Growing older is a fact of life. Death is the alternative. Therefore, instead of dreading aging, fearing what comes with it and seeing it as a slow march towards the end, perhaps we need to view it differently. Maybe we can learn something from how Eastern cultures, notably the Chinese, think about aging.
Within Chinese culture growing older means gaining greater social status. Those gray hairs and wrinkles are a sign that one has lived life and learned some important lessons along the way. With age comes wisdom, wisdom that can be shared with others. With age also comes the opportunity to truly be one’s self. It is a time to explore all of those dreams pent up when you were younger because you did not have the time, had other pressing responsibilities (being a parent, working), or were too afraid to pursue because of what others might have thought about it. Growing older is a time for release and blossoming into a new creation. For the Chinese aging is not an end, but a beginning. What a refreshing way of thinking about life!
This way of thinking not only covers life in general, but specifically issues that go along with midlife. Take menopause for example. Among the Chinese there is no word for menopause. Instead this time in a women’s life is referred to as “second spring.” No longer able to conceive and bear children, the physiological and emotional changes that come for women during menopause serve as an opportunity for self-examination & recognition of accomplishments; a time for revitalization; and a period of reinvention for the next phase of living. Midlife is a time to finally become one’s truest self. Last night’s Health Watch guest, Dr. Maoshing Ni (better known as “Dr. Mao”) really helped put midlife and menopause into perspective for us.
Dr. Mao, a thirty-eighth generation Chinese medical practitioner, who has recently released a book entitled, Second Spring, told our listeners about the meaning behind such common menopause symptoms as hot flashes, loss of libido and sex drive, memory difficulties and mood swings. Many of these have to do with “flow” and “energy" or the lack there of. Dr. Mao also offered our listeners natural and inexpensive ways to improve and maintain balance, making “second spring” a joyous time in a woman’s life.
So inspired by the possibilities that come with “second spring’ Dr. Mao and his colleagues have dedicated their careers to helping thousands of women become the people they were always meant to be. Maybe there really is something wonderful about growing older, something worth (re)discovering and anticipating with joy. The Health Watch team definitely looks forward to finding out. Hope you do too. Here’s to growing older with style and grace. Until next time, remember, “When we know better, we should do better, so pass it on.”
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Love Never Fails
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, NLT)
With many marriages ending in divorce and long-time relationships breaking up, it is easy to become jaded about love. For many, we stop believing sustained love is possible or even worth pursuing. What a sad life this would be without love. Therefore, it is heartening when we hear that real and healthy love is possible.
We shared findings last night on Health Watch from a study out of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, published in this month’s Psychological Science, indicating that overcoming boredom is the key to keeping relationships alive and well. Over 100 first-time married couples were studied for 16 years about their marriages. Those that expressed dissatisfaction at the 7 year mark (that dreaded seven-year itch) were more likely to divorce or be dissatisfied 9 years later in their marriages. Boredom was a strong predictor of future unhappiness and loss of intimacy. That was what science had to say. But, we wanted to know what our Health Watch listeners thought about keeping relationships strong.
If last night’s Health Watch callers are indication (and we believe they are) then love truly is not dead. It is alive and well. We heard from men and women who have been married or in committed relationships for only a few years and for decades. They had a lot to teach us. One important lesson they shared is that love, like any important thing, has to be cultivated. It has to be nurtured to thrive. Yes, love never fails. But, love takes work.
Here are some “trade secrets” to successful marriages and relationships that our Health Watch listeners shared:
Ø Be friends first and forever with your mate. Relationships that start out as friendships create a foundation of trust and support that can get couples over the tough times.
Ø Keep discovering new things about your mate. Each human being has many facets. The person you are with has new things to share and so do you. Keep learning about each other and you will never get bored with the one you love.
Ø A relationship is about service. It is about bringing the best out of the one you love and trusting they will do the same for you. Service should be your relationship’s mission statement – service for their best and your best.
Ø To keep the fire burning, be intentional about taking time to love each other. Talk to each other and share your feelings. Plan date nights with each other. Do the things you did when you were dating. Keep the relationship fresh and interesting.
Ø Never be too big to say, “I’m sorry.” Be willing to forgive so that you can be forgiven.
Ø Have a healthy spiritual relationship with God/Higher Being. When you are in-tune with yourself you can be better in sync with your partner.
It is obvious from our Health Watch listeners that they are putting in the time and effort to have healthy relationships. Hopefully, they will inspire us to do the same in ours. Until next time, remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
With many marriages ending in divorce and long-time relationships breaking up, it is easy to become jaded about love. For many, we stop believing sustained love is possible or even worth pursuing. What a sad life this would be without love. Therefore, it is heartening when we hear that real and healthy love is possible.
We shared findings last night on Health Watch from a study out of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, published in this month’s Psychological Science, indicating that overcoming boredom is the key to keeping relationships alive and well. Over 100 first-time married couples were studied for 16 years about their marriages. Those that expressed dissatisfaction at the 7 year mark (that dreaded seven-year itch) were more likely to divorce or be dissatisfied 9 years later in their marriages. Boredom was a strong predictor of future unhappiness and loss of intimacy. That was what science had to say. But, we wanted to know what our Health Watch listeners thought about keeping relationships strong.
If last night’s Health Watch callers are indication (and we believe they are) then love truly is not dead. It is alive and well. We heard from men and women who have been married or in committed relationships for only a few years and for decades. They had a lot to teach us. One important lesson they shared is that love, like any important thing, has to be cultivated. It has to be nurtured to thrive. Yes, love never fails. But, love takes work.
Here are some “trade secrets” to successful marriages and relationships that our Health Watch listeners shared:
Ø Be friends first and forever with your mate. Relationships that start out as friendships create a foundation of trust and support that can get couples over the tough times.
Ø Keep discovering new things about your mate. Each human being has many facets. The person you are with has new things to share and so do you. Keep learning about each other and you will never get bored with the one you love.
Ø A relationship is about service. It is about bringing the best out of the one you love and trusting they will do the same for you. Service should be your relationship’s mission statement – service for their best and your best.
Ø To keep the fire burning, be intentional about taking time to love each other. Talk to each other and share your feelings. Plan date nights with each other. Do the things you did when you were dating. Keep the relationship fresh and interesting.
Ø Never be too big to say, “I’m sorry.” Be willing to forgive so that you can be forgiven.
Ø Have a healthy spiritual relationship with God/Higher Being. When you are in-tune with yourself you can be better in sync with your partner.
It is obvious from our Health Watch listeners that they are putting in the time and effort to have healthy relationships. Hopefully, they will inspire us to do the same in ours. Until next time, remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them
Even the best relationships have their ups and downs. When things are good, they are great. But, when they are bad, they can be the worst. Nobody wants to be miserable when it comes to love. Yet, dealing with misery, sadness, and disappointment that comes in relationships is necessary to have the happiness you truly want in your relationships. Last week’s Health Watch guest, Ted Cunningham, co-author of From Anger to Intimacy: How Forgiveness Can Transform Your Marriage definitely made that clear. You can not avoid the irritations, resentment and anger that come up in relationships and expect to have a healthy one. You have got to deal with the matter head-on.
One good way of doing this is by becoming a student of anger. Most of the battles in our relationships are really about deeper issues – not about whether or not you put the toilet seat down or whose turn it is to pick up the kids. When we are stressed, tired, frustrated or scarred it can manifest itself in a lot of different ways. Study the script of your fights. Is there a pattern? If so, what is that pattern telling you? That pattern can tell you some really important things. Things like what your anger triggers are; the real source of your anger; and even whether not forgiving someone is the tool you use against the person you love. Studying anger can not only lead to better communication with your partner, it can tell you a lot about yourself. Maybe it’s time you studied your anger.
Ted also shared some other really important tips to create better intimacy with your partner. Some of the big ones include:
Ø Realize you cannot change somebody else. So, get off of their case.
Ø Be a “safe” partner. Be somebody your partner can share their hopes and dreams with without fearing you will cut them down.
Ø Checking in. Create time where you and your partner can openly share with each other about what is really going on in your lives.
The bottom line is that when it comes to love and relationships, we sometimes can’t live with them. But, we certainly can’t live without them. Therefore, we need to use all the tips and tools we can to learn from them and make them better. Here’s to happy relationships!
That’s it for this Ask Health Watch blog entry. Remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
One good way of doing this is by becoming a student of anger. Most of the battles in our relationships are really about deeper issues – not about whether or not you put the toilet seat down or whose turn it is to pick up the kids. When we are stressed, tired, frustrated or scarred it can manifest itself in a lot of different ways. Study the script of your fights. Is there a pattern? If so, what is that pattern telling you? That pattern can tell you some really important things. Things like what your anger triggers are; the real source of your anger; and even whether not forgiving someone is the tool you use against the person you love. Studying anger can not only lead to better communication with your partner, it can tell you a lot about yourself. Maybe it’s time you studied your anger.
Ted also shared some other really important tips to create better intimacy with your partner. Some of the big ones include:
Ø Realize you cannot change somebody else. So, get off of their case.
Ø Be a “safe” partner. Be somebody your partner can share their hopes and dreams with without fearing you will cut them down.
Ø Checking in. Create time where you and your partner can openly share with each other about what is really going on in your lives.
The bottom line is that when it comes to love and relationships, we sometimes can’t live with them. But, we certainly can’t live without them. Therefore, we need to use all the tips and tools we can to learn from them and make them better. Here’s to happy relationships!
That’s it for this Ask Health Watch blog entry. Remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Friday, May 8, 2009
Sex, Drugs and the Law?
Who knew that legalizing marijuana and taking erectile dysfunction ads off TV would prompt such a response from our Health Watch listeners? Go figure. It just goes to show that sex and drugs really are lightening rods for many of us. Both topics definitely made for lively discussion last night.
In case you missed Health Watch last night (5/7/09), here are some highlights:
Making Pot Legal
A California assemblyman recently proposed legislation to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana for recreational use. Earlier this week (5/5/09) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California suggested that a large scale study, including international case comparisons, should be conducted to determine the economic and social impact of legalizing marijuana. Why is legalizing pot once again a matter of public debate? It is because of the economy, of course.
California is facing a huge budget deficit and legalizing marijuana might be one way to offset some of this debt. Just how much revenue could be generated from legalizing marijuana in California? According to some estimates it could be as much as $1.34 billion dollars annually. Who knew pot could be so lucrative?
Among our Health Watch listeners, there was quite a bit of support for marijuana legalization. Some of the noted reasons in favor of marijuana legalization included:
Ø As a way to reduce the number of African American men involved the criminal justice system for recreational use of marijuana; and
Ø Pot does not produce the same kinds of harmful and/or destructive effects as alcohol misuse (e.g., DUIs).
Those against legalizing marijuana offered the following reasons:
Ø Government involvement in taxing marijuana will cut into profits of those growing and selling marijuana;
Ø Legalization of marijuana might serve as a gateway to legalize and tax other drugs; and
Ø Excessive marijuana consumption slows down coordination and affects brain functioning. Allowing people more access to marijuana will only make matters worse for those who regularly use.
If you want to read more about this subject, check out this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/07arnold.html?ref=us
That’s what some Health Watch listeners are thinking. But, what do you think? Check out this week’s Health Watch POLL QUESTION: Should marijuana be legalized? (Tell us what you think!)
ED Ads No More
You have seen the commercials on television, couples lounging in twin bathtubs, smiling and looking at the horizon. They are made all the happier by a little blue pill touted as the remedy to erectile dysfunction (ED). Even though the couples in those ads look content, everybody is not, especially not Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA).
Fed up with these commercials, Rep. Moran introduced H.R. 2175 in the U.S. House of Representatives last month. The bill prohibits any ED commercials from airing on broadcast radio and TV between 6 AM and 10 PM. The bill further advises the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to treat these ads as “indecent” and instruct stations to restrict broadcasting to late night or overnight hours.
Health Watch listeners had a lot to say about ED, those little blue pills, and airing these commercials. Respondents shared everything from -- these pills make sure men regularly “clean out” their prostates; women want more than just sex from their partners; to the fact that men take them to please their partners. Obviously, ED and ED medications are on a lot of folk’s minds. What do you think?
If you want to read more about this subject, check out this link:
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/07/erectile-dysfunction-ads-too-hot-for-tv/
Well, that’s it for this entry. Remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Listen to WFSK, 88.1 FM (Fisk University) and Health Watch (Thursdays, 6:00-7:00PM, CT) at www.wfsk.org.
In case you missed Health Watch last night (5/7/09), here are some highlights:
Making Pot Legal
A California assemblyman recently proposed legislation to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana for recreational use. Earlier this week (5/5/09) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California suggested that a large scale study, including international case comparisons, should be conducted to determine the economic and social impact of legalizing marijuana. Why is legalizing pot once again a matter of public debate? It is because of the economy, of course.
California is facing a huge budget deficit and legalizing marijuana might be one way to offset some of this debt. Just how much revenue could be generated from legalizing marijuana in California? According to some estimates it could be as much as $1.34 billion dollars annually. Who knew pot could be so lucrative?
Among our Health Watch listeners, there was quite a bit of support for marijuana legalization. Some of the noted reasons in favor of marijuana legalization included:
Ø As a way to reduce the number of African American men involved the criminal justice system for recreational use of marijuana; and
Ø Pot does not produce the same kinds of harmful and/or destructive effects as alcohol misuse (e.g., DUIs).
Those against legalizing marijuana offered the following reasons:
Ø Government involvement in taxing marijuana will cut into profits of those growing and selling marijuana;
Ø Legalization of marijuana might serve as a gateway to legalize and tax other drugs; and
Ø Excessive marijuana consumption slows down coordination and affects brain functioning. Allowing people more access to marijuana will only make matters worse for those who regularly use.
If you want to read more about this subject, check out this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/07arnold.html?ref=us
That’s what some Health Watch listeners are thinking. But, what do you think? Check out this week’s Health Watch POLL QUESTION: Should marijuana be legalized? (Tell us what you think!)
ED Ads No More
You have seen the commercials on television, couples lounging in twin bathtubs, smiling and looking at the horizon. They are made all the happier by a little blue pill touted as the remedy to erectile dysfunction (ED). Even though the couples in those ads look content, everybody is not, especially not Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA).
Fed up with these commercials, Rep. Moran introduced H.R. 2175 in the U.S. House of Representatives last month. The bill prohibits any ED commercials from airing on broadcast radio and TV between 6 AM and 10 PM. The bill further advises the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to treat these ads as “indecent” and instruct stations to restrict broadcasting to late night or overnight hours.
Health Watch listeners had a lot to say about ED, those little blue pills, and airing these commercials. Respondents shared everything from -- these pills make sure men regularly “clean out” their prostates; women want more than just sex from their partners; to the fact that men take them to please their partners. Obviously, ED and ED medications are on a lot of folk’s minds. What do you think?
If you want to read more about this subject, check out this link:
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/07/erectile-dysfunction-ads-too-hot-for-tv/
Well, that’s it for this entry. Remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Listen to WFSK, 88.1 FM (Fisk University) and Health Watch (Thursdays, 6:00-7:00PM, CT) at www.wfsk.org.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
“I once was blind, but now I see.”
This week we witnessed the first successful face transplant in the United States. Health care professionals at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio gave Connie Culp a new face and a new lease on life. The recipient of a donor face from a woman declared brain dead, Culp regained the ability to smell and see fully with the transplant. What was taken has now been restored. Time has a way of healing old wounds.
Slowly, new nerve cells are growing in Culp’s face. Doctors anticipate she will have more facial function and expression by later this year. Culp will finally grow into the face fashioned just for her.
Without question, Culp is a miracle. It is not the new face or her ability to smell and see that are the real miracles here. What is miraculous is that even when the chips were down, Culp did not give up. She forgave the man who hurt her. People shunned and were afraid of her. Yet, Culp kept moving forward. Even when she could not see with her natural eyes, she saw that life was worth living. Despite everything Culp believed the best wasn’t behind, but in front of her. And when others could not see what was really beautiful, Culp could.
Health Watch wishes Connie Culp many more years of seeing beyond limits and living life to the fullest. Hopefully, her story will inspire us to do the same.
For more information about Connie Culp and her amazing transformation, check out:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103838034&ps=cprs
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/06/face.transplant.shooting/index.html
Take care and remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Slowly, new nerve cells are growing in Culp’s face. Doctors anticipate she will have more facial function and expression by later this year. Culp will finally grow into the face fashioned just for her.
Without question, Culp is a miracle. It is not the new face or her ability to smell and see that are the real miracles here. What is miraculous is that even when the chips were down, Culp did not give up. She forgave the man who hurt her. People shunned and were afraid of her. Yet, Culp kept moving forward. Even when she could not see with her natural eyes, she saw that life was worth living. Despite everything Culp believed the best wasn’t behind, but in front of her. And when others could not see what was really beautiful, Culp could.
Health Watch wishes Connie Culp many more years of seeing beyond limits and living life to the fullest. Hopefully, her story will inspire us to do the same.
For more information about Connie Culp and her amazing transformation, check out:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103838034&ps=cprs
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/06/face.transplant.shooting/index.html
Take care and remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Friday, May 1, 2009
Welcome to the Ask Health Watch blog!
Welcome to the Ask Health Watch blog. This blog will recap important tidbits after our weekly on-air shows and provide a space for listeners to share their thoughts on how we can "make health happen" in our local communities. You can also suggest topics & guests you want to hear on Health Watch.
Please be sure to keep your posts positive, clean and expletive free.
The Ask Health Watch blog is just another way to keep thinking and talking about health. We look forward to hearing from you. And remember, "When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on."
Please be sure to keep your posts positive, clean and expletive free.
The Ask Health Watch blog is just another way to keep thinking and talking about health. We look forward to hearing from you. And remember, "When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on."
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