Forward Wisconsin Health

Challenging Ebola Fear

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@Glow Images
@Glow Images

As reports of Wisconsin hospitals preparing to handle Ebola patients continue, we may want to step back and consider giving the same attention to handling the fear of contracting any infectious disease in our own thought.  As Tim Mitchinson writes from neighboring Illinois: “The spread of the fear of Ebola is far surpassing any spread of the actual disease in this country.”  Read the excerpt below or click at the end to read the whole story.

Tim Mitchinson–Polls by CBS News and other organizations are showing that the number of people seriously concerned about Ebola is surging in this country. Americans are now viewing Ebola as a major health threat to the United States. The spread of the fear of Ebola is far surpassing any spread of the actual disease in this country.

Is there really a connection between fear and the infectious nature of disease? Yes, states a recent post in Medical Daily. “Fear may be one of the leading causes of the spread of disease,” according to the Socionomics Institute.

This group’s report continued, “A society’s susceptibility to epidemic outbreaks increases the longer they remain fearful and pessimistic. As a negative mood trend takes hold, a complacent, unprepared social environment presents a public health risk.”

For centuries, profound thinkers have identified fear as an emotion that must be contained. In one of her insightful novels about the boy wizard Harry and the battle between good and evil, author J.K. Rowling wrote, “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” So, while hospitals and medical authorities are researching ways to contain the Ebola virus, the rest of us can have a positive impact on our own health and that of our larger community by learning to contain the infectious nature of fear.

 Read full article here.

Trends In Health Care: Dematerialism on the rise, by Russ Gerber

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©Glow Images, models for illustrative purposes
©Glow Images, models for illustrative purposes only

John Naisbitt in his Megatrends books or Steven Levitt in  Freakonomics have foretold the future or turned conventional wisdom on its head with their analysis of trends that others have overlooked.  Russ Gerber, a Christian Scientist, published a May 25, 2014  article in Psychology Today that looks at the way dematerialism is revolutionizing health care as it has other fields.  Wisconsinites interested in being up to date on the latest trends may find the article of interest.  Read an excerpt below:

By Russ Gerber–  Let’s try some word association. If I say messaging you might come back with instant, or texting, or SMS, or WhatsApp. In the not-too-distant past you might have said pencil-and-paper. If we went way back, to April 1860, when the Pony Express was new and considered the fastest letter delivery service ever, we likely would have heard that name mentioned with a bit of excitement. 1,800 miles in a breathtaking 10 days!

Speedy long-distance messaging was dependent on top physical horsepower and man-hours. Instant messaging was out of the question unless sender and receiver happened to be in the same room.

Those days are gone forever, thankfully, in large part because of dematerialization – to have less or no reliance on physical substance. Without a willingness to dematerialize the concept of communication we’d still be taking days rather than nanoseconds to chat over long distances.

Ever since I came across the word mentioned in an 1886 sermon, around the time it first came into use, I’ve noticed that in nearly every aspect of our lives where there’s been noteworthy progress it’s been accompanied by some degree of dematerialization.

Read full article here.

Overcoming Heroin Addiction–John Coltrane example by Valerie Minard

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©Glow Images
©Glow Images

Is it possible to overcome heroin addiction?   Heroin overdose was the cause of 227 deaths in Wisconsin in 2013.  Like the nation, Wisconsin is facing a public health crisis.  Valerie Minard reports in MyCentralNew Jersey.com, a Ganett publication, May 14, 2014 about John Coltrane overcoming heroin addiction.   Read how in this excerpt from her article and  click at the bottom of the page to read the full article.

For many, John Coltrane is one of the great American jazz saxophonists and composers. He pushed jazz into new realms during the 1950s and 60s, playing with the likes of Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. What perhaps is not so well known is how he kicked heroin addiction cold turkey and attributed his transformation to a spiritual awakening and the “grace of God.”

Heroin addiction has today taken center stage in the U.S., in light of the recent fatal overdose of actor Seymour Hoffman. It more than doubled from 2007 to 2012 and it is an “urgent public health crisis,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

Experts say there are several leading contributors to the epidemic. First, the higher purity of heroin gives a more intense high. Second, it’s cheaper than other hard drugs. But, thirdly, and probably the most important factor, is the increased use of highly addictive prescription painkillers. Once hooked, addicts look for a cheaper high and often find it in heroin.

Click here to read the full article.

Arianna Huffington on measuring success by finding ‘the kingdom of heaven within’

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Kingdom of Heaven Within
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My colleague in California, Eric Nelson, captured Arianna Huffington’s advice to women and men on how to thrive emotionally, physically and spiritually by overcoming fear and finding the “kingdom of heaven within.” His article in Digital Communities News April 7, 2014 recorded ideas from her talk in San Francisco but Wisconsinites might remember another speech Huffington gave as  a guest of  Wisconsin Women in Government in Madison, WI in May 2000. Below is an excerpt from Eric’s article, and you can click the link to the full article below.

Standing in line to hear Arianna Huffington speak at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall last month – one of only a small handful of men in a sea of women – was an eye-opening experience for this first-time visitor to the renowned columnist’s prodigious fan club. Who knew that this politician turned publisher would be able to fill the auditorium’s nearly 3,000 seats?

Once her presentation began, however, it was clear that the huge turnout had as much if not more to do with the message as it did the messenger: a heartfelt, experience-based exploration of what it takes for women – and men – to flourish in today’s world emotionally, physically and spiritually.

“The essence of who we are inside is greater than who we are in the world,” said Huffington, urging her audience to gauge success, not in terms of money and power – not that there is anything wrong with either, as her own life attests – but in more spiritually grounded ways.

Please click here for the article