There are disturbing reports today on two fronts: First of all, I read that Doctors in a hospital in Boston report seeing more children that are thin due to the fact that parents cannot afford to provide proper nutrition for them. This is very disturbing. What can be done? The article is saying that parents are without jobs and are having to make do the best that they can. I am all for charity and I am certainly all about children's rights and protecting children all over the world. Folks, someone always said (and I don't know who said this but..) charity begins at home. We need to step up to the plate and make sure that America's children have enough food, medical care and clothes to keep them warm. So, apparently society, charitable organizations are failing in this aspect. Your thoughts on this? What can be done?
Secondly, I read that an increased number of suicides among women age 40 to 69. In fact this article says that suicides are spiking.
Quote:
A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows a 49 percent increase in emergency department visits for drug-related suicide attempts for women aged 50 and older.
And women aged 40-69 are more at risk of killing themselves than other women, according to new research on age-specific suicide rates between 1998 and 2007. In 2007, this age group made up 60 percent of the 7,328 suicides reported among women.
But why middle-aged women?
Or it may have something to do with baby boomers’ higher rates of substance abuse, an important risk factor in suicide, said Julie Phillips, Ph.D., a social demographer and associate professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Phillips calculated the age-specific rates from data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau. And during the nine-year time period she studied, suicide rates are fairly stable for women younger than 40, and for women older than 70, suicide rates are actually on the decline.
Women over 50 may also be in crisis because pain and sleep disorders — common problems with aging — can lead to an increased use of prescription drugs, according to Albert Woodward, Ph.D., the project director of SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network. According to the SAMHSA report, suicide attempts involving drugs to treat anxiety and insomnia increased 56 percent. Woodward adds that older women may experience depression because of health changes and other negative life events.
Loneliness and depression are also suicide risk factors. "Older women especially in the U.S. are more isolated and separated from daily human contact outside of work and the internet," says Ellyn Kaschak, Ph.D., emeritus professor of psychology at San Jose State University and the editor of the journal Women & Therapy.
Dr. LeslieBeth Wish, a psychologist and licensed clinical social worker in Sarasota, Fla., has found through her online surveys, lectures and focus groups a startling increase in suicide attempts with women ages 45 to 54. Women are susceptible to depression but older women may also be suffering from pre-menopause hormone fluctuations that can affect mood changes and depression. Also, existing long-term illnesses such as lupus or multiple sclerosis can worsen and breast cancers and other cancers might be diagnosed.
Dr. Wish also says middle-aged women are more aware of their mortality and may be disappointed and disillusioned that it’s too late for happiness. Transitioning to becoming an empty nester can also be stressful for women.
“Mental illness is a real debilitating illness,” Farhat says. “But unlike someone who is physically disabled, no one holds the door open for a person on the street having hallucinations.
So, this is very disturbing. Women of this age has so much to live for and so much to be happy about. If you are having sleep disorders, etc., try natural remedies. Talk to your doctor. Talk to your family, talk to your friends. I am not a professional, so I cannot tell anyone what to do, but wanted to share this with you.
Be Happy!
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