Self Image and Self Esteem

I was on the stationary bike yesterday morning at the gym, when my neighbor-cycler and me engaged in conversation. This 32 yr old woman told me she felt depressed, anxious, aggressive and generally overwhelmed. Even though she has a healthy constitution and fairly good looks, she told me she feels fat and ugly most of the time. I was honest to her and said I didn't think she has weight issues. Her husband does. It's her husband who tells her she doesn't fulfill his expectations. It's her husband that's controlling her by using against her a weapon he knows will make her weak: her issues with her self image. It saddens me that our conversation was not long enough to get her to understand that no one has the right to destroy her self esteem to the degree of feeling depressed and suicidal.

Unfortunately, psychological abuse is common in couples. You'd be surprised to learn from the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory that putting down a person's physical appearance is the number one question. Other ways of psychologically abusing someone includes:

• calling names
• yelling
• swearing
• withholding affection
• not doing a fair share of household tasks
• ordering around
• monitoring your whereabouts, phone calls, etc.
• not contributing financially to the household
• not allowing you to get needed medical care
• threatening to leave the relationship
• blaming you for his or her violent behavior
• blaming you for his or her problems
• trying to convince you that there is something wrong with you or that you are crazy
• being insensitive to your personal or sexual needs

Source: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/pmwi/downloadable_versions_of_the_pmwi

If you are being abused in any way, please get help. Do Not Allow physical abuse and Do Not Let your partner control you or manipulate you in a negative way. And remember, you are valuable no matter what the perception of others is.

Anatomy 101 for Jennifer Love Hewitt

Image via Wikipedia

When Jennifer Love Hewitt appeared on the George Lopez show to talk about her book, she mentioned that one of her favorite chapters is about Vajazzling. She had a friend do it on her after a bad breakup. Vajazzling seems to be a compound word, joining vagina and bedazzled. And, yes, it is all about decorating a "lady's parts." She proudly mentioned that, at the moment of the show, she was wearing a hot pink swarosky cristal embelishment down there.

After reading this vajazzling term for the first time, I started to wonder how in the world could swarosky cristal stickers could be applied to a woman's vagina and how is it visually appealing, taking in consideration that the vagina is located inside the body. By definition,
the vagina is the muscular tube that connects the uterus to the outer part of a woman's genitalia, the vulva. So, again, how is it possible to apply anything decorative in there. Well, I thought, maybe it is like wearing a piercing in the tongue, most likely used to give pleasure during oral sex than to be seen. So... I investigated the topic by going to vajazzling.com and watching a video from "Completely Bare" a waxing salon in New York. This is what I learned: first, the vulva is completely waxed (a brazilian wax), then, the decorations are applied with glue. They are supposed to last five days or so.

I am a pretty modern woman and I would even vajazzle for a special occassion, such as an anniversary. Why not? But, the point here is that someone got the anatomy parts incorrect. Vajazzling is done on de vulva, on the outside, not on the vagina.

For decades (or centuries) people have used diminutives and cute names whenever the private parts are mentioned--"down there" is a common euphemism. This only leads to both, confusion and taboo. The parts of the reproductive system are often presented and talked about incorrectly. After reading the book The Portable Pediatrician for Parents, I learned how important it is to educate ourselves and our children when referring to our reproductive organs, both internal and external. Women have vulvas, vaginas, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and eggs. A man has a penis consisting of a glans, neck, shaft and root; plus scrotum and testicles. Internally, men have vas deferens and seminal vesicles and a prostate.

In conclusion, my only disagreement with vajazzling has to do with the ignorance it implies about the human body.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Video: Jennifer Love Hewitt Reveals She Bedazzles Her Vajayjay (shoppingblog.com)

Pre-menopause? Perimenopause? Menopause?

This is a great article, and it helped me clarify my questions!
http://www.enotalone.com/article/3302.html

DocTort and the Other Robots

"Behind the fog, the dirt, once you clean it, we did a great job [in Haiti]. The people were very thankful when we left". Dr. Pedro Tort, Orthopedist.

El Nuevo Día Newspaper Reads Today:

The publication of photos on the internet, where Puerto Rican doctors [helping in Haiti] are posing with alcoholic beverages [and weapons in their hands], coffins, [as well as photos of naked] injured patients, resulted in the destitution of a renown politic [who is also a medical doctor], caused domestic and international outrage and could result, in the worst case, in the dismissal of the doctors involved.

This group of Puerto Rican doctors never imagined that the photos taken during their stay of four days in the Dominican town of Jimani, on the border with Haiti, would be posted around the world and earn them the condemnation. Some [doctors] asked for forgiveness.

Translated from: By Alba Y. Muñiz Gracia / amuniz@elnuevodia.com

There is no doubt in my mind that the medical doctors, sent by the Senate of Puerto Rico to relieve the pain of at least a few patients--of the thousands of people who are still awaiting to be seen-- had good intentions and used their best knowledge with the least resources. They definitely proved their skills in Surgery, Orthopedics, and General Medicine.

Unfortunately, that's not enough. Earning a Medical Doctor diploma requires a lot of knowledge: Biology, Chemistry, Math, Anatomy. Anybody that is either intelligent or persistent enough can learn all that at the Medical School. Common sense, on the other hand, as well as empathy, and ethics are learned well before someone even enters the University. Values are learned through the process of socialization. Without them, a Medical Doctor would be nothing but a state-of-the-art symptom-checking-disease-treating machine. A Robot. Dr. Robot.

Most people, when looking for a Medical Doctor for routine exams or treatment of a chronic condition, will decide for a professional who, not only is knowledgeable, but also empathic. This is important for patients, especially when they are in danger of death.

Over my 10 years of working for the San Juan Health Department (1992-2002), I learned to respect the Medical Profession. The San Juan AIDS Program started in 1994 with the mission of giving the best medical care available to the medical indigent patients of the San Juan Metropolitan Area. There I worked very close to the Medical Director and his staff. They were special people. Even though I've been away from them for a long time, I can still remember their quality.

• They took their jobs seriously. Back then, many people were prejudiced against AIDS patients. These doctors were not. They weren't scared and really wanted to make a difference. They wanted to evolve both professionally and personally. Doctor Candelario Sosa, the visiting physician, and his staff of two nurses would drive to the homes of patients who were too sick to come to the clinic, even though it meant going into the worst neighborhoods.
  




• They were bright. They could explain the most difficult diagnoses and illnesses in plain language, and could give the best advice ever.
  




• They were patient. Long ago, being an AIDS patient meant having a death sentence. (Fortunately, it is no longer so). The San Juan AIDS Program medical staff were prepared to help patients in crisis; they understood human nature and never (ever) believed they were superior to anyone else.
  




• They knew the patients by name. It didn't matter to them whether the patient was infected with HIV as a result of intravenous drug abuse: this patient was a valuable person and deserved respect.
  




• They kept up to date with the latest scientific breakthroughs. There was even a Clinical Trials Unit at the Program.
  




• They listened.This allowed them to understand what it is like to have AIDS; what the side effects of medications feel like, individually (not from a book). But most important, it allowed the doctors to encourage AIDS patients to pursue their dreams in an era where it was so hard to be so sick.
  

Unfortunately for the Haitian, they had no choices. They couldn't say "I want to be seen by Dr. Jones or Dr. Smith, because he is so kind." They had no choice but allowing DocTort and the other Robots perform surgeries one after another, because if they did not, they would die. Death was imminent. They even thanked DocTort for not allowing them to die. «Merci de ne pas me laisser mourir"

On the other hand, DocTort and his colleagues thought it was so much fun to take pictures of a naked young woman lying on a stretcher, or appear on photos while pointing to caskets and laughing, or holding amputated, necrotic limbs as if they were toys. Aha. Medical practice should be 0% foggy, Mr. DocTort. There should be absolutely nothing to be cleaned.

Help That Does Not Arrive

Image via Wikipedia

NOTE: This article appeared on El Nuevo Día on January 20th. It was written by Silverio Perez, a local entertainer, musician, engineer, singer and motivational writer. He also supports the independence ideology in Puerto Rico.





Even if I do not agree with the writer's political ideals (I believe Puerto Rico should become a state of the nation), or the tone of his writing, I do agree with the essence of what he has written. It hurt, because what is being said is hard to admit. I love the U.S., consider it my homeland. It made me think about what the grandiosity of a nation should really be. Thank you, Silverio, for this article. I believe it is edifying.





Thanks to the Fathers of our Nation, who created a democratic system of government, in which we can all express our feelings, make public criticism or simply point out what is wrong. God Bless America and all the readers.





Spanish to English translation by: http://www.translate.google.com/ Final translation revised and edited by MOI...



Original Source El Nuevo Día: http://www.elnuevodia.com/columna/661586/





Title: The help does not arrive








No. It's not because of the violence of desperate Haitians that relief, antibiotics, doctors and food has not arrived where it is needed. It is simply because the "civilized" world, lead by the U.S., [just] doesn't know how to help.





[The US leaders] know how to invade, how to attack, how to control nations and peoples, but when it comes to helping and aiding the helpless, urgently moving [to a devastated area] they are illiterate.





They tangle in a sea of procedures and bureaucracies; people die while they are trying to figure out what to do [every time] military orders are not [specifically] given.





The shameful situation faced by George Bush with Katrina is now happening with [President] Obama. He has the best of intentions, but when trying to execute [anything] he is undermined by the permanent military government and bureaucrats who swallow [any intentions to help].





Despair has taken over the streets of Port au Prince. Anderson Cooper, who has become the conscience of the true American people, has been for days on CNN asking why help does not arrive. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, also of CNN, has transformed from a reporter to an emergency surgeon and the world can see on his face the outrage at the lack of doctors who are waiting on the border or at the airport for someone to give them orders to start doing something.





The inability of the United Nations and the United States in organizing aid to a country in which the physical and political structures have collapsed is shameful. Simply, they can't figure out how to rescue others on time.





How come we don't see in this [Haitian] scenario the magnificent helicopters we see every time we watch a movie, or the news about the Afghan or Iraq invasions, but this time bringing the needed help, medications, food, shelter and medical personnel? How is it possible that the armies have not been able, after a week of tragedy, to repair roads and airports to facilitate the arrival of help?





No. It is not the violence in Haiti which delays the help, as the press says today. It is the inability to function in times of peace, [since the American nation is] accustomed only to the war. Let's denounce this inability, with all the strength of our throat, so it does not happen again.

End of Article.

Nutrition for the Skin

Good nutrition means good health. Many of the nutrients we take for good health also benefit the skin when applied topically.

NaturScience™ incorporated a wide spectrum of these skin-protective ingredients from the land and the sea, plus exciting new scientific technologies into Rejuvenetics™ skincare, all based on anti-aging research, to help you look your absolute best.

The Jewel of the Nile!
In 1982, UCLA scientists unearthed several dormant Lotus seeds buried at the
bottom of a dried-up lakebed in China for over 1200 years. When the seeds were
replanted in a greenhouse, they germinated into beautiful flowers as if they were
young seedlings. After examining the seeds, the scientists discovered they
contained a special protein enzyme with anti-aging potential. This enzyme helped
repair any cellular damage prior to germination, which explained the flowers’
remarkable longevity.
Years later, Dermatologists theorized that these seeds might offer protection against
factors that age skin. Their theory was proven correct when they combined an extract
of the Lotus Seed into a topical lotion. Clinical trials showed it helped reduce the
appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by 50%!

Sugars that Heal

Image via Wikipedia

Glyconutrients—the sugars that heal
The Greek word “glyco” means “sweet”. Hence, “glyconutrients” means “sweet nutrient”. Glyconutrients are complex sugars.) In 1996, eight glyconutrients were identified to be involved in the cellular communication processes. The essential glyconutrients facilitate cell to cell communication, support the immune system, and promote proper functioning of the nervous and endocrine system.

Glyconutrients are important factors in keeping the cardiovascular system functioning at an optimum level. They aid the body in keeping cholesterol and triglycerides in normal healthy ranges.

Glyconutrients have been shown to increase endurance, enhance sexual function and reverse infertility. They also support healthy skin and promote skin firmness. (Mondoa)

For more information www.naturscience.com/marie