Features
Understanding mental health – Part one
Sleep is essential to achieve the best state of physical and mental health. Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in learning, memory, mood, and judgment.
Sleep affects how well you perform when you are awake—both your daily work and athletic performance. The amount of time you sleep as well as the quality of your sleep are both important.
If you or your child is an athlete, it is even more important to regularly get a good night’s sleep to allow your body to rest well and recover between periods of exercise, as well as to decrease risk of injury.
Mental Health
Mental-health conditions, which include behavioural and mental-health problems ie depression, anxiety disorders as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and disruptive behavioral disorders as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disturbances, substance use, suicidal behavior, and aggressive disruptive behaviour, are the leading causes of adjustment problems in adolescents and young people worldwide.
Mental-health conditions have a significant impact on the development of over two billion youth and their social and economic integration, including employability.
It is also critical that attention to global mental health moves beyond treatment-oriented programmes in health care settings to include broader approaches inspired by public-health and social-inclusion considerations.
Mental-health conditions have a significant impact on youth development and social and economic integration. Mental-health conditions during adolescence and young adulthood can have a significantly negative impact on the development of safe and healthy relationships with peers, parents, teachers, and romantic partners.
Many mental-health conditions negatively affect youths’ ability to successfully form supportive and healthy relationships and manage conflict in relationships, which is particularly disconcerting given that adolescence is a critical time for identity formation and taking on roles, especially with peers.
Disruptions in the ability to form and sustain interpersonal relationships can have lasting impacts on youths’ social and emotional functioning.
Mental health problems increase the likelihood of poverty, limit employment opportunities severely, and impact work performance negatively -Kessler and Frank, 1997.
Traumatic experiences, including adverse childhood events – the death of a parent, abuse, being a refugee affect youth worldwide, but are particularly common in post-conflict or disaster settings.
The accumulation of these and other risk factors give rise to the greater likelihood of developing mental-health conditions.
Many studies of mental health among youth in low- and middle-income countries have documented the elevated risk of mental-health conditions in post-conflict or disaster settings.
PTSD is particularly common in these settings, and contributes to subsequent adjustment problems and considerable disability.
Certain youth are at particular risk of mental health conditions. This includes youth who are homeless and street-involved, orphaned youth and those involved with the juvenile justice and mental-health systems.
The accumulation of these and other risk factors contribute to the increased likelihood of impairment and disability. Stigma is a considerable barrier to mental health service delivery, particularly among young people.
Help-seeking behaviour comes less readily to young people who may be even more impacted by stigma, embarrassment and the lack of basic knowledge about mental health.
The issue of stigma is further challenged by the lack of quality mental-health services in low- and middle-income countries.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
Features
The Palestinian martyr-Little Hind Rajab
THE wickedness of some people in our world is gradually getting out of bounds. From local arena to international arena, reports of wicked acts that defies logic, is on the rise.
Russia has attacked Ukraine and as a result, the economies of many countries have been negatively impacted. Residential apartments which have no military purpose. Just sheer wickedness and cruelty.
After this came the Brutal attack on Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces. Hospitals were bombed, buildings were razed down and civilians were deliberately targeted which is a war crime according to the Geneva Convention.
The IDF will release pamphlets in the skies informing them to move to certain specified areas. They move there with their families only to be bombed again without warning.
It was one of such movement from one place to another that, the family of a 5 year Palestinian girl called Hind Rajab and her family, travelling in a vehicle, were shot at by an IDF Tank.
This wounded girl managed to call emergency services to come and save them.
The sad thing is that while this brave little girl kept talking to the emergency response person on the phone, telling them that they should come quickly and that she was afraid.
She further told the response team on phone that any time she tries to speak, blood comes into her mouth and it soils her dress and she dies not want her mum to scold her so they should come quickly.
The response team rushed as usual to her location but they were also shot and killed, the driver and his assistant, in a vehicle clearly marked as an ambulance. Ten days later when they got to her location, Hind Rajab and her family were dead and their vehicle was riddled with 335 bullets.
The wickedness with which the IDF waged the war against Hamas, the administrative authority in Gaza, was unbelievable, given the damage to civilians both collateral and in most cases deliberate.
There are reports of some Doctors from the US and other countries, who have described how children they attended to, who were brought in dead, had evidence of sniper bullets.
A report by one of the media platforms, indicated that one of the IDF snipers who died recently, had bragged about shooting children in the abdomen so they will suffer before dying.
What baffles me in all these atrocities, is why Jews who have been saved by a collective action of the world, from Hitler and his Nazis from destruction, infamously known as the Holocaust, is now visiting mayhem on others, namely the Palestinians.
One begins to wonder if Hitler was right after all and that he saw something that the rest of the world did not notice about the Jews. I must admit that it is not all Jews that are racist. It is the Zionist who are the problem with their Talmud which teaches that Jesus is burning in hot feaces.
They deliberately teach their children to hate other people who are not Jews especially the Palestinians. They do not consider the Palestinians as humans and therefore they believe they have the God given right to treat them anyway anyhow.
Hind Rajab’s death has pricked the conscience of the world and countries which used to blindly support Israel, are now putting pressure on them to observe a ceasefire as part of a peace negotiation.
Let the world through the UN show that it does not support barbarism and that the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel, must come to an end.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Features
Angioplasty: A comprehensive overview of the procedure and its applications
Angioplasty is a minimally invasive medical procedure used to widen narrowed or blocked arteries or blood vessels. The procedure involves the insertion of a catheter, a small tube, into the affected artery, followed by the inflation of a balloon to widen the artery. In some cases, a stent, a small mesh tube, may be placed to keep the artery open.
Indications for Angioplasty
Angioplasty is often used to treat conditions such as:
1. Coronary artery disease: Narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart.
2. Peripheral artery disease: Narrowing or blockage of the arteries in the legs or arms.
3. Atherosclerosis: Buildup of plaque in the arteries, which can lead to narrowing or blockage.
The Angioplasty Procedure
The angioplasty procedure typically involves the following steps:
1. Preparation: The patient is given local anesthesia and may be sedated to help them relax.
2. Insertion of the catheter: A small incision is made in the skin, and a catheter is inserted into the affected artery.
3. Guidance: The catheter is guided to the affected area using imaging techniques such as fluoroscopy or angiography.
4. Inflation of the balloon: The balloon on the catheter is inflated to widen the artery.
5. Stent placement: A stent may be placed to keep the artery open.
6. Removal of the catheter: The catheter is removed, and the incision site is closed.
Benefits of Angioplasty
Angioplasty offers several benefits, including:
1. Improved blood flow: Angioplasty can help improve blood flow to the affected area, reducing symptoms such as chest pain or leg pain.
2. Minimally invasive: Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure, which means that it requires only a small incision and can reduce recovery time.
3. Reduced risk of complications: Angioplasty can reduce the risk of complications associated with more invasive surgical procedures.
Potential Risks and Complications
While angioplasty is generally a safe procedure, there are potential risks and complications, including:
1. Bleeding or hematoma: Bleeding or bruising at the incision site.
2. Artery damage: Damage to the artery during the procedure.
3. Restenosis: Narrowing or blockage of the artery again after the procedure.
Conclusion
Angioplasty is a highly effective procedure for treating narrowed or blocked arteries or blood vessels. While it carries some risks and complications, the benefits of improved blood flow and reduced symptoms make it a valuable treatment option for many patients.
References:
1. American Heart Association. (2020). Angioplasty and Stenting.
2. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2020). Angioplasty and Stent Placement.
3. Mayo Clinic. (2020). Angioplasty: What You Need to Know.
4. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (2019). Angioplasty and Stenting in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of angioplasty, including its indications, procedure, benefits, and potential risks and complications.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
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