if it’s hereditary though.

A: Well, Sweetheart, I am so glad that you are starting to feel better now! You certainly could have been suffering from SAD. The Vitamin D supplements that you are taking will help tremendously with that, as we get this vitamin from the sunshine. In rainy weather or during the winter, our Vitamin D source is severely lacking and that can cause the feelings you described. Doctors treat SAD with Vitamin D and sometimes use a specific light source designed for patients who suffer from this illness.
However, depression is hereditary and if you find yourself slipping back into your previous behavior, please tell your parents so they will be aware of your feelings. Perhaps they may want you to speak to a counselor if the feelings persist. The suicidal thoughts are particularly disconcerting, and if you have them again, you MUST talk to someone about them. You could even call a helpline in your phone directory to speak with someone who will understand your feelings. Sometimes just knowing that you are not alone will help, but please don’t ever consider that option. Most everyone has thoughts of loneliness or fear at one time or another, and it helps to share them with a friend or loved one. Chances are, they have had those same emotions themselves.
But it sounds like you may just be ready for spring! Isn’t it beautiful? Get outside a take a 20 minute walk in the afternoons after school and smell the flowers blooming and get those wonderful rays of the sun on your pretty face. Ride your bicycle or get your mom out of the house with you and take a stroll around your neighborhood – it will be good for both of you!
I hope this answers your question, my dear, and I hope that the sun ALWAYS shines on you!

Q: Is there a such thing as yearly depression?
Every year around the same time I get depressed, even before I had a traumatizing experience a couple of years ago. Usually between January and February. I know there is a depression that is seasonal, but the symptoms that were for the winter I’m getting in the early spring. I was just wondering if there is a reason for this, and why does it happen only this time of year? Is it because of my bad experience? Also is there is a special name?
This might have nothing to do with this but I get these weird freak out moments when I am with a group of people who care about me, and all of a sudden I have to leave the room and take like an hour drive, to calm myself down. I don’t know why this happens I just get up and leave, without thinking what I’m doing. And ofcourse I always feel like crying.

A: You’re talking about two different things. One is SAD seasonal affective disorder which occurs when there is little sun. Our brains need the sun to create a chemical that we need to for controlling our feelings. The other is a depression that we get around the anniversary of a traumatic event. It’s not unusual for people to become depressed around the time that something bad has happened to them. That’s part of Post traumatic stress disorder. Or PTSD you should talk to some one about your feelings and learn how to get a hold of the situation you might require some medication around this time of the year if the depression gets to the point where you can’t function.

Q: Am I depressed, or is it just my personality?
So, in my psychology class at school we have been researching the different forms of depression like melancholic depression, atypical depression, seasonal depression etc. and when we where going over the symptoms of Melancholic Depression it seemed to describe me in every way. Now, we’ve also done in depth personality tests and I am a Pure Melancholic. Some of the behaviors of the Melancholic Personality match up with the symptoms of Melancholic Depression that I have and now I have gotten myself really confused as to whether or not I should be concerned about my mental health and go see a doctor or if it is just my personality. I hope this makes sense.

some help to untangle my confusion would be greatly appreciated.

A: The answer to your question really boils down to this: do the melancholic parts of your personality keep you from enjoying life or keep you from functioning normally (whatever is normal for you)? If you are getting along fine emotionally, then it shouldn’t be something you worry about. If it had been troubling you before you were able to identify it, you may want to talk to a counselor.

Q: Are you depressed right now?
I keep seeing many questions about depression and my fingers are getting tired from answering all of them!

So, here is a list to help those of you who are feeling depressed.

I hope this helps! : )

1) There are different types of depressions. Teens who are depressed usually are because their hormones are unbalanced and that causes emotional and physical changes in the body. When these level out, so do the mood changes.

2) There are different types of depression. One of the most common is situational–such as a death, divorce, major move, job loss, etc. Situational-type depression usually fades when the situation improves.

Clinical depression is more serious and requires regular therapy and usually medication if there are mental health issues that involve suicide for example.

And then there are depressions caused by food, allergies, weather and a host of other things. Eating junk foods, drinking sodas, alcohol and taking street drugs will send some people into a depression very easily. Weather in certain regions can affect you too–SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is caused by lack of sunlight.

3) An easy way to help yourself is to get sun either by going outside for 10 minutes or more, or by getting a special light box. Taking vitamin D helps a great deal too, for all depressions, since most people are lacking it in their diets. Taking a vitamin D pill with at least 1000 IU’s helps many people regain a better mood. Get exercise everyday–it helps to boost endorphins in your brain–the “feel good” chemical. Eating healthy makes a difference, what you put into your body can have affects besides weight gain, it can change your moods. Sugar is one of the worst offenders, so is caffeine and junk foods.

4) Supplements that can help are the old standby St. John’s Wart, but an even newer one is Phenocane, once used for painful joints. They found it lifted peoples moods!

5) Seeking out a counselor for talk therapy does wonders. Studies have proven that “unloading” with a counselor can help get it out of your mind and out in the open. Working on traumas; abuse, abandonment, etc., is essential to move on in life. Learning coping skills is essential, not everyone is taught how to deal with life’s problems. You can find counselors who work on a sliding scale, making it affordable and some churches and health clinics have free or very low cost counselors too. No need to go to a high priced psychiatrist unless you need meds.

6) Get a physical to make sure you don’t have a physical problem that is causing your depression. Things like diabetes, thyroid imbalances, anemia, all can cause depression symptoms.

If you are depressed, I hope you have found an answer here that will begin to make you feel much better.
Blappers, you sound like YOU need some counseling!

A: Well I’m certainly not depressed but that was good info for anyone who is! Good for you trying to help people

Katie

Q: Singulair w/ depression as a side effect?
I have asthma and have been on Singulair for +/- 6 months. I have experienced the rages, depression, suicidal thoughts, self loathing thoughts, etc. being reported on the news. I am in my 30’s and wondering if anyone else can share or add light on this. It has been a horrific experience and a relief to discover that I am not losing my mind. The conclusive studies on the link between Singulair and depression/suicidal thoughts will not be completed for months, but from what I have read and experienced it cannot be mere coincidence. I do not feel that the drug should be taken off the market- it has helped a lot of people as well and been a life changing medication for them- but I think a screening process should be initiated by the medical community. I have dealt with seasonal depression for 20 years and know the signs/symptoms/and how to cope and work through it though every few years I will need an antidepressant. This depression has been extremely more severe. Thanks!

A: You should definitely talk to your doctor about what you are experiencing.
For me personally, the news kinda bothered me at first because I am taking Lexapro for an anxiety disorder and depression. Anyone who takes SSRI’s knows that they put you at elevated risk for suicide, severe depression, etc. So it concerned me that I am now taking two medications that may increase the risk of suicide.
I talked to my therapist and will talk to my doctor about it.
With SSRI’s you have to evaluate the benefits and effectiveness of the drug compared to the side-effects, risks and such. I’m sure that this Singulair thing will turn out to be a similar situation.

Q: Anyone else in the UK with S.A.D. had their winter blues kick in early?
The dreary weather, the lack of sunshine – any other Brits with Seasonal Affective Disorder come out with their usual symptoms of depression, mood swings, lethargy and craving for certain foods, in spite of the fact that it’s July?

A: Oddly enough I had just blogged about this on myspace.
I have never suffered from S.A.D before (or not recognized that I had), but this summer’s weather has caused me to suffer from depression-like symptoms, although it could be a mixture of that and domestic matters.

Q: How do I know if I am suffering from depression?
My parents both suffer from depression, and my doctor has suggested I may have seasonal affective disorder, but how do i know if i am suffering, what are the symptoms? and why do i not feel depressed everyday? am i weird because of this? if my parents have it and the help given to them did very little, how i do stand a chance? is this normal in people my age (18)?

A: Everyone has slightly different symptoms for depression. Some of the common ones for teens include:
-feelings of hopelessness, negativity, and pessimism
-loss of interest in participation in hobbies and activities once enjoyed including clubs, art, academics
-sudden changes in friends
-seemingly persistent sad, anxious, or listless behaviour
-decreased energy or seeming “slowed down”
-sleep disturbances including both insomnia or oversleeping
-major amounts of weight loss or gain in short periods of time, and changes in normal appetite
-restlessness or irritability
-physical pains such as headaches or stomach problems that do not respond to treatment
-expressions of feeling worthlessness or helplessness
-indications of suicidal thoughts or attempts

If you get some of these during winter only, you may have SAD. If you have them all year, it could be depression. I believe the clinical standard for depression is two weeks without a good day, so one here and there doesn’t count for much. It’s not weird. (Also, if it is SAD, those could be the days when there is more sunlight.) I don’t think you should worry too much because of your parents’ reactions to treatment, every person is different.

Q: I need to drop this quarter, help?
I’m an international student experiencing snow for the first time in my life. I’m a good student with an OK GPA. This quarter, my academic performance is bad. I was told that In order to drop classes (finals are next week) I need a medical letter written by doctors or therapists to show my university that I’m in bad condition now. I’ve been really lazy this quarter skipping most of my classes and oversleeping (10-12 hours of sleep aren’t enough). My memory isn’t as good as it used to be and I have depression symptoms, an academic advisor at my university said that I might have S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder). Now, I don’t know where to go to get this letter and what to tell therapists/doctors. I’m really disappointed at my grades this quarter and I can’t let it affect my overall GPA. Please, help me with what I should tell the doctors to get such a letter and I’m willing to get tested. (also lately I’ve been having a meal a day and sometimes I can’t finish it, which has caused my weight to drop and this overall tiredness).

My depression’s symptoms are mostly psychological like my poor appetite, memory issues, oversleeping and feeling tired and sad all the time (my weight loss and the exhausted look that I have being physical)

I tried asking this question in the health section but I was getting random answers. I believe that you guys are capable of answering such a question here in this section.

I’d appreciate your help,
Thanks
I haven’t been seeing a doctor, I talked to my academic advisor about this and he understood. He told me to see a doctor now.

A: If you have been seeing a doctor / therapists since the semester started, go to their office and talk to them – they will give you the necessary paper work to receive a medical withdraw.

If you have been doing nothing about your medical condition, you are SOL. I couldn’t imagine a single credible university accepting a medical withdraw if you went to a therapist for one day before a final just to claim you are depressed.

Q: Can’t take it anymore, what should I do?
I’m an international student experiencing snow for the first time in my life. I’m a good student with an OK GPA. This quarter, my academic performance is bad. and In order to drop classes this quarter (finals are next week) I need a medical letter written by doctors or therapists. I’ve been really lazy this quarter skipping most of my classes and oversleeping (10-12 hours of sleep aren’t enough). My memory isn’t as good as it used to be and I have depression symptoms, an academic advisor at my university said that I might have S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder). Now, I don’t know where to go to get this letter and what to tell therapists/doctors. I’m really disappointed at my grades this quarter and I can’t let it affect my overall GPA. Please, help me with what I should tell the doctors to get such a letter and I’m willing to get tested. (also lately I’ve been having a meal a day and sometimes I can’t finish it, which has caused my weight to drop and this overall tiredness).

I’d appreciate your help,
Thanks

A: When did you realize that you might be suffering of SAD? I think it is kinda late now since finals are next week. I would get out of bed and start looking for clinics or doctors that are willing to give u this letter.

Q: What are my options regarding SAD/Cylocthimia?
The last 2 winters have almost killed me because of seasonal depression and this year, for a month or so, ive been experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder. I want to move so much that i need to. It tears my soul to pieces just to think about it. My parents have been talking about moving for job-related reasons, but haven’t acted upon it. What can I do if they decide not to move? I can’t survive another 3 years of hell. Is there anything I can do?

A: See a doctor about anti depressants or get yourself a light box. Light boxes are proven to help the symptoms of SAD and with a prescription your insurance may even pay for it.

Q: Wat mental disorder could this be?
Im 18 and i feel like something is wrong with me. A few years ago i was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). but I feel like its more than just that. I have most of the symptoms of depression, weak, tired, unmotivated, not happy, bad self image, and suicidal thoughts. But sometimes im happy and feel like im the coolest person and i can do anything i want, almost sounds like bipolar but im not sure. Its on and off. Im also very paranoid i feel like everyone doesn’t like me and they are all fake or idk i feel like my friends aren’t really my friends and stuff. I also feel like everyone is bad and I can’t trust anyone.
I also think about doing stuff that i would actually never do.
I also randomly get very angry and just want to hit something.
I have very low self confidence in just about everything i do. Ex. I think im really bad at basketball despite the fact that im an all-american and on a full scholarship for college, i just think i suck at everything

I make up crazy scenarios in my head, Its like i almost make up my own life in my head because i dont think mine is good enough

i look to the future and dont see any good.

thinks like that what do you think it could be?

A: You really need to see a doctor. If you don’t have one, call your local mental health department. They will give you a recommendation to a doctor. This in something that could be simply treated with meds or therapy (probably both). It is good that you recognize you have a problem. You want to deal with this as soon as possible – your future depends on it. I for one would like to see you playing on a college basketball team! Take care and God bless.

Q: Seasonal Affective Disorder?I am 15?
Do I have seasonal affective disorder? I am 15 years and I have never been the most upbeat kid but since I was in 5th grade I seem to get more down when winter comes around, but I am alright when the weather gets better. I have started smoking and drinking to make me feel better.
Symptoms-feelings of helplessness, *hopelessness, and *sadness
thoughts of death/suicide
*concentration problems
forgetfulness
*day time sleepiness
I have researched sleep and depression and those are just some symptoms that seemed to fit. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
or is this just nomal for a kid my age?

A: <>

Yes, you probably do have seasonal affective disorder in a sense. In the winter you feel sadder. That’s because you are trapped indoors with chemicals that affect your nervous system, hence brain chemistry balance. Not all people get that. You do.

You are very smart to read about your condition. However, don’t do the alcohol / tobacco thing. How do you think those industries make some of their money? From people who feel sad and become addicted for life!!. Plus both intoxicants have a rebound affect. When they wear off, they make sad feelings feel even worse.

Detoxify your home if you can. Get a parent’s help if you can. Get rid of everything scented. Read my answer to the question below. Good luck!!

Q: My question is very straight forward and simple. How can we give Americans livable wages.?
Americans have spent more money then they have earned this year that hasn’t happened since the depression. How can we keep Americans working with a livable wage without loosing in the global arena? This is the most important question to me in America right now. I support my father who is 70 and two teenage sons. Now on unemployment how do I keep hope alive?
why is everyone so pissed at americans at immigrants. thats why I’m frustrated we can’t even come up with a good answer on yahoo let alone in public. IF YOU DON”T HAVE ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY SHUT THE F>>>CK UP AND DON”T ANSWER MY ?

A: Tell bush to cut spendings on warfare, stop spending on shuttle flights just to learn how female hormones react in space, maybe tell him also to quit his job. Hopefully, you americans will get what you is due you.

Q: How do you personally cope with depression, and are you open about having it?
I haven’t been diagnosed with having depression, and most people who know me wouldn’t believe that I have it because I come across as being very positive and happy but I believe that I am experiencing something more than just teenage angst or whatever. I feel like I have these weights just pulling me down emotionally, and dancing and running and sunlight and eating well and all the other mood-elevators of the past just don’t bring me back up anymore. I’ve recently gone into remission for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and I should be feeling better, not worse, but this past year was really brutal. I was in a support group for teens who had cancer or blood diseases, and two passed away. Prior to cancer, one of my best friends died of Lupus and I lost a lot of family members back to back. It’s been a total of 10 people in three years. I feel like my youth is gone. I’m just 17 – just shy of 18 – and I feel like I’m so much older. I don’t identify with normal kids anymore at all. I got into my dream college and I’ve got so much going for me, and I just don’t care about any of it right now.

I’ll stay in my PJs half the day now when I can, I let my room become a gross disaster, I’m apathetic about my well being and I just force myself to eat and take my meds, but I don’t really want to do either. I don’t know what I should do to treat this. How do *you* treat your depression?

A: I’m sorry you’re having a hard time. I think you’re probably right about feeling that you’re depressed. Especially after everything you’ve gone through yourself and losing all those people in your life. That is quite traumatic.

I too struggle with depression, due to abuse and possible genetic makeup. I take medication for anxiety as needed but at the moment am not on anything for depression. I find its really important to get as much sleep as I need or I start spiralling.

There are some days when I turn off the phone, stay in my pjs and sleep as long as possible. This happened about 2x a week the past 2 months, during summer holidays. I’m back at work now which is good. I need a routine and place to go most days to help me keep myself in some sort of balance. I have a sewing hobby that I take with me to a friend’s place when I’m not working and surround myself with supportive people. Sometimes I’ll color or cut my hair to help myself feel new/er. Spending time with my children and grandchildren helps as well. My grandchildren help me see things more as new beginnings.

My new goal in life is to simply love others and help others to feel better about themselves or help make their situations a little easier – nothing big and splashing just in passing or in a casual way. When I’m depressed and think about this goal, it spurrs me on to step outside of myself and directs my attention away from my issues to others. Like taking a break from myself.

Some days I have to force myself to leave my home, to even look outside, but once I’m out there, I start to feel lighter. Some days I simply have to ride with the depression and tell myself, this too shall pass and the sun will shine and I will be happier again. I have to accept that the good times too will pass and the cycle will begin again, but there will be good in there as well. In public, like you, I put my best face forward, and most people don’t know unless I tell them that I struggle with depression. Sometimes I’m not able to put my best face forward and at that time, its best to take care of me at home.

Depression is a reality. I have a good friend that I talk with and know that I’m loved. That is really important to me. I wish I could be more open in a general way with people around me every day but that’s just not my personality. I don’t want someone on the other side of my workplace getting the low down from someone I confided in. I admire people who can be more open than I am. I don’t mind sharing here because of anonymity.

Q: How do I tell my friends about my depression??
I’m pretty depressed, and I have been for a few months, but I’m terrified to tell any of my friends because

1) I feel like they won’t believe me
2) I dont know if they’ll take me seriously since it seems so widespread in the teenage population
3) I’m good at hiding it, so they might not realize how seriously low I feel
4) they don’t like drama or hearing about other people’s problems since they have plenty of their own

I feel like I need at least a few of them to know for support purposes, or so they don’t get mad at me when I’m snappy or antisocial… but I don’t know whether to tell them or what to say.
If your friend approached you and told you that she was depressed, what would you think? Honestly, do you think you’d act differently towards her? Should I tell my friends/how many do I tell?
It may also be important to note that depression runs in my family, and some of my friends know that my dad has had chronic depression since he was a kid.

please help.

A: I would get help from a professional first. Perhaps they’ll be able to give better advice than us here on Answers. In my own personal opinion, I would maybe confide in a good friend (perhaps a best friend that is aware of your father’s condition). It always feels good to get something out in the open, even if it’s only one person. Get treated though, there’s no sense in prolonging the agony. Depression is very real and can affect alot of lives. You owe to yourself to take care of it.

Q: Should A 40+ Single Guy Socialize With And Seek His Girl-friend From Among Teenage Girls Or 20+ single ladies?
I am a 47-year-old single guy who earns his livelihood by doing small odd jobs like giving tuition to kids.I have never been married.Because of circumstances,the prospectiveness of the best education and careers I deserved and I was capable of got thwarted. I have got love for life very recently and want to live it very passionately like a young guy. I have been very intelligent as a student.Later I got into clinical depression and suffered for about 20 years. I kept myself away from almost all people. I have no family to support me emotionally or for companionship now. I’m ambitious and want to better my career prospects. I feel badly lonely almost all the time. I am handsome, slim and tall. Teenage girls and single young ladies get attracted to me. But single ladies in my age group are far and few between and if any I come across do not show any interest towards me as they are well placed career-wise etc. in comparison to me. I posted an ad on a Matrimonial site about a year ago but no one seems to be bothered about me. I have bruised the hearts of so many teenage girls and single young ladies as I have spurned their advances because of my being in a dilemma. I do not know what I should do.Should I socialize with and seek my girl friend from among young ladies or wait (indefinitely) for the right one from in my age group ? Is it advisable to date a young lady about 25 years junior ? Advise.

A: if you can get one, then its ok. But people will talk behind your back, and the girl will get the brunt of that, so she has to be tough skinned.

Q: I’m a teenage transsexual, what do i do?
I’m 16, and I am a transsexual. My parents know, and although they say are supportive, I have a feeling my dad doesn’t support me. I was born a male, and every time my dad finds something feminine that I own, he wants me to throw it away. But I don’t want to, because they just feel right. Actions speak louder than words, so although I love my dad, I just don’t think he accepts me, no matter what he says. I want to start the hormone process, but I don’t know if I can, and I don’t know how to ask my dad. I’ve seen a therapist for a year or two now, and he’s not really the best help. I also experience random effects of depression, which most likely is due to the fact that I am a teen.
Can somebody give me some advice. I’m at a loss for ideas, and I desperately need an outside opinion. Please don’t respond to try and change my mind about me being a transsexual. I know I am, and I’ve had to experts confirm it. I just need advice.

A: Your Dad probably needs some time to deal, maybe he thinks he can turn you “back into a boy” if he removes feminine influences…. Silly Dad….

A great resource I’ve found online is YouTube. There’s transgirls and transguys from all walks of life on there. They’re pretty much in the know on what it means to be a trans-teen.

Q: help with my intro paragraph?
im doing a book project on the book its kind of a funny story by ned vizzini.
heres my intro pargraph

Teenage depression is the most neglected and least understood illness that affects adolescents. There are many causes of it and some can be little things in the world around you. When life gets tough the support of friends and family can save a persons life. This is proved in the novel its kind of a funny story by ned vizzini

i know i need a couple more sentences so what could i add in there?

heres a summary of the book just incase

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-0786851961-0

A: You should change the fist sentence to
“Teenage depression is __ONE OF___ the most neglected and least understood illnesses that affect adolescents.” because there are about half a million rare congenital syndromes less understood and more neglected than depression.
Also, never use the second-person (and by that I mean never use the word ‘you’) in a report-type paragraph. In fact, you can probably cut out that second sentence altogether. It doesn’t really serve a purpose: it doesn’t give the reader any new information. If you’d like, replace it with a statistic on teenage depression. Just make sure you reference the website where you got the statistic.

Cheers

Q: Teenage Confusion?
I’m 15& will begin my sophmore year of high school in the fall. I have been blessed with a good family& have no grounds 2 b sad, but I am. I feel guilty about my unhappiness because I realize that I could have been born into far worse conditions than my own.
High school is hell.Because I don’t nesseciarily fit in, I’ve dealt with quite a bit of bulling. This was the third year in a row dealing with it. At the time, I was already dealing with bullimia, cutting, & suicide attempts. I asked my mom to put me in counsiling& she did. I was on 60mgs of Prozac,but it took my emotions. It was as though the medication had taken me along with my depression.My home is chaos& I’d like to have a little support there.Hints from my family that I’m fat & other things don’t help.Lately, I’ve been considering moving in with my grandmother.I live in Ohio, She in Rhode Island.She’d b strict, but there would b peace and healthier foods there.The issue is that I’d leave my friends& have to start over.
It’s not all from bullying.
It’s that lack of comfort and support I feel anywhere I go (other than Speech & Debate-which only goes from Nov.-Jan.).
I feel guilty telling my parents about how I feel. They have 5 kids. What right do I have to be demanding?

I just want to have one place to exhale in. Right now, I don’t have that.
I also feel that I should say that I DO stand up for myself and my beliefs.
That is one of the reasons that I’m in this situation. Because I have the balls to not back down, there girls take another pather, passive aggressive forms of bullying. The prank call, spread horrible rumors, and have most of their friends fall in line after them.
I’m not weak or passive, but I feel like I’m starting to break.

A: I’m in the same situation. My town is a nice town. Everyone’s rich practically and we have great schools. My family’s stable, but still i’ve tried to kill myself and i’ve cut before. i always felt so foolish about my depression, like, i didnt deserve to feel so bad when other people had worse situations than me. It took me years to fully understand that suffering is just about being human. and sometimes it doesnt matter about your homelife or whatever. everyone, it’s in the fact of being human, suffers. and everyone just needs someone to talk to. everyone needs comfort. all i can say is, there is hope. someday we as people will get through our struggles. you should check out to write love on her arms, great organization that helped me through my cutting. they’re a real inspiration. hope i helped, even though i probably didnt.

Q: Teenage boys are………..?
Confusing.

I’m in a relationship with a guy that is pretty damn amazing even though he has severe depression problems. Yeah, he’s not rich so I can’t have material things but I honestly don’t care. I’d rather give him stuff so that he can be happy than get stuff from him. I’m a lot more privileged than him, I understand that, and I want to help him get through college and support him through everything. He just gets so angry at his life, and how it didn’t work out like it should of. He has no dad, and a Mom who isn’t there for him. He lives with his grandparent’s. The only thing going for him is being scouted by Arizona State University to play as a running back, but that’s not going to happen if he doesn’t work on his GPA.

Basically how can I help him? To get good grades? And to let go of the past?

A: You need to tell him not to live in the past but learn from it tell him it should encourage him to do great, help him study and remind him if he does it will help being scouted for college and it will give him a better futre. He needs to know that he can do it and help show him he can

Q: Weaning out of medicines from Depression for a boy of 16 years?
He was studying 10th standard last year(2006). He had an attack of Typhoid in October 2006. He was not able to attend school for around 5 days. After attending school he found that he was way behind his friends in his studies. (He was in the top 5 ranks upto 9th standard). He had a fear of exams and he was afraid to attend Practical exams. Some how we persuaded him to fight it out, but he was not willing to accept the moral support. He was adamant and aggressive in his behaviour where we came to a conclusion that he must have the support of medicines. The medicines were started in Dec’2005 and it was continued till Jan’2007. So far no problem, but still he is not have interest in studies. Now on Feb 1st of 2007 he had a mild attack of Chicken pox. The doctor had recommended us to stop the medicines until he is cured from Chicken pox. So far he is fine without medicines, though he has little tantrums and the teenage behaviour’s and aggression. Can we continue without medicines. Suggest

A: You’re supposed to tapper of the meds, but it’s a little late for that now as he’s been of them for 17 days already. He’s well past the withdrawal stage at this point, so there’s no physiological reason for him to go back on them. The only issues are the psychiatric reasons he was on them in the first place. If he’s doing fine without them then there’s no reason to go back on them, but that should be assessed by the doctor that prescribed them in the first place. If the medications were helping, and he was doing better on them than he is now, then I’d recommend starting them again, after talking to the doctor that prescribed them.

Incidentally, if the doctor told you to just stop giving him the meds entirely, without weaning off them, when he got the chicken pox, I’d recommend not going back to that doctor. Stopping antidepressants suddenly can cause significant and potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms. Stopping antidepressents puts additional strain on the body, and is a really stupid way to treat an illness. Antidepressants generally shouldn’t be stopped without tappering off, and an unrelated illness is probably the absolute WORST time to stop medication.

Also, chicken pox is generally an infection of early childhood. It’s rare for a 16-year-old to contract the infection, especially as there’s been a vaccine available for well over a decade. Has he ever had chicken pox before? Or did he have the vaccine? If he’s had either the vaccine or the disease in the past, you might want to take him to an immunologist as it’s quite an unusual infection for a teenager to have and could be indicative of an underlying problem.

Q: Weight issue between a teenage daughter and her parents…what is right and wrong? OPINIONS?
I am a 15 year old girl who is 5′ 6.5” and weighs 152 lbs. This is classified as overweight, but just barely (around 5 pounds over the “normal” maximum). My parents are infinitely more concerned about my weight than I am, and I’m not sure who is right in the situation. I am a sophomore in high school and feel I should have complete independence when it comes to what I eat, but I have just been informed they are putting me on weight watchers.
I eat very healthy and play sports all year round, so it is easy for me to maintain my weight, but it is NOT easy for me to lose any. I lack motivation because I do not have much of a problem with my body! My legs are incredibly toned, and I have a pretty face I have a bit of a stomach, but I have flattering shirts to hide it. I look normal like every other girl. I have no trouble making friends and having relationships with guys! To my face, nobody has ever made fun of my weight or suggested that I should lose some other than my parents. I am very self-confident and do not have any issues with depression or self-esteem.
This issue has hurt my relationship with my parents because I feel overly judged and self conscious around them. It is also awkward to have family meals because I feel like they’re staring at me…
My mom recently informed me that she and my dad are taking me to weight watchers and that my pediatrician has filled out the prescription. In the past, my pediatrician has encouraged me to lose 5-10 pounds, but has never been really worried. I am feeling really annoyed that my parents are doing this without my say.
I feel like they should encourage me to be healthy while still giving me support and love. They should make it clear I am beautiful no matter what flaws my body has. I feel they are taking control over an area that they should not be in at this point in my life, and that they are sending the wrong message to their teenager.

I want outside opinions. Should my parents be as involved as they are, seeing how old I am and how badly it has harmed our relationship in the past? What should they do, if anything? Should I be feeling differently?
Thanks,
Caileigh

A: Tell them to give you 6 months before doing weight watchers and just eat healthy (maybe a small treat once or twice a week) and stay active (no slouching in front of tv and snacking) to prove that you dont need weightwatchers.

You’re too young to be going on a diet, teenagers’ weight is all over the place anyway because of hormones etc. I don’t know if they are but if one or both of your parents has a bit of a belly or is a bit chubby tell them that they need weightwatchers more than you! ;o)

good luck

Q: Do i have BPD or manic depression?
All my life I have felt that something is wrong with me but since I hit my 20’s things have been going downhill (I am 24). To give you some background, I am seemingly a very attractive, social and successful individual. I am doing a PhD and have always been a perfectionist and very smart individual. However I constantly have anxiety related to work and work too much and never satisfied with what I’m doing.

My childhood was not really happy. My parents were very loving and supportive individuals. Yet as a child, I often got into fights with my father over trivial things. I was always restless and would use emotional manipulation to get what I wanted. I constantly need their approval and support and as a child, could not stand to be apart from them even for a week. Throughout childhood, I also had issues fitting in and was eccentric and introverted. I was a social outcast for a while during my teenage years and that traumatized me. Even without that, I always had difficulties maintaining relationships with people.

My personal life is a mess. I fall in and out of love very easily. I ended up falling in love with the completely wrong person and was in a relationship with him for three years. He cheated on me and manipulated me and yet I was too weak to leave him. The relationship turned physically and emotionally abusive and ended with an order of protection that I had to put on him. Now I realize that I never loved him as a person but simply saw him as a saviour from my own insanity. The relationship had also stabilized my moods. After that failed relationship, I got involved with another guy for 2 months and ended up falling in love with him. He told me that my feelings were unreciprocated. The rejection made me suicidal and completely made my world upside down. I am also very impulsive; I have had sex with people that I have met at parties on a whim. But I always feel empty after it and cannot do sexual relationships.

Socially, I am outgoing and attractive on the outside. But I always crave for attention and indulge in impulsiveness. I drink and party too much and make a lot of acquintances. Yet I do not have so many close friends and always criticize people and get paranoid about their intentions. I also yearn for very deep relationships and do not connect with too many people on an emotional level although I am very empathetic.

I have engaged in self injury in the past and have had an eating disorder. I constantly contemplate suicide and have done so since 5th grade; although the suicidal thoughts mostly occur in low points in my life, mostly involving rejection. I have a hard time being alone and concentrating. I overanalyze everything and am very sensitive.

Do you think that I might have borderline personality disorder or another personality disorder? I am curious because I am very high functioning on the outside, yet on the inside I am in a state of complete chaos

A: High functioning on the outside can rule out somethings (ADHD, etc). Cutting can be Borderline and needs to be explored. I see loads of anxiety. I see problems socially (you fear what others think of you). Such social fears need to be evaluated for social phobias. Do you get panic attacks? Eating disorder needs to be defined. Is it anorexia (control over the uncontrollable) or binge/purge (impulse control and guilt?). U do have many symptoms of depression as well. I strongly encourage you to get a counselor. Talk with someone about your problems. Explore Y u worry about your weight, Y u have fears socially and what causes of depression are. There are many things described here which are related and the reasons behind them must be teased out. U can treat symptoms or u can look at a broader disorder bu the disorder must 1st be identified.

Q: Why is my teenage daughter self-destructing?
My 17 year old daughter used to have it all. She was happy, smart, beautiful, athletic and popular within her peer group. About 2 years ago she developed an eating disorder and is now on medication for depression. She shuns social activities, eats compulsively, her grades have dropped but not significantly (in fact this is the only area of her life she is keeping things together for the most part), and her sports career has turned into something she hates and only looks forward to the team meals and snacks that are provided. She is unhappy with herself but does nothing to help herself. She continues to spiral downward and even though she is under a doctors care will do nothing to change her life. She is belligerent to my husband and I and lies and manipulates those around her. I don’t know how this happened. She has always been supported, nurtured, encouraged and loved. She has never been abused nor is she doing any drugs now. It is as if she has given up on herself at the age of 17 when she had such a golden life and a bright future. Why would any child with so much promise just throw it all away like this? I know she is depressed but like I said she is taking medication and under a doctors care for that now.
I would like to hear from anyone who has experienced this as either a parent or as a teen who has gone or is going through this. Can anyone give me some insight as to what is going on and is there any hope for the future or is she just going to continue self destructing?

A: It seems to me like it would be bullying or other things that happen when she isn’t at home. If your really concerned, move and get her a psychologist.

Q: I have a lot in my chest.People in my life aren’t helping.How to get over life-long depression?
Well the title pretty much sums up my query. But it’s not enough I guess. So I’m going to begin by my summing up my life story in a few sentences to cut a long story short. And I will try my best to use the most accurate words which reflects my near to permanent emotions. I am a 20 year old girl. The furthest I can travel back my memory is to when I was 3 years old. Since then till now I lived year after year with domestic violence. Every year of my life I experienced my parents physically fighting (punching, kicking, bruising, busting lips, my mum got a very bad black eye, my dad got kicked out of the house several times), verbally abusing (swearing words), talking obscene words and sexual words (my mum talked many times about how his ugly penis produced me and how she doesn’t have sex with him and one day she touched him privately in the next room and I was a few feet away and I heard her say that’s what we need to do and he said that’s disgusting) in front of me. They have never hidden their arguments to shield me from it. It’s very normal for them to let me to witness it. I experienced some of the worst levels of domestic violence since I was 3. My mum mostly starts the argument and she is the head of the family. Most domestic violence cases has the father who beats up the mum but in my case its my mum who usually starts and provokes the arguments and that’s when my dad loses his temper and hits her back as she’s the first one to hit him. The reasons for this is a failed arranged marraige based on lies from my paternal grandparents. It damaged my mind from an early age. I experienced extreme violence. There are other things which also affected me. I was sexually molested from 2 strangers when I was very young. It happened 4-5 times. I experienced racial abuse (I moved to UK when I was 10 and got spat on my face by a group of white boys), I was bullied all my school life both back at home and here. Especially here the school children are more vulgar more racist more violent. I experienced a whole different side of school life when I moved here. It was very bad with the attitude of British school pupils. They were unruly. Girls got pregnant before finishing GCSE. Boys carried knives. Wore hoodies. Illiterate.Coming from a bad childhood and suddenly being thrown into more aggression and abnormalities in my schools- it destroyed any sense of normalcy I had in me. One more thing which affected me was my twin sister. I haven’t mentioned this before. I had a tomboy twin sister all my life. A few years ago she told me she was supposed to be a boy and that HE liked girls. I knew that my twin was a tomboy and I was always the girly one. Still I haven’t been able to get over the news. I supported my twin for the next 3 years after I heard that news but for the last 2 years I haven’t spoken to my twin. I became fed up of all the abnormalities and that person’s personality. I hated having a transexual. My childhood was taken away and so was my teenage hood. It affected my social skills (I felt alienated from other cousins and friends because I was unable to share this with them). My first attempt of suicide was at age 10. From age 14 I distanced myself from both parents. I lived with them but had extremely little communication with them and told them nothing personal about my side of life. Now it’s gotten to the point where I can’t live my life like this. I feel as if I’m an orphan. I crave to be close to my parents and have a normal relationship with them and be close to my other families. I have never been close to my cousins because I felt alienated and alone in my experiences. I couldn’t speak normally to my very first cousin as we lived 2 completely different lives. Just like my parents I distanced myself from the rest of my family since age 14. I couldn’t accept how different our lives were and we were the same family. But one thing remained positive in me. I always viewed relationships to be my upmost priority. I knew exactly the kind of relationship I wanted to be in. Absolutely picture perfect unconditional love relationship. Where my man would heal my pains and bring out that little girl that I lost along the way. In some ways I had a high expectation from men. And I got a boyfriend carelessly. I was so lonely that I needed a bf when I was 19. I just picked any random guy. And somehow the relationship never ended. He knows all these things. But I never connected emotionally with him because he lived a very normal life. And as a result of that I frequently started lashing out on him, being jealous about his relationship with his parents, constantly tried to break it off with him as I felt it’s better to be single than to be with someone who came from a very different background. But he fell in love with me. Still I don’t feel connected with him. I don’t have any close friends but couple of mated who doesn’t know me personally. My bf knows me the most. Not even my family. I am dying of depression and feelin

A: Well in a nutshell you have been through some awful experiences, I can see why you are having emotional problems now. I think you should go to see a counsellor as your issues are very varied, you have sexual abuse, neglect, extreme violence but you seem to have a positive recognition of all of it and a sense of self you can still recall which is very good, if you can deal with these problems in counselling I think you are the type who can mend, some people are so far gone and couldn’t even recognise as much as you have, I know you hurt right now, you are wounded inside deeply and being jealous of your boyfriends seeming perfect family is a sign of that, but you must realise that jealousy hurts people who can help you and give you support once you let go of what you family are never going to be to you the parent you want them to be, but other people can still enrich your life with their sense of decency and help you to come through this. You need to tell your boyfriend you are jealous of him and let him know so you don’t cut him off because you are feeling bad now, when you feel less bad he may have said he has enough of your outburst and by the time he walks away you may realise too late what you have lost there – it is a second chance to have some normality NOW. Sort this out hun for your own sake and your own future, you can do that, the bad childhood doesn’t have to be the end of and the bee all and end all, just a rough beginning you still have time to shine.

Q: Boy Trouble-Kinda Long so dont read it if thats gonna bother you. Need advice?
Okey so. I dated this one boy, Andrew back in december & it was my first serious relationship as a 14 year old. But everybody kept telling me i could do better because of my “looks” & his. Im not a shallow person, but i guess they’re words got to me because i soon began to believe it. He ALWAYS sent me cute text messages about how much he cared about me It was a cute teenage relationship in the beginning. But it started getting scarier, he sent creepy texts about hurting himself. So I finally ended things with andrew after only 2 weeks of dating! Pathetic-i know. But after i dumped him i realized he was the perfect boyfriend. He didnt rush me with anything. We only kissed & cuddled. So, after 2 days-i wanted him back. I confided in Blake, my guy bestfriend. I told him how i felt & he told me that andrew would probaly take me back. So, i went back to andrew but it was different, He have me “rules” & said that he was allowed to flirt with my best friend. I took it though because i was “in love with him”. He broke up with me 2 weeks later & i was crushed. I got into a depression mode & looked for support from my closest friends. Blake was always there. Blake would do anything to make me happy. Each day i got closer & closer to Blake, but i was so depressed about my break up that suicidal thoughts happened all the time. I wasnt focusing on anything else other than Andrew. I wanted Andrew so badly-because he didnt want me. I thought i’d eventually get over it, but as time went by i realized 6 months had passed & i was still stuck on Andrew! But things changed. In that 6 months i grew incredibly close to Blake. We told each other everything. Anytime that we werent at school talking we e-mailed each other. He sent me many,many,many messages letting me know that i could always talk to him about anything. We started telling one another that we loved each other. Not in e-mails only. We said it in person all the time! We said it as best friends. but you could tell we both meant it as so much more. The thing is..i feel like i fell in love with our friendship-not him. it’s weird. But, i had a birthday party in May & of course he came! we bonded & flirted the whole night. He texted my girl best friend telling her that he liked me. Only problem was Andrew also texted her that night wondering if he wanted me back. So of course once i heard about Andrew my feelings for Blake that way went right out the window & i was praying andrew would ask for me back. Well me & Andrew did get back together. He waited until the last day of school because “we had seperate friend groups & it’d be awkward to date in school” whatever. that was an excuse because he was embaressed to be seen with me. Since he talked badly of me after we broke up. But this time we’re going out it changed..ALLS he wants to do is “mess around”. We never did anything the first times we went out & all of a sudden this time we’re doing “quite a bit.” I liked it at first-it was intimate, but then when it was ALL he wanted to do every time we hung out it worried me. He even pulled my arms back once so he could do something that i told him no to. He says he cares baout me & that “im worth the wait” to do more. I dunno, i just cant stop thinking about Blake. I even set Blake as my phone wallpaper! i miss him so much. Andrew didnt care for that. But he knows me & Blake are best friends. Anyways, i hung out with Blake on Thursday & we kept telling each other that we loved each other & i felt like butterfly tinglies for him. He didnt flirt though like he did before. Maybe it’s because i betrayed him for andrew or maybe it’s because im taken. Im not sure what to do! in a way i want to break up with andrew. Whether i get Blake or not. But im also scared that im going to regret it majorly. What do you think? Sorry for the length of this!

A: well i think you now realise that you like blake….and trust me andrew is not the right one for you and whatever he is saying is just to get into your pants [sorry just trying to be honest] andrew doesnt care about you a bit no matter what he says….i think you should give blake a chance and tell him that andrew is trying to do all of these things but you have no interst in him like that anymore so he knows that you dont like andrew and then he will get a chance to make a move [ that is telling you how he feels]

Q: How can I get back my dream, desire, romance, passion, confidence, and hope again?
When I was a kid growing up, I was always popular among girls. True…I had a charm, the looks, and personality. But I never had a serious relationship, I guess because I never worried about it, and just enjoying all the attention to make me feel good inside. I was full of confidence with the way with girls. Anyways, I am 40, never have been married, has no job, and no one seems to even notice me anymore. It seems so sudden, everyone around me was getting married, and now having kids. My emotion and inner feeling has not grown out of it, in many ways, it was because I have been suffering from anxiety disorder and depression since 14 or something, and did not even know it until I was almost 25. And it got worse. Woman are so important part in me, probably to many men, it gives us a sense of life, direction, support, and confidence. I know I should have it in me alone, but for some reason I never had it on my own….anyways, I miss my teenage life, and now I’ve turned out to be nobody.

A: Sudden? Dude your 40. Don’t worry about what will make the women notice you. Get your life in order and do something with it. You won’t attract anyone if you don’t have your stuff together. Getting a job would be a great start, What do you like to do and can you make money at it?

Q: Why is it that when celebrities screw up, people don’t want to watch their movies anymore?
I know this guy who says that ever since Wesley Snipes was arrested for tax evasion and fraud, he was “absolutely disgusted” and went like, “I refuse to watch any of his movies again.”

I have lady friend who said that she refused to watch Tom Cruise movies ever since he appeared on the Today Show and debated with Matt Lauer about prescription drug treatment for postpartum depression, saying that sufferers should only “take vitamins and complete a set of exercises”

I, personally, find it hard to cease watching anyone’s movies if they should screw up in their personal lives.

Who is in the moral? Someone who banishes Wesley Snipes/Tom Cruise films, or someone who doesn’t?
yea, I agree, I just want to enjoy the movie.

The only celebrity who has screwed up so badly and is damaged BEYOND repair is O.J. Simpson.

A: “Boycotting” a celebrity’s movie, CD, etc. is a way of showing one’s disapproval of their lifestyle.

On the flip side of your question… Why do some people WANT to patronize a celebrity when they “screw up?”

Q: Why is it OK that this happened to me?
I had my first child in July. I know there is very little risk to mother and baby in a natural vaginal birth, but for me, in the end, I had a c-section. I made the best decisions I thought I could at the time. I read enough about natural childbirth to write my own book. I choose midwives and never missed a prenatal apointment. I even did all the relaxation and streching exercises. I was an expert on the Bradley Method, Lamaze, and I was practaially best friends with Ina May Gaskin.

But my body really let me down and it seemed like there was a sudden landslide of complications. I was past due, my labor was induced, the baby was faceing the wrong way. After 24 hours of serious contractions (and pain) I was not even 4 cm dialated and the baby’s heart rate was dropping. The midwife explained why a c-section was a good idea and I said ok. I always knew that something could go wrong and I might have to have a c-section, and I always told myself that if it did happen I would not fight it for the sake of my own pride. In a way, this is just a complication of a vaginal delivery, but I feel so bad about it.

I’ve been trying to get treatment for postpartum depression but I don’t have insurance and I was fired from my job. (There’s a clinic with a sliding scale in my city, but no one is avalible to see me for months.)My husband is sick of talking to me about it, and since I’m home, alone, with my baby all day, I have no one to talk to.

I would really like some encouagement. Why is it ok that this happened? How can I grow from diapointment, loss, and failure? How can I put this behind me without being haunted by something I had no control over?

I know most people’s first reaction is to say that I should be happy that my son is alive and healthy. That goes without saying. And of course I made it through alive. But I am not really ok. Please send me some positive thoughts on emotional recovery and comments on how you may have dealt with your own weakness.

Thank you.

A: I REALLY wanted a VBAC for my second child. I thought my first c/s was due to my ignorance and lack of agressiveness during my first delivery. I read every book on the subject of VBAC and natural delivery. I was going thru nursing school at the time so I knew every risk associated with both c/s and VBAC. I signed the papers for the VBAC and was all set- right?

Nope. One week before the duedate the Doc does a pelvic and discovers my pelvic arch is flat. He schedules an u/s and dd is already over 8lbs with a week to go. I have a very small frame and ds had been 8lbs at birth.

So I took the next 5 days to go over and over what we should do. (Hubby supported any decision I made). With ds I went thru all of labor, pushed for 3hrs and STILL had a c/s. It SUCKED! Imagine you are trying to recover from birth, but you have to recover from major surgery on top of it? I really didn’t want that so I opted for a repeat c/s. Talk about awkward. I felt like a freak walking into the hospital for a planned surgery like I was getting a tumor removed or something. I mean this is supposed to be the birth of your child, something beautiful and precious and here I am being prepped and all- I mean I chose my childs birthday for Pete’s sake, how unnatural is that?

Anyway, I was really dissapointed, but more in the situation not myself. You cannot blame yourself. Blame infers intent. Since you didn’t intend for it to happen, you cannot (by definition) blame yourself. Your body did not let you down! My sister had two perfectly successful homebirths. Great-good for her. Yes, women have been having babies for thousands of years, but many women and babies died in childbirth for thousands of years too.You have to remember that some women are better designed for childbirth. Does that mean other women (like us) don’t deserve children? Of course we do! And thanks to modern medicine we can! Just be glad you had the option of c/s because you don’t know what could have happened if you didn’t. PLease don’t beat yourself up. Dissapointment-OK, Loss-maybe, Failure- Hell No!

Q: Bipolar or Postpartum Depression?
Diagnosed with PPD 5 months ago. Have had crazy depressive moods for last 7 years but only just diagnosed as PPD – thinking I may have BiPolar??
Can you please tell me about your symptoms and stories.
Next Dr appt Friday.
If I am – what treatments are there – is this a thing for life??

A: If you have had crazy depressive moods for last 7 years you will need to definataly look in to bi polar. If you have seen the same shrink for 7 years, you may want to try a different shrink. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone different, get different advice.

There are many great web sites for bi polar symptoms. Just google it.

Good luck

Q: Question for women who have or had depression during pregnancy or postpartum?
Ok,no judgement please.I am feeling very low lately..since august i have been feeling very weird. I have been having bad thoughts *thoughts of hurting myself and others* i mean i WOULD NEVER do anything i think,but they dont go away and they interrupt my life. i have 2 children and im pregnant again *this happened before i got pregnant 3rd time* this all comes new to me as i never experienced this before.i am afraid of knives something terrible *never before* and i have thoughs of people breaking in my house and nightmares…i fee useless right now…How do i tell me doctor i need treatment? I feel so embarrassed,and dont want noone including hubby to judge me. Have u had these symptoms? how did u get treated and are they still there? thanks sooooo much =

A: First, you are going to be ok. It sounds like you are experiencing clinical depression. You absolutely must see a medical professional. You can’t worry about ppl judging you. You have a problem that needs medical treatment. You have no reason to be embarassed. Depression is very common and there is no shame in getting help or admitting that you need help. You have no control over your brain chemistry.

I have been through depression. It was mild during my second pregnancy and was severe right after my daughter was born. It was a horrible time in my life, but I knew I wasn’t normal and that I needed help. I told my OB about it at my 6 week check up and he put me on an antidepressant. It helped a little, but I ended up in the emergency room bcs the dosage just wasn’t high enough. I knew that I had to get help in order to be a good mother to my children. Try to look at it that way….this is just another thing you have to do for your children.

You will feel normal again! You just need help and probably medication. I was prescribed Zoloft which has worked wonderfully for me. Zoloft(and other ssri’s) takes about a month to be at full strength, so the sooner you get help the better. And please if you have any thoughts about hurting yourself or anyone else call 911, call your doctor or tell your husband or a trusted friend.

I’ve been there and I know how hard this is right now, but once you get help things get better…a little bit better every day. My thoughts and prayers are with you!

Q: Advice, serious problem??
My husband and I have been married for 2 years, we have a ten month old daughter. Our relationship was great until I got pregnant and he just kinda started ignoring me. I love him with all my heart and he is my best friend, but we seem to have no communication anymore. I try to talk to him and he just ignores me and stares at the ground. I have postpartum depression and no insurance for treatment, and sometimes I just need someone to talk to, but when I cry he just goes outside and leaves me alone. He says he gives up, but he still want to be with me. I desperately need someone to be there for me emotionally, but he just dosen’t seem to care. I know if I were to leave it would break his heart, but am I wrong for wanting to? I have no clue what to do or what his problem is. I know i deserve to be happy, but should I stay and keep being treated like this for his well being?

A: There are “free” mental health clinics everywhere, honey. Check one out before you both go crazy. Remember you have a baby now.

Q: Should I put my son in foster care?
I am a 19-year old single mother. My sons father has no involvement with my son whatsoever. I have basically no support system and no help raising him. He’s almost a year old. I suffered with postpartum depression, for which I sought treatment and am recovering from. In the past I considered adoption, but this doesn’t feel like an option to me. It’s something I go to in my head when I’m feeling particularily desperate, but the thought brings me to tears, I really do love my son. I live with my mother who’s very unsupportive and critisizes my parenting. For example, I beg her to watch him for an hour because I desperately need a nap, and she’s just watching tv or spending time of facebook and she says no. She’s always says things like, “you never should have had a kid, where the hell is his father why don’t you ask him for some help, this is what happens when you have a kid deal with it”. I’m in school, determined to make a better life for us but even this is under constant threat. My mother in unreliable and threatens to not watch him so I can’t go to school almost daily. She refuses to babysit, but doesn’t let me bring him to a babysitter when I need a break either. The other day she refused to babysit him, but said she’d call the police if I left the house with him (to go to the babysitters), and said she’s call social services if I left the house without him. Some mornings I am so exhausted I don’t get out of bed right away and so my son plays quietly in his crib. My mom yells at me that this is abuse. Basically, all of this leaves me in a tough spot… I desperately need help. Is foster care an option? Would I still be able to see my son? I don’t provide inadequate care for my son (in my opinion), I’m just overwhelmed and need some assistance. She says she’ll never talk to me again if I gave my son up, and says that she would take him, but I highly doubt it. Oh yeah, my whole family claims that they would adopt him if it ever came down to it, but all of them get rude when I ask for just a little bit of help, so I highly doubt it. Are there other options for me? Could I put him in foster care and get him back later? I don’t know what to do. Everything that my mom has drilled into my head makes me think he could be having a better life somewhere ele.

A: Honestly don’t do it unless it is the last option!! Yes, you’re son may have a better life, but he may not. Not all foster homes are wonderful, loving places. Plus, you’re his mom and he loves you as much as you love him. There are places you can turn to for help. Look into your local SRS, they may be able to hook you up with some support services. There is plenty of services out there, which can help pay for childcare, pay for food, healthcare, etc. and help you find a place of your own, which it sounds like you desperately need. They can also help you find information on support groups (maybe groups of other mothers and families in similar situations) that would give you some comfort and someone to talk to. Do not allow for your mother to continue to emotionally abuse you. You are a mother and a child is never a mistake. You love him and you can get out and make a better life for you both. And you don’t have to do it alone. There are also programs that can help you find work or go to college, please check into them. This doesn’t have to be the only option. If you do, you may not ever get him back. It’s always best for a child to stay with the person that loves them, rather than go into a new situation, where he may be sad and scared. The SRS can also give you information on foster care, should you be unable to get on your feet, but I hope you will consider other ways. Don’t be so hard on yourself, everyone has rough days and being a mother is demanding work. Check into some of the local programs nearby. She can’t prevent you from taking your son and leaving. He is your child and you are an adult. Good luck, I hope you find everything you need. Just know that there are always other places to turn.

Q: Question to all of those married people out there with inlaws?
I have been married for 9 years and I have 5 beautiful kids. When I first met my husband and we were dating my husband’s parents loved me. After our first child was born I suffered a bout of severe postpartum depression and I went to the hospital for psychiatric treatment voluntarily. My mother in law was cruel to me when I was released not even telling my husband I was out so he could come get me and I waited five hours to be picked up. That was in 1997 shortly after we were married.

Now I have more health problems. I not only suffer from depression and anxiety but I have seizures and migraines and I take medications that have affected my moods and have caused horrible side effects. They have rejected me.

For Xmas they gave my hubby a $50 gift certificate to a store he likes and a book about what a great son he is. I got a refrigerator magnet. Do you guys think my husband should stand up for me? He just seems to let them get away with treating me badly. I have stood up for him.

A: You have really had a lot of problems health wise. I think your husband should tell his parents to either accept you or to leave him alone. The marriage vows said Forsaken All Others and if can’t be treated equal than just don’t bother either of you again. Take that Little cheap magnet or perhaps some company sent them as a advertisement gift, send it back and tell them that you don’t use magnets on your ref. or you already have enough , but thanks anyway, take that gift certificate get something for your home. You have 5 children to hell with those rude people.

Q: What could be the problem?
First let me start of with when I 15 years old up until I was almost 17 I was in and out of psyc hospitals and was diagnosed with server depression. I was taking celexa and trazadone for this which celexa helped my depression and trazadone helped my sleep. When I was 19 I went to a depression study and was diagnosed with post tramtic stress and anxiety disorder. The doctors gave me zoloft and then lexapro which neither one helped they seemed to make me worse. My insurance was cut off shortly after and I had to stop treatment. Now I am 22 and seeing doctors for postpartum depression. While pregnant my anxieties and depression seemed to go away but a month after having my son they came back full force. I started taking celexa a week ago because it helped when I was 16 but things have changed in my head since then and it’s making me worse.
Now to explain my problem.. I am miserable all the time I do nothing but fight with my boyfriend anymore about stupid stuff and I am always worrying that some really bad is going to happen like someone is following me or watching me or someone is out to hurt me. Then I get these “attacks” where my heart starts racing I can’t get my head straight like the world is spinning and I’m falling in a neverending hole I guess is the best way I can explain it. And when I get these feeling’s they aren’t very long but I lose control like I’m losing my mind or something. The other day I scared my self so badly and I did everything in my power to try and stay in control because my son was near me sleeping. It worked but I refused to go near him till I felt better. Thank God he was sleeping. And when this happened I was taking the celexa. Now Everything I have read say’s with anxiety disorder you don’t get panic attacks.
I know I have the anxiety disorder but why do my symptoms also show attacks like this? What could possibly be the problem? Also I don’t really like medication and this celexa seems to either not be working or making things worse what is a medication that I can talk to my doctor about. I would prefer something that I don’t have to take everyday just something I can take when I feel myself freaking out because those attacks are what scare me the most. If there is no such thing what is one that could possibly work for me even if I have to take it daily just so I can have an idea when I go to my PCP next. Thank You
Well I never said I was asking for a diagnosis I was asking for opinins so I had an idea of what could be the problem and what I could do when I WENT TO MY PCP!!!! don’t mean to sound bitchy but I know I can’t be diagnosed on here I was just asking for opinions.

A: I am also on Celexa and it seems that if i don’t take it for a few days it makes my head spin and i feel sick. Make sure your taking it regularly. I used to have panic attacks, and I have depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. I believe that panic attacks are normal for anxiety but it doesn’t mean these should be happening. If your on 20 mg. pills, try slowly upping your dosage to 40mg pills. BUT you need to talk to your psychiatrist first. Do NOT take two 20 mgs without asking your doctor. Hope i helped!

Q: can I join the marines?
At age 19 three weeks after my son was born I was diagnosed to have postpartum depression. Because of this diagnoses I have had four different stints of in-patient care at two different mental facilities for the treatment of this diagnoses. Will I be able to join the marines?

A: Post-partum depression is situational, not chronic (by definition). It is NOT necessarily considered disqualifying. It is akin to what we used to call Reactive Psychosis or Situational Reaction. DSM-IV-TR has different nomenclature…but, if you have had no other psychiatric symptoms, you should be fine.

I would recommend seeing your OB/GYN…and having him/her refer you to a Psychiatrist for a workup.

Good luck.

- Yggdrasil, Captain (ret.), USAF, Psychologist

Q: poor baby in san antonio?
who believes this mother should face the death penalty… i sure do!
SAN ANTONIO – The father of a newborn baby who authorities say was mutilated, killed and cannibalized by his mother said Tuesday he wants to see her executed. Scott W. Buchholz told The Associated Press that Otty Sanchez, the mother of 3 1/2-week-old Scotty Wesley Buchholz-Sanchez, seemed fine in the days before the killing, even though they argued.

However, he said she told him she had been diagnosed with postpartum depression and was going to be admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Sanchez’s relatives told The San Antonio Express News that she had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, which can cause delusional thoughts and hallucinations.

Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the baby’s death and could face the death penalty. When authorities found the infant’s body Sunday, Sanchez told officers the devil made her do it, police said.

“She killed my son. She should burn in hell,” Buchholz said.

Otty Sanchez’s aunt, Gloria Sanchez, told The Associated Press that her niece had been “in and out” of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months ago to check up on her.

Sanchez was hospitalized Tuesday with self-inflicted stab wounds and was being held on $1 million bail. Police have said she does not have an attorney. Authorities found the baby with three of his toes chewed off, his face torn away and his head was severed.

Otty Sanchez’s sister and her sister’s two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the house at the time, but none were harmed.

Sanchez and Buchholz lived together during the pregnancy and the first two weeks after their son was born, he said. An infection complicated Sanchez’s recovery from giving birth, and she was required to use a catheter for about a week. That setback darkened her mood, and she was soon diagnosed with postpartum depression.

She moved out of the couple’s shared home July 20. On Saturday, she showed up to see Buchholz at his parents’ house. She became agitated when he told her he needed a copy of the baby’s birth certificate and Social Security card, Buchholz said.

Sanchez ran out of the home with her son in a car seat, threw the car seat into the front passenger seat of her car and sped away without buckling him in, the San Antonio Express-News reported. She left behind a diaper bag, her purse and her medication.

Buchholz’s mother called 911, and a sheriff’s deputy investigated the incident as a disturbance, according to court records. The next day, authorities said, she killed her son.

Officers called to Sanchez’s house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her sitting on the couch screaming “I killed my baby! I killed my baby!” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house.

she ate the baby’s nose, 3 toes, and pieces of his brain… she stabbed him repeatedly with a steak knife and skinned him… she also decapitated his head… she blamed it all on the devil of course…
it was so bad that the police officers had to receive counseling after seeing the scene.
THIS LADY IS SICK!

A: I have read several articles about this story and from what I deduce her husband and mother (I’m sure there were other people as well) knew that she had mental problems and did nothing.
I would expect my husband-at the least-to NOT leave me alone with our children if I was schizophrenic (two other news pieces I read about this mentioned she had been diagnosed as such) or suffering from extreme post partum depression. If he refused to see the problem I would also expect my parents or concerned friends, neighbors, doctors, ANYONE to do something. If she goes to jail take everyone who knew she was psychotic with her. Signs are there before things like this happen and they are too often neglected and ignored.
Then innocent lives are lost and horrific crimes are committed.

Everyone please keep this in mind. If you ever think anything dangerous is going on around a child you need to let someone know. Don’t keep it to yourself.

Q: “Decapitated baby’s mother had psychosis diagnosis.” Is THIS how they do Retroactive Abortions in San Antonio?
By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 49 mins ago
SAN ANTONIO – The father of a newborn baby who authorities say was mutilated, killed and cannibalized by his mother said Tuesday he wants to see her executed. Scott W. Buchholz told The Associated Press that Otty Sanchez, the mother of 3 1/2-week-old Scotty Wesley Buchholz-Sanchez, seemed fine in the days before the killing, even though they argued.

However, he said she told him she had been diagnosed with postpartum depression and was going to be admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Sanchez’s relatives told The San Antonio Express News that she had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, which can cause delusional thoughts and hallucinations.

Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the baby’s death and could face the death penalty. When authorities found the infant’s body Sunday, Sanchez told officers the devil made her do it, police said.

“She killed my son. She should burn in hell,” Buchholz said.

Otty Sanchez’s aunt, Gloria Sanchez, told The Associated Press that her niece had been “in and out” of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months ago to check up on her.

Sanchez was hospitalized Tuesday with self-inflicted stab wounds and was being held on $1 million bail. Police have said she does not have an attorney. Authorities found the baby with three of his toes chewed off, his face torn away and his head was severed.

Otty Sanchez’s sister and her sister’s two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the house at the time, but none were harmed.

Sanchez and Buchholz lived together during the pregnancy and the first two weeks after their son was born, he said. An infection complicated Sanchez’s recovery from giving birth, and she was required to use a catheter for about a week. That setback darkened her mood, and she was soon diagnosed with postpartum depression.

She moved out of the couple’s shared home July 20. On Saturday, she showed up to see Buchholz at his parents’ house. She became agitated when he told her he needed a copy of the baby’s birth certificate and Social Security card, Buchholz said.

Sanchez ran out of the home with her son in a car seat, threw the car seat into the front passenger seat of her car and sped away without buckling him in, the San Antonio Express-News reported. She left behind a diaper bag, her purse and her medication.

Buchholz’s mother called 911, and a sheriff’s deputy investigated the incident as a disturbance, according to court records. The next day, authorities said, she killed her son.

Officers called to Sanchez’s house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her sitting on the couch screaming “I killed my baby! I killed my baby!” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house.

A: to the person commenting she did not have desires to harm her child with postpartum depression..please note this woman did not have PPD but postpartum –psychosis..in other words she had delusions and hallucinations and heard voices etc this is different than what you and many other moms with PPD have.

When she comes back to her own mind, she will be tortured by what she has done…noone connected to this–the families, father, mother, sister etc will ever be the same and their lives have all changed forever. This case truly made me cry for the same child.

another site several people said mentally ill people should not reproduce or pass on their genes, so I guess they got what they wanted.

It looks like she was taking medication as she left it behind. I do think the cops coming to investigate and the dad wanting the birth certificate –though perfectly legitimate actions–somehow pushed this unstable mother over the edge more..it seems somewhere inside her she realizes what she did as she was screaming she didn’t mean it and I killed my baby and blaming it on the baby asking her to and the devil (all part of psychosis)

In fact, I once read psychotics actually see the object and hear the voices the same as we see or hear something..except it is not really there but the do not get why their senses that before worked right are wrong now and that makes it hard for them to believe it when people are trying to tell then they are ill or something is not there. She will suffer I believe if she recovers knowing what she did more than any jail could do. I hope her family can get through all this and the dad of the child and his family.f

It is just sad all around ..she did take her meds so it seems the system and the chemical imbalance failed them all. The poor baby..how he must have suffered…no innocents should be killed by their mothers before or after birth..a mother is the one who is supposed to love you the most, but in this case, the mother was mentally ill though she must be locked up in an institution for what she did..just sad all around..

Q: Anti Depressant Side Effects?
I am going through postpartum depression, and am still experimenting (w/ my Dr.) to find the righ treatment for me. Right now I am on Wellbutrin (450 mg), Lexapro (3 mg) and just added Pristiq to the mix b/c Lexapro was making me so sleepy and giving me a headache. I am supposed to stop the Lexapro if the Pristiq gets rid of the fatigue and headaches.
Here’s the issue: All the sudden my body is “twitching”. If I sit still for any length of time, my body will just twitch… like when you are falling asleep and your brain sends out those waves to make sure you’re still alive. It’s very frustrating and I don’t know if it is b/c of all the drugs, or if it’s something else. Anyone shed some light?
Ok… the Lexapro is 10 Mg, but I’m only taking 3/4 of a pill b/c of the headache it gives me (so that was my typo). It was making me so sleepy that I couldn’t hardly function at all.
I am working w/ a psychologist who specializes in PPD and Depression.
I am to stop taking the Lexapro if the Pristiq knocks out the fatigue and headaches…which it was doing until yesterday.

A: You are taking a variety of different antidepressants – all with different chemical structures and targeted neurotransmitters. Lexapro is an SSRI (targets serotonin). Pristiq is an NSRI (targets norepinephrine and serotinin). And Wellbutrin is an atypical antidepressant that targets norepinephrine and dopamine. Are you sure that you have the dosage for the medications correct? 450mg of Wellbutrin is a very large dose (the maximum recommended dosage is typically 400mg daily – 200mg in the morning and 200mg in the evening). Also, 3mg of Lexapro would likely have no effect whatsoever. The typical dose for depression is 20mg a day. They only come in pills of 10mg (though they might have 5mg pills now). You didn’t say what the dosage for the Pristiq is. However, it seems like you are on an unnecessary number of medications. Is this your general physician, or are you seeing a psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist? General practitioners are typically not trained enough when it comes to psychotropic medication. It is best if you see a specialist: a psychiatrist. The twitching you are experiencing is a possible side-effect of all antidepressants – but it is likely the result of the Wellbutrin and Pristiq (both are affecting norepinephrine, which is adrenaline). How long did you give the Lexapro a try before switching? Lexapro is a very effective medication for depression – and has little side-effects. Tiredness is a common side-effect when starting any antidepressant. However, it is likely to go away within 2-4 weeks of beginning treatment. You might want to talk to your doctor about scaling back on some of these other drugs and trying the Lexapro (SSRI) again. That can be augmented with a small dose of Wellbutrin if the tiredness persists. When SSRIs don’t work, in terms of relieving depression, NSSRIs are typically the next class of medications to try. But they are more powerful and have more side-effects than the SSRIs.

Additional info: The 3mg of Lexapro you’re taking is not likely to have any effect of you (good or bad). The twitching you are experiencing is likely a side-effect of the Pristiq. That medication affects norephinephrine, which is adrenaline. It might take a few days, or weeks, for the spasms to go away. I am not trying to second-guess your doctor, but it seems a little excessive to have you at the maximum dose of Wellbutrin along with what I assume is a therapeutic dose of Pristiq (on top of the 10mg of Lexapro you are supposed to be taking). Is your depression particularly severe? Did your doctor recommend trying a different SSRI (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc)? SSRIs generally produce less side-effects than NSRIs (Pristiq, Effexor, etc) or atypical antidepressants (Wellbutrin). However, if the combination of medications you are on is helping your depression, the twitching is a minor side-effect (but annoying I’m sure) that will likely go away as soon as your body adjusts to the new medication. Good luck with everything.

Q: This is bullshit!!!!!!!! I can’t believe this!!!!Who Agrees???
How the hell can these people do this

HOUSTON (AP) – In a dramatic turnaround from her first murder trial, Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday in the drowning of her children in the bathtub.

The 42-year-old woman will be committed to a state mental hospital and held until she is no longer deemed a threat. If she had been convicted of murder, she would have been sentenced to life in prison.

Yates stared wide-eyed as the verdict was read, then bowed her head and wept quietly. Her relatives also shed tears, and the children’s father, Rusty Yates, muttered, “Wow!” as he, too, cried.

Four years ago, another jury convicted Yates of murder, rejecting claims that she was so psychotic she thought she was saving her the souls of her five children by killing them. An appeals court overturned the convictions because of erroneous testimony from a prosecution witness.

Yates’ chief attorney, George Parnham, called the verdict this time a “watershed event in the treatment of mental illness.”

Wendell Odom, another of Yates’ attorneys, suggested that attitudes have changed since the first trial: “Five years ago there were a lot of people who could not get past the anger of what happened.”

Yates’ 2002 conviction triggered debate over whether Texas’ legal standard for mental illness was too rigid, whether the courts treated postpartum depression seriously enough, and whether a mother who kills could ever find sympathy and understanding in a tough-on-crime state like Texas.

Yates drowned 6-month-old Mary, 2-year-old Luke, 3-year-old Paul, 5-year-old John and 7-year-old Noah in their Houston-area home in June 2001. Her attorneys said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed that Satan was inside her and that killing the youngsters would save them from hell.

“The jury looked past what happened and looked at why it happened,” Rusty Yates, who divorced his wife last year, said outside the courthouse. “Yes, she was psychotic. That’s the whole truth.”

Prosecutors had maintained that Yates failed to meet the state’s definition of insanity: that she was so severely mentally ill that she did not know her actions were wrong.

“I’m very disappointed,” prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said. “For five years, we’ve tried to seek justice for these children.”

Yates will be sent to Vernon State Mental Hospital, a prison-like maximum-security facility encircled by a 17-foot fence and guard towers. Experts say it can take decades before psychiatrists decide that a patient is healthy enough to be released, and even then a judge can reject those findings.

The jury, split evenly between men and women, deliberated for about 13 hours over three days. The jurors had not been told that Yates would be committed to a mental institution if found not guilty.

Yates did not testify. Her lawyers presented much of the same evidence as in the first trial, including half a dozen psychiatrists who testified that Yates was insane.

During a videotaped 2001 jail interview, Yates told a psychiatrist that her children had not been progressing normally because she was a bad mother, and that she killed them because “in their innocence, they would go to heaven.”

The jury was told about Yates’ two hospitalizations after two suicide attempts in 1999, and about her stays in a mental hospital a few months before the drownings.

But prosecution witness Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist, testified that Yates killed the youngsters because she felt overwhelmed and inadequate as a mother, not to save their souls. He said that it was not until a day after the killings that she talked about Satan and saving her children from hell.

Welner also said Yates showed that she knew her actions were wrong by waiting until her husband left for work to kill them, covering the bodies with a sheet and calling 911 soon after the crime.

Yates’ 2002 conviction was overturned after Dr. Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist, told the jury that before the drownings, NBC ran a “Law & Order” episode about a woman who was acquitted by reason of insanity after drowning her children. It was later learned that no such episode existed.

A: The system is in need of serious change

Q: If i were to check myself into a mental hospital…..?
ok….here is my situation. I have SEVERE postpartum depression. I have a history of depression and bipolar disorder. I have been in a mental hospital before 3 times and in one residential treatment center, all when i was a teen. I am now 23 and my life is falling apart. I am very immature, mentally i cannot age. I just recently had a baby and i love her to pieces. I was living with my boyfriend up until yesterday, and he kicked me and our daughter out, she is only one and a half months old. his mother had a HUGE part in this, she constantly butted into our relationship and would make me go insane. I seriously am going crazy. i cant take this any longer. I cry EVERYDAY, i shake and gasp for air and almost hyperventilate, pick at my skin and leave marks, have not been eating (may have developed an eating disorder), have anxiety attacks multiple times a day, and cant stop thinking about my mom dieing (she kindly let me come back home and is letting us stay with her.) i have also been t
hinking of suicide lately, but dont know if i would really go through with it because i don’t want my little girl to grow up without a mommy.

but here is my question….if i were to check into a hospital, would they take my baby away? would they put her into a foster home? because i dont want that! and i also do NOT want her going with my ex boyfriends mother, she is a horrible, evil woman who only cares about herself and who does drugs. but yes, even if my mother kept my baby here at her home in a safe enviroment, with my little sister, would that be fine? or would they take her away? what should i do? i am seriously at my witts end!!!

A: Checking in is confidential, your rights are protected by law. They cannot tell your Ex boyfriend anything about you. Give Temporary gaurdianship of your baby to your mom if possible. Call legal aide to make sure how to do it right, get it noterized, etc.
Then go check yourself into an “AKA”, health spa.
An Ex boyfriend does not have a legal right to know your business and if your mom is a fit caregiver then he will be out of luck unless you have a legal agreement with the Ex that your mom is not allowed to care give for an extended period.
Go over all your options with your therapist.. who also has to keep your confidentiality, they do know how to help you with those kinds of situations.
If you are having the feelings you say you are, right now you are the biggest immediate danger to your baby.
I can tell you want to be a good mom and do things right, that means taking care of you so you are able to be that good parent.
Hang in there and do call your therapist as soon as you can… if it gets unmanageable… just go check in and let them help you get stuff going from there.
If you make a suicide attempt you will not be able to keep that under wraps and it could cause a judge to give him custody if he wants it… most important, it may work this time and you sure can’t be a mommy if you are dead.
I don’t want to sound mean or rude, I am talking truth to you because this is too important an issue to sugar coat it.
You can do this, you can be a good parent even if you have been diagnosed with those disorders, the key is to know when you are going down fast and taking care of your business while you still have enough of a grip to do that.
Do it before you get a 5150. Bless you sweetie, you can do this and overcome.
You are not your illness, you are a person having symptoms that can be managed and controlled much better the sooner you do what you need to do..

Q: Custody for recovering alcoholic mothers?
My husband & I recently separated & he wants to take our 5 mo. old daughter from me. My trip to alcoholism in 2005 w/the separation from my ex & 8 year marriage. I went through treatment in 2006 & had been sober since until my relapse Feb. 8, 2008 of this year. I self-admitted myself to a treatment program & am attending AA & doing the steps unlike before. I’m very proactive in my recovery & I can say more so now than before. It took me a long time to realize this is a disease I will have 2 deal w/the rest of my life & I know I can’t do it alone. My husband is emotionally abusive & w/ a lil help from postpartum depression I slipped back. Only for a short while but he is trying to say now that I’m a bad(unfit) mother & he should have primary custody of our daughter. He hardly had anything 2 do w/her until I left & still has not taken her to 1 doctors appt. We rescheduled her shots to I could take her on my weekend. He only lets me see her 2 days each week. Any suggestions?

A: Don’t drink anymore and get a really good lawyer.

Q: girl scout gold award question!?
For my girl scout gold award i was wondering if an appropriate project would be to host a To Write Love on Her Arms event. This is an organization preventing teen depression and teen suicide. I wasn’t sure if this would be considered community service or not? Here is their website: http://www.twloha.com/ and this is the page where they talk about hosting an event: http://www.twloha.com/move/ It is # 2 on the list.

A: One of the big rules about a GS Gold Award – or any GS project – is that you can’t raise money for another organization, which it sounds like what that would be.

Also, generally most GS Councils won’t approve a Gold Award project that is just to support another organization’s established mission. It needs to be more than a volunteer project, but a leadership one where *you* figure out a need and *you* find a way to fill it, at least partially, not just do what someone else has already set up.

So, while it’s a good starting point to look at TWLOHA’s mission and events to get some ideas, you will need to come up with something different for your project. Maybe you could create a local event highlighting the need to deal with these issues and giving resources available – including TWLOHA – for those who need them. What type of event is up to you – will it be small group discussions, a large walk-through event, an event geared toward adults, one for teens themselves, an art project… the possibilities are endless, and this is just one path giving an example of how to take the idea you already had which is a good service project, and turn it into a Gold Award project.

Q: Religion contributes to adolescent depression in some races??? Does anyone have any experience or thoughts?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134209.htm

SUMMARY:

Previous research has shown that teens who are active in religious services are depressed less often because it provides these adolescents with social support and a sense of belonging.

But new research has found that this does not hold true for all adolescents, particularly for minorities and some females.

MORE DETAILS:

The study found that white and African-American adolescents generally had fewer symptoms of depressive at high levels of religious participation. But for some Latino and Asian-American adolescents, attending church more often was actually affecting their mood in a negative way.

Asian-American adolescents who reported high levels of participation in their church had the highest number of depressive symptoms among teens of their race.

Likewise, Latino adolescents who were highly active in their church were more depressed than their peers who went to church less often. Females of all races and ethnic groups were also more likely to have symptoms of depression than males overall.

SEE LINK FOR DETAILS ON REASONS ETC.

A: One would need to look at what kind of religion these latinos and asians have, who tend to get depressed. Are they involved in a highly authoritarian and legalistic religious group? Does their religion give promises of earthly prosperity that ends up disappointing them? A lot of elements could come into the equation here. I have noticed in Central America, in certain kinds of churches, young people are held to a very high standard that the adults don-t really follow, but actually cover up their failings. The young people, more naive, get caught up in the hypocrisy, and as they come to realize it, I can imagine that in some cases depression could set in. Note: I am NOT referring here to a majority of churches. Just that there are some churches like that, and it could explain some of this.
EDIT:
Miss Zero, I’m afraid you are expecting too much of R&S section. Most “contributors” seem to just want to make a point for or against some particular religion, and they don-t want any facts to get in the way. I do enjoy the occasional serious contributor, however.
I did find this question interesting, but am not at all surprised at the reaction. Whatever the intent of the questioner was, the facts are still true. Actually I am not sure the first respondent was consciously making a smart*** remark. They might have just felt they had to defend their faith, and be repeating something they heard somewhere. Whereas this question has nothing to do with the question of faith, but rather with certain forms of religious culture.

Q: Raising awareness on depression and suicide?
The following links are about teen suicide.

When I watch these videos it helps me to stop thinking about suicide.

They make me cry so much, I really miss those people who took their own life, I wish I could’ve done something to prevent this from happening, and I will when I’m alot older…I hope these vids touch you as well…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXqocdThk8s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHynDpYv1Gw&feature=related

Why is this posted in the LGBT section? Because I know the majority of us (yes i am gay) has thought of suicide at least once in our lifetime.

This is not really a question, just raising awareness, but meh
mrs. i totally agree with you, it can’t be forgotten that easily and it feels like no-one cares..that’s what friends are for i guess

A: i dont think ppl understand the impact it makes in someones life unless it happens to them, just like anything else. i can say that i turned a blind eye on it for awhile when my friend started feeling depressed, and one night i had to drive across three states b/c he kept calling me saying he was going to kill himself. i found this poor kid crying his eyes out in the bathroom and i felt horrible for not helping him in the first place when i knew something was wrong. thankfully he’s still alive and he’s getting better all the time. but i think it’s just like anything else in the world, people dont care about it unless it’s happening or did happen to them. and i think ppl think that teenagers should just be happy b/c their young and the SHOULDN’T have anything to worry about, but they do and they dont get help for it.

Q: Do I have freaking ADHD?!?
Hello,
So these are the symptoms I have
constantly fidgeting with hands or feet
extremely easily distracted (i can sometimes barely finish a sentence)
difficulty in showing instructions
shifting from one incomplete task to another
talking EXCESSIVELY
interrupting others
not listening or paying attention
forgetting things necessary for tasks

Which are nearly all of them, atleast according to (http://www.thehealthcenter.info/teen-add-adhd/symptoms.htm) I took an online test for it, and it said no joke “you need to seek professional help immediately”. I’ve tried to tell my parents but they just say that im just a show off…you’d think they would learn their lesson from last year when i thought i had depression and they practically laughed in my face…months later i was cutting myself and attempting suicides.
Basically my question here is how can i tell them that i truely think i have it, how can i have them take me seriously, this really seems to affect me in school. Ive also read somewhere that untreated ADHD in teens can lead to major depression when grown….uhh i already have major depression so who knows how ill turn out…

A: i have add and it sounds like it. go to a doctor, they can diagnose and help

Q: looking for a good blog name?
Ok so im trying to start my own blog abut loners & the truth about loner/depression/sexuality/teen life i allready have a myspace for it but any ways i need a good name…any suggestions?

Thanks in advanced )

ps please add this myspace

http://www.myspace.com/outreach_to_understand

Thanks for you’re time )

A: Life4teens

Q: Self confidence, Depression Barbados discussion?
I know this section is about tourism but its quite dead at the moment so lets have a little discussion.

I’m sure we all remember my topic on child abuse about a week or two ago which really had me thinking. I’ve never really expected that sort of stuff to happen to such a young child.
The suicide attemp rate by teens in Barbados is quite high…maybe twice the adult rate? i’ve never actually known of anyone who have succeded on their attempt but i’m positive many people place the blade to skin and cry theirself to sleep every night.

Sure some people do it for the attention but what about the one’s who see no way out? I’m sure we’ve all had atleast one day when everything seems to be crumbling and you just want an escape from the frustration.

Some people feel this way daily. Hurt,frustrated,angry,sad,alone,confused etc.. and to make things worst the public rubs it in deeper whether it be at school/work/public place they make hurtful comments such as “he/she – weird/fat/bony/ugly/black/retarded”….

Actually i remember a day in Religious Education the teacher said “God created us from dirt” one girl asked “Ma’am did God make me from mud cuz he hate me as i’m so dark and made Bianca from sea sand cuz he likes her more?” Sure everyone laughed but the next week she ended up in the physiatric ward. When she Came back to school things we’re so odd and tough from the other students she got transfered.

Check out these vids –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbeoq-X9-dE&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vqkdy2S6gE&feature=channel_page
How long did you leave?

A: I agree with you and I dont think it only starts in even primary school but I think these issues start from nursery. Some people are leaders and then other kids turn out to be the followers and as we all the know the followers end up doing stuff just to fit in with the crowd.

I think if it can be nipped in the bud from pre years the issues can really regress…if those in authority be it mother father or who ever teaches the kids that thye are smart and handsome beautiful then they will begin to see it themselves and bulkit great confidence that no one can shatter.

Depression is a serious issue especially in teens and teens handle it differently to adults most times and sometimes we may not be able to understand how someone can end their lives but we have to reach out to those in need of help. We sometimes tho may never know that people are in need of help emotionally..but there are signs to look for and I guess we allneed to learn them and look out for each other.

=]

Q: Do you agree there is no need for drugs for anxiety/depression?
.anxiety is like this..when person gets bit by a vicious dog in child hood, then in teens and adult hood the person will hate dogs, and get anxiety attacks every time he/she sees dogs if the event was traumatic…. NO PILL will fix this, you cause the anxiety in your head, you just have to adopt a new BELIEF system in your head, a new way of thinking

so to solve this is by counseling or psychotherapy/cognitive therapy is the only way because you fix the root of the problem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPUHUpfDVgY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu7NDUc5TD4
watch the videos, and what u think?

A: Hi,

A very thought provoking question. I would never ever trust a doctor and take their advice without actually studying it and then studying it some more.

It is true, you do not need pills or potions to correct anxiety or depression and you need not spend months talking to a therapist either. Great question!

Q: self mutilation3?
okay ppls. www.gurls.com gives out help for teenagers that cutt and self injury. also teen pregnacy and depression rape being fat being to skinny also lesbian or bi curious and alot of whole stuff. I am one of the members there on that site to get help. but do you think all of this stuff could be triggering teen females that go on the site to give out help and never cutt or have bulimia ect. and become one of the patients there? i mean some girls come one there not even having a thought of doing some of these things. but after u read u do these things becuz of problems or being 2 fat or 2 skinny ect.? need more information please hit me up thnxx. baby_chopstickzxo@yahoo.com

A: Yes it could be triggering to some.

However, it’s like saying that when you ask someone if they’re thinking about suicide that you will make them start thinking of it. It’s false.

The things that you don’t talk about make the situation worse. People who self-injure, suffer from an eating disorder, etc would be suffering alone because this site might be their only support.

Edit: I just went on that site…confusing as hell to navigate, too many sub-menus and way too much color. Just my two cents.

Q: What do you think of my story plot?
Here’s a summary:
Audrey Meyers is just another reserved teen accused of depression. Losing her parents in a recent car accident she can’t even remember has taken its toll on her, but Audrey knows she’s not mentally depressed. Refusing to speak to her therapist only leads her flustered aunt to the decision to move and start over, hoping Audrey will return to normal over the blistering hot summer in Arizona.
Soon after moving in Audrey finds a diary—one belonging to Margaret Riviera who lived back in the 1930s. The girl speaks of a man that lived next door, who was always watching her. Not long after reading the diary, Audrey begins to see things—spirits tormenting her, horrible nightmares, strange and unexplainable visions, and then there’s the weird house next door, where she sees a man though the house has been vacant for years.
Trying to figure out the mystery of her evil diary and finding love on the way, Audrey believes she is going insane—this time for real. Of course, there’s no such thing as an evil diary, so her friends and aunt shove the thought aside and tease her about it. But things get serious, and what she’s seeing begins to attack her. She is sent to a mental asylum to get her head back together. Living for months with a bunch of mental patients, Audrey’s visions and hallucinations leave her no choice but to find her source of tormentor.

Is it any good? Would you read it? Honest opinions please!

Here’s the link to the first chapter if anyone’s interested:

http://www.worthyofpublishing.com/chapte…

I’ve only got about four chapters so far but i wonder if i should continue… =/
here’s the link:

http://www.worthyofpublishing.com/book.asp?book_ID=4027

sorry!

A: Wow. I really liked that. The summary managed to intrigue me and it seemed really well thought-out, compared to many summaries I’ve seen on here (I can understand some people don’t write summaries very well, after all I am one of them, but it’s nice to see a real good one here).
I am definitely considering reading it. I opened the link but it’s not working – did you maybe post the wrong thing? Or is it just my computer?

To be honest, the idea isn’t extremely original. BUT, I don’t think that matters. Not very many things are original anymore these days, but as long as stories are done right (character development, no Mary-Sues, twists and turns, etc), then it doesn’t matter. It can be really good. Judging by the writing of the summary, I have high hopes for the story and I think that it will also have good writing.

Also, you shouldn’t wonder if you should or should not continue. If you have started a story, and though it may not seem amazing and people may put you down, it doesn’t matter – you should continue writing it regardlessly. If you want to write it, then write it. Don’t let anyone stop you. You’ll only end up getting better at writing.

So, best of luck.

Q: What do you think of my story idea?
Here’s a quick summary:

April Meyers is just another reserved teen accused of depression. Losing her parents in a recent car accident she can’t even remember has taken its toll on her, but April knows she’s not mentally depressed. Refusing to speak to her therapist only leads her flustered aunt to the decision to move and start over, hoping April will return to normal over the blistering hot summer in Arizona.
Soon after moving in April finds a diary—one belonging to Margaret Riviera who lived back in the 1930s. The girl speaks of a man that lived next door, who was always watching her. Not long after reading the diary, April begins to see things—spirits tormenting her, horrible nightmares, strange and unexplainable visions, and then there’s the weird house next door, where she sees a man though the house has been vacant for years.
Trying to figure out the mystery of her evil diary and finding love on the way, April believes she is going insane—this time for real. Of course, there’s no such thing as an evil diary, so her friends and aunt shove the thought aside and tease her about it. But things get serious, and what she’s seeing begins to attack her. She is sent to a mental asylum to get her head back together. Living for months with a bunch of mental patients, April’s visions lead her to a man that’s the cause of the stress in her life, a man which she has no choice but to kill.

[i]You either live for nothing, or die for something.[/i]

Is it any good??? Interesting???

If anyone wants to read the first three chapters here’s the link:

http://www.worthyofpublishing.com/book.asp?book_ID=4027

A: That was really good actually. I like it. Might be something I would pick up and read, and it sounds a lot like something that would be made into a horror movie. It has a good essence about it.

Q: do you like my story (Please give me your opinion)?
Please give me your honest opinion, I really need it!!!
Here’s the summary:
Audrey Meyers is just another reserved teen accused of depression. Losing her parents in a recent car accident she can’t even remember has taken its toll on her, but Audrey knows she’s not mentally depressed. Refusing to speak to her therapist only leads her flustered aunt to the decision to move and start over, hoping Audrey will return to normal over the blistering hot summer in Arizona.
Soon after moving in Audrey finds a diary—one belonging to Margaret Riviera who lived back in the 1930s. The girl speaks of a man that lived next door, who was always watching her. Not long after reading the diary, Audrey begins to see things—spirits tormenting her, horrible nightmares, strange and unexplainable visions, and then there’s the weird house next door, where she sees a man through a house that has been vacant for years.
Trying to figure out the mystery of her evil diary and finding love on the way, Audrey believes she is going insane—this time for real. Of course, there’s no such thing as an evil diary, so her friends and aunt shove the thought aside and tease her about it. But things get serious, and what she’s seeing begins to attack her. She is sent to a mental asylum to get her head back together. Living for months with a bunch of mental patients, Audrey’s visions and hallucinations leave her no choice but to find her source of torment.

It’s not really revised yet… So nothing is official. Please tell me what you think of the idea…

Here’s the link to the chapters if anyone wants them:

http://www.worthyofpublishing.com/book.asp?book_ID=4027

A: It sounds interesting but you lost my interest when she returns to the mental institution again for months.I think you should edit and read she had to see a therapist and skip returning to the asylum and leave her teasing relatives in as she’s on the verge of being committed.I like the parts of the suspicious man next door and the old diary that she finds;those two items seem interesting enough for a story to keep a reader reading.Save some of your zeal for writing for other stories,hold back,too much imagination in one story can ruin the whole plot or story.Otherwise I think your on way to becoming another writer.Try separating your ideas or plots and motives,then sort and put your ideas in proper perspective to hold the reader’s attention.Try not to scatter your readers thoughts.Merry Christmas.

Q: Do you like my story idea?
Here’s a summary:
Audrey Meyers is just another reserved teen accused of depression. Losing her parents in a recent car accident she can’t even remember has taken its toll on her, but Audrey knows she’s not mentally depressed. Refusing to speak to her therapist only leads her flustered aunt to the decision to move and start over, hoping Audrey will return to normal over the blistering hot summer in Arizona.
Soon after moving in Audrey finds a diary—one belonging to Margaret Riviera who lived back in the 1930s. The girl speaks of a man that lived next door, who was always watching her. Not long after reading the diary, Audrey begins to see things—spirits tormenting her, horrible nightmares, strange and unexplainable visions, and then there’s the weird house next door, where she sees a man through a house that has been vacant for years.
Trying to figure out the mystery of her evil diary and finding love on the way, Audrey believes she is going insane—this time for real. Of course, there’s no such thing as an evil diary, so her friends and aunt shove the thought aside and tease her about it. But things get serious, and what she’s seeing begins to attack her. She is sent to a mental asylum to get her head back together. Living for months with a bunch of mental patients, Audrey’s visions and hallucinations leave her no choice but to find her source of torment.

Do you like it? Would you read it?
Here’s the link to the chapters if anyone’s interested:

http://www.worthyofpublishing.com/book.asp?book_ID=4027

A: Hi! I think it is very good! Although I don’t know about the last part, about going to a mental institution, but it depends on how it continues. You should watch out because it is very similar to a movie which I don’t remember the name, about this guy who had cancer and moved to a house and everything you say happens to him, so you should check that its not too similar to it (do some research to find it so that you can see it is not too similar to that movie, or you might have some Copyright trouble). And you should also register your idea on Copyright because if you share your ideas so openly on the Internet, anybody could steal them from you and you wouldn’t have any rights on it, so keep an eye on that! You should definitely copyright it, it is a very good argument.
Good luck with your project!

Q: READ PLZ!! To Write Love on Her Arms?
In support of To Write Love on Her Arms, you should write “love” on your arm on November 13th, 2009, National To Write Love on Her Arms Day. This is not an event that you ATTEND, you just simply write “love” on your arm in support.

http://www.twloha.com

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Quick Numbers:

-121 million people worldwide suffer from depression.

-18 million of these cases are happening in the United States.

-Between 20% and 50% of children and teens struggling with depression have a family history of this struggle and the offspring of depressed parents are more than three times as likely to suffer from depression.

-Depression often co-occurs with anxiety disorders and substance abuse, with 30 percent of teens with depression also developing a substance abuse problem.

-2/3 of those suffering from depression never seek treatment.

-Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers.

Here’s where it all began:

Pedro the Lion is loud in the speakers, and the city waits just outside our open windows. She sits and sings, legs crossed in the passenger seat, her pretty voice hiding in the volume. Music is a safe place and Pedro is her favorite. It hits me that she won’t see this skyline for several weeks, and we will be without her. I lean forward, knowing this will be written, and I ask what she’d say if her story had an audience. She smiles. “Tell them to look up. Tell them to remember the stars.”

I would rather write her a song, because songs don’t wait to resolve, and because songs mean so much to her. Stories wait for endings, but songs are brave things bold enough to sing when all they know is darkness. These words, like most words, will be written next to midnight, between hurricane and harbor, as both claim to save her.

Renee is 19. When I meet her, cocaine is fresh in her system. She hasn’t slept in 36 hours and she won’t for another 24. It is a familiar blur of coke, pot, pills and alcohol. She has agreed to meet us, to listen and to let us pray. We ask Renee to come with us, to leave this broken night. She says she’ll go to rehab tomorrow, but she isn’t ready now. It is too great a change. We pray and say goodbye and it is hard to leave without her.

She has known such great pain; haunted dreams as a child, the near-constant presence of evil ever since. She has felt the touch of awful naked men, battled depression and addiction, and attempted suicide. Her arms remember razor blades, fifty scars that speak of self-inflicted wounds. Six hours after I meet her, she is feeling trapped, two groups of “friends” offering opposite ideas. Everyone is asleep. The sun is rising. She drinks long from a bottle of liquor, takes a razor blade from the table and locks herself in the bathroom. She cuts herself, using the blade to write “FUCK UP” large across her left forearm.

The nurse at the treatment center finds the wound several hours later. The center has no detox, names her too great a risk, and does not accept her. For the next five days, she is ours to love. We become her hospital and the possibility of healing fills our living room with life. It is unspoken and there are only a few of us, but we will be her church, the body of Christ coming alive to meet her needs, to write love on her arms.

She is full of contrast, more alive and closer to death than anyone I’ve known, like a Johnny Cash song or some theatre star. She owns attitude and humor beyond her 19 years, and when she tells me her story, she is humble and quiet and kind, shaped by the pain of a hundred lifetimes. I sit privileged but breaking as she shares. Her life has been so dark yet there is some soft hope in her words, and on consecutive evenings, I watch the prettiest girls in the room tell her that she’s beautiful. I think it’s God reminding her.

I’ve never walked this road, but I decide that if we’re going to run a five-day rehab, it is going to be the coolest in the country. It is going to be rock and roll. We start with the basics; lots of fun, too much Starbucks and way too many cigarettes.

A: Thanks so much for getting the word out here to everyone.

I’ve already written “LOVE” on my left arm in big letters.
I also made my friends.

The other day I met someone at the mall who had tattooed the word “LOVE” on her wrist.

Q: Should teenagers have more rights?
Do you think it’s far that teen years are an artificial extension of childhood? The age of maturity keeps changing. At one time a child was considered an adult when they reached puberty. Then it was moved to 18 years old. Now, a child can live at home and act like a dependent up until they are 26 without any problem. Adolescence is an artificial extension of childhood; a segment of society of adults that are still treated like children. The problem with extending a teens childhood years can be frustrating for everyone involved. The teen’s mind and body are telling them they are adults but everyone around them still treats them like a child. The result is anger and depression in most cases. With all the potential being bottled up it starts to boil over into society and into the families. Do you think it’s fair that teenagers can’t vote, have the freedom of true property rights, to sign contracts, work, start businesses, live on their own, and make decisions about education and health care? Should teenagers be allowed to make adult decisions if they are ready? And should the age of majority be lowered to 15 or 16?

Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-danger-of-treating-teens-like-children.html
Devyn A., a lot of 21 year olds are immature too.
The reason why so many teens act stupid when they are actually very smart is simple. They are acting within boundaries given them. When cooped up with hundreds of other teens with aimless lives the results are predictable. They act like all the other teens.

A teen’s world is void of freedom, responsibility, and realism. Instead of working and interacting with adults they spend over 65 hours a week with fellow teens. This huge segment of teens is targeted by aggressive marketers of large businesses. Idle teens with mock-responsibility spend over $200 billion each year on music, clothing, and make-up. They decorate their pseudo-world with posters of pop icons and other meaningless objects. Instead of working along side adults they are warehoused with other teens in a system designed to contain and restrict them.
I think child labor laws and mandatory schooling need to be done away with. I think young people at 14 and 15 are indeed mature enough to be independent, but we have taken away all opportunities for this and have pigeon-holed them into artificial dependence and childhood. I mean crap, juniors and seniors aren’t even allowed to leave school for lunch anymore in a lot of districts. Is there any wonder so many of today’s teens are angry and depressed?
People complain of our disrespect and our outbursts and damage on society, well maybe if adults would give us a voice and allow us to decide things for us, not people who were teenagers way back when.
You all should read The Case Against Adolescence. http://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Adolescence-Rediscovering-Adult/dp/188495670X
I’m 17, by the way

A: Here is Scotland you are classed as an adult when you are 16, you can get married without parents consent, you can legally have sex at 16 but cannot drink alcohol until you are 18 but no matter what age you are your parents will always treat you like a child, I am 54 years old and my mum still tells me how to live my life because she thinks as she is older she knows better.

Q: Am i crazy??????????????????????????????
Mental Health Warning Signs

Symptoms of mental disorders vary depending on the type and severity of the condition. Some general symptoms that may suggest a mental illness include:

In older children and pre-teens

* Abuse of drugs and/or alcohol
* Inability to cope with daily problems and activities
* Changes in sleeping and/or eating habits
* Excessive complaints of physical problems
* Defying authority, skipping school, stealing, or damaging property
* Intense fear of gaining weight
* Long-lasting negative mood, often along with poor appetite and thoughts of death
* Frequent outbursts of anger

I was looking up what was wrong with me… and this is what i saw on a website(http://www.webmd.com/depression/mental-health-warning-signs). All except 1 or 2 are true about me. I admit i smoked weed from the 8th grade, took esctacy 3 or 4 times and shroomed only once. But im in 11th grade now and i’ve been sober off of any type of drug for about 4 months. I used to be very nervous when i was talking to other people especially girls…. I can’t stop thinking about how screwed up this world is… Don’t tell me i should go seek some help cause that’s why i’m writing this to get help from people with intelligent replys.

A: No ur not crazy ur a teenager n most adults 4got wat its like 2 b 1. They 4get the peer pressure the need 4 acceptance e.t.c endurance builds strength n character. If u hav no experiences how do kno wat life really is about? Drugs r not a solution there an alterated effect of enjoyment that passes quickly. Its normal 2 feel selfconscious when tlkin 2 grls there very difficult species 2 understand especially at ur age. Take some time out n reevaluate ur life the people n thngs that r henderin u eliminate out ur life move forward on a positive road. Do wats best 4 u take care of u. N keep livin b.cuz through every dark nite is a brighter day ahead.

Q: Concurrent diagnoses – bipolar and borderline personality?
I know that there’s a lot of similarity between borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder so I was wondering whether or not you could have them both at once? I’m curious as to how you could label the mood lability as being due to one or the other because they both feature mood instability.

I’ve been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder amongst other things – including clinical depression and the other day I eavesdropped on my psychiatrist (who was talking about me in the corridor to his registrar) and he mentioned bipolar disorder (but didn’t bring it up in the consult). I think he might be on the right track, given my history with medications and a few other things that have happened.

So can you have both at once? Or would a bipolar diagnosis make them reconsider my other diagnoses?

Thanks in advance.

A: i think it would make them reconsider the original diagnosis of BPD. But BPD is a personality disorder whereas bi polar is a mood disoreder, so i think it is possible to have both

Q: Your opinion if I have Asperger’s?
I’m not asking for a diagnosis just an opinion if you think I COULD have it or if I should get tested for it? I’d REALLY like to put a name to my problems. They are really starting to affect my life right now and I’m frustrated because I’ve always known I wasn’t “normal”. I’ve done a little research on it …actually accidently while I was just watching You Tube video’s on mental disorders that interest me to find out more about them. So now I’m thinking I just might have found an answer to my own problems. If you don’t think it could be Aspergers, is there something similar that my problems could fit into it?
Me: (I’m 39 yrs old -female)
-hate to be interrupted when I’m doing something
-I always say I’m a “creature of habit”. Same routes driving, etc
-stress out, irritated, upset when I have to entertain or if someone drops by unexpectedly
-don’t like to be “over hugged” or “over touched”
-don’t like noise or commotion -can’t concentrate or think clearly
-don’t make conversation or small talk well AT ALL
-put on a facade at work to be ‘normal’ and ’social’
-prefer to be alone. Irritated if I have to deal with people when I want to be alone
-don’t talk much at all. I listen and think more.
-I get really “into” things particularily computer games. I play way too much and neglect everything else. Younger it used to be chat rooms. I only want to do that one thing and nothing else. Having to sway from it makes me angry and I dread having to leave it. I call it “hiding out”
-I tend to turn conversations back to being about myself. If someone has an experience I compulsively have the need to tell them my own story about something similar.
-I have a hard time caring about someone else’s day. I never ask my kids or my husband how their day was but freely tell them how mine was (self centered)
-I feel I have a bit of OCD
-stimulated and need to go decompress
-I talk and people are like just looking at me again like I’m stupid and then I start listening to myself and realize I’m rambling on about something so totally unrelated to what we were talking about then I feel stupid and get uncomfortable and don’t know how to end the stupid story I was telling because I realized how unrelated it was to anything
-I need to plan…EVERYTHING
-I obsess about things. Lost items. Arguments. When someone has done me wrong.
-I hate meeting new people, parties, visiting
-I find it hard to look people in the eye. I avert my vision elsewhere. I have to force myself to look people in the eye
-Introverted
-I can’t stand repetitive noises
-Have a hard time lying and making up lies
-quick temper
-diagnosed with clinical depression 1996
-hard time sympathizing even with my kids
-feel immature.

I had to repost. It was too long the first time and it cut off alot of it. Sorry :/
There’s more but I figured it was too long already.
Some things I DON’T think I have pertaining to Aspergers:
-Not REALLY freaked out if my routine changes. I just get annoyed if someone calls me into work on my day off and I have to stop what I’m doing… even if I’m doing nothing!
-High intelligence
-Obsessive about interests (maybe slightly)
-The only sensory overload I think I have is noise
-I don’t know about missing facial cues. Never really noticed.
-I definitely have the lack of eye contact but no facial grimaces or weird body postures (at least I don’t think so! )

A: Well, I guess some of your symptoms point to that…

but i wouldnt worry about it… if youve been living like that your whole life, Im sure you’ll be fine(:

Q: My chances of acceptance into a master’s program…?
If I keep refreshing the webportal page that could potentially reveal my admissions status, I’m going to go nuts…

I applied to SDSU, SFSU, and Chico State and prefer that order, respectively. I want nothing more than to make this happen but I need some honest answers as to my chances of getting into the MFT program and counseling.

GRE scores: 560 Q/460 V/5.0 AW with an overall 3.5 GPA

I’ve had research experience in two studies, one of which I co-authored and presented at an international conference with two publications in cognitive/consciousness research. The study included an instrument I helped develop that has concluded to, by operational definition, “measure” an individual’s level of consciousness based on defining answers to certain questions that measure certain aspects of thought, creativity, and awareness.

I have plenty of community and academic involvement with an A.A. and B.A. in psychology with 4 letters of recommendation submitted– 3 of the 4 I would consider to be outstanding faculty/professional references with what I consider to be a more in-depth analysis of my character and potential from people I was close to (the 4th recommendation was from an employer who simply said I would be a great candidate with the ability to connect and the desire to help). My personal essay was honest (without sounding too pathetic or personal) with statements I felt to be a powerful illustration of my insatiable need for this opportunity. I had also included excerpts from my research in case it was needed for anything, including the methodology and statistical analysis portion.

I come from a very diverse, single-parent household with enough problems to fill a personal DSM-IV book. Granted, plenty of people have had a worse life than me– but with having experienced many issues, both personal and in the family, ranging from substance/physical/sexual abuse to clinical diagnosis of manic/bi-polar/depression (not all me) AND being involved in the family court system since the age of 5, I’m hoping that my own personal schema of life has a fair enough advantage in being able to say I can relate and connect a little more to some.

I want to be confident, really, but I also don’t know how these people think or what may put me ahead/behind the game that I hadn’t considered. Please tell me what you think my chances are…and if I’m invited for the group interview on March 20th, what suggestions and tips would you have for me in blowing them out of the water?

Thank you…really, if you take the time to help me out here, many, MANY thanks…
For the record, I didn’t specify nor elaborate on personal experiences about myself or family…I had only added that I had been through my share of hardships but, if anything, it taught me at a young age what relationships were and how I could benefit myself and others from it. My essay extended more into knowing that this is my life path and I wish to extend what I can to others.

A: “I come from a very diverse, single-parent household with enough problems to fill a personal DSM-IV book. Granted, plenty of people have had a worse life than me– but with having experienced many issues, both personal and in the family, ranging from substance/physical/sexual abuse to clinical diagnosis of manic/bi-polar/depression (not all me) AND being involved in the family court system since the age of 5, I’m hoping that my own personal schema of life has a fair enough advantage in being able to say I can relate and connect a little more to some.”

This amounts to “special pleading”. It probably lowered your chances of acceptance.

Q: Should I be petrified of the psychiatrist?
my mom is making me go see one here in the next few days, but previous she thought it was best if i viewed some mental health websites to get a better idea of where i stand…. not as a diagnosis tool. i received bipolar 2 ” whatever the diff is” and high likely high symptoms of clinical depression.

as i read up on these doctors i get freaked out, thinking there going to be like those doctors you see in the movies ” silent hill” and only want to admit me in to the hospital. im really scarred, and i also read they give you pshyicals, i don’t like this idea please help me

i tried a psychologist not the answer because ive bin there done that, nothing worked because id always fall back into tho’s massive slumps of whatever FML., i don’t have the mind setting or the will power, meaning my brain liquids i guess are a tad off balance?

D:

“help
also, what exzactly is borderline personality? i hear it sometimes happens to people after they go through sorts of abuse?
nope i dont think. i dont live for the day nor for the next. lost all sense of reality and loosing all sense of disbelief?

omgdid i just say?

im scurrrrrrd here. i just dont wana freaky doc thats going to bugg me out on crazy meds
!
oh and when i meant freaky doc, i once went to a ear doctor who was really crazy and had me sit in a metal chair with all this odd old looking equipment. his pupils were dialated and didnt speak good english. now i know hollywood is not where you should get your med advice from. keep the answers coming, it will help the little berdies inside calm down D:

jkjk.

A: No, psychiatrists are not like in the movies. Mostly because it costs a lot of money to admit people to hospitals and they can’t afford it… partially because they actually don’t like cutting people off from normal society and their support group, they want to help in the best way possible. Even those who have to be in hospital, they put as muich effort into getting them re-integrated into society as soon as it’s safe. It’s basically a last resort. They will prescribe drugs when necessary, and these are designed to help with as few side effects as possible. They are to re-balance your brain liquids, in effect. You may be given therapy as well, to help you cope in day to day life. Psychiatrists and psychologists are different things.

Psychiatrists are not evil. Hollywood prefers it when they are, it’s more dramatic. Silent hill is not a good source.

Q: What is wrong with my brother?
My brother is twenty years old, holds a job at a video game store, and has been diagnosed with clinical depression and recently attempted suicide for the first time (in the past he would threaten it to get out of responsibility). While this is his only diagnosis, I feel there are other mental disorders affecting him because of his other habits/behaviors.

He is EXTREMELY lazy at home, never does chores, and always has an excuse for why he can’t (too tired, has work in 4 hours, etc). He is also a compulsive liar. He will lie about even mundane things. Anything bad that happens to him is always someone else’s fault. He is intensely secretive and soemtimes cannot follow simple logic; his own logic is often faulty.

Strangely, he is extremely extroverted in public and seems overly friendly to strangers (some think he’s gay). He makes friends quickly, but cannot keep them because of his narcissistic tendencies. He is easy to take advantage of—he will naively do almost anything a stranger asks him to, partly because his self-esteem is so low.

His IQ is off the charts, but he does not put it to use. Instead he works and then plays video games or surfs the internet into the wee hours of the morning (5:00-a.m. on average, and then goes to work as early as 11:00 a.m.) Before he was started on anti-depressants, he used to fly off the handle and have violent tantrums almost daily. He is the most negative and cynical person imaginable.

My brother has hinted—indirectly and unintentionally—that he plans on living with my parents forever and seems terrified of responsibility and living on his own. There is no doubt in my mind that he is incapable of doing so.

I have known others with depression who function far better than my brother. His compulsive lying and his problems with logic in particular suggest something more, perhaps a personality disorder. We have looked into Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism), Bi-polar Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder, among other possibilities. There is also a strong possibility that he is gay, which could explain much of his inner turmoil, but wouldn’t explain any of his other maladaptive behaviors. If he is gay, he will undoubtedly take that to the grave—and not because the family would be unsupportive (we would be supportive), but due to his supreme secrecy.

I personally think there must be multiple other conditions at play here which exacerbate his depression. He really seems like some sort of idiot savant. Any thoughts on what else he might have? We’re very worried about his future.

A: The fact that his IQ is “off the charts” is interesting. When one thing is out of balance, even in a good way, something else may be out of balance (not so good).

Have you looked at Borderline Personality Disorder? There are some fits. The suicidal tendency fits. Overly charming, and yet unable to maintain relationships. (idealization and devaluation). Not wanting to leave your parents, and terrified to do so. (attachment disorder). Brilliant but working in a video game store (not sure what he wants to be. No sense of “self”). Gaming until all house (compulsive behavior). He sounds a bit like lot like my BPD sister, BS and law degree, works part time out of her home because that’s all she’s able to do, has tantrums and drives people away, but is overly charming alternating with horrible behavior, trying to get friends and then getting frustrated. Also, consider whether the lying may in some cases by psychotic episodes. Sometimes, it is hard to distinguish whether someone is lying, or whether they think that what they are saying is real.

Q: My health has hit a brick wall. Any suggestions?
Hi everyone! Could really use some help on this one, or feel free to make suggestions or present any ideas. Ideas are something my doctor and I are running out of so could use some fresh perspectives!

I’m 24, female. My medical history doesn’t involve a lot of medical visits due to a rural upbringing so I’m just starting to deal with some long due issues now. This explains why I don’t have many diagnoses for my problems.

Long-term (10+ years) I have struggled with clinical depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, excessive irritability and muscle tension and migraines. Muscle tension is primarily throughout the neck, back, shoulders. Irritability pertains to almost everything, temperature and light sensitivity. Sensation irritability, such as the tag in a shirt, I was cutting these all out when I was 5, and it was so painful if I didn’t that I would cry.

The last 5+ years I’ve developed some more problems including stomach irritability and food sensitivities. I start my day feeling very nauseous and this persists through most days. I rarely eat because I feel bloated and like vomiting afterward. I unintentionally vomit frequently. I experience a lot of digestive discomfort and irregular stool. I seem to either be constipated or have diarrhea, there’s rarely an in between.

I’ve always had a general sense of not feeling well, but the last two years it has become constant. I constantly have cold symptoms, sore throat, blocked sinuses, coughing. I also frequently have flu symptoms, fatigue, fever and vomiting. More recently I’ve become absolutely exhausted. Simple tasks can be near impossible. I wake up tired and this never goes away.

My muscle tension has also increased greatly. My neck is often in so much pain I can’t move it. Beginning any activity soon results in me on the couch crying in pain. My headaches are also a near constant. The tension seems to have constricted my breathing as well where I feel I can only take short, shallow breaths.

Quite possibly due to all of the above, the depression and anxiety have greatly worsened. I now often have too much anxiety to even leave home, so I basically only go anywhere if I can get my husband to go with me.

So now I’m in a position where my quality of life is very poor. I don’t feel well enough to do even simple tasks or visit friends and I’ve become too sick to maintain employment. Being sick is very bad for relationships, I feel for my poor husband who has been great through all this. I feel pretty useless. I want to get better and get on with my life. I’ve seen several doctors, and most doctors when presented with someone like me just aren’t up to the challenge. I’ve found one who has run an array of tests, but so far nothing has shined a light. I’m at a point where I don’t want there to be anything wrong with me, but there obviously is so I would at least like a diagnosis so I can work from there.

Well, that probably wasn’t the most fun read. Thanks for sticking around! So…any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Thank you!

A: Since the doctor did tests – did he/she rule out lupus? It can be diagnosed with blood tests.
I would ask that doctor what the tests ruled out, and what that leaves open.
Also, you might want to ask about food allergies.
If you don’t get answers from the doctor, ask for a referral to a specialist in nerve disorders. List all your symptoms – especially the ones where you’re sensitive to light and touch.
Good Luck!

Q: I’m not really sure what to believe between doctors?
I’ve always had depression and anger issues and and a gradually increasing OCD issue.
I’ve gone to many therapists and psychiatrists and been on many medications and been hospitalized and I still don’t understand why no one can tell me what condition I have. I am almost 18 and have been seeing therapists since I was 4.

I have been diagnosed with:
Borderline Personality Disorder
ADHD
Clinical Depression/Manic-Depressive Disorder
Schizophrenia
Bipolar Disorder
Night Terrors
Insomnia
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

I honestly think that’s almost the whole list of psychological disorders.

I don’t really understand why I have to be told what I’m feeling but after so many diagnosis’ I am naturally going to be curious.

I self-mutilated from 7th-11th grade on my arms and hands and was further hospitalized multiple times. I had overdosed three times and had tried to bleed out twice. I have restrained myself for quite some time and still hope to stay that way but there’s always a fear that it is only hidden, not cured.

I have always been naturally very smart and ahead of others in knowledge but always felt the lack of needing to impress others around me so school work was mainly average.
My father was and still currently is an alcoholic and I always stood up for both myself and my mother and I’ve always been naturally attached to animals spiritually and too emotionally and have lost a lot of that love in the past. I am adopted and always felt detached from my adoptive family and had learned later that I have an additional 3 brothers and 2 sisters, a meth-addicted biological mother, and a father that was in and out of jail. So I believe I’m lucky to be with a family who can at least support me.

For examples, I have been prescribed Trazodone, Prozac, Sertraline and a few others which I can’t really remember or pronounce all too well.

I hope that in some way you can help me with what could be a hidden issue or a condition that would make more sense or a new idea to help with any condition I might have. Thank you for reading this if you have gotten this far, I’m sorry it was so long.
And I have always felt an overwhelming thought that there is just something different or unknown about me, I can’t really explain it in any real form — in person or in literature. I write poetry and play music to inspire myself to open up but the words never sound right or simple enough to tell what I really mean. I feel like I’m put here for a real purpose; a very important purpose. But how would I even begin to understand it at all? That’s what nags at me constantly.

A: I believe it is due to your age. They usually don’t give you a formal diagnosis until your 18. I am severly bipolar and suffer occasional psychosis from it. I take Depakote Lamictal Geodon and Klonopin. It’s a terrible disease to live with but hey it could be worse! I know that I always had “issues” but I didn’t peak until I turned 21. So continue seaking help! You will be fine if you stick to your meds! No amount of counseling can fix a chemical problem! good luck!!! <3 I am here if u need to talk!

Q: Derealization/depersonaliation with a feeling of no self control…?
I often suffer from periods of ‘derealisation’. I am using this as a loose term, as it is the closest description that matched my episodes that my psychiatrist coudl come up with.
However, having done a lot of research online since finding this ‘label’, I have found that it distinctly lacks the main structure of my episodes because, whilst I feel like I am isolated from my actual body, I also feel like an overriding feeling/power/voice (without trying to sound cliche) has taken over, or is intructing me what to do. Rather than this being a form of schizophrenia, which I suppose it probably sounds like, I refuse to believe that I have literally switched personalities. It is more like this voice/feeling makes me feel like everything I do cannot be done fast/well enough, and no matter what it is I am trying to accomplish, I cannot make it happen. These things can be as simple as getting ready for the day ahead in a hurry. They become of ultimate importance, but, no matter what, there is a sense that I am failing.

This is not a reserved, or repressed approach to feeling of little use, I have also been a sufferer of clinical depression, I would liken it more to a sense of extreme panic and urgency. I also suffer from ‘normal’ (oh the irony?!) panic attacks, anxiety and OCD, three things that are so often related to the cause of derealisation and depersonalisation,

Please could someone shed some light on my situation ASAP, I feel like I am going mad and that the ‘I hear voices in my head’ cliche is just too scary to deal with by myself. I am seeing a professional doctor about this, so please don’t presume I am doing this by myself/ self diagnosed. However, he did not come up with a clear cut diagnosis, and this is what I seek in order to get better!

Thanks in advance xxx

A: Consider to get a second opinion from another specialist.
I was diagnosed by two specialists: a therapist & a psychiatrist.
Both diagnoses have to match in order to be valued.

I wish you all the best!

Q: How are complex eating disorders usually treated?
I’m especially curious about people that have been treated in Scandinavia (specifically Norway), but anyone’s experience is welcome.

I’ve been diagnosed with Tourette’s, OCD, BPD, GAD/agoraphobia, and clinical depression. I don’t respond at all to SSRIs, and have to be careful with meds because the few that work for other symptoms have tended to make the Tourette’s unbearable. I’m currently on no meds, but I’m not exactly high-functioning right now either.

Over the last few years, I’ve developed purging disorder as what seems to be a Tourette’s tic or stress response. Originally weight may have factored in a little (I put on a lot of weight quickly on Zyprexa/Effexor/Remeron), but it’s definitely not the main issue. Eating causes such physical discomfort that I can’t concentrate on anything else until I purge, and it feels just like suppressing a Tourette’s tic.

I’ve lost a lot of weight in a short period of time, and I would like to stop purging, but when I try to ignore the discomfort it becomes mentally and physically overwhelming. I’ve recently been seeing a specialist, my next appointment is in a few weeks, to get a diagnosis and treatment plan, but I’m wondering how things like this are usually treated? I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I just moved to Norway and don’t have any local support (friends or family) which I know is usually recommended when trying to overcome an eating disorder. I’m just wondering what to expect.

A: If you wonder how eating disorders in Norway usually are treated (if I understood you correctly) it depends very much from case to case, but it is normal to get a diet plan to follow with a minimum amount of food you must eat. Weekly appointments with a doctor, sometimes more often, sometimes more seldom including weight, (blood pressure and/or blood tests if the condition require it).

The diet plan will be made in a way to make you gain x pounds a week, and it will be constantly changed to make sure you gain those x pounds.

You might also get an appointment to a psychologist.

If you’re in an eating disorder clinic, or a hospital of some kind, the treatment will be different.

Were you using meds for tourette’s or something else?

I wish you good luck, and if you want to talk about anything, send me a mail at runnering90@yahoo.com

Q: Please read and help me, self control, derealisation etc!!!!!?
I often suffer from periods of ‘derealisation’. I am using this as a loose term, as it is the closest description that matched my episodes that my psychiatrist coudl come up with.
However, having done a lot of research online since finding this ‘label’, I have found that it distinctly lacks the main structure of my episodes because, whilst I feel like I am isolated from my actual body, I also feel like an overriding feeling/power/voice (without trying to sound cliche) has taken over, or is intructing me what to do. Rather than this being a form of schizophrenia, which I suppose it probably sounds like, I refuse to believe that I have literally switched personalities. It is more like this voice/feeling makes me feel like everything I do cannot be done fast/well enough, and no matter what it is I am trying to accomplish, I cannot make it happen. These things can be as simple as getting ready for the day ahead in a hurry. They become of ultimate importance, but, no matter what, there is a sense that I am failing.

This is not a reserved, or repressed approach to feeling of little use, I have also been a sufferer of clinical depression, I would liken it more to a sense of extreme panic and urgency. I also suffer from ‘normal’ (oh the irony?!) panic attacks, anxiety and OCD, three things that are so often related to the cause of derealisation and depersonalisation,

Please could someone shed some light on my situation ASAP, I feel like I am going mad and that the ‘I hear voices in my head’ cliche is just too scary to deal with by myself. I am seeing a professional doctor about this, so please don’t presume I am doing this by myself/ self diagnosed. However, he did not come up with a clear cut diagnosis, and this is what I seek in order to get better!

Thanks in advance xxx

A: Get out of the problem and into the solution.

You know your symptoms, you know your behaviors, so instead of focusing on all that, and getting yourself scared to death and more confused, why not just spend your time getting better.

Find solutions and work towards them.

That overriding critical voice that hung over my shoulder for so long and kept telling me I wasn’t good enough was just the echo of an overly critical parent with major problems of her own. Just tell it to shut up and fill your head with sweet thoughts. Be as persistant as that damned voice.

Let the panic attack roll. Let it do it’s thing, shake your body, make you tremble, whatever, but don’t get emotionally involved. Just wait for it to pass.

Got depression? Fight back. It’s your body, your life. Fight to spend it the way you want to. You are stronger than you think.

Q: I’ve Diagnosed Myself…Now What?
For a long time I struggled with the possibility of having clinical depression. However, over time, I realized that my symptoms exactly match that of Hypomania [mild variation Bipolar Disorder]. There are depressive episodes, cycling and varying with the manic periods. As a psych student, further research and understanding only asserts my beliefs.
I worry that I could just be a hypochondriac and that I just ”want” the disorder, if that makes any sense. I also feel that walking into a psych office or clinic, with this self-diagnosis, won’t work out so well. Any ideas on what I should do? Thanks for any advice you guys can offer!

A: You should see a medical professional and get a proper diagnosis. You may be right, but the professionals know best and would be able to prescribe the correct medication to control your symptoms.

Q: Complex PTSD panic attack help?
I hope someone can help me. Feel suicidal.
I have clinical depression and for 30 years have suffered from panic attacks with agoraphobia. I overcame much of the latter by using valium, (not all the time and not everyday). No anti-depressants or CBT helped at all.
Last week a new psychiatrist (not referred by my gp) actually sat down and read my 30 year history and said that he could not believe all the other doctors missed the fact that I have complex PTSD. (Before that I was called borderline personality). The two can have similar symptoms, and I agree that I have some so-called borderline traits, but not enough for a diagnosis. He is also a specialist in addictions and said I am not addicted to valium ( I am psychologically dependent).
He now wants to put me on a high dose of prozac, and restrict the valium, (I take 5 per week). About 4 months ago, a close (in my face neighbour) harassed me so much that all the ptsd symptoms reappeared, this has occurred before, in that case I’d up the valium for two weeks, then drop it back down again – this helped regain my confidence, but I would always decrease the dose because I am very well aware of potential physical addiction.
I went to see my gp who refused to temporarily increase the dose, and gave me self-help books (recommended by Oprah !). I began losing more and more confidence and the ability to leave the house unaided, I saw him again, andhe tried to tell me I was bipolar and still refused to help – instead,he’s made me out to be a drug seeker (I have no history of this) and I have to go to the
chemist to get 5 tablets each week, like a drug addict. I hate this. I hate him
Agoraphobia is hell. Not only on the sufferer, but also because I have become dependent on my daughter to shop for me etc and she’s only 19 years old. I haven’t seen my partner for 3 months because I am so embarrassed about the panic. I sleep on the couch with my clothes on, I rarely wash because I feel vulnerable with nothing on. The telephone is muted as the ring makes me have an attack.I am scared of people visiting. I horde the valium I do get for when I absolutely HAVE to leave the house
like seeing the doctor. There are no doctors taking new patients in this place so I am stuck with this one
Sorry this is so long

A: AGORAPHOBIA often occurs as a result of having had a panic attack in a public place, and not wanting to repeat that experience outside of a place where someone feels safe, which is usually at home, in a place where they feel exposed, and unable to get help quickly. 85% of people are suggestible, to some degree, so you could either seek professional hypnotherapy, or more alternatives along such lines are on page 1, at 8m.com, below, about agoraphobia. At the first sign of one, employ an ANTI PANIC ATTACK breathing technique. Advice from a clinical psychologist is to breathe in to the count of 3: (one thousand one; one thousand two; one thousand three) each takes around a second to say to yourself, in your mind, and out to the count of 3. Keep repeating this until the panic subsides, which will deal with the hyperventilation aspect. View http://deeplyrelax.com & www.deepsloweasy.com/html/intro.htm Note: the controlled breathing only helps with the symptoms, as do medications/herbal remedies. Address the underlying cause, which requires some form of therapy; see your-mental-health.8m.com, below, re anxiety, on pages 1, h, & i. Page h shows the difference between panic, and anxiety attacks.

Read: When Panic Attacks: The New, Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life, by David D. Burns (2007), & Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick by David Carbonell, & “Power Over Panic”, by Bronwyn Fox, from your bookstore, or enter “panic attacks” in the searchbar at Amazon.com for more media. Some people recommend nettle tea, with a little honey. Others use Lavender tea, Lemon Balm, Chamomile, but use no milk or cream with herbal teas, or Valerian (caution: use it for 3 weeks at most!). Know how these affect you before driving, or doing anything dangerous, and it is far better to use the treatments, rather than relying on herbal remedies. Free online PANIC COURSE – www.panic-attacks.co.uk also available by email. See the section on panic attacks at www.mind.org.uk also Ebooklet form. They recommend letting a panic attack run its course, without doing anything to treat it, so you KNOW you will survive it. The usual maximum is 30 minutes, until symptoms begin to subside. Also see www.anxietypanic.com/signs.html and http://www.onestepatatime.com (chatroom, and one free email is allowed to their resident expert on joining [free] – more if a paid up member) and

www.medicinenet.com/panic_disorder/artic… and www.squidoo.com/controlpanicattack/modul… and http://www.anxietynetwork.com Practice a relaxation method, daily, and when needed, such as http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html or http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody/a/Meditation.htm or http://www.wikihow.com/Meditate or Yoga Nidra, (a series of easy mental exercises only; no flexibility required) at http://your-mental-health.8m.com/blank_11.html Hypnosis alternatives are on page 1, at 8m.com, about panic. PTSD; see pages 1 & Q; use the EFT for PTSD; seek EMDR therapy.

Q: Can chronic stress lower testosterone levels?
Hey, I’m a 19 year old college freshman. It sounds hard to believe coming from a 19 year old guy, but please hear me out. I suspect that my testosterone levels have been depressed by severe, chronic stress.

I’ve experienced chronic stress day in and day out for the last 3 years (junior through senior years of high school) because of a case of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD (it was diagnosed a couple months ago). I did well freshman year and managed to survive sophomore year, but junior and senior years got the better of me. I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t get my homework done; the last two years of high school were miserable… The chronic stress definitely caused some depression and anxiety, although the depression wasn’t severe enough to be ‘clinical’ depression. Fortunately, I went to my college’s counseling center and they diagnosed the ADHD, which in retrospect was blatantly obvious.

Since then, I have done much better because I understand why I did so bad in my junior and senior years. I had assumed that your successes earlier were simply because I was a big fish in a small pond, and when I went to the big pond (last couple years of high school), I couldn’t cut it. Now, all of the pieces have been put together…almost. I had always assumed that I had suffered from depression and anxiety due to the stress that the undiagnosed ADHD had caused. I didn’t think of my testosterone levels.

But I stumbled upon a site that listed the possible symptoms of testosterone deficiency:

* A lack of energy;
* Low libido (sex drive);
* Depression;
* Irritability;
* Fatigue;
* Postural problems;
* Increased blood pressure;
* Loss of muscle;
* You exercise consistently but can’t add any lean muscle;
* Loss of muscular strength;
* Loss of muscular endurance;
* Physical height reduction;
* Your erections are not “rock hard”;
* Sleep disorders.

I suffered from pretty much all of the above, and still do to a large extent. Even though the depression and the anxiety have been 85% quelled, I still have suffer from irritability, fatigue, loss of muscular strength and endurance, and most pronounced, sleeping problems.

Undoubtedly, I born with a high level of ‘endogenous testosterone.’ My ring finger is significantly longer than my index finger (This isn’t BS, the digit ratio is affected by the testosterone levels in the womb, and the ratio remains constant throughout the lifespan). I know from experience what it’s like to have high testosterone. You’re uninhibited, fearless, active (and want to be active), focused (in spite of the ADHD), have a thick skin, are hardly ever tired, and sleep soundly (the opposite of what’s going on right now!!!). Whole groups of girls would be into me…I won’t lie. And I’m guessing girls subconsciously know if you have high levels of T. I definitely feel like I’ve lost the “it” factor. Especially in sports – I earned a varsity letter in track and field as a freshman and I was overall good at sports and in good shape, but now I’m somewhere between average and couch potato, and 10 pounds overweight.

I know that I’m only 19, but I have read on many reputable health websites that low testosterone can happen at any age, especially if you have experienced chronic stress (I was close to a nervous breakdown for two years.) I feel like there’s something wrong with my body, and I don’t feel like the same person I was when I was younger.

My diagnosis of ADHD has taught me an important lesson: if there is a change in your behavior, school performance, and whatever that cannot be accounted for, make sure you get help and find out what’s going on. I suspect that my testosterone levels might have been depressed from its natural level due to chronic stress. When my academic performance changed dramatically, it wasn’t because I couldn’t ’swim with the big fishes.’ It was because I had ADHD (and now I am doing MUCH better in school). Along the same line of reasoning, when my personality has changed this dramatically, perhaps I shouldn’t just say: ‘oh, this is how you really are, just accept it.’ Maybe there’s a definite cause (low T), just like there was a definite cause for my drop in academic performance (undiagnosed ADHD).

What do you guys think? Should I make an appointment with my family physician? Thanks very much for your help and advice.

A: YEp. too long question!!=(

Q: Do you think I am an alcoholic?
Ok, so I’ve looked up the “definition” of alcoholism and can’t really find a common or “official” proclamation on what makes an alcoholic an alcoholic. I will apologize for anything that doesn’t make sense as I am, ironically, very drunk.
I do a lot of problem drinking, not just general “bad day” so I pull out the bourbon and drain it, but really depressing times, I drink a lot, sometimes going to a bar with a couple friends, but usually, I sit at my home bar and drink until I’m either happy again or I pass out. I can drink socially without getting drunk, usually at a bar because people always try to start sh-t (college bars) and I need to be able to kick some @ss if I have to. I do drive sh!tfaced sometimes but have never been pulled over despite having LEOs behind me, but they usually turn off so I guess I’m not a bad driver drunk. I don’t have a family (usually the reason the whiskey comes out) so I don’t worry about scarring nonexistent kids or hurting my wife (although I’m not violent, drunk or sober unless physically threatened). Both of my biological parents are alcoholics so I know I am at risk. I also have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder although the diagnosis has been called into question due to how mild the symptoms are, it might just be depression, idk, I studied law not psych lol. The purpose for my problem drinking is always to get drunk and to feel better so I usually drink tons of whatever I have, Irish whiskey, bourbon, brandy, beer, rum, etc.

So hopefully I wasn’t confusing, but just to clarify, in your professional opinion, or in your opinion based on research, counselling, or other clinical, professional or student based work or education, am I an alcoholic or just a really pissed off guy who has no other coping mechanism?
@Kim L. Thanks for your reply but it should be noted that I am 22 years old, well above the drinking limit in most countries, however I’m also an American living in the US and was legal (21) in 2009, I thought this had been implied by the comment of going to the local college bars, which typically do not allow anyone under 21 to enter. Thanks.

A: It sounds like you started drinking as you were unable to cope with your feelings and now you do not know any other way to get through dealing with your emotions. You certainly do have a drink problem and you sound like you want to do something about it as you are thinking about it. You really need to talk to your doctor about your relying on drink. It is not about having family but it is about stopping yourself getting to the point were you are no longer able to work or even afford to keep a roof over your head as all you care about is getting a drink. This is the last thing that you want to happen so please talk to your doctor now before you get any more addicted to alcohol.

Q: Can someone please edit my essay for social work?
I decided that I wanted to be a social worker when I realized that social work is very similar to psychology( my major in undergrad), except it puts more emphasis on helping people and finding their strengths rather than giving them a diagnosis and being predominantly problem-focused. My own decision in enjoying helping people with their problems influenced me to want to pursue a profession in social work.

Becoming a full professional with a graduate degree in Social Work represents the culmination of a life long of personal and professional preparation. I have so enjoyed working with people, helping them with their problems. At 34, I feel that I have the necessary maturity to perform at my very best level, again, as a student. I now also have a high level of motivation that accompanies my current position working with incarcerated youth, mostly minority. However, I am deeply concerned by the explosive incarceration rates in America, and the way African Americans and Hispanics lead the way going to jail, rather than college, working, etc. This sense of urgency makes me an excellent candidate for your Master’s program because I am so fully engaged with my place of employment. It is my sincere hope to be able to make some modest contribution to discussions of how to best counsel and care for at-risk youths, in my case my research interest is in boys, especially those at-risk for spending their young adulthood behind bars.My inspiration and level of motivation, it all speaks to be graduate school as a place where I belong.

I am currently working at Harbor View Adolescent Center as a Youth Counselor for incarcerated youth with behavioral and emotional problems in a residential treatment facility. In my job as a youth counselor, my primary work responsibility was to serve as a positive role model for adolescents aged twelve to eighteen. The residents had backgrounds of being homeless and victims of physical and sexual abuse. Some of them were also dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and the criminal justice system. At times, my job was extremely stressful. But I discovered that I had the ability to connect with the adolescents and develop strong emotional ties with them. I focused on helping them with their social skills, coping skills, and independent living skills. My main goal was to help them build their self-esteem and improve their sense of security.

The adolescents that I worked with in the residential treatment facility at times would get physically assaultive, throwing chairs and banging their heads on the doors. They would also exhibit self-harming behaviors. It was during these crisis situations that I would get stuck in knowing the best clinical approach to use when they were self-harming. I would like to have better tools for helping these kids when they are in crisis, and whether those interventions are well supported by the literature. I hope that with the aid of a Master’s degree in Social Work I will be able to do just that. I will be able to help my kids in crisis and am at teaching them the necessary skills so that they can transition into more independent living.

These youth need all the help and attention we can give them in order to fight recidivism, especially African American and Hispanic males, who continue to come back into our system.If you were to grant me the privilege of studying in your program, I hope to be able to research the recidivisim rates of black and Hispanic juveniles and young adoelscents so as to contribute to our understanding of how we can best go about saving their lives and, at the same time, easing the financial burdens on our society.

A: My suggestions are in CAPS…good luck in your career our youth need more individuals like you : )
I decided (OMIT that) I wanted to beCOME a social worker when I realized that Social Work is very similar to Psychology(my major in undergrad). SIMILAR WITH THE exceptION THAT it puts more emphasis on helping people (PMIT and) FIND their strengths, rather than giving them a diagnosis and being predominantly problem-focused. My own EXPERIENCE in helping people with their problems, AND ENJOYING IT, influenced me to (OMIT want to) pursue a profession in Social Work.

Becoming a full professional with a graduate degree in Social Work represents the culmination of MANY YEARS of personal and professional preparation. I have ALWAYS enjoyed working with people AND helping them with their problems. At 34, I feel that I have the MATURITY NECESSARY to perform at my (OMIT very) best level ONCE again, as a student. I ALSO have a high level of motivation that accompanies my current position. I work with incarcerated youth WHO, BY THE WAY, ARE mostly minoritIES. (OMIT However,) I am deeply concerned by the explosive incarceration rates in America, SPECIFICALLY the way African-Americans and Hispanics lead the way IN going to jail, rather than college, work, etc. I FEEL this sense of urgency makes me an excellent candidate for your Master’s Program because I am so fully engaged AT my place of employment. It is my sincere hope to be able to CONTRIBUTE to discussions of how to best counsel and care for at-risk youths. My research interest FOCUSES ON boys, especially those at risk for spending their young adulthood behind bars. (SORRY BUT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL – NOT SURE WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO SAY) My inspiration and level of motivation, it all speaks to be graduate school as a place where I belong.

I am currently working at Harbor View Adolescent Center. I AM a Youth Counselor for incarcerated youth with behavioral and emotional problems in a residential treatment facility. In my job as a youth counselor, my primary work responsibility IS to serve as a positive role model for adolescents aged twelve to eighteen. The residents haVE backgrounds of homelessNESS and ARE ALSO victims of physical and sexual abuse. Some of them were also dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and the criminal justice system. At times, my job COULD BE extremely stressful. But I discovered that I had the ability to connect with the adolescents and develop strong emotional ties with them. I focused on helping them with their social skills, coping skills, and independent living skills. My main goal was to help them build their self-esteem and improve their sense of security.

The adolescents that I worked with in the residential treatment facility Could get physically assaultive AT TIMES; throwing chairs and banging their heads on the doors. They would also exhibit self-harming behaviors. It was during these criTICAL situations that I would get stuck in knowing WHAT the best clinical approach WAS to use when they were self-harming. I would like to have better tools for helping these kids when they are in crisis and KNOW whether those interventions are well supported by the literature. I hope that, with the aid of a Master’s Degree in Social Work, I CAN ACHIEVE that. I WANT TO be able to help my kids in THEIR TIME OF crisis and (OMITam at) TEACH them the necessary skills THEY WILL NEED TO transition into more independent WAY OF living.

These youth need all the help and attention we can give them in order to fight recidivism, especially THE African- American and Hispanic males, who continuALLY come back into our system. If you were to grant me the privilege of studying in your program, I WOULD LIKE TO research the recidivisim rates of black and Hispanic juveniles and young adoLEscents. I WISH to contribute to our understanding of how we can best go about saving their lives and, at the same time, easE the financial burdens on our society.

Q: very interesting… what do you think?
i am in a psych class and we are talking about depression and how there is a lot about depression in preschoolers and school-age children. so my question is do you believe depression truly exists in preschoolers and school-age children? defend your answer

A: If this is for one of your psych assignments, there are TONS of peer reviewed journals on this topic. It comes from many sources, one being parents (maternal depression or hereditary) and how a child deals with situations (anger,levels of temper etc). Change just like in grown ups, brings on temporary forms of anxiety and/or depression.

Q: I am a naive, manipulated teen. Everyone takes advantage over me…it’s not fair?
What have I done to have friends who manipulate me or even be a total 2 faced around my back. Who pretends to satisfy me with their trust when in reality they are bunch of ignorant dumb a$$ who will do anything to hurt me mentally. I don’t know what to do. I been living this hectic life since 2007. That’s when my depression occurred. I still suffer from extreme depression and am bi polar. I can’t get myself motivated to be more confident and to love myself.

I lost faith..I am now living a very unpleasant environment. Where all my emotions drown inside me and no one listens to what I have to say.

I asked my psychologist will give me anti-depressants, but definitely sure that I will be back on track with anxiety meds.

I hung with the wrong crowd back in 5-8th grade. I hung with a hooker who went in my school. Who forced me to smoke. I did that and got sick. I have a condition which is severe.

I was beaten by my dad. Almost to where I was murdered by some boy who pushed me off the stairs, but luckily had grip cuz my hand was on the railing. He stalked me to the girls washroom asked if he could touch my breasts.

Molested out in the fields by 3 young teens and I was a preteen back then when they took my bottoms off. It was a huge embarrassment. I was very scared and had no clue to what they were doing until I asked for help. Good thing I went in Tae Kown Do and kicked one guy in the balls. He deserved it.

My other best friend was online person. He just wanted nudes from me. Like what a guy?

My friend totally prove to me he was a jerk. A very sexual one. Who talks bout sex 24/7 and that his ex wants him back and he still loves her because she sends dirty txt messages n pics of her boobs.

He is not my type whom I would like to touch my hands on.

I don’t know anymore. Most prove to me that high school boys are just as immature n childish like preschoolers.

Ahh, I give up on making true friends. I hate being hurt and treated like dirt.

A: Ok i’m not trying to be mean but that sux. Well u need a true friend. I’m 15 and I would love 2 get to know you Better. Send my an message if u want to talk about anything I am not an asshole to my frieends I am the nice guy. Send the message to zdro1216@yahoo.com

Q: Respond to LOUDLY ticking biological clock now, or fix marriage first? Read Details before you respond.?
I’m 34 years old and my 31-year-old husband and I have been trying to conceive for over 21 months. I have a sister who was diagnosed with early menopause at the age of 33, and although tests up to this point do not show that I’m having the same issues she was, I’ve still never been pregnant and the age of 35 is looming. I desperately want to be a mother and would love to be able to have two children eventually myself.

My husband & I have been married for a little over 2 years, and things have been rocky since the beginning. I’m worried I settled for less than what I deserve because of being in a rush to get married and have a family. I do not feel we got married too fast (together a year and a half before getting engaged and were engaged for almost a year before getting married), but I did give him something of an ultimatum regarding marriage and now I know that wasn’t the right thing to do. He’s and only child and fiercely independent – an introverted pessimist. I’m close to my sisters and mother and consider myself an extrovert who is at least a “wanabe” optimist. Our main issue is his lack of affection and intimacy (emotional and physical). I feel my level of need for affection of all types are normal and his are very, very low. My needs have never been truly met in these areas (even before marriage). He has a low sex drive for a 31-year-old man, and I’m sure some of that is due to depression. He has a terrible health insurance plan right now, so sending him to the doctor has to wait until January when he can be on my plan. We recently started couples counseling (only two sessions so far) – we should have done it long ago.

I feel very strongly about continuing to try to have a baby during this process. I am NOT delusional about thinking a baby will help the marriage. I AM fully accepting of the fact we may still split even after a baby comes, and I’m ok with that. This man will probably make a very good father and ex-husband – he’s just not good at being a husband. I’d prefer things to work out between us if he is willing to change. I do still love him but have been growing more bitter and resentful – not only because I am often starved for physical touch, but because it’s hard to get pregnant when you don’t have enough sex – and I slowly see each new cycle slipping by…

Sorry, but I really don’t want to hear from God-loving Christians about how a baby is meant to be only in a family of two loving parents. If my marriage ends and I don’t meet someone else soon after (however long that is), I’ll very likely be having a baby on my own. I’m also not afraid of divorcing after having a baby – it will be a baby that will be SO LOVED and well taken care of by its entire family no matter what happens with the his/her parents. I’m perfectly ok with being a single mother by choice.

New can of worms – IF I put trying to conceive on hold for a few months to work on our marriage differences… A) How long do I put it on hold? And more importantly – B) What if my husband isn’t willing to go as far as I am to conceive? I already know I would do whatever I have to do up to and including at least one cycle of IVF if necessary… he’s already made it clear, although not in so many words, that he’d rather jump to adoption before trying much of anything medical/scientific. That’s a deal-breaker if we’re not more on the same page with that. I could put all the “trying” on hold, have our marriage improve some, come right back to this disagreement – and then end up leaving anyway… several more months behind than I would have been had I just left in the first place. The bottom line, I really don’t feel like I have much TIME to put this on hold!
Sorry it was a “novel” – and THANK YOU to the select few of you (unfortunately and surprisingly few) who actually seem to understand where I’m coming from (I’m not trying to save a marriage with a baby). I do care about my husband and his happiness. We did talk before we were married about having children in the future, but unfortunately, no one plans on facing fertility issues.

A: Congratulations, you are one of the most selfish self-obsessed sociopaths I have ever read on this site!! (and that’s saying something)

You have NO BUSINESS being in any relationships or trying to have children that you’ll no doubt damage since they can never replace yourself as the center of your universe. Stop wrecking lives and get help for your mental health issues before it’s too late.

Q: 15 yrs ago I stopped reading books?
From the Age of 7 to 35 I read a lot of books,usally novels mostly adventure and Sci Fi.15 yrs ago I quit completely I lost interest I had a hard time focusing.This was after extensive treatment for Alcohol use,Depression and anxiety.Now I am seeking an Adult ADD evaluation.Is the lost of interest in reading pertinent?

A: Yes it could be. I would definitely mention it to your doctor during your evaluation. Most people with ADD have a hard time sitting down and concentrating long enough to read a book. It is actually one of the signs to look for.

Q: Can my Mum claim Carer’s Allowance for me whilst I claim Income Support?
Hi there,

I claim Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance at High Rate CARE and Low Rate Mobility, Income Support along side the Disability Premium, Severe Disability Premium and Enhanced Disability Premium, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Exemption as they class me as ‘Mentally Impaired’ as I have been diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia.

My Mum works for the local Council and is being made redundant soon. She has been offered around £13,000 in pay out but she won’t be keeping this herself as she wants to pay off large Credit Card debts with it.

My Mum is my Full Time Carer and provides more than 35 hours of care for me a week as stated is required by Carer’s Allowance. I am wondering if my Mum can claim Income Support as a Carer along side Carer’s Allowance and the Carer’s Premium. If so, will I just lose the Severe Disability Premium and still get SOME Income Support (this is what I have been advised by an Income Support assistant at the Job Centre on one of their 0845 numbers) or will I lose ALL of my Income Support and Premiums?

Me and my Mum don’t live together. As far as I was aware and have been advised in the past, I cannot claim Income Support and any of the Disability Premiums IF somebody else is claiming Carer’s Allowance on my behalf.

Also, I have been told that Carer’s Allowance affects Income Support. If my Mum were to claim these two Benefits then in which way would it affect her? How much Income Support would she be entitled to on top of the Carer’s Allowance after the Income Support had been reduced? And would she get the Carer’s Premium? Would the Carer’s Premium affect her Income Support?

Can anybody tell me what current rates are for Income Support, Carer’s Allowance and the Carer’s Premium? I thought that Job Seeker’s Allowance and Income Support qualified you for the Carer’s Premium.

Please don’t go flaming me or my Mum or calling us ‘Scroungers’. I have had Schizophrenia since age 13 after having a traumatic childhood from an abusive Father and being molested by a family friend. I still managed to do some work when I left School until I became incapable of working after I tried to stab several people after hearing voices telling me to do so and getting arrested for standing in Town Centre and shouting for people to come and join in a revolt against God and rise up in Satan’s Army. I was advised by my Psychiatrist that I was too ill to work as I was a danger to myself and others. I am 24. My Mum has worked since age 16. She is 52. She has taken on 3 or even 4 jobs to try and bring me up as a single parent after leaving a life of domestic violence. Now after 24 years of loyal service at the Council as a Senior Citizens Warden she is being axed.

I am in the U.K and this is a U.K question and although I thank all who try to give genuine answers I would appreciate you please NOT telling me OR my Mum can claim SSD as I am NOT in America.

Please: Genuine answers ONLY. Please DON’T be rude to me or think you are being clever as you’ll just show yourself up to be an idiot.

On a last note. I am not a ‘Scrounger’. I would give anything to be well enough to go back to work. Lead a normal life. Have kids. Get married. Although it is probable that given my history that if I did have a child it would be taken away from me. How do you suppose that makes me feel? My Mum is not a ‘Scrounger’. She has worked bloody hard. Paid her taxes. Now when she needs the system the most she has to have something to rely on. It is only temporary may I add as she studied to become a Counsellor so will be looking for a job as one but in our sorry state of Economic Depression it is unlikely she will succeed in finding a job immediately.

Many thanks in advance.

Linzi. x

A: EDIT>>> Good I am glad to see that VILE answer has been removed. Sorry to original poster, the rant wasn’t at you!

@Mary H, YOU are disgusting!

I DOUBT very much anyone wants to have a mental health disorder just to claim benefits!

TELL THAT to your own child when he or she is suffering! So I suppose autistic children with no bowl control ASK to be scroungers to they?????

YOU have been reported!

YOU are a disgusting human being!

Anyway to the asker, the other two answers have been helpful, BUT JAN says that one benefit will be cancelled out. THIS is NOT the case.

Carers allowance is NOT taken out of DLA or incapacity!!!!

WHAT happens is this: SOME means tested benefits are affected, so in my case, myself and partner jointly claim income support, BUT MY carers allowance is NOT affected. I get the full £53.90 a week, however, SOME of our income support is lowered by about £10 a week.

By claiming all the benefits we are allowed to, we are still better off than not claiming at all.

Carers allowance is not automatically completely cancelled out, it’s just *Some* money from other benefits may be deducted but it very much depends on the INDIVIDUEL case!

It is ALWAYS worth claiming! Just because some money *may* be lost doesn’t mean you shouldn’t claim or even try!

SOME extra money is better than none!!!

(DLA is not means tested by the way)

Your mum should be able to claim income support and carers allowance (I do)

Q: All these medicines, and now I’m just not sure?
To start off, I’m a 15 year old female.
At the age of 12, I told my mom I was cutting myself and went to a psychiatrist and a therapist. They told me I had depression, and prescribed me Zoloft. A few months later, 6 maybe, after not being satisfied with the therapy, my mom decided to just switch both my psychiatrist and therapist. The new psychiatrist switched me to Lexapro (I don’t know why, but a therapist I had later knew him and said he likes things his way). Both the psych and therapist were awful, I hated them. So I switched again to a new psychiatrist, who took me off of Lexapro and put me on Symbyax because the Lexapro wasn’t working. And a new therapist, some weird, creepy hippy guy who I didn’t like at all. After gaining over 35 lbs in 6 months on the Symbyax, the psych and I were getting worried so we decided to take me off Symbyax and put me on Prozac. By then, I was 13, almost 14 years old. The Prozac sent me completely over the edge and I attempted suicide at the age of 13. This is where my first question comes in. Did anybody else feel suicidal after taking Prozac?
At the hospital, they just gave me Symbyax again. After I got out, the psychiatrist told me she was quitting her practice and I was to see a new psychiatrist. The new one took me BACK OFF the Symbyax and put me on Prozac AGAIN, this time in the morning while taking a new medicine, Seroquel at night. I’m 15 years old now and that is what I am still taking, and have been for almost a year, with that same psychiatrist. I’m on 150 mg of Seroquel right now at night, which at first made me super tired. Now I’m starting to build an immunity to it, I think. In a week I have another psychiatrist appointment and they are probably going to switch my medicine again. Greatt..so another question: Does anyone recommend a specific medicine for depression I try next?

Thanks guys…

A: I’m so sorry to hear about your condition. I have many close friends and family who are depressed and they say Elavil (Amitriptyline) helps a lot. It’s a tricyclic antidepressant. Ask your Dr. About that.

Hope all goes well for you.

Q: Worried I might have Asperger’s, but not sure that it isn’t something else?
Recently I have been preoccupied with a remark made to me by a psychiatrist two years ago (you know, the hack shrink of the “How does that make you feel?” school of psychiatry.) He accused me of “having” Asperger Syndrome (a diagnosis du jour, of course) for rather flimsy reasons, such as that I am quite shy, reserved, introverted, intelligent, highly self-critical and have low self-esteem, and of course, not to mention the big red flag – 22 and never had a relationship. I was never part of the in-crowd growing up, though I always did have at least a couple of friends. Like many mildly geeky people, I am quite smart but a bit socially naive and immature, young looking for my age which is probably related somehow. I don’t think I have any clinical level of deficit in social skills, I have always been able to make friends though it is not my strong suit and I usually just keep a couple of close friends. I always knew how to spontaneously play as a child, and never was shunned for being weird or have “one-person birthday parties” as I hear Asperger’s people often do as children. I was never especially egocentric or had trouble empathizing with others. I do not, and have never, lectured people on any of my hobbies and readily realize when someone is bored – I am very self-conscious and tend to interpret people as being derogatory toward me, far from the cluelessness of Asperger’s. I don’t think any of my solitary pursuits are abnormal in intensity or focus. I have no “symptoms” of Asperger’s beyond these social issues, such as sensory sensitivity or stimming. I kind of have a rigid personality and see things as all or nothing, which may or may not be significant.

When my mom heard the psychiatrist’s “opinion”, she vehemently disagreed and got him to back off (my mom is a social worker who works with children, so she knows what real Asperger’s is.) There was never any formal, extensive diagnosis like what I’ve read about, only an “armchair diagnosis” after a few 35-40 minute sessions in which he would nod his head, almost doze off, and write a prescription and $200 bill at the end. I was seeing him for depression and feeling in a rut, and when my mom called him one time and told him that my father had committed suicide many years ago (though she had never told me at the time, trying to shield me), the shrink blew this piece of information off, which makes me think he was a quack. I also think that growing up in a single-parent household in an upper-middle class suburban community also added to my sense of alienation from my peers.

So my question is – who should I trust, my mom, who knows me well and knows what Asperger’s is, or the psychiatrist who sounds like he was just lobbing a popular label at me for being a shy, insecure, somewhat naive introvert? My biggest fear at this point in my life (I’m 25) and reason I’m so worried about potentially having this disorder is that I am terrified that I will never find a girlfriend. I have only dated casually twice and both times blown off into the “friend zone” – the last time I got to the third date, made a move, and that was it. I’m not so sure it was that I misinterpreted her cues but rather I chose to act on mixed signals because I was so desperate. I honestly never even found her attractive, I kind of had an “open door” policy for anyone who would take me. I remember telling my mom that I didn’t really get a strong feeling that she was serious about this, and I went against my gut and got it wrong.

I think people perceive me as an insecure wuss more than the unintentionally rude and inappropriate weirdo that Asperger’s people often come across as. I don’t think I’m so much oblivious to nonverbal cues and body language so much as I totally lack confidence in myself. I am in a rut and can’t really figure a way out. I may not be super socially skilled, but I am not socially inept either, just very shy and introverted.

Also, for what it’s worth, my personality type is INFJ on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and I have read that males with Asperger’s typically test as INTJ. If I had to pick a disorder out of the DSM-IV that seems to fit me, it would probably be Avoidant Personality Disorder, which I have read is not uncommon in people with my personality type. It’s not so much that I’m oblivious to social rules and rituals but that my social skills might be a bit behind due to my withdrawing and timid nature…I never got a chance to learn them like everyone else. It’s more that I tend to overanalyze my interactions with people rather than cluelessly committing faux pas. I think my father was probably similarly tortured by these fears, and based on something my mother said he seemed to be somewhat insecure with initiating intimate relationships as well.

A: Maybe you are autistic. This can nobody here answer correctly.

I’ve here an online-test with abput 150 questions:

http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

Many people don’t know that they have Aspergers, because the scientist didn’t accept it until the 1990s.

Here ist a community:
http://www.wrongplanet.net/forums.html
I don’t know muc habout this platform, but maybe the people there can help you.
If you are going to sign in there, it will be nice, when you can give me a feedbackof this community. I’m from Austria and so I only use communities in german language.

Q: accuracy of RPR test?
Is the accuracy of the RPR test still accurate 10-14 years after suspected contraction of syphilis? Had what I thought was an ingrown hair on my inside upper thigh. It went away in a week or two. Then later had a rash on the palms of both hands that I thought was a reaction to a floor cleaner. Don’t think I had that too long either, maybe less than a week. No other symptoms that I know of. 10-14 years later had an RPR card test in the hospital. Do not know the results but I was in for depression for 18 days and the records do not show any treatment with penicillin so I assume it was negative.

Fast forward to today, 24 years after the RPR test. (35-40 years after suspected incident). Have had a rash on my right torso which my doctor visually called herpes. Could be shingles. No blisters just a rash. (P.S.-Have been married and monogamous for 27 years.) The rash itches and lasts for about four weeks at a time. Over the past three years the rash has gotten to be less. Also,starting ten years ago I have had spastic colin for a couple of years, hives for two years, tinnitus, hemorhoids, aching knees (probably all old age). Anyway—should I be concerned and get another RPR test? Would it actually be correct after all these years if it was negative?

Sure would like an answer since this is worrying me some. Boy–sometimes the mistakes of the past do haunt you.

Thanks.

A: Ok, from what I can find online, RPR can have a 20% false negative rate for primary syphilis. All in all it’s not really a good screening test since it has a high false positive rate with plenty of other diseases like Epstein-Barr (mono), hepatitis, varicella, measles, lymphoma, tuberculosis, malaria, endocarditis, connective tissue disease, pregnancy.

Normally, if positive, the RPR result is confirmed by the FTA-ABS test. However when patients have negative test there’s no second test to confirm.

Back to your symptoms, normally you would have had plenty of other issues by now if you were really positive the first time. Take a look at a few of the pictures in that first article down below. So the take home point is that probably dont’ have syphilis. If you’re really paranoid have your primary care doc run a FTA-ABS. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

I’ve attached articles below if you’d like to know more. I hope this helps.

Q: Am I killing my self respect by choseing to remain in a relationship with a possible Pathological liar?
I AM A 35 YR O GENTLEMAN AND I HAVE BEEN WITH MY GIRLFRIEND FOR 5&HALF YRS. IN 2003, SHE HAD AN AFFAIR WHILE I DID 4 MONTH’S IN LOCK UP FOR A CHARGE THAT WAS ORIG. FOR HER! BEING THE MAN I AM AND THINKING HOW HER CHILDREN NEEDED HER AT HOME, I LIED TO THE JUDGE BY TESTIFING THAT I WAS THE ONE WHO NEEDED TO BE CHARGED…YEA, I TOOK A CHARGE FOR HER, I WOULD HAVE TAKEN A BULLET FOR HER AS I LOVED HER VERY DEEPLY (IT WAS A MONTH BEFOR OUR 2 YR ANNIV, AND JUST 3 MONTHS AFTER I MADE HER THE VERY FIRST FEMALE TO SHARE W/ VIVID DETAIL , THE RAPES AND ABUSES DONE TO ME FROM AGE 7 TO AGE 10 BY MY MOTHERS B/F, NOT EVEN MY MOM & DAD KNEW ABOUT THIS. ANYWAY….I HAVE SPENT 3.5 YRS TRYING TO HEAL FROM THIS. BEING A COMPASSIONATE MAN AND FOLLOWING MY HEART, I DID NOT BREAK-UP BECAUSE SHE WAS SO VISUALY UPSET WITH HERSELF AND NEEDED INPATIENT THERAPY, LOVING SOMEONE LIKE THAT AND NOT WANTING TO SEE HER GO THROUGH THAT BY HERSELF, I CHOSE FORGIVENESS AND PROMISED TO TRY TO NOT GET UPSET AND USE IT AGAINST HER. I DID NOT CHEAT ON HER….EVER. WELL SHE HAS MADE A VALIENT EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TRUST. YOU WOULD THINK THAT SHE WOULD DO EVERY AND ANY THING TO MAKE ME FEEL SECURE. SOME DAYS R GOOD, SOME DAYS ARE BAD. SHE REFUSES TO TREAT ME THE WAY I WANT 2 BE TREATED AS SHE LIES ABOUT ANYTHING, DOESNT RESPECT MY WISH’S, OR TAKE MY ADVICE, SUCH AS……….NOW YOU YOUNGER LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE, PLEASE LISTEN, SAVE YOURSELF FROM EMOTIONAL PAIN, OR CHRONIC DEPRESSION, OR A TRULLY BROKEN HEART…..IF YOU ARE BLESSED TO FIND SOMEONE WITH THAT “LOOK” IN THERE EYE AND YOU FEEL YOU WANT TO SHARE A LIFE TOGETHER..DO JUST THAT!!!!…….SHARE & COMMIT TO 3 THINGS. 1. UNLESS YOU BOTH AGREE TO SOMETHING ELSE, DO NOT CHEAT!!! 2. DO NOT LIE!!! AND 3. COMMUNCATE AND SHARE WITH EACH OTHER!!!….#3 IS POSSIBLY THE MOST IMPORTANT, BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMUNICATION, UNTIL ITS TO LATE, MEANING THAT THERE COULD BE RESENTMENTS ALREADY PLANTED IN THE MIND WAITING FOR ITS MANY DIVERSE SPROUTS OF PRIDE, IRRATTIONAL THINKING, REVENGE AND MORE!! NOW THAT DOESNT MEAN THAT THERE WONT BE TIMES AWAY FROM YOUR “FAIRY TALE”, BUT IF YOU BOTH COMMIT TO THESE THINGS WITH CONSISTENCY AND REALIZE WE ALL HAVE PRIDE AND HABITS, AND THAT WE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF PAITIENCE AND CHANGE, I PROMISE YOU THAT, WHAT YOU MAY HAVE CALLED FIGHTING IN ANOTHER RELATIONSHIP. YOU WILL NOW KNOW IT AS RATIONAL PROBLEM SOLVING THAT, IN TIME WILL SHOW YOU A QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO TRUE FRIENDSHIP, WHAT IT MEANS TO CARE, AND POSSIBLY YOUR FIRST LOVE.
UNFORTUNATLY DECEIT WAS PERMITTED TO BREECH MY RELATIONSHIP, AND IT WAS NOT DEALT WITH PROPERLY. ITS NOT A TOTAL LOSE THOUGH AS I HAVE LEARNED MORE ABOUT MYSELF IN THE LAST 5.5 YRS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP THAN I EVER HAD BEING INVOLVED IN PAST RELATIONSHIPS. I CAN SAY TODAY THAT I AM HONEST AND REALIZE HOW DISHONEST I WAS B4. I HAVE COME TO KNOW THE TRUE VALUE OF COMMPASSION, AND HAVE MOST CERTAINLY RECEIVED A MASTERS IN PAITIENCE AS I HAVE EXPRESSED TO MY GIRLFRIEND HOW MUCH I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HER FEEL THE WAY I DO. HER CHOICE TO STILL BE DISHONEST SOMETIMES IS MET WITH MIXED EMOTIONS ON MY PART. I KNOW SHE IS TRYING BUT ITS STILL HER FEAR OF ME VIEWING HER AS A FAILURE THAT ELICITS HER CONDITIONED RESPONSE, TO LIE OR TO GIVE ME PARTIAL TRUTHS, THAT I VIEW AS HER EFFORTS TO MINIMIZIE THE HURT. I HAVE TOLD HER SO MANY TIMES I WOULD RATHER BE HURT WITH THE TRUTH THAN TO BE PLEASED WITH A LIE. I KNOW SHE HAS STRONG FEELINGS FOR THIS RELATIONSHIP, BUT ITS IDENTIFYING HER LIMITATIONS SHE HAS PROBLEMS WITH.
I HAVE EXPRESSED FEAR THAT SHE IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ME, OF JUST BEING HER FOOL, BUT IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE. WE ARE VERY CLOSE AND I DO CONSIDER HER MY FIRST LOVE AND MY BEST FRIEND. I MEANT TO PAINT A PICTURE OF A PERSONALITY THAT IS NEVER SHOWN WHEN INTIMANT WITH ME. HER LIES (95% OF THE TIME) ARE OF ISSUES THAT WOULD NEVER BE A SINGLE CAUSE FOR SPLITTING UP. TO ME, IT IS A COMPULSION TO NOT LETTING ME DOWN BY REVELATION OF HER INIQUITIES.
TO HER ALIANCE I HAVE RESEARCHED A POSSIBILITY THAT THERE MAY BE A PATHOLOGICAL CONDITION THAT COULD RENDER LITTLE CONTROL OF HER RESPONSE STEMMING FROM AN AUTO ACCIDENT IN HER ADOLESCENCE IN WHICH SHE SUSTAINED MASSIVE HEAD TRAUMA, LEAVING HER IN A COMA AND ALMOST KILLING HER. IM OPTOMISTIC THAT WE CAN FIND HELP, BUT I AM NOT NIEVE TO MY BEING IN DENIAL AND SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BAREL FOR EXCUSES TO CONTINUE ALOWING THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE TO BE COMPROMISED BY SOMEONE WHO MAY BE AFRAID TO TELL ME GOOD-BYE. REMEMBER, HER M.O. WAS ALWAYS TO NOT HURT ME, SO SAYING GOOD-BYE MAY BE THE UNTOLD TRUTH.
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO THE ONLY WOMAN IVE LOVED IN AN EFFORT TO RAISE MY QUALITY OF LIFE, NOT OUT OF ANGER, NOT BECAUSE I LOST PAITIENCE, BUT SO THAT IN LETTING GO, I CAN KNOW THAT RESENTMENTS OVER THIS WILL NEVER REPLACE THE WONDERFUL FEELING OF AN UNBROKEN LOVE…THAT IS KEPT IN MY HEART!!!!

WITH THE CHAOS IN OUR WORLD TODAY……..ITS REALLY NICE WHEN YOU CAN CURL UP NEXT TO THE PERSON YOU’LL NEVER FORGET.

GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU

“LIFE AINT ALWAYS BEAUTIFULL…………………..

…………….BUT IT CAN BE A BEAUTIFUL RIDE”
-GARY ALLEN-

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO RESPOND WITH ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS TO MNM01312002@YAHOO.COM

A: Maybe look at it this way: When you are on your deathbed, do you really want to look back on your life knowing you unnecessarily put up with this stress? Whose life are you trying to live? Yours or hers? All the advice you plunk down on her is probably exactly the advice you need to be following. Love, respect, and honor yourself first because you are the only one you have to answer to in the end. Putting up with behavior that doesn’t make you happy is disrespecting yourself. Loving a person and permitting them to be as sh*tty as they can be with you are two different things entirely.

When I draw the line with how people treat me and demand respect and consideration out of them or otherwise they don’t get my time, that shows that I would do the same for them.

You are cheating, lying, and not communicating with yourself when your deny your emotions that are going haywire and you do nothing to draw the line with how others treat you in your presence.

This relationship doesn’t make you a noble or virtuous person. You cannot shoulder another person’s imperfections and call that love for either her or yourself.

Q: What do you think about Sylvia Browne’s 40 predictions for the next 100 years?
1. Eradication of cancer as we know it, using sound waves, photo sensitive drug therapy, and “self-addicting” cells.
2. Robotic houses, controlled by computerized switchboard.
3. Electrical cars with flotation ability for water travel to bypass freeways.
4. Houses made from pressed paper with plastic coatings; interchangeable walls
5. Separate body parts cloned for organ transplants; not an entire body.
6. New form of painless tooth extraction, using a type of suction, with immediate replacement of new tooth.
7. Diagnostic chambers which map the body’s electrical balance to predict health problems before the come.
8. Cylindrical rooms in which people enter to see an automated projection of the clothing and color that would look good on them; select what you want, take your measurements, then two days later pick up the goods.
9. Third floor of houses have rollback roofs to allow Hovercrafts to come and go.
10. No more surgery with knives. Some type of molecular ionization device that knows how to take out the afflicted cells then seal the wound without a single scar.
11. Remolding of the whole face structure, to duplicate any look that you wish.
12. New exercise equipment that you sit or stand in, and it literally stimulates your muscles with electricity to achieve the same effect as physical exercise.
13. Babies will be birthed in water all the time, with music, incense, and green and lavender lights.
14. People will be able to simply “walk out” of their bodies upon death.
15. There will be no US Presidency; our government will go back to a Greek Senate structure.
16. No longer a single Pope, but a triumvirate of Popes, each assigned to a geographic collection of Catholics.
17. Peace in the Middle East will prevail by 2050.
18. West Coast goes under in 2026. Parts of the East Coast also get inundated. Tsunamis will wipe out a large portion of Japan. The Hawaiian Islands will have upheaval and be the site of a large new landmass.
19. Atlantis will begin to show itself by 2023 and be fully visible by 2026.
20. After 2050, the “Age of the Messiah” is upon us. People turn totally toward Spirituality, peace will rein for a long time. People will return to community living, loving each other, and working together.
21. Treatment for depression and mood disorders will come from a “control chamber” that emits sensory stimulation gently to the brain, including certain smells, which will elevate mood.
22. Medicine in pill form goes away; instead we have air-injected delivery through the skin.
23. Atomic batteries will run cars.
24. No more gas propelled rockets in space; we will have nuclear powered cylinder shaped objects that travel everywhere.
25. A moon base is created for people to visit, and as a stopping place for further trips.
26. By 2055 most people will live in domed cities due to poor atmospheric conditions.
27. A virtual reality headset will stimulate brain waves so people can learn whole libraries of information within hours.
28. Giant fruits and vegetables will be grown in hothouse environments. The nutrients will be synthesized into a highly condensed injection.
29. Proteins are developed without animal meat, very powerful, builds immune system.
30. Addictions will be a thing of the past because of a brain stimulation, which eradicates all addictions, with no side effects.
31. Execution for the death penalty will become a complete vaporization of the body.
32. No separate governments, one planetary government will form.
33. Great earth changes will occur and germ warfare will be used before the world finds peace. But eventually from all of the bad comes good. The pendulum will swing back to humanity and love.
34. No world war is coming, but lots of civil disorder and small skirmishes. No nuclear holocaust.
35. Peace will last from 2050 until 2100, and then I see nothing beyond, which could mean “the end will come like a thief in the night.”
36. Toward the end of things, the veil separating our world from The Other Side will thin, so much so that most people will see decease loved ones and speak with their Spirit Guides.
37. There will be many false prophets that rise up proclaiming to be Jesus on Earth, and try to lead people astray. We are already seeing this in the big rise of occultism.
38. People will again find Spirituality, not so much in organized religion, but in the spiritual brotherhood of coming together and finding their Temple within.
39. Four more comets will pass by before the end times.
40. Aliens will begin to show themselves in the year 2010, they will not harm us, they simply want to see what we are doing to this planet. They will teach us how to use anti-gravity devices again, such as they did for the pyramids.

A: She’s a fraud.

And I doubt we will have all that in 100 years. People in the 1900’s thought we would be able to time travel and have flying cars by 2000

Q: depressed.. Is this as good as it gets?
Im 35. Ive suffered with depression now for the last year and a half. I take positive steps, and keep my life on track, but its a constant battle with my feelings, I never want to do anything, I don’t feel proactive.
I left the religion of my parents a couple of years ago, and my family have ostracised me. I’m a lone parent of two boys, 11 and 14, divorced, a teacher, but I havent worked for a year, and now I feel more like a hermit. leaving the house has become an effort, I am quite insular, I was always a fun, outgoing, loving person, and now I feel constanly sad, desperate, heartbroken. I crave some normality. I’m an intelligent person, I know all the right things to do, and even though I keep making positive steps, I feel helpless. – I would never knock anyone who said they felt depressed after having suffered like this I know that even if you battle, your feelings are still hard to push away.
Im divorced, from a marriage at a young age – in the religion – Im lonely, I want to be with someone, – but I wont settle for anyone, I’m a good, funloving attractive person with a lot to offer, but I feel like I am wasting away …
I forgot to mention no, I avoid medication or anything that takes away my ability to feel, having tried it and it making me worse… yes I do hide inside as well – i joined ju jitsu – I constantly arrange things but spend much time trying to back track, avoid or get out of them x

A: I used to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I left three and a half years ago. I lost everyone I had ever known my entire life. It was terrible. I miss these people all the time. My relationship with my only family, my mother, has suffered very much. On top of that, losing my belief system and faith in god was like grieving a death. Don’t underestimate the role that your faith and/or religion played in your life. Now you must find your own way and you might be feeling so lost and confused about what the point of it all is. I understand… I know its a terrible feeling. We have one life and its just a shame that the relationships we have with people we love have to die because of religion. And the hope we used to have for a better time (maybe an afterlife) is now nonexistent or called into question. Then what is right and wrong is questioned. Then your very purpose is questioned. Then when you have kids its hard to keep giving and giving when you feel empty… it’s so hard and painful. I, too, have good qualities but there is something missing. The religion took so much of my life and time that I had to develop as a person. It’s a long, hard road. It has become easier; but it’s a journey. You have to find who you are and what you believe and what you want outside of what a religion tells you you want and who you must be. It’s a SHOCK to our systems when this happens in adulthood. It WILL get better. This is pain you have to walk through. I strongly suggest counseling for any personal issues that you need to talk about and face, and maybe even specialized counseling for people who have left cults or religions that exerted a great amount of control over you life. I feel ya!

Q: What will you racist do about this?? When you guys are the minorities?(I’m not trying to be racist)?
The nation’s Hispanic and Asian populations would triple over the next half century and non-Hispanic whites would represent about one-half of the total population by 2050, according to interim population projections released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Overall, the country’s population would continue to grow, increasing from 282.1 million in 2000 to 419.9 million in 2050. However, after 2030 the rate of increase might be the slowest since the Great Depression of the 1930s as the size of the “baby boom” population continues to decline.

Still, the nation’s projected 49 percent population increase during the next 50 years would be in sharp contrast to most European countries, whose populations are expected to decline by mid-century.

(Statements on race groups in this news release are limited to the single-race white, black, and Asian populations and do not cover other single-race groups or the population of two or more races.) The federal government treats Hispanic origin and race as distinct concepts. (See U.S. Census Bureau Guidance on the Presentation and Comparison of Race and Hispanic Origin Data.)

From 2000 to 2050, the non-Hispanic, white population would increase from 195.7 million to 210.3 million, an increase of 14.6 million or 7 percent. This group is projected to actually lose population in the 2040s and would comprise just 50.1 percent of the total population in 2050, compared with 69.4 percent in 2000. (See Table 1 [Excel].)

Nearly 67 million people of Hispanic origin (who may be of any race) would be added to the nation’s population between 2000 and 2050. Their numbers are projected to grow from 35.6 million to 102.6 million, an increase of 188 percent. Their share of the nation’s population would nearly double, from 12.6 percent to 24.4 percent.

The Asian population is projected to grow 213 percent, from 10.7 million to 33.4 million. Their share of the nation’s population would double, from 3.8 percent to 8 percent.

The black population is projected to rise from 35.8 million to 61.4 million in 2050, an increase of about 26 million or 71 percent. That would raise their share of the country’s population from 12.7 percent to 14.6 percent.

The country’s population also is expected to become older. Childbearing rates are expected to remain low while baby-boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — begin to turn 65 in 2011. By 2030, about 1-in-5 people would be 65 or over.

The female population is projected to continue to outnumber the male population, going from a numerical difference of 5.3 million in 2000 (143.7 million females and 138.4 million males) to 6.9 million (213.4 million females and 206.5 million males) by mid-century. (See Table 2 [Excel].)

The projections for the resident population of the United States are by age, sex, race (including the categories white, black, Asian and “all other races”) and Hispanic origin. They are based on Census 2000 results and assumptions about future childbearing, mortality and international migration.

-X-
First of all I was’nt being ignorant. Most of the racist on YAHOO ANSWERS say they are white … that’s why I was asking them I KNOW EVERY RACE HAS RACIST. So Lilian before you start to call people out get the full information thankyou. =]

A: White people arent the only racists. You are pretty ignorant to think that. Can you shorten up your question please??

Q: Witnessed my abused mother suffer some kind of strange falling sickness and dementia, help identifying?
When I was 10 years old my mother was very ill, and had been suffering from Wilson’s Disease, osteo-arthiritis, skin and bowel cancer, a form of parkinsons, a chronicly low immunity system and a number of mental illnesses.

In particular I remmeber a period of time when she would suffer some kind of very strange sickness. It caused me some considerable distress as a child and it would be gratifying to know what exactly she suffered with, for the sake of closure and my own curiosity.

She would be doing perfectly normal activities, then suddenly collapse, unconcious, and regually appeared to wake up momentarily before hitting the ground; where she would hit her head on impact and subsequently fall unconcious again. She would remain unconcious for a few minutes, or sometimes instantly, would go into a violent fit. When the fit stopped, she would soon regain conciousness and exhibited a very strange mental state, possibly some kind of dementia? She would display a child-like mentality, voice, language and behaviour – such as skipping or crawling on hands and knees, and would say things that were based on extracts of her life, including her abusive childhood where she was physically, emotionally and apparently sexually abused by her biological father, an alchoholic. However she would also use other memories such as household pets from when she was 35, long after the memories displayed from her childhood. She would never remmeber who I was, sometimes imagining me to be her older brother – my uncle, and seemed to live in a fantasy world based on these surreal memories. When I tried to console her and tell her it wasn’t real, she would become almost violently distressed and anxious.

She would continue like this for between 10 minutes and six hours, eventually collapsing again, having another fit, and then waking up perfectly normal, with no reccolection of her previous state. For some reason, neither she or her partner, my step-dad to be, would seek medical help or tell me what was going on, if they even knew themselves. She had these illnesses for a period of four months, during a time of personal adversity to me so that I remain traumatised and confused by those events.

My mother suffers from a number of mental health issues, including manic depression, some kind of emotional defect possibly related to Wilson’s, and perhaps most devastating of all a compulsive lying disorder, the latter which she was never diagnosed or treated for, but appears evident in hindsight now Im older, an opinion also shared by her family members. Her partner at the time was also, according to her, abusive and apparently altered her medication, although as she is a compulsive liar this would easily be false, especially as her partner was unemployed and very poorly educated. She also told me she was on 1,000 pills per month, which I can testify to as I sometimes helped her sort her medication.

I’ve tried to search the symptoms on the internet, and it is possibly some kind of epilepsy? I really need to know the exact illness, just so I can convince myself it wasn’t all some kind of act put on by her.

Any kind of information you can give me would provide me with a lot of closure, and would have my eternal gratitude.

Thanks, Tom.
Now Aged 16.

A: I think only a doctor could answer your question. I’ll venture a guess and say it sounds like some sort of psychosis from her untreated mental illnesses.

Q: i just found out my mom has cancer and i dont know what to do im scared please help!?
she told me like last week and she told me crying i didnt know how to react to it…it my mom this cant be happening to her. my mom doesnt know wat a childhood is, she relly doesnt…she was sexually molested at the age of 7 or 8…got pregnant and married at the age of 14 had two more kids with her abusive husband…he beat her raped her ignoring the fact that shes a pregnant woman…she worked hard to earn money to give us (me and my two sisters) a life she couldt have…with no help what so ever from my dad…he was a drunk illegal immagrant that got his papers thanks to my mom…he thought the world had to revolve around him…he took us away from her by making up so many lies in court…we were just little my older sister was just 7…she was scared of him in court and didnt speak up to fight for us..its too long of a story from there but living with my dad was like being in prisonhe gave us food a good home and everything and i thank him for that but he never let us go visit my mom, she couldnt visit us, we couldnt even go to my grandmothers house to meet up with her there secretly…and if we did talk to her on the phone it would be for a short time because he would come up with the excuse that he had to use the fone…years passed and my sisters fear my dad good thing im not a quiet person because the last time i was living at his house i told him everything that had to be said…he beat me…but i fought back with all the anger i had for so many years, after that he kicked me out…by the way i was 16 at the time…at almost 1 in the morning december 2006…i now live with my mom and i felt that when i moved in with her i brought back some light into her world..i was with her 24/7 everywhere we got really close…but her problems just kept building up..to this day…and im going to be 18 next month…after she told me she had cancer i didnt cry…i want to be stong for her because no one else is there…my mom cant express to me any more clear than it already is that i am her backbone…she keeps moving because she thinks about me…right after she finds out that she has cancer
she finds out that her b/f is cheating on her..they were on and off for 9 maybe 10 years…i know she loves him because they always get back together. im not stupid i suspected he was cheating o her for a while now…but thats their personal issue…i dont like to get into their relationship…but now that hes gone my mom not only has emotioal/ depression problems but now she has financial problems, me and my b/f are the only ones that work..shes disabled so she cant work…her b/f was the one that took care of the rent with her me and my b/f took care of the bills that we could hardly manage and now that means i have to put in more money for the rent…money i dont have!!! she so depressed with all these problems but she has ALWAYS AND I MEAN ALWAYS been depressed…and i understand her, but she thinks alchohol is goin to solve her problems and its not…i tell her i dont like her drinking because she is bipolar and that mixed with liquor
just makes her dangerouse…i tell her to go to councelling i’ll go with you but she’s hard headed…”oh i forgot”…or “im going to stop drinkin…” yea sure i’ve heard that one before..i love my mom so much and i dont want to lose her all these problems she had in her life made her the way she is because she was never like this when we lived with her as liitle girls she worked left us with my grandmother, came bak cooked, did all the motherly stuff, she didnt drink or anything like that. now look at her shes only 34 almost 35 and i think that her depression has gotten worse to the point that i feel like the knives in my house need to be hidden..my mom confessed to me me that shes scared of herself and i try to help but she doesnt let anybody help her…i dont kno if she thinks this is a game or what but i need someone to please help me help her. i know it wasnt necessary to write all that personal information but i need someone to atleast know what she went through to understand how she got to the point where she is now….thanks for reading this long “essay”….but someone please help me give me advice what should i do…i feel like i all alone in this. my little sister is living with m dad and no..i cant see her either..he hasnt changed…sometimes shes scared to answer her fone b/c he’ll be near her…im her sister!!!!! and my older sister is a freshman in college…she started yesterday and neithe of them kno what s going on in my moms life! im going to tell them today, but what can they do? myolder sister is almost 20 and she still askes my dad for permission for everything, my dads not going to care if she has cancer..he’s a strict unreasonable “man” …i cant keep living this lifebeing worried all the time for my mom when i heve my own problems to deal with but im going to do whatever it takes.

A: What can you do?
1)Listen, Hug, Help, Cry and Laugh
2)Support her through her problems
3)Tell her how you feel-the cancer is enough to handle, Drinking, bad relationships and her past need to take a backseat. She can’t consider this piling on to her problems. She has no choice than to deal with the cancer. She has a choice about drinking and relationships.

What can’t you do

Solve any of her problems. Don’t try.

Q: Is the Government the reason we have so many Lazy Helpless people in society?
If you are opver 35 I think at some point you remember your parents, grandparents saying *When I was your age I walked 7 miles in the snow to get to school..(There reason why you should walk a mile in the rain) anyways the USA use to value work, hard work in people, I know we have every gadget known to man, that makes hard work a thing of the past, but what message are we sending to everyone?

Kids no longer have any chores, let alone getting a after school job, people are obese because they don’t get off there rumps, granted we have computers that keeps us sitting, but when you get up MOVE and do something that really involves some work, maybe then we can send a message that the USA values people who work hard, that is what will prevent depression, sickness and having a pity party for yourself,

If you cannot find a job maybe you cut the grass or learn how to sew. .
Why are people so lazy???

A: Because the laziest and most cowardly people this country has ever seen are now controlling the government. We used to honor excellence and greatness. Now we tell our kids to play nice and that they don’t have to try so hard. We raise our kids to believe that there will always be someone there to pick up after them and wipe their tears. Our children are taught to believe anything that comes from TV or their teachers is true. Never questioning what they’re told, Never working for themselves. They just don’t have to try any longer. It’s sad, but the days of our country’s greatness are coming to an end.

Q: how can i be close to my own father when he done such terrible things?
My dad has struggled to get me to be close to him for years, ever since i was real little, i’m fifteen
now, mom was pregnant with me around the age of 18, unexpectedly. my parents divorced 13 years ago. I live with my mom she helps me get through A lot of disasters in my life. My dad for one… i love him, no doubt in my mind but its hard for me to bond with him.
When i was little i remember him beating my mom in the face, she has a chipped tooth that still reminds me of it.
I tried to forget this, but finally i told my mom about a year ago about what i remembered. She finally broke down and told me that she was beat, and scared of my dad. He would make up stories and a call my grandmother (moms mom) to tell her that my mom was doing pot. He would check on her constantly at work. & if she even glanced at another person even the cashier at the grocery store, he made a scene. and blame her for being attracted to him. and he would build up in his mind that she was cheating. and he would cheat on her.
although my dad has never laid a hand on me,
and currently my dad is married to my stepmother shes 22.. a lot of things that
went on when my dad and my mother was married, is a lot like what shes going through. i have not seen him beat her he plays with her mind. and i see it but she doesn’t understand.
about a year ago, i was about through with taking care of my dad i didn’t even wanna come down.
and my stepmom was having issues with him at home. they got into an arguement about my dad checking on her at work.
late that afternoon i got a call from my stepmom crying and so afraid. she couldnt even tell me what was going on so she handed the phone to samatha (her friend) she said, “your dad is in the hospital
apprently he took an over dose, 150 pills trying to commit succide. He passed out in the emergency room cold dead. “
so me and mom and my aunt jumped in the car, & we live about 2 hours from my dad.
so at that point i was sure my dad succeded at killing him own self. I cried the whole way there my aunt drove my mom sat in the back seat trying to be supportive like she always has.
when we got there i saw my dad all plugged upp to moniters and tubes everywhere. he cloths all over the floor from cpr. I stood by his side for days. and when he could talk he told me his plan, was to take the pills drive to tonys take cards and money to tony & drive somewhere to die in his car tony didnt let him instead of letting him go through with it and rushed him to the hospital.
i thank tony for what he did i love my dad very much although we have un solved issues.
i was talkiing to a council a while after that.
doctors blamed it on the depression meds he was taking.
now my dad “guilt trips” me all the time. hes 35 and im 15.
i feel like im taking care of a child. i have to make him happy constantly or
he’ll make it hell for me and my stepmother.
my dad and my stepmoms relationship is at the point where
i’m not sure they will be together much longer.
my dad blames me for their relationship not working.
i can’t ever make him happy. i don’t know what i should do, any advice would be great!
thankyou.

A: I am sorry you have such a father .He is abusive ,he may not hit you but guilt tripping you is abuse ,making you feel like you have to make him happy and take care of him is abuse .He will not change ,people like him never do .The best thing you can do for your self is to slowly get on with your life away from him .Just be too busy to see him .And talk to people who know what abuse is .When he makes you feel guilty remind your self that this is abuse .Even the suicide is abuse ,both to himself and to you and his wife .It is manipulation of the cruelest kind .I know all this because my mother is like your dad .I am 45 and she is still manipulating and abusing me .I have just had to write a letter saying I do not want to talk to her any more .It is painful but she is never going to stop and I have to draw a line .If I knew what I do now when I was your age I would have just walked off ,got a job and a life and not bothered with her .

Q: Life choice help urgently needed?
Please help, I’m very confused as to what is the best way forward in my life.

To give you a bit of background, I’m 35, live in the Channel Islands, Great Britain and have worked as a hospital administrator for 10 years. Before that, I had a nervous breakdown for want of better words. I had dropped out of university, got diagnosed with bipolar depression and the job started as simple clerical tasks as a therapeutic way of bringing me out of my depression. I did well at the job and soon moved up the ranks and 10 years on I’m still there! Don’t get me wrong, it’s a stable, well paid job but I’ve always felt as if I am ‘better’ than an admin person and need to get a career. I’ve got a teaching English as a foreign language qualification and have been teaching in my spare time and am almost finished a modern languages degree by correspondance.

Meanwhile, I met someone 2 years ago through work, we’ve since bought a house together and got engaged. He’s the love of my life! I’m 35 and my mother started her menopause at age 40. I’m worried that if we don’t have a baby soon it will be too late. I also need to come off my lithium for at least 6 months before conceiving which will be very stressful too.

So, my quandary comes because I’ve been ‘head hunted’ for a job which will incorporate my teaching skills and academic abilities by working as a ‘mentor’ in a careers service. The job is only a 6 month contract though and my current contract is permanent.

Which order should I do things in? Stick with the well paid but boring job I’m in now, make full use of the maternity leave it offers and have a baby and forget about the career….

……or, grab this chance at doing something I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time and risk losing time to have a baby, risk losing money if my contract isn’t renewed after the 6 months. Where would that leave us as a couple? I wouldn’t be earning money to pay my share of the mortgage.

To be honest, I can’t work out which option is best for me and need your help.

Thank you

A: kk try it