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The Sydney attacker had “mental issues” but most people with mental illness are not violent

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The man who killed six people and injured many others at a Bondi shopping mall on Saturday, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, apparently he had “mental health problems,” the police explained shortly after the tragic event, but ruled out terrorism.

Cauchi was reportedly diagnosed with a mental illness on the age of 17 and received treatment in the private and non-private sectors. But Queensland police said Cauchi’s mental condition has deteriorated in recent times.

Regardless of the circumstances, such acts of violence should be condemned. If mental health issues contribute to such acts, they must be understood and prevented.



However, it needs to be remembered that the overwhelming majority of mentally in poor health people do not pose a risk of violence against others.

Unfortunately, there remains to be an unacceptable level of stigma and misunderstanding of mental illness, including the misperception that people with mental illness are violent. People can learn lessons from cases just like the Bondi attack, where people with mental illness commit violence.

So is there a connection between mental illness and violent crime? Here’s what the evidence says.

For most people with mental illness, there isn’t any increase in violence

Tests from Australia and abroad to introduce a small percentage of people with serious mental illness could also be at increased risk of violence.

Our research in Victoria, for instance, to introduce 10% of people with schizophrenia (a serious type of mental illness by which the patient’s condition could also be so bad that he loses contact with reality) have committed a violent crime. For comparison, this figure is roughly 2.4% of the overall population. So while people with schizophrenia were at higher risk of committing a violent crime, the overwhelming majority were not.

The arrangements are in place mixed regarding the direct link between more common mental illnesses, equivalent to anxiety and depression, and violence.

Although the the reason why anyone – including people with mental illness – commit crimes vary, we discover three categories of mentally in poor health people who engage in violence.

1. Irrational considering and beliefs

The first is a really small group of people with a serious mental illness, normally schizophrenia, who behave aggressively as a direct results of the symptoms of their mental illness.

For these people, the disease results in irrational considering and beliefs that will make them more more likely to behave aggressively. An individual may develop delusional beliefs that they are being targeted or that their life is in peril in the event that they do not use violence against perceived enemies.

For these people, in the event that they did not have specific symptoms of mental illness, they would not be offended.

People on this category could also be found not guilty by reason of mental retardation. They are then normally held in secure hospitals or prisons where they continue to be treated and eventually releasedafter they are not deemed to pose a risk to others.

2. Overlapping social aspects

The second category is way broader and more diverse. For this group, people do not offend due to mental illness per se, but due to the related individual and social problems that may accompany mental illness.

People affected by some types of mental illness, for instance, could also be more more likely to abuse substances, which in turn may contribute to crime.

Many negative social aspects are associated with serious types of mental illness overlap with negative social aspects that increase the likelihood of violence.

People with serious types of mental illness whose environments are characterised by social and family disruptions and drawbacks, including violence, behavioral disorders, substance use and academic failure and disengagement, are way more likely offend than mentally in poor health people who do not have such disorders within the background.

Of course, most people suffer from psychotic illnesses they do not come such disadvantaged environments.

Research and clinical experience also show Factors associated with crime on this group are much like those amongst people without mental illness. In addition to substance abuse, this may occasionally include aggressive attitudes, exposure to trauma and violence, association with antisocial people, and poor family and work support.

3. Mental illness is not related

The last group of mentally in poor health people to commit crimes accomplish that no matter mental illness. People on this group are normally characterised by early antisocial and illegal behavior.

They differ from other criminals with mental illness in that they’ve a pervasive and stable pattern of offending, no matter their mental condition. This behavior almost all the time precedes the onset of mental illness.

While people with psychopathic or antisocial personality disorder are included on this group, not all people on this group can have this personality disorder.

Mental health care can reduce the danger of violence

It is not mental illness itself that makes people violent. Rather, they are symptoms of diseases and aspects associated with them.

Is good evidence due to this fact, providing psychiatric and psychological care will help manage the symptoms of mental illness reduce likelihood of violence.

It can be essential address broader aspects that are associated with crime and violence amongst mentally in poor health people.

Unfortunately, partly because of this of the pressure on mental health services, staff have few resources to assist address the range of things that may result in aggressive behavior. Continued investment and education are needed to enhance services and address the aspects that result in violence amongst people with mental illness.

While now we have made some progress in recognizing that mental illness affects a big percentage of the population, individual acts of violence committed by a mentally in poor health person should not lead us to the hasty conclusion that every one people with mental illness are violent.



This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

Ethnicity is a useful shortcut for identifying needs – without it, targeting public services will become more difficult

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Latest government news directive prioritizing public services “based on need rather than race” will make reaching New Zealanders with greater needs more difficult and take longer.

The directive’s give attention to ethnicity fails to acknowledge that many ‘surrogate’ needs – resembling age, gender, rural location and income – are routinely utilized in New Zealand and elsewhere allocate resources.

And this policy is contradictory relevant evidence that ethnicity is in truth an appropriate strategy to discover needs.

As well as making it more difficult to discover and reach New Zealanders most in need, these policies are more likely to exacerbate existing inequalities. There is also concern that it will put providers liable to financial failure because they don’t receive enough funding to cover patients with the best needs.

Effective shortcuts

Proxies resembling ethnicity, age, gender and placement are effective shortcuts to where the cash is going. The purpose of their use is to offer the proper resources at the proper place and time.

Take, for example, the major funding formula for primary care.

To ensure adequate funding for populations with higher needs, the fundamental services formula is as follows weighted to make sure a higher level of funding to specific population groups. These include children and older people, women, people using multiple services and folks living in rural areas.

From which the particular features used as proxies are taken tests which recognizes that certain groups use or need health services more than others.

Blunt instruments

Frankly, powers of attorney are relatively blunt instruments. However, given the challenges of pinpointing needs, these are the perfect we’ve got.

To determine population health needs without proxies, a nationwide survey of individuals’s health would should be conducted, making an allowance for a big selection of conditions and risk aspects.

Such a study would also must discover which health needs people consider most significant to find out which services might be prioritized. Collecting such information could be expensive and its validity period could be very short.

Mortality rates (by state) may provide data on health needs, but with some limitations – not every health condition causes death.

Other data may give attention to the usage of services (different proxy server). But this approach also has drawbacks. For example, it doesn’t reveal unmet needs for individuals who should not have or cannot access services.

There are serious gaps in our data sets. We have quite good data on hospital services, including diagnoses. However, data is not as available for other services, including the usage of primary care and mental health services.

And the information is virtually non-existent relating to understanding the needs of key population groups, resembling individuals with disabilities and the rainbow community.

Providing a solid analytical case for any resource allocation goal will be difficult in the present environment, particularly given recent public sector cuts.

Are all proxies problematic or only one?

The government has chosen ethnicity as a side of private identity that public sector agencies should use with the best caution as a proxy.

However, when all other aspects were taken under consideration (for example, age and rural location), Māori, Pacific Islanders and other ethnic groups worse health outcomes and access to health care.

In primary care, nevertheless, ethnicity is used only as a proxy measure when allocating a small pool of funding to enhance access to services.

Māori and Pacific peoples particularly proceed to face barriers to accessing health care that might be removed – if ethnicity influenced resource allocation decisions more, not less.

Māori and Pasifika people in New Zealand proceed to struggle with poorer health outcomes.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

The issue of human rights

The coalition government formulates its aversion to “racial policy” around human rights – particularly Art. 1.4 of the Act International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

This allows states to take special measures (only) when essential to adequately protect the rights of specific ethnic groups. This signifies that the measures taken in Aotearoa have gone beyond what was essential.

However, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said New Zealand’s health policy was insufficient to satisfy Māori needs. The commission found there was a structural bias against Māori, which meant it was difficult for Māori to access health care on an equal footing with other New Zealanders.

It also found that Māori service providers are marginalized and should not paid for their work at the identical level as other service providers. She also expressed concern in regards to the poorer health outcomes that Māori and Pasifika proceed to face.

In a context of persistent, well-documented inequality and discrimination, the coalition government desires to pretend that ethnicity is not related to need.

If agencies are forced to overlook the role that ethnicity plays in health needs, we will expect a lot of wasted work by back-office employees trying to assemble evidence about what we already know to justify targeted services. Or a lot of wasted money, ensuring services widely available and targeting much more profitable.

Proxies, including those based on ethnicity, play a crucial role in a fair and equitable resource allocation system. They should not random, lazy, or the results of prejudice. They are based on available evidence of demand at population level.



This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

This new podcast is exclusively for Black women who want to embrace their baldness

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Brennan Johnson

Ladies, now is the time, greater than ever, to embrace your skin, including the hairstyles you select to wear.

Brennan Nevada Inc.New York’s only Black, female-led PR and media agency serving technology corporations, startups and enterprise capitalists, today is excited to announce the new podcast show “Bald & Buzzed with Brennan” founded by Brennan Nevada Johnson. A media specialist, this podcast continues and expands our work to reach new and diverse area of interest audiences. Brennan is a descendant of Carter G. Woodson, the founding father of Black History Month, who created the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, launched an educational profession, and published greater than 20 books on Black history. Brennan Nevada Inc., PR and media agencies are keeping Woodson’s legacy alive by telling Black and BIPOC stories to corporations that do not typically have access to best-in-class PR and storytelling services.

This new media enterprise will create content and space exclusively for people without hair who haven’t yet been accepted or celebrated due to outdated beliefs, stigmas and stereotypes imposed by society. With the premiere of the primary season in November, Brennan will host thought-provoking conversations in a news program format, in addition to interviews with inspiring people who have shaved their heads to discuss a wide selection of topics related to business, culture, love, sports, entertainment and sweetness, fashion, personal funds and more.

This podcast will showcase Brennan’s passion for storytelling while instilling confidence and reinforcing the advantages of being bald and engaged in every aspect of on a regular basis life. Bald by selection for over 13 years, Brennan has been published in lifestyle and consumer media akin to , promoting this unique and powerful hairstyle while debunking and debunking myths about having no hair.

“I’m so excited in regards to the official debut of Bald and Buzzed with Brennan. I’m obsessive about baldness, fashionable hairstyles and the media. Why not mix it and supply listeners with the perfect conversations and experiences by rewriting the narrative on how media, society and types interact with bald people? Our mission is to turn what has all the time been portrayed as negative or frankly depressing into positive! Having little or no hair is a life-style, sexy, luxurious and attitude that can be the most important focus of our show. The world needs to know the way cool it is to shave your head.”

Podcast listeners can subscribe and tune in each week as Brennan updates you on every little thing you wish to know to stay awake to date with the most recent news. In addition, Brennan will interview bald and fit pioneers from various industries to encourage viewers to live beautifully and boldly with a bald head. As the name of the podcast suggests, it’s an entendre because buzz can mean many things – haircuts, news, being drunk, gossip, etc.

For more on Baldy and Buzzed with Brennan, subscribe to them YouTube pageto watch the most recent episodes.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

The four “ashrams” of Hinduism and what they can teach us about aging gracefully

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Aging often evokes fear, opposition, and within the cruelest cases, ridicule and even punishment.

Louise Aronsongeriatrician and writer of the book “Old age– she put it well when she said it older people who are looking for health care they often feel redundant, even if the intentions are benign. In workplace usually, being older seems to imply uselessness.

Many older individuals are haunted by an irrational but socially reinforced sense of failure. Reporter Ali Pattillo writes National Geographer: “Nobody wants to be old, especially as stereotypes about aging have become more negative… fueling what some call a global aging crisis.”

I’m researcher of South Asia whose work focused on the transformation of Indian society because of this of British colonization, resulting in the loss of pre-colonial values, knowledge and customs. I’m aware of this Teachings of Hinduism about different stages of life – four ashrams – knowledge that has been lost today.

This model of human life could offer guidance on the way to age more gracefully.

Model of four ashrams

The concept of four ashrams has existed since 500 BC and is described intimately in: Hindu classical ancient texts. It is integrated with Purushartha’s ideaor the four proper goals of life in Hindu philosophy, namely dharma or morality; artha, or wealth; kama, or love; and moksha – liberation.

In ancient literature brahmacharya, the primary stage, or ashramit is alleged to start on the age of 7, when slightly boy is assigned a guru, or teacher, who studies hard and follows ascetic discipline and self-control, including complete celibacy until the subsequent ashram.

In the subsequent ashram generally known as grhasthaIt is alleged that the boy, now a young man, is passing from academic studies to coping with worldly matters. Grihastha is an important period in a person’s life, including decent family support, ethical wealth constructing, and having children.

He got here across the age of 50 vanaprasthawhen the method of renunciation of the world was expected to be initiated. It began with breaking away from family life and step by step approaching a life devoid of worldly burdens and responsibilities. It was the equivalent of today’s pension and pension.

He got here last sanyasa, or complete renunciation – a time of complete detachment from the world, desires and anxieties, around 75. Sanyasin left home, went to the forest, became a teacher and modeled the achievement of final spiritual liberation.

Not all ages is a panoramic race

Each stage of life have to be lived in line with its natural possibilities.
Halfpoint/Moment Collection Images via Getty Images

Given the currently increased human lifespan, the timeline indicated above for every stage ought to be interpreted easily and diversely. Generally speaking, in Hinduism, the approximation of such stages and ways of life at different ages is an affordable timeline for life. Anyone, regardless of race, gender, nationality and age, can learn from ashrams. Not all ages and every stage of life needs to be experienced as a breathless race.

The ideal of four ashrams proposes living and having fun in line with one’s natural capabilities at any point in life. And when the race goes well, you can and do decelerate, back out, and start a distinct journey. In his collection of poems entitledForest of Eternity” Paul Zweig, facing his own premature death from cancer, imagined life after death as freedom from the tormenting bonds of death, very like Hindu philosophers conceptualized life as stages of natural progression toward freedom from the conflicts and sufferings of the world and transcendence.

This ideal of the four stages of Hindu philosophy teaches us that we should not have to live in a relentless mindset of holding back changes in abilities, but to live life to the fullest at each stage, actively and contemplatively, catching the ebbs and flows of the human condition.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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