Archive for the ‘Young Adults’ Category

“I’m just a bad kid.”  The words so effortlessly escaped her lips that they caught me off guard.  Although I remained visibly calm, my eyes burned as I struggled to hold back tears.  Although this was my first conversation with Natalie (I have changed her name to protect her identity), over the course of an hour I learned about her troubles in school and at home and a past riddled with emotional and sexual abuse. This caused her to be distrustful of adults.  At the mere age of 14 and only in the eighth grade, she had run away from home more times than she remembered.

As I continued my conversation with Natalie, it became evident that she had formed her ideas about herself based on negative experiences with the world around her. She saw herself as unattractive, unintelligent and unlovable.  Although I was saddened and somewhat shocked by Natalie’s assessment and articulation of her value and worth, in my work with “high opportunity” young people, I have found that this perspective is unfortunately not uncommon.  Having been an insecure teenaged girl at some point in my life, I can relate to some aspects of Natalie’s image of herself. However, my life experience was in no way parallel to that of Natalie or her peers. (more…)

OWL’s 2013 Mother’s Day report, In the Arena: How Women and Girls Change the World (PDF), is a bit of a shift for us. Our reports have traditionally focused on specific policies that impact the lives of women as they age – the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, women in the workforce, end of life decision-making. They reflect OWL’s mission – to fight for economic security, access to health care and enhanced quality of life for the nation’s 74 million midlife and older women.

But in our current toxic and polarized political environment, there are few opportunities for real discussions about major life-altering issues. Facts about Social Security, Medicare, retirement security and health care are being drowned out by partisan bickering and posturing.  That’s why we decided to examine the state of 21^st Century advocacy, to look at the innovative ways people – particularly women – are using new technologies to make progress. (more…)

MG is all about making decisions. The good and the bad. When I was younger, I made a lot of bad ones. I was very immature and naïve. Most of them only affected me, but there were some that hurt others, and I wish I could change that. But I can’t. That is the thing about choices. You make them and that is pretty much it. So you need to make as many smart ones as possible. If not, then you certainly need to learn from them, so you can make better ones in the future. This is where I am now. Really thinking about my choices. How do they affect me and the people in my life? Now that I am 40, hopefully I am older and wiser (at least most of the time).

When I was in my teens and twenties, I made the choice to spend a lot of time in the sun. I lived 15 minutes from the beach and made it a priority to go there as much as possible in the summer. (more…)

“Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.” - World Health Organization

Reproductive rights are the legal rights of individual reproductive health. Access and use of contraception has been a highly politicized and controversial concept in American history. At the center of this struggle is the right of women to individually control their reproduction; to have unrestricted access to birth control, abortion, and family planning services. Until recently, the right for minor women (18 years and younger) to control reproduction, specifically access to emergency contraception, was largely left out of the conversation. (more…)

If you too were moved by the many insights into body image and self esteem that were posted last year and assembled in Disruptive Women’s Body Image ebook then I’d like to challenge you to join me and start identifying ways to change the health impacts of today‘s environment.

In my previous blog post, I announced our plan to start a Health in Place (HIP) initiative to break the cycle of negative mental and physical health impacts perpetuated by unrealistic body images for women and girls. I’m posting this follow-up blog to ask everyone to participate in one component of the initiative being enabled through Pinterest.  (more…)

I too am a woman who regularly struggles with body image and self esteem. I was overweight from 3^rd grade until college and I constantly worry about my weight. I have realized that my self-image is heavily influenced by how satisfied I am with the rest of my life. When I feel good about work, family and my health (mid-to late menopause) then I usually like the way I look, but it doesn’t take much for my inner image to go down hill with the ups and downs of every day life. I believe that if we can help all women to hold on to their inner beauty and let go of the “idealized woman” we will make significant progress for Health In Place (HIP). (more…)

I was at the airport on Sept. 11, 2001, seven months pregnant with my fourth child and eager to enjoy a business trip that promised a night on my own while my husband tended to the “big” kids at home. There were five of them in our blended family, ranging in ages from 8 to 12. When news of the terror attacks reached the airport — along with cries to run amid rumors of bombs — I jumped into a stranger’s car and persuaded the driver to get me home to Annapolis. There, I rushed to the elementary school and found my fourth-grader. I enveloped her in my arms and whispered, “You’re safe. I’m here.” She looked at me and said, “I will never be safe again.” (more…)

In the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it’s no surprise that identifying and treating people with mental illness has become a topic of national interest. Disruptive Woman Bernadette Melnyk also reminds us to think about the mental health and wellness of our children, who may not be able to deal with their anxiety without the help of their parents. Dr. Melnyk, who is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, has written a guide for parents to help their children through events like this. (more…)

Earlier this year, Disruptive Women in Health Care launched a partnership with the EPA where we will be examining issues of health and the environment as they relate to women and children. The primary focus of this partnership will be a series of ebooks that looks at topics where women’s health and the environment intersect, and these will be accompanied by special events co-hosted by Disruptive Women and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. (more…)

We’ve covered a lot of children’s health topics during our back to school series, and many of our stories suggest that healthier children – those who get enough sleep, have their vision tested, have chronic diseases under control, etc. – are set up to achieve more success in school. But there is a flip side to that: the more education a child gets, the more likely he or she is to lead a healthy life. (more…)

These days when we talk about children’s health, the conversation often turns to the obesity epidemic. Today’s blogger, who chooses to remain anonymous, reminds us of the other side of the coin: many young people, a startling number of them, are starving themselves. If ever there were a story that parents should read, it’s this one. (more…)

If you have young children, you know how disruptive it can be when they don’t get a good night’s sleep – their energy and concentration levels just aren’t the same the next day. But if they don’t sleep well on a regular basis, much more serious problems may arise. Sleep plays key roles in children’s development, academic performance and social interactions, not to mention their health – everything from growth, development, behavior, thinking, mood, lung function, heart and blood vessels, hormones and immune system. (more…)

National Health IT Week may be over, but the ways in which information technology is transforming our health care delivery system – including children’s health – should be talked about all year round. Here are some of the ways that health IT is impacting children’s lives for the better. (more…)

One in six teens admits to using a prescription drug (when a doctor had not prescribed it for them) in order to get high or change their mood. This makes medicine abuse as common as online bullying, car accidents in new drivers and drinking when visiting a college campus. Parents are much more aware of these issues than medicine abuse, and that must change because stakes are high for teens. (more…)

Most people have a few ideas about what bipolar disorder is and how it manifests in those affected – a rare mental illness that consists of alternating periods of mania and depression. These basics are true, but new evidence has arisen regarding the condition’s prevalence in children and adolescents that may surprise some parents and mental health professionals. (more…)