Tips For Mental Vitality As We Become Senior Citizens

Mental Health blogger

Does your memory trouble you? There are many different causes of memory loss, all of which having a major impact on the quality of your life. Lapses in memory can leave you feeling helpless and cause problems in your career, as well as with your personal life. These easy tips will help you increase the power of your memory.

You can find a number of useful books on the topic of memory improvement at your local public library. Many well-known psychiatrists have written books to help you improve your brain function and memory. The tools given to you in these books may be what you need in order to help you remember things.gs.

If you want a great tip to help improve your memory, then check this out. When trying to remember material that is new to you, associate this new information with something you already know. Linking the new item to other items in your information network allows you to bootstrap recall by leveraging previously learned information.

Organize your life with memory aids, such as calendars, schedules and to-do lists. Purchase a planner and keep your appointments and to-do lists jotted down in it. Use your schedule not just to jot down upcoming commitments, but also to check daily to make sure you know what’s coming up. The more you write things down and view them, the easier they are to recall on demand. Your brain doesn’t have to remember as much, and these things are handy and helpful in case you forget.

One way to improve memory is by learning something new. New knowledge makes new pathways inside your brain, allowing you to make a lot of new connections.

One tip to strengthen your memory is to always do in-depth studying into any subject you want to remember. If you have excess knowledge on something, you may remember it better. Take learning a word. Don’t just read the basic definition. Read a full description of its meaning and history.

Teaching other people is a fantastic way for improving your memory. For instance, if you have forgotten the plot of that interesting anime you watched last year, recount it to anyone willing to listen. It reinforces it in your mind, and makes it harder to forget.

Don’t try to absorb a ton of information in one sitting. To be more effective, make several study sessions to break up the information intake. Do not try to educate yourself on a subject all at once. Your mind can only absorb so much at a time, and you will simply lose most of the information you have tried to learn. Make sure you study regularly so that your brain is stimulated into remembering.

When it’s crucial that you remember something, try “hooking” the information together. The logic implies that related information can be connected together, which will help you remember. However, by connecting unrelated items together, you can also have recall occur. For example, Kathy pulls candy on Friday; great stuff, is sometimes used to help biology students remember the classification of living things: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. This connection is quite unusual, which will make it memorable.

Make a lot of healthy relationships in your life if you need to prevent memory loss. It has become apparent through scientific study that socializing with friends and family often helps keep the memory functions of the brain running smoothly.

Laughing and telling jokes is a good way to improve your memory. By hearing jokes and attempting to determine their punch lines, the area of your brain that deals with learning and your creativity is activated. Find people you can share jokes with to stimulate your brains together.

It is a natural part of life. Find the tips that you need and apply them so that you can life with your memory loss.

Psychiatrists Use Naturalistic Treatments For Depression And Stress Related Mental Health Issues

Mental Health blogger

Although statistics say that clinical depression affects about five percent of the American population, that number is most likely greatly underestimated. The truth is, thousands of people suffer from depression and stress related mental disorders but are either incorrectly diagnosed or never ask for help or treatment. For those who do, however, there is good news in the form of short-term cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and naturalistic depression treatments.

Among the latter are herbal medicines, homeopathy, yoga, aromatherapy, acupuncture and similar non-traditional, non-pharmaceutical treatments. Several well-recognized reports have shown that specific herbs act in much the same way as chemical medicines, balancing both neurotransmitters and hormones, with excellent results but without the occasionally debilitating side effects or withdrawal symptoms associated with prescription anti-depressants.

The leaves and flowers of St. John’s Wort, a plant found in both Europe and North America, have been used to cure depression for thousands of years both here and abroad. Another widely used plant is the West African Griffonia Simplicifolia, the seeds of which are used to make 5-HTP or 5-Hydroxytryptophan. This natural treatment helps stimulate the production of tryptophan, the amino acid that makes you feel so content and sleepy after a turkey dinner and which leads to the production of serotonin, the body’s own cure for depression.

SAM-e (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) and folic acid have also been discovered to be effective in treating mild to moderate depression, particularly when combined with CBT, as practiced by the many New York City psychiatrists who specialize in this form of therapy. While herbal additives are being used by more of the population every single day, most people are not informed enough to effectively self-prescribe, so it is generally unwise to take any of the aforementioned herbs with or instead of prescribed pharmaceutical depression meds, nor without prior consultation with a therapist.

However, regular exercise, yoga and meditation have been found to be of great help for physical and mental well being, and are being prescribed, not just by your general practitioner, but also by some psychiatrists to treat depression and stress.

For individuals who are either already being treated for a stress related mental condition or who are in the process of seeking depression treatment, inquiring into the pros and cons of a naturalistic treatment program is a wise idea. By all means, get active physically if you are able to do so. However, it is important to remember that this is rarely an “either-or” situation. Self-medication, by means of either natural or homeopathic remedies, should not replace regular treatment by a trained, certified medical professional. If regular pharmaceutical medications are prescribed, asking about naturalistic remedies instead of pharmaceuticals may turn out to be the best step you can take toward recovery.

Britney Spears Locked Away In A Mental Ward

Mental Health blogger

It has been reported that Britney Spears is finally recieving much needed medical treatment the Mental Condition known as Bipolar. Spears Whom is now hospitalized after continuing her usually strange behavior and then going reportedly 3-5 days without sleep had long been speculated as having the disease. Bipolar is a very serious disease that can lead to massive mood swings, violence outbreaks, and tons of other very strange behavior.

Bipolar comes in two different stages and one stage in between the two known as Cyclothymia which is a milder form of Bipolar 2. Bipolar I disorder is a mood disorder that is characterized by at least one manic or mixed episode. There may be episodes of hypomania or major depression as well. It is a sub-diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and conforms to the classic concept of manic-depressive illness. To be clear however Britney might be experiencing many different variations of this disease.

Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood, clinically referred to as mania. Individuals who experience manic episodes also commonly experience depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes which present with features of both mania and depression. These episodes are normally separated by periods of normal mood, but in some patients, depression and mania may rapidly alternate, known as rapid cycling. The disorder has been subdivided into bipolar I, bipolar II and cyclothymia based on the type and severity of mood episodes experienced.

Britney Spears shaved her head earlier last year before entering Rehab, after leaving Rehab she then went on a massive rant throughout hollywood which ended with her losing her kids, being taken forcefully from her home by Paramedics after a standoff with police while holding one of her two sons hostage, and then finally hooking up with a member of the Paparazzi, all the while continually dressing in strange garments including the supposed top half of her wedding dress. We are all hoping Britney Finally gets the help she so desperately needs.

Group B Strep Leaves Baby With Quadriplegia And Mental Retardation After Pediatrician Missed Signs

Mental Health blogger

A Group B Strep infection can have severe consequences on a baby and can develop and cause injury suddenly and quickly doctors generally agree that antibiotics should be administered as soon as a baby shows signs of infection rather than wait for test results which can take 48-72 hours. If test results later come back negative, antibiotics can be stopped. Failure to recognize the signs of infection or to treat them immediately with antibiotics may result in medical malpractice.

Consider, for example, a reported case in which the baby’s mother had tested negative for Group B Strep during the pregnancy and neither the mother nor the baby showed any of the risk factors for neonatal sepsis (such as preterm delivery, rupture of the membranes lasting longer than 18 hours prior to delivery, and infection of the placental tissues and amniotic fluid).

The pediatrician was present in the delivery room. Within three hours of being born the baby started experiencing respiratory distress, had problems feeding, and his extremities started showing diminished perfusion (which can lead to decreased tissue oxygen delivery).

The pediatrician was called two times by the nurses about these developments. The pediatrician ordered pulse oximetry but did not examine the baby. Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive method of monitoring the oxygenation of the baby’s hemoglobin. The results were normal as were the results of the CBC and urine bacterial antigen tests ordered by the pediatrician after the baby’s birth. Over the course of the next 11 hours after the initial onset of symptoms, the baby’s respiratory and feeding problems seemed to resolve but the perfusion problems did not change.

The pediatrician claimed to have examined the baby 14 hours after birth. There was no record in the chart of the pediatrician conducting a full examination of the baby. There was only an entry indicating that the baby was normal in all respects, active, pink, alert and feeding well. The pediatrician then left the hospital.

Entries in the chart over the course of the next 12 hours documented that the baby’s perfusion problems continued. Then, 26 1/2 hours after being born the baby again developed respiratory and feeding problems. The staff called the pediatrician approximately 1 1/2 hours after these symptoms returned.

The pediatrician immediately returned to the hospital, diagnosed the baby with septic shock, and transferred him to the Intensive Care Unit. The baby required resuscitation. He was transferred five hours later to a medical center where he could receive more specialized care and remained there for an extended stay.

The baby had suffered from meningitis due to a Group B Strep infection. The meningitis, in turn, resulted in quadriplegia and mental retardation. Had the pediatrician administered antibiotics prior to leaving the hospital, the baby would not have developed meningitis and would not suffer from quadriplegia or mental retardation.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the baby and his parents. The case went to trial where the plaintiffs presented evidence that the pediatrician (1) should have conducted a full sepsis workup 3 hours after delivery, when the baby first started showing symptoms (2) should have immediately started the baby on antibiotics and (3) should have left clear instructions for the nurses to contact him immediately of any change in condition. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs and the law firm that represented them reported the case then settled for $1.0 Million, the policy limits.

This case illustrates the importance of reacting quickly to signs of infection in a newborn. While the pediatrician took the position that the initial respiratory and perfusion problems were explainable as side effects of issues other than infection, that the feeding problems had resolved before he left, and that the test results were negative, the fact remains that the baby did have a Group B Strep infection and that early administration of antibiotics, as most doctors would recommend, would have prevented his lifelong disabilities.

Residential Tenancies Mental Health Problems A duty to accommodate and a tenant’s right to remain

Mental Health blogger

RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES: Mental Health Problems, a Duty to Accommodate, and a Tenant’s Right to Remain in their Home

By: Michael K.E. Thiele, B.A., LL.B., Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, Ottawa, Ontario Canada. Copyright 2007

The legislation governing most residential landlord and tenant relationships in Ontario is the Residential Tenancies Act S.O. 2006, c.17. (RTA). While the residential lease, written, oral, or implied, executed by the parties may inform the rights and responsibilities between the parties, the lease agreement may only establish those rights subject to the over-riding provisions of the RTA. In Ontario, the RTA applies to rental units in residential complexes despite any other Act and despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary. Further, where a provision in a tenancy agreement/ lease is inconsistent with the RTA or its regulations, that provision is void, and where the provision of another Act conflicts with the RTA the RTA takes precedence. In this regard, the freedom to contract is restricted; even prevented by the RTA, and appellate judicial pronoucement confirms that the RTA is effectively a complete code removing even the jurisdiction of the Superior Court in dealing with the relationship between landlord and tenant outside of the regime established by the RTA.

A recognized and statutorily mandated exception to the foregoing is the application of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the provisions of which take precedence over the provisions of the RTA. It is with respect to this exception that this paper is concerned, in the context of discussing recurring and difficult cases arising at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and how the Human Rights Code is helping tenants suffering from disabilities that cause behaviours which otherwise or normally would justify termination of their tenancies and eviction.

In practice before the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario, it has become increasingly apparent that a great number of tenants who are called upon to defend themselves and consequently their tenancies are suffering from some form of mental illness. In many instances, the mental illness is undiagnosed, but nevertheless is apparent to the observant onlooker. These tenants, but for the litigation support offered through Legal Aid Ontario, Community Legal Clinics, and generous lawyers, are left without the protections that one expects a Court to afford parties under disability. The Landlord and Tenant Board will allow proceedings to continue against a tenant, who by any reasonable measure would appear to be a party under disability, with the usual caveat being that they speak to duty counsel (who can not represent during the proceeding) prior to hearing.

Whether justice is wrought in these circumstances is a hard question; however, I believe it is fair to say that under these circumstances, the chance for injustice is greatly elevated. How then, and where, is the protection for parties under disability, for the mentally ill and infirm?

The starting point to deal with mental illness in residential landlord and tenant matters lies in the Ontario Human Rights Code R.S.O. 1990, c. H 19.. The code provides that -every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to the occupancy of accommodation, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance-. A disability is defined to include a condition of mental impairment or a mental disorder.

In the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Werbeski v. Ontario (Director of Disability Support Program, Ministry of Community & Social Services), 2006 SCC 14 (S.C.C.) , the Court held that a provincially created statutory tribunal was obligated to follow the provincial human rights legislation when rendering its decision. The Court stated that statutory tribunals, which were empowered to decide questions of law, are presumed to look beyond the enabling statute, to apply the whole law to a matter properly before them.

The OHRC is a fundamental law. The Ontario legislature affirmed the primacy of the OHRC in the law itself, which is applicable both to private citizens and public bodies. Further, the adjudication of OHRC issues is no longer confined to the exclusive domain of the Ontario Human Rights Commission: OHRC, Section 34. The legislature has clearly contemplated that this fundamental law could be applied by the Court and other administrative bodies and has amended the OHRC accordingly.

In Werbeski , supra, the Supreme Court of Canada found that an administrative tribunal should apply the provisions of the OHRC when interpreting statutes because:

(i) The Ontario Human Rights Code states that it has primacy over other legislative enactments;

(ii) The recent amendments to the OHRC have removed the exclusive jurisdiction over interpretation and the application of the Code, from the Human Rights Commission.

In addition, the provisions of Section 11(2) and Section 17(2) and (3) of the OHRC specifically state that “a Court, as well as the Tribunal or the Commission, could apply these provisions of the OHRC when deciding if the needs of a person with a disability can be accommodated without undue hardship.” Section 47(2) of the OHRC states that the OHRC is paramount over other legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada has also held that the Human Rights Code takes precedence over agreements and contracts: Syndicat Northcrest c. Amselem, [2004] 2 S.C.R. 551 (S.C.C.).

APPLICATION TO LANDLORD AND TENANT BOARD PROCEEDINGS

The Divisional Court in Walmer Developments v. Wolch, on a appeal from a decision of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (predecessor to the Landlord and Tenant Board), dealt with a situation where the tenant was diagnosed with schizophrenia. As a consequence of this condition, the tenant exhibited behaviours that included frequent screaming, throwing garbage loose in the halls, shouting profanity in the elevator, putting her property, such as her TV, out in the hall, and leaving food cooking on the stove unattended and hence filling the hall with smoke.

The Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal did not apply the Ontario Human Rights Code, and failed to give consideration to the implications of section 2 of the OHRC to the eviction proceedings before it. This was ultimately held to be in error as Section 17 of the Code provides:

17(1) A right of a person under this Act is not infringed for the reason only that the person is incapable of performing or fulfilling the essential duties or requirements attending the exercise of the right because of disability.

(2) The Commission, the board of inquiry or a court shall not find a person incapable unless it is satisfied that the needs of the person cannot be accommodated without undue hardship on the person responsible for accommodating those needs, considering the cost, outside sources of funding, if any, and health and safety requirements, if any.

After some discussion of issues pertaining to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal’s ability to require accommodation (since ameliorated by statutory amendments), the Court held that a tenant suffering a disability has the protections of the OHRC, and most importantly that the question of accommodation shall be considered in the Tribunal’s/Board’s determination of whether to relieve from eviction under the discretionary provisions of the Tenant Protection Act/Residential Tenancies Act.

In Walmer, the appeal was allowed because it was ultimately demonstrated that the landlord could accommodate the tenant by notifying the tenant’s family of problems as they arose and that the tenant’s family could intervene. It was found that the tenant, when on her medication was controlled and her behaviour was then not objectionable.

Walmer, then, stands for the proposition that a landlord has a duty to accommodate a tenant who exhibits behaviours as a result of a disability, that otherwise would warrant termination and eviction, and where the accommodation does not amount to undue hardship, to actually take steps to assist the tenant in maintaining their tenancy by finding reasonable solutions to the problems alleged. Further, where a landlord fails to provide such accommodation, the Landlord and Tenant Board is directed to consider what may be a reasonable accommodation and where available, refuse termination and eviction to the landlord.

SINCE WALMER The Walmer decision has had the practical impact of sensitizing the Landlord and Tenant Board to the fact that many of the persons who appear before the Board are suffering from disabilities. While sensitized to the issue, it continues to be the case that the burden of establishing the existence of the disability; and further establishing what the reasonable accommodation may be; remains with the tenant. Where tenants do not have representation and/or do not have a support network the accommodation potential (and hence retention of the rental unit) offered by Walmer , is not pursued and hence is lost. Very clearly, in the Landlord and Tenant Board context, a human right is only a right if it is pursued and the Board will not, on an institutional basis assure that a mentally ill party is represented and that his/her human rights are asserted.

The Walmer decision has had a dramatic real life impact for many tenants. In particular, tenants suffering from schizophrenia, paranoid delusional disorder, dementia, alzheimers, hoarding instincts, and a host of other mental illnesses that from time to time cause behaviours that otherwise would warrant termination and eviction; now, are retaining their housing, with the landlord being required to take a little extra care for them. The Walmer development has been a positive change in that it has very clearly prevented homelessness of persons with mental illness who are able to be treated and who will function normally with the right support, understanding, and accommodation.

This is significant as the number of aging renters increases. Aging seniors, who haven’t had an issue with their landlords since the commencement of their tenancy are increasingly finding themselves before the Landlord and Tenant Board facing allegations of anti-social behaviours. Often these behaviours are age related as aging sometimes brings on mental illnesses or medical conditions that cause a person to exhibit anti-social behaviours. Often, these can be medically treated or ameliorated by additional care and support. These -mentally ill- tenants are often just regular folks whose entire life is subject to being turned upside down through eviction because they got sick. Through eviction they lose the stability that having a place to live gives, it robs them of peace, their routines, and likely exacerbates any medical condition or mental illness through the stress caused by the eviction.

While Walmer has been a tremendous help to many tenants by forcing the Landlord and Tenant Board to recognize -disabilities- and to impose accommodation of those disabilities where reasonable; the procedures of the Landlord and Tenant Board in adjudicating cases dealing with the mentally ill continue to disregard the fact that in many instances these tenants are not only mentally ill but incompetent as well. From the perspective of the Landlord and Tenant Board it never has a party before it that can be a -person under disability- as in the sense of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Query whether this is just.

CONCLUSION The issue that this paper started with remains unresolved. Persons suffering with mental illness still face procedural disadvantage at the Landlord and Tenant Board. The Landlord and Tenant Board can make a person homeless. Hopefully, the law will eventually recognize that the mentally ill and incompetent deserve procedural protection and it seems fair to suggest that one avenue to such protection is through the ideas expressed by the Court in Walmer.