Goodbye 2014!!; Hot topics of 2014

 

The tragic death of Robin Williams in 2014 as a cause of suicide increased awareness about the prevalence of depression in the field of Mental Health.  Depression affecting approximately 6.7% or 1 in 10 adults in the U.S each year has become one of the most common mental disorders in the U.S. Even though not all depression leads to suicide, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the number 10 cause of death in the U.S.  

Robin Williams had also been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) which according to Dr. Benzi Kluger-"There could have been a lot of grief associated with the diagnosis". There are currently 1 million people living with PD; 60,000 people are diagnosed each year (Parkinson's disease Foundation). Patients with PD have a higher chance of having non-motor symptoms like depression.

The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is according to CDC now affecting about 19,000 people worldwide in 8 different countries.  EVD was present in a few cases here in the U.S and therefore many health care industries (including hospitals and local clinics) began to take extreme precautions; everyone who accessed any type of health care or had been traveling was screened over the phone or in person.  Most of the precautions taken by health care facilities in our communities involved screening individuals with questions like "Have you recently traveled to West or South Africa? before asking "How are you feeling today?" could have been a result of society induced fear.  I was asked this question while I was calling the dentist to set up an appointment. In fact for many, the word Africa alone induced fear because it was quickly linked to the Ebola epidemic that the media kept covering over and over again. I still remember being at the gym and overlooking towards the CNN station on the T.V which had Ebola written on the bottom in big letters over the color red.  Fear then seemed to have lead to some extreme precautions that resulted in labeling and discriminating people who were from Africa, those who looked like they were from Africa, or anyone who had been traveling from Africa in general.   Ebola caused mass paranoia in the U.S.

Amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis (ALS) currently affects approximately 4 in 100, 000 people (according to the National ALS registry and CDC).  ALS is a neurodegenerative disease of the brain and spinal cord that leads to motor neuron degeneration which interferes with the signaling pathway between spinal nerves and the muscles in our body.  The neuronal system that works to provide proper function to the muscles in our body becomes damaged, leading to: slow or fast progression of muscle weakness, lack of movement, and eventually results in complete unresponsiveness.  This results in death because the muscles in our important organs no longer work to provide our body with the important nutrients such as Oxygen. But what does all of this have to do with submerging our muscles with cold/icy water via the water bucket challenge that was a hit in 2014?  Cold muscles seem to contract at a slower rate than warm muscles do; when you submerge your muscles into cold water they contract less and become stiff.  Muscle stiffness is a symptom of those people suffering with ALS.

Domestic Violence awareness increased in the U.S after NFL player Ray Rise physically abused his fiancé under video surveillance this past year.  This unfortunate situation motivated many survivors of domestic violence to began reaching out for help.  Survivors sometimes do not seek help because of their lack of resources and because they might be ashamed of the situation that they are in.  Victim blaming by society occurs all of the time in the media and in our communities, resulting in their fear of not being understood or helped.  Lets keep in mind this information.

Citations

Depression Statistics. (2014, September 19). Retrieved December 31, 2014, from http://mentalhealthscreening.org/blog/depression-statistics

  

2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa- Case Counts. (2014, December 29). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.html 

Leading Causes of Death. (2014, July 14). Retrieved December 31, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry. (2014, December 15). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/als/ALSRegistryResources.aspx

Statistics on Parkinson's disease. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2015, from http://www.pdf.org/en/parkinson_statistics

  

Thompson, N. (n.d.). The Effects of Temperature on Muscular Contraction. Retrieved January 6, 2015, from http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/effects-temperature-muscular-contraction-11504.html