About Iraq

Bin Yang asked:


It has been reported that injured Iraq war veterans are underserved. In fact, rehab can be done in a cost-effective way with a rewarding outcome to , society, businesses insurance companies and the injured.

People disabled, such as the injured Iraq war veterans, workers, accident victims and others, are usually under tremendous stress. The deepest pain with disability is that the freedom of the person is taken away internally, making it seem hopeless. In addition, they have to face many sudden changes, both physical and psychological. The tremendous stress can affect their thinking, and prevent them from properly viewing their future recoveries and taking care of their physical bodies. Dr. Benson at Harvard has proven with years of studies that they may have other cognitive, psychological and physical symptoms negatively affecting them from stress as well.

In addition, not every doctor tries hard enough, as indicated below, and some attorneys focus more on financial outcomes. These two “authority figures” in their lives can put their recoveries into a cage of deeper depression and lower motivation.

My family has been there, too. After a tragic accident, my mother was placed on a ventilator. After five weeks of intensive care, the ICU physicians concluded that my mother would be ventilator-dependent for the rest of her life. My mother refused to live on a machine. I had to hold my tears to do my own assessment. I found my mother did not breathe efficiently, so I taught her a new way to breathe and practiced with her. Within three days, my mother was taken off the ventilator successfully. Had I not questioned ICU doctors, as well as my own physicians at that time, my mother would have chosen to die.

Later during rehabilitation, various experts gave us similar “usual” predictions. Again, we did our way–we tried many kinds of relaxation methods, and worked with nine other specialists, including herbs and acupuncture. Now my mother has been able to shop, cook, talk and laugh rather independently again. There are many turnaround stories like my mother’s in rehabilitation and other recovery. Having been there, I know the pain deeply. Every injured person deserves the best recovery and to have his or her life back. There is an effective method during rehabilitation process.

A big part of rehabilitation is thorough stress management as well as some human software updating (mind) and some health maintenance. The injured people need a customized stress & recovery program. Our thinking system is like software running inside of us — we can learn, relearn and update. Several rehabilitation programs, including Mayo’s and Harvard’s, have also noticed the importance of stress management in rehabilitation.

This group of people can have many other types of external and internal stressors, such as financial and social support, their own beliefs and views, their stress coping style, poor health maintenance, and, ultimately, poor recoveries. Injured people need to build up their own relaxation hierarchy, so they can think clearly, participate in their recoveries efficiently, including seeking help as needed. There are 16 kinds of relaxation with many variations of each kind; deep breathing and meditation are two kinds. In addition to staying healthy, the injured can learn from successful recovery stories, have their related human software updated, and revitalize their internal power. Preventing tomorrow’s stress is particularly important to this group, due to their low reserves.

Under this custom program, the injured will learn how to maintain a clear mind, efficient software and good health; they will learn not to follow “authority figures” blindly, but trust themselves more, try harder and smarter, and recover better and faster, like my family. Some of them may need more and stronger assistance, such as antidepressants, to pass their most difficult times.

The quicker this group can recover, the more confident they can be, and the harder they will try. The faster they can stand up, the more productive and happy they will be, our society and businesses will be, and the more medical and legal costs businesses, insurance companies and government can save in the long run. Many individuals have a good chance to stand up if they are able to utilize their full potential and all resources.

Are you or your people utilizing yours and their full potential and all resources to recover and stand up?

Gabriel

Jennifer Alinio asked:


Soldiers who survive wars without injuries may not have all the reason to rejoice as they may unconsciously have developed other ailments. In a recent study, it showed that almost 20 percent of U.S. soldiers from Iraq or one out of five were diagnosed with migraines.

Although some perceive migraine as a relatively not serious condition, doctors would say otherwise. Migraine may be “unserious” to some but may result to more complicated health conditions or even fatal.

The study results also showed that there is a link between migraine and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the development of his conclusion, the researcher conducted interviews on almost 2,200 U.S. Army soldiers within 90 days of their return from a year of combat duty in Iraq. Most of the veterans did have significant exposure to combat situations while serving in the war-torn country.

Half of the soldiers who suffered from migraines were also clinically depressed, compared to just 27 percent of those without the painful headaches, the researchers reported.

And 39 percent of migraine sufferers were also deemed to have PTSD, compared to just 18 percent of soldiers without migraines. Anxiety disorders were also higher among migraine-prone veterans (22 percent) compared to those without the headaches (10 percent).

However, the researcher found difficulty in assessing whether the pain of migraine helps trigger depression and anxiety in returning soldiers, or whether these types of psychological ills help spur migraines.

Generally, migraine begins as a dull ache and then develops into a constant throbbing and pulsating pain that you may feel at the temples, as well as the front or back of one or both sides of the head.

Usually the pain is accompanied by a combination of nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and noise. Some people experience an aura before an attack.

Latest statistics show that more than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraine, with women being affected three times more often than men. This vascular headache is most commonly experienced between the ages of 15 and 55, and 70% to 80% of sufferers have a family history of migraine.

Less than half of all migraine sufferers, however, have received a diagnosis of migraine from their healthcare provider. Migraine is often misdiagnosed as sinus headache or tension-type headache.

Experts say many factors can trigger migraine attacks, such as alteration of sleep-wake cycle; missing or delaying a meal. Sunlight, fluorescent lights, TV and movie viewing; certain foods and excessive noise are also known triggers. Stress and/or underlying depression are important trigger factors that can be diagnosed and treated adequately.

Treatment for migraine may include over-the-counter or prescription medications like Fioricet. Fioricet is available online through drugstoretm.com. It has been proven to be a safe and effective relief for migraine and other types of headaches.

Self-help techniques such as relaxation training and biofeedback likewise ease the pain. Yet sufferers are advised to immediately consult a doctor if the pain persists as this may be a symptom of a more complicated condition.

If migraines are not controlled properly, experts said, they would most likely bring on depression. On the other hand, anxiety is a frequent trigger for migraine.

But good news to sufferers is that whatever their cause, most migraines can be curbed or controlled. Yet doctors lament there are so many sufferers who haven’t had proper treatment.

Researchers believe the recent study on the war veterans will be a wake-up call to military and civilian doctors to look a bit further whenever they spot migraines in a patient, because those headaches could point to psychological troubles, as well.

Edwin