Blog 14

What can a woman do to reduce her risk of assault?

There are several things a woman could do to reduce her risk of assault. One way, and what I consider the most important, is to always be aware of the surroundings and the people who are around.
If a woman is alone and going to her car from either the mall or the store, she should ask security to escort out. It might sound silly to have them walk with you in the day, but bad things can happen in the daytime just like at night. She should also have them check inside her car, underneath it, and wait until she's in her car and that it starts. If there is no one to walk out with, then she needs to make sure that her keys are in her hand. There's no telling how many women have been assaulted because they couldn't find their keys fast enough to get in the car and lock the doors. A woman should carry mace or a whistle with her. If some one was trying to hurt her and she couldn't scream, she could at least blow the whistle to get people's attention and more than likely scare off her attacker. She needs to make sure those are easily assesible as well.
Another thing that women can do is take a self defense class. Knowing how to take care of yourself in certain situations can not only reduce your risk or being assaulted, but could save your life or even one of your family members. Men are naturally stronger especially in upper body. If a woman can know how to remain calm and get away, she will survive with little or no injuries. That will also help her self-confidence and make her be more aware of her surroundings. She could pass this knowledge down to her children so they can learn early how important safety is.

Amy Morrow

Blog 13

I personally believe that it is a sign of strength for a woman to admit she has a problem with drugs or alcohol. Maybe in some cultures or even how a woman is raised, it might be a sign of weakness. I think it would be hard to admit if you had a problem. Women are usually considered the nurturer and the one to also help if some one is hurt or sick. With that stress some women might turn to drugs or alcohol in order to "escape." If that happens, some women or even others might take that as a sign of weakness and it would be hard for her to seek help.
Admitting that one has a problem is the first step to making one stronger is my belief. It takes a great deal of strength to admit not only to yourself, but to others that you have a problem. There should be no shame for admitting to a problem of drugs or alcohol. If a woman does not admit her problem it does not mean she is weak. It could mean she just hasn't found her strenghth.

Amy Morrow

Blog 12 Mental Illness

Have you ever known some one with a mental illness? How did/does the illness impact his/her life? What have you learned about mental illness just from knowing them?

Currently I know a few people with some type of mental illness. These people are in my family. It has been an adjustment since they are on my husband's side of the family. My husband and his dad have battled with depression. We have finally found a medicine that my husband will take daily and that has helped us in our relationship. One of his other family members has schizophrenia.
The way the depression has impacted my husband has been hard. Before we found a medicine he would take, he would just stay in bed some days or be very moody. We almost divorced over it. There had been changes in jobs for both of us and we were not making as much as before and the bills were piling up. We were behind on our house and close to foreclosure. He had called in sick to work and I told him that when I got home from work that he needed to be gone because I could not take it anymore. He told me that he called in so he could go to the doctor to get "happy pills." Since he has been on this medicine, things have got alot better between us.
The person with the schizophrenia has had a hard life. She is always thinking some one is after her children. She has been on medicines and was doing well. She had her own place and a job she loved. Last year she almost died because she had not been taking her medicines and had a dream some one was hurting her children. When she woke up she said she could see the guy and ran after him. She lives up north and it had snowed alot that night. It was in the middle of the night when she went after the guy. When she did not show up to work the next morning everyone went to look for her. A construction man found her unconscious. She had frostbite and was hypothermia. The doctors said if she would have been there 15 minutes longer she would not have survived. She has recovered physically but not mentally. She is living in a group home within the state hospital. She is back on her medicines and is slowly making progress. It has been a long hard road for all involved.
I have learned how different each illness is and how it effects all involved whether they have the illness or just family members trying to cope with a situation. It takes a lot of patience when dealing with some one when their illness has flared up. It has taught me how fragile life is, and not to take anything or anyone for granted.

Amy Morrow

Blog 11

If everyone lived "with our future in mind," do you think we would live differently? (Different habits, behaviors, etc)

To answer the above question, yes, I believe most people would live differently. I think more people would exercise, have healthy diets, and not smoke cigarettes as much.
People tend to think "that won't happen to me." They think this way for different reasons. Some may think just because a family member smoked for 50 years and did not get lung cancer, they can do the same. It is the samething for some one to believe they can eat foods that are bad for them and not exercise and always have a "normal" check-up at the doctor because that is what happens to a family member. What they don't understand, is that they can still get lung cancer either by second hand smoke or from them smoking. They can smoke for 5 years and wind up with lung cancer. The person who thinks he can eat whatever foods he want and not exercise is shocked when he finds out he has high cholestrol, clogged arteries, or high blood pressure. Some people do not understand that their bodies are different and it's not always about the genes. There are some people that do everything right, but still wind up with an illness or disease.
I do believe if everyone lived "with our future in mind," that there would be more healthy people. People would take the time to go to the doctor for check-ups and if the doctor said to change their diet, they would listen and do what the doctor said. There would be less people smoking and more people exercising. Maybe we should start living our lives by the above quote.

Amy Morrow

Heart Disease

Heart disease runs in my family so I know I am more at risk to get it. My maternal grandmother had a triple bypass when she was in her early 70's. My dad had a heart attack 2 years ago. He had 98% blockage in one artery and 99% in the another. To everyone's surprise the only reason we found out, including my dad, is because he went to the doctor for fatigue. When the EKG was done it showed the heart attack. He had 2 stents placed and is doing good.
Both doctors recommended exercise to keep their hearts healthy and a good diet. My grandmother did some walking and watched what she ate. She lost alot of weight which helped her start stay healthy. My dad is not so much a rule follower. After seeing how much longer my grandmother lived, I try to encourage my dad. I myself need to follow my own advice. Having heart disease run in my family is not my only risk. Being overweight, lack of exercise, and not a healthy diet, increases my risk even more. I do not want to end up like my dad or grandma, so I need to start making changes now.

Amy Morrow

Blog 9 Biggest Challenge

Let me start with the word challenge. I don't think trying to find time to exercise or have a healthy diet is a challenge as much as it is finding an excuse not to do them. For me, I would never have the time to exercise. I could find time to watch t.v. or play on the computer and now it is doing school work.
As far as a healthy diet goes, it is an excuse as well. It goes from other members of the family may not like vegetables or the meal that is made to eating out while at work. A person can say it is challenging, but to me it is an excuse not to have to do it.
The way I plan on changing this, is by adding time for exercising in my schedule. It is easy for me to make a time line of my day. Like 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. read a chapter in my health book and 11:00 a.m.-noon eat lunch. I will just add in a time for exercising. Eating healthy can be done easily once a habit is made. My plan is to make healthy meals for the week so that it is easy to grab and go. If some one in the family does not like the meal that is prepared, they can make their own food. I'm not going to make things I know they will not eat on purpose, but we all need to try new foods.
Hopefully in five years I will be able to look back and see how this plan has helped me and my family become healthy individuals.

Amy Morrow

Blog 8 Women's Weight

Most women today are unhappy with their weight and bodies. This has alot to do with society's perception of how women should look.
Women believe they should be thin instead of healthy. Models are so thin that you can practically see their bones. They have many people telling them how beautiful they are because they are thin. When young girls and teenage girls see this on t.v. or read it in magazines, they believe they need to be the same size as the models. They begin starving themselves or making themselves vomit in order to lose weight. Some may even use laxatives. Most girls that young do not need to lose weight. Even if a girl is overweight, this is not the way to become healthy.
Girls, teens, and women alike can become anorexic or bulimic. This has happened with celeberties as well. With the way Hollywood is, I think celeberties have added pressure to be thin. They do not want to have that "extra 10 pounds the camera puts on you." Cindi Leive, the editor in chief of Glamour magazine, wrote about the popularity of plastic surgery in Hollywood. She said, " You're hard pressed to find a Hollywood actess who hasn't either had work done or has spent the last six months nibbling on crumbs."
When women are overweight, or think they are not thin, their self-esteem is low. Women need to understand that they need to be a healthy weight and that they have different bone structures from one another. Many women do not know that they can die or damage their organs by being anorexic or bulimic. Some women do not understand that if they are 6 foot tall and weigh 200 pounds, that is right for them. Some may think they need to weigh 130 pounds. Women, I believe, only look at the number on the scales and not how they look. Other women may believe if they are a size 12-14 they are too fat, when they are really at a healthy weight and size.
Girls usually start comparing their bodies and weights to others at an early age. Some as young as 10 according to some psychologists. Some girls may start early because they see their own mother doing the same thing.
One way that might help women become comfortable with their own weight and bodies, is to teach girls when they are young to be comfortable with themselves. Education on how to eat healthy and be healthy by exercising and not necessarly looking at the numbers on the scale or what size clothes they wear.

Cite: Mary Duenwald. The New York Times. June 22, 2003 p1 col 01 (40 col in).