Tommy Manning Act

Author: Aimee Garcia

Seattle has a relatively new initiative to help people with traumatic brain injury named The Washington Traumatic Brain Injury Strategic Partnership Advisory Council, commonly known as the Tommy Manning Act. It was created through House Bill 2055 by the Washington State Legislature in 2007. It is to “recognize the current programs and services are not funded or designed to address the diverse needs of individuals with traumatic brain injuries.”  Its creation is to close the gap in knowledge by collecting the expertise from both the public and private sector. Membership includes twenty two people from both sectors that includes medical professionals, human service providers, family members of individuals, state agency representatives, and many more that can provide useful information to advance their agenda.

The Tommy Manning Act has taken upon itself to work in unison with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to address some of their goals. Unfortunately, the Manning Act has not posted their own goals on their website but directs the reader to the DSHS website, where they do not explicitly have goals that directly affect people with brain injuries.

Though the act is still fairly, new it could potentially have the momentum to change the lives and the families of those who have been affected by traumatic brain injuries. Yet, they have not stated their own goals and rely heavily on DSHS without any visible momentum to directly address the concerns of people with brain injuries. Yes, the program are only eleven years old but in those years, there has not been noticeable change for the people most in need.

Sources:

“Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council.” Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council | DSHS, http://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/traumatic-brain-injury/traumatic-brain-injury-advisory-council.

“About Us.” About Us | DSHS, http://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/about-us.

 

What Licensed Naturopaths Say About MS

Author: Catherine Waterbury

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS is “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.” MS effects more than 2.3 million people worldwide and can be extremely difficult to diagnose. Unfortunately, there is not a cure for MS. Common treatments for MS include: teaming up with a healthcare provider, taking pharmaceutical medication, and participating in physical therapy.

Other treatment options for MS are referred to as “Commentary or Alternative Medicines” (CAM). These treatments include exercise, alternative diet, and the addition of supplements. In a study done by members of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, 52% of the naturopaths being surveyed suggested dietary changes to treat MS. The study also indicated that 45% of the naturopaths suggested essential fatty acid supplementation and 33% suggested vitamin/mineral supplementation. At the end of the study, 59% of patients claimed they experienced an improved quality of life by using a CAM system.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society advises those with MS to not “abandon conventional therapy” and be sure to “keep your physician informed about everything you are taking”. With that being said, if you are interested in adding elements of CAM system to your treatment, you should! There are a large variety of therapies you could try, including: acupuncture, nutrition lessons, exercise, cooking classes, and many more!

If you have MS and are interested in an CAM style therapy, The Plus One Foundation may be able to help you fund your therapy. Please look over our website for more information!

 

Sources:

“Home.” National Multiple Sclerosis Society. N.p., 16 Feb. 2018. Web. 20 Feb. 2018.

“All IssuesUp Arrow In This IssueDown Arrow Left ArrowPrevious Article Next ArticleRight Arrow The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine About This Journal… Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Multiple Sclerosis: Survey of Licensed Naturopaths.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web.

Traveling as a Stress Reliever

Author: Erin Keating

Shoes off, sweater off, everything out of my pockets. Laptop in separate bin, backpack and everything else in another. Arms up over head and feet spread slightly. Grab everything as fast as you can and head to the gate.

Airport security is something I like to think that I have mastered. I have learned a lot of tricks for making my time at the airport as easy as possible. Like not wearing difficult shoes, just a pair that you can take on and off easily. And making sure you at least have a couple snacks with you since airport food is more expensive and not that great.

Traveling is one of my passions and I’m always on the lookout for another opportunity to
escape, especially somewhere warm in the winter months. Living on the west coast, a popular place I like to go to is California, sometimes to visit family in San Francisco and sometimes to just have fun in Los Angeles.

Recently, I went to London and Paris for a month. I learned so much about new cultures and art and it was so much fun to roam new cities I have never been to before. There are great benefits for travel and I have found that by saving up a little bit here and there, making a trip happen is easy.

A study published by HostelWorld Global Traveler Report showed that there are five significant benefits of traveling abroad. First being that traveling makes you healthier and decreases the risk of heart disease. It also reduces stress, specifically after you’ve returned home and are feeling the benefits of being well rested and at ease. Traveling as makes you more creative with the immersion into a culture. It increases your happiness and satisfaction levels and it decreases depression.

All of these benefits I can attest to. When I return home from traveling, I feel happy to be home and to see my family and friends, but I also feel like I have gained a new experience and fun memories to look back on.

 

Sources:

“5 Reasons Traveling Abroad Is Seriously Good for Your Health.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2018.

I Don’t Have Time!

Author: Olivia Tang

Whether it’s because of school, work, or a combination of both. Our professional and educational lives seem to get in the way of doing what we love!

Admittedly, when I started my first year of college I had trouble adjusting to the class structure and the freedom of choosing what to do with my time. Teachers in high school would spend more time on topics than professors in college. The pace of college classes was faster as well.

Being new to the college grind, I didn’t know how to allocate my time for my classes while also leaving time for fun and social life. This made it easy for me to think that I didn’t have any free time at all. Everything became more manageable after I started planning.

I started writing down all my tasks for the day into my sketchbook. I write everything I need to get done for the next week, and I circle all the important tasks I need to get done. I find that crossing off the tasks at the end of the day to be incredibly satisfying, and whenever I don’t have a spurt of motivation when I need it I use that time to draw in my sketchbook. It gives me more time to look at the to do list I’ve made for myself on the page and it also gives me time to do something I love, drawing! Psychologists say that 25% of our happiness comes from how we manage our own stress.

We feel happiness due to the effects of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins. Together these chemicals help design our own happiness. According to Nicole Lazzaro, a world-renowned game designer that specializes on gamifying experiences, each chemical that affects our happiness plays a different role in how we experience happiness.

Lazzaro explains that we typically think of Dopamine as the “happiness drug” when in reality dopamine more affects our feeling of anticipation. Oxytocin is the chemical that allows us to feel empathy, and we feel closer to close friends and family when it is released. Serotonin is a mood regulated, which means it is responsible for our good moods and our bad moods, and Endorphins are hormones that mask pain and discomfort and help us power through workouts and achieve our goals.(Buckner)

Stress depletes these chemicals. When we are stressed we produce the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol depletes our levels serotonin and dopamine–chemicals that affect our motivation, and susceptibility to depression and anxiety. It’s normal to deal with stress, but it is not easy to deal with. Psychologist, Robert Epstein says “The most important way to manage stress is to prevent it from ever occurring.”- which means planning ahead!

 

Sources:

Buckner, Clark. “4 Chemicals That Activate Happiness, and How to Use Them.”TechnologyAdvice. N.p., 18 Oct. 2017. Web. 01 Feb. 2018.

“Chronic Stress – The Effects On Your Brain.” Australian Spinal Research Foundation. N.p., 30 June 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2018.

Peláez, Marina Watson. “Plan Your Way to Less Stress, More Happiness.” Time. Time, 31 May 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2018.

Getting in the Habit

Author: Kelsey Fukuda

As a senior in college, I want to express thankfulness towards my parents for continuously involving me in activities when I was younger.

In middle and high school, they encouraged me to join cheerleading, gymnastics, and ice skating. I admit that it was a lot easier to feel healthy when I was constantly exercising and had home cooked meals for me. When I started college, I had only moved about 15 miles away from home, but I was living in the dorms away from my family. It was hard adjusting to a life where I was so busy with school work and I felt like I didn’t have the time or energy to maintain healthy habits.

In my junior year I started running with my roommate on a consistent basis. When you exercise with a friend, there’s a lot of joint motivation and you try to keep each other accountable. Now, in my senior year, my roommate stopped running but I’ve continued going. This is a huge contrast from what my life used to be like. Before, I used to think that exercising without being on a team or without a coach would be scary and difficult.

Looking back, I think the hardest thing about habits is introducing new ones into your life. It’s disruptive when you’ve become comfortable with something else. The next hardest thing is maintaining what you are doing when you start doing things right. However, just forcing myself to start leading a healthier lifestyle was a huge factor in improving how I feel now. Setting goals for myself that I felt like I could achieve greatly improved my mindset. Studies find that exercising is so good for your health AND your brain! Aerobic exercise improves brain function. Running in particular is associated with cell growth in the hippocampus (part of the brain related to learning and memory).

My other habit I had issues with that I’m still working on involves cooking. My dad loves to cook, so before I moved away for college I hardly ever went out to eat. Last year I was talking with a classmate about desiring to cook my own meals more. She exclaimed that she recently started cooking her own meals and gave me a few tips: have a few favorite recipes, compile recipe lists for grocery shopping, and meal prep whenever possible. One study found that cooking at home is both healthier and cheaper. Home cooked meals are associated with greater dietary compliance. Making home cooked meals has so many benefits and I want to get better at making it a habit! In relation to the brain, cooking helps people organize, prioritize, sustain focus, solve problems, retrieve memories and multitask.

My main takeaway for getting in the habit of exercising or cooking: if you have time, just do it! These habits are both better for you and they make you feel better yourself.

Sources:

https://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/everyday-brain-fitness/physical-exercise  

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170314150926.htm

https://healthybrains.org/cooking-cognition-making-meal-good-brain

Being a Gymnast

Author: Catherine Bennion

As a semi-serious gymnast, I can easily say that there is no other relief like the relief that comes from exercise. There are few feelings greater than reaching a goal that I have been working towards for a while, or leaving a good workout feeling proud and accomplished. Being in school, I often go to practice after a long and stressful day and the last thing I want to do is exercise. It seems like too much, and a waste of time when I could be doing other things to reduce stress. Though after practice, I always leave feeling accomplished and free of stress, and exercise was a great distraction for all of the many other things going on in my life. This is because exercise triggers the release of chemicals in your body such as serotonin, norepinephrine, endorphins, dopamine. These chemicals dull pain, release stress, and make you happier. Not only will exercise make you feel better, but exercising even just once a week is great for your physical health.

Not only is exercise good for your physical health, but it is overwhelmingly great for your brain as well. Increased level of exercise are linked to decreases in depression, better memory, and faster learning. Additionally, recent studies have shown that exercising is the best way to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. Though it is not clear why, scientists know that exercise changes the structure of the brain for the better. It increases blood flow to the brain which helps to promote the growth of new brain cells. It also triggers the release a protein in the brain called BDNF that triggers the growth of new neurons and helps to mend and protect the brain from regeneration.

I have been doing gymnastics for 12 years now and I can easily say that I have never regretted going to practice, though I have regretted not going. Exercise is one of the best releases for stress, as well as improving self-esteem and making you feel great! Next time you have an hour to spare, consider doing something active; go for a run or bike ride, take a yoga class or go for a swim, whatever works for you.

Sources:

http://time.com/4474874/exercise-fitness-workouts/