Leaving

Leaving Previously: Boomeranging. Content warnings for detailed discussion of depression and extremely brief  mentions of suicide and self-harm. I’ve been trying, for months, to find a way to write about what it was like for me to go on medical leave for mental health reasons. I’ve been struggling to do so in a way that’s pretty and poetic, that will stick in people’s minds so they come away carrying something valuable. I began blog posts with my strongest memory from that time: the night that I told my roommate, Lydia K., that I was leaving. On the outside, I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. On the inside, nothing. Just emptiness. But that’s starting from the end, which is cheating. You know the end. The end, as I said, is that I left. The means to that end are worth talking about, starting with the depression. (Angelina G. recently wrote a beautiful blog post about being depressed and handling depression at MIT that’s worth a read.) I’ve started three other aborted blog posts trying to explain my depression away, to tell the Internet the exact, rational, enumerable, diagnosable reasons depression took me, the high school overachiever, the theater geek, that exuberant, enthusiastic girl, and turned me into a lump of a person, sitting at the kitchen table for hours at a time with headphones on, staring at the computer screen. Perpetual state of being: face angled down, shoulders hunched up, body language that said, “Don’t interfere.” When my Dean at Student Support Services first talked to my freshman advisor (or maybe my parents, I don’t recall; I still have gaps in my memory from that time that will probably never be filled) about my situation and learned that I was a speaker and a performer at home, she was surprised. My illness had tamped me down and made me look like someone else. “I understand why this is hitting you so hard,” she said, while I wondered who I had become if I wasn’t that old me, the one I thought I knew. I wondered who, and how, and why. A set of things, working alone or in tandem, that happened my freshman fall might have triggered the chemical switch in my brain to flip. There was the chemistry test I flunked, dropping out of a musical to take care of my chem grade when I’d never had to make compromises before, the dissolution of my first relationship because we were hundreds of miles apart, the steady college diet of frozen foods that added extra pounds of jiggle to my hips, living away from home, losing confidence in my own abilities. My depression might have taken hold because of one of these things, or all of them, or none of them. It’s a disease, and it’s not one that discriminates. Here is what happened to me: I started out as the girl who got a reasonable amount of sleep, most nights. My depression insisted that I needed twelve to fourteen hours a day to be functional while awake. I came to MIT after a summer where I exercised regularly, sometimes jogging in the sun. My depression made it a struggle to step one foot outside of the dorm, even when I had to. I stopped going to my afternoon classes, and then I stopped making it to class at all. I also stopped socializing with people in real life; I spent most of my time online, where I could pretend everything was fine. And the worst part was this heavy, grey, impenetrable fog that hung over every day. I didn’t feel sad all of the time, as some people with depression do. Instead, it felt like someone had scooped out all of my emotions and plugged up the hole with dirty old rags. On the outside, I could still smile, and laugh, and cry. On the inside, I felt numb. I was a spectator in my own body, watching with muted horror as my life spun totally out of my control. And I had no idea how to communicate what was going on to the outside world. It felt personal and shameful, and the lack of proper emotional responses meant that it was hard for me to feel enough alarm to do anything about it. Sitting around all day, silent, became my modus operandi. I had never had to ask for help on this scale before, and I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what might happen if I did. So I sat, and as I sat, my illness festered. A photo I took of the Charles River from campus in late November of my freshman fall. I said nothing to anyone offline until mid-November. I barely said anything to my online friends. Then the eeriness of my situation caught up with me. I started writing, on one of my social media channels, about what was going on. How I had an essay due in one of my classes but I couldn’t bring myself to start it. How the scariest part was that I didn’t feel anything, not fear, not panic, in response. How strange it all was. How it didn’t seem entirely real. How I felt like there was a one-inch barrier below my epidermis that nothing could penetrate, not in any meaningful way. It was easier to write than to talk. My best friend at the time, a college grad who’d been through it all before, butted in. He told me to write my freshman advisor right away and tell her what was going on. I hemmed and hawed. He wouldn’t let up. He had his way. I wrote her. We set up an appointment, which, by some miracle, I kept. I made the long trek from Random to my advisors office in 14N in the late November cold. When I sat down on the couch in her office and opened my mouth to try to tell her what was going on, tears came instead, streamed down my cheeks in a flood that wouldn’t let up. The emotion-exhibiting part of my brain knew how hard this was to admit, even if the emotion-feeling part of my brain had shut down. My advisor just passed me a huge box of tissues, waited for the sniffles to subside, and said kindly, reassuring me, “Why do you think I keep these here? People come and cry in my office all of the time.” I wasn’t alone. Apparently, I was the opposite of alone. My advisor put me in touch with Student Support Services (S3) and MIT Mental Health. S3 helped me immensely by touching base with my professors so I could get the extensions I needed to finish my work. Mental Health helped, too. I came away with some record of having seen a counselor there, so the powers-that-be knew something was up with me. But while the woman who counseled me those one or two times before the end of the semester was great, the counseling probably would have been more effective if I weren’t so good at lying to therapists (not something I’d recommend doing). Coming away from those meetings with the knowledge that I had at least three people to contact if I felt I was floundering was the most helpful part. I had always had resources, but now I knew that. Building 7, late November of freshman fall. I want to make this very clear: telling these people I was depressed didn’t automatically lead to my leaving. I don’t know if that would have changed had I been suicidal (I wasn’t) or engaging in self-harm (also wasn’t). I do know that telling people I was having mental health issues only ever made them want to help me. The professor of my HASS class that semester let me turn in that paper the very last day I could, right before he submitted his grades, because he understood. My advisor understood. My S3 Dean understood. Mental Health understood. They all wanted to give me the tools to handle it. I handled it, sort of. I eked out passing grades for three of my four classes that semester, although I lost my opportunity for sophomore standing. I went home for winter break and thought the depression would go away. It didn’t. Came back for spring, went home for the summer and started working out and eating right again, thought that for sure it would go away this time. It didn’t. Came back for fall, even painted my tiny room three shades of yellow to keep from feeling down in the winter. That didnt work either. I was in a holding pattern: the first six weeks of a semester would seem fine, and then Id start slipping back into the fog. Abandoned books on Mass Ave, February of freshman spring. I realized that something was wrong, and that whatever it was needed my full attention. I actually came to that conclusion because of this Hyperbole and a Half comic about depression, which resonated with me so deeply that I sent it to my parents as a passive cry for help. My dad realized pretty quickly that something was off, too. “Is that how you feel?” he emailed back. “Yes,” I wrote, finally admitting it. “It is.” From Hyperbole and a Halfs Adventures in Depression. A close family friend of mine who lives in Boston is a social worker, and my parents got in touch with her. She took me out for Indian food to talk me through what I was experiencing. Over the course of that conversation, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be home. The realization hit me like a train: if I was going to tackle MIT, I had to straighten out what was going on in my head first. Otherwise, Id just keep cycling through okay and definitely not okay. I called my parents right there, at the table in that Indian restaurant, and told them. I remember crying then, too. My dad flew up that Monday to talk over my options with my Dean. He asked if I could handle a light load, so I could at least get a couple of my GIRs out of the way. I didn’t think I could. My Dean told both of us that nine out of ten times when a student says she wants to leave, the best choice for her is probably to go. I remember my parents being frustratedâ€"a general frustration born from powerlessness, I thinkâ€"that no one had realized what was happening to me before I got to the point of leaving. But I felt the frustration was misdirected. I was very good at pretending that everything was fine, even when nothing was. We negotiated my medical leave and set my official withdrawal date for November 1st, a few days after that S3 visit. I don’t remember much about that part except that it seemed surprisingly easy, and that after, with my leave secured, I did something strange: I started talking. I said that I was leaving and I said exactly why. Even in the first year and a bit I’d been at MIT, a few friends and acquaintances had vanished practically overnight to go on medical leave; I didn’t want to leave people wondering what had happened to me. My friends were sad to see me go, sure, but at least they didn’t wonder. Instead of wondering, they held a going-away party for me. We ate cake and watched movies. The girls on my floor in Random got me a bouquet, and they all signed a card with well-wishes and notes of encouragement. They left the flowers and card on my desk for me to find. I felt loved. Another family friend came to Random to help me pack my things, and then I slipped away, leaving the small half on BMF’s lounge side empty. My yellow room, sophomore fall. Going on medical leave was the best decision that I could have made for myself. At the time, the admission that I was struggling that much felt huge and overwhelming, but I had resources, and a place to go, and these enabled me to take the time I needed to heal. (That’s a separate blog post.) I know my experience is not one size fits all; the process went smoothly for me largely because I made the decision to go on leave, but for a lot of people, medical leave is mandatory, and leaving MIT is harder. (Even so, someone at a Returning Student Luncheon once called going on compulsory medical leave “the best decision I never made.”) What I want to highlight about my story is the level of support that I received: from official channels, from my parents, from my friends, from family friends. I know that I am very lucky to have so many people in my corner, and I am reminded of that every day, but the takeaway is that talking about my condition didn’t ostracize me. Instead, I experienced an outpouring of warmth, even in leaving. The MIT community as a whole is now engaged in a dialogue about mental health and wellness more intense than any I can remember in the ~5 years I’ve been a part of it. The only advice that I have is to keep talking. If you’re having trouble coping, if you know someone who isâ€"have a conversation, one that is honest, and forthright, and genuine. It sounds simple, but one of the hardest things to do is to start talking about something so personal, and so disempowering. Still, if I hadn’t said anything, and if my friend hadn’t told me to get help, I don’t know how my story would have ended. In the event that you find yourself struggling at MIT, its possible that medical leave may or may not be the right path for you to take. But you don’t need to be alone as you figure it out. You can find  me on Twitter at @chelwrites, and on Instagram at @chelwrites. Leaving

Argumentative Essay on Children Copying Behavior of Adults

Argumentative Essay on Children Copying Behavior of Adults Children have always been copying their parents’ behavior. It is very easy to notice. Three-year-old girl criticizes her doll for the same faults she was punished earlier. She copies not only her mother’s words, but even mimics and gestures. Parents’ behavior is taken for the model: â€Å"I want to do exactly what my mother does†. This peculiarity of children’s personality is a basis of their upbringing. Imitation of parents’ behavior is the easiest and the most natural way for a child to learn. It is up to parents to help their kid become successful and make his/her life better. One of the ways to do it is to be the best role model. Let him copy the better sides of you. Don’t forget that he will remember not only what you do, but what the other adults around him do as well. So, filter your surrounding and make sure there are pleasant and polite adults around your child. Generally speaking, parents wire up their children to take up their lifestyle with their words and actions. From the very first days they lay the foundation of kids’ personality with daily routine, project on them all the mistakes, achievements and victories. Very often a child repeats his parents’ life without even realizing it, even though he is not always proud of what kind of people they are. My opinion is that there is

Definition and Examples of Pejorative Language

The term pejorative language refers to words and phrases that hurt, insult, or disparage someone or something. Also called a  derogatory term or a term of abuse. The label pejorative (or derogatory) is sometimes used in dictionaries and glossaries to identify expressions that offend or belittle a subject. Nonetheless, a word thats regarded as pejorative in one context may have a non-pejorative function or effect in a different context. Examples and Observations of Pejorative Language It is often ... the case that pejorative terms are stronger when applied to women: bitch is seldom a compliment, whereas bastard (especially old bastard) can under some circumstances be intended as a term of respect or affection. Of similar positive status when masculine is dog (as in you old dog!, admiring a rouà ©); when feminine in reference in AmE it means an ugly woman. Witch is almost always pejorative, whereas wizard is often a compliment.(Tom McArthur, Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 2005)[T]here is a tendency to select our pejorative epithets with a view not to their accuracy but to their power of hurting...The best protection against this is to remind ourselves again and again what the proper function of pejorative words is. The ultimate, simplest and most abstract, is bad itself. The only good purpose for ever departing from that monosyllable when we condemn anything is to be more specific, to answer the question Bad in what way? Pejorative words are rightly used only when they do this. Swine, as a term of abuse, is now a bad pejorative word, because it brings no one accusation rather than another against the person it vilifies; coward and liar are good ones because they charge a man with a particular fault--of which he might be proved guilty or innocent.  (C. S. Lewis, Studies in Words. Cambridge University Press, 1960) Pejorative Language As a  Persuasive  Strategy One important feature of a narratio  is that of characterization of the major players. The use of pejorative language was in order to dispose the audience in a particular direction toward ones own viewpoint and against that of others. Hence we hear [in the epistles of St. Paul] about false brothers secretly brought in who spy things out, or about those reputed to be pillars, or about Peters and Barnabas hypocrisy. This use of pejorative and emotional language is not accidental. It is meant to raise animus against the opposing viewpoint and sympathy for the speakers case.  (Ben Witherington, III, Grace in Galatia: A Commentary on Pauls Letter to the Galatians. TT Clark Ltd., 1998) Euphemisms and Lexical Change There are cases of euphemisms leading to lexical change in the past. For instance, imbecile originally meant weak and idiot meant non-expert, layperson. When these words had their meanings extended to soften the blow of saying that someone had very limited intellectual powers, the original meanings were obscured and eventually got lost. Unfortunately, when we use euphemisms, the unpleasant associations eventually catch up with the new word. Then it is time to find another one. (Surely, a more effective solution to the problem of reducing the hurt caused by using pejorative language is to change the attitudes of people who consciously or unconsciously use such language. Not an easy task.)(Francis Katamba, English Words: Structure, History, Usage, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2005) Rhetoric As a Pejorative Term The art of rhetoric was held in high regard from ancient Greece until late in the 19th century, occupying a prominent position in the paideia, which signified both education and culture. . . .Towards the end of the 19th century, rhetoric fell into disrepute and was no longer taught in the various educational institutions. The word rhetoric received a pejorative meaning, suggesting the use of underhanded tricks, fraud, and deceit, or the stringing together of hollow words, hackneyed expressions and mere platitudes. To be rhetorical was to be bombastic.(Samuel Ijsseling, Rhetoric and Philosophy in Conflict: An Historical Survey, 1975. Trans. from the Dutch by Paul Dunphy. Martinus Nijhoff, 1976)Rhetoric is not a term to embrace lightly; it is too pockmarked by a century in which it has been deemed to be associated merely with sophistication (in the less positive sense of that word), cant and emptiness. It has seemed to suggest a state in which language floats free of its context and th us becomes deracinated, superfluous--perhaps inflated--and ultimately meaningless. This palsied view of rhetoric is not new, however. The earliest recorded pejorative reference to rhetoric in English, according to the OED, dates from the mid-sixteenth century. Plato was fiercely critical of it. It seems that the epithetic phrase sweet rhetoric has been particularly far from peoples mouths in the last hundred years or so.(Richard Andrews, Introduction. Rebirth of Rhetoric: Essays in Language, Culture and Education. Routledge, 1992)

Johari Window Free Essays

OB2 – Case Study on Johari Window THE CHANGE AGENT Shweta is the marketing department manager of JK enterprises. She has noticed that her staff seems to be pulling in separate directions and some members have trouble cooperating with others. She feels team building will help her department function in a more positive and productive way. We will write a custom essay sample on Johari Window or any similar topic only for you Order Now Shweta interviews several OD consultants to find the change agent she thinks will be right for what she needs. Shweta decides on Kartik, an organization development consultant that best answered the question, â€Å"How will this change agent build a group into a team? Kartik meets with Shweta to discuss the problems. Kartik and Shweta discuss the problem as Shweta sees it. They discuss specific questions to ask and data that will be collected from interviews with team members. Kartik interviews Shweta’s staff and immediately a number of issues surface that appear counterproductive to effective functioning. Lack of communication is identified as the most serious problem, and many of the other major issues are a direct result of the communication breakdown. Kartik reports the general findings back to Shweta without mentioning any names. After discussing the problem and possible ways to solve it, they decided on the two-day team building retreat. The goal of the retreat is to get the group to work through the issues that are causing the biggest problems. Kartik’s idea about how to approach the retreat is: We will adopt THE GROUP MOTIVATION EXERCISE model. It is quite like looking at the positives of self ; others and not look at the negatives at all. The purpose is to build on the positives and do not discuss negatives as they already have issues against each other. Let them write the name of their ideal colleague stating the qualities because of which they admire him/her. Then they should write their own qualities on a second sheet of paper. Lastly they should make groups and discuss their observations. Using the Johari Window model, what do you think are the benefits Kartik’s approach? Which panes will be highlighted? How to cite Johari Window, Papers

Law and Constitution free essay sample

The advantages of a codified constitution now outweigh the disadvantages† Discuss (40) The fact that the issue of the UK’s need for a codified constitution has managed to remain relevant despite centuries of prolonged deliberation, is not only testament to its importance as an issue but equally so to it’s significance and how it could potentially affect the UK as a whole. A codified constitution is a constitution made up of a set of laws that an individual or set of people have made and agreed upon for governmental use and is most importantly documented in a single place. In theory, the documentation of a codified constitution appears to make minimal difference to the executive and judiciary system, however, in common practice the advantages of a codified constitution in present day UK in regards to the executive, judiciary and society as a whole do not outweigh the disadvantages. This is due the fact that many of the issues which point toward the advantages of a codified constitution, such as modernization, rights and adaptability also reveal distinct social and political disadvantages to the incorporation of a codified constitution; ultimately the use of other tenuous links fail to alter the fact that the advantages of a codified constitution do not outweigh the disadvantages at the present moment in time. One of the primary hindrances in regards to whether the advantages of a codified constitution now outweigh the disadvantages is its sense of a lack of social mobility and a failure to adapt, which in many ways branches into the topic of modernisation, whilst also begging the question as to whether or not modernisation is worth taking when bearing in mind the potential extent of governmental paralysis in which it creates in relation to the legislation process. This in affect further prohibits the extent in which the Legislature can maneuver, which as previously stated undermines it’s power of legitimacy. In regards to adaptability however, the fundamental premise in which the implementation of a codified constitution is found wanting is it’s rigid nature in terms if natural progression. This is in sharp contrast to the current uncodified format of Britain’s current constitution which has used its flexible nature to allow natural adaptation to the tune of social change. So, for example, the non-political role of the monarchy has gradually evolved and adapted for over a century showing that odernisation must not strictly take place in the form of a codifying the British constitution. Similarly, Parliament has rarely experienced any dramatic changes to its powers and procedures due to no dramatic need to do so, however, it has still adapted itself to the progressive nature of modern government cautiously, rationally and of course progressively, in both past and present, once again highlighting Britain’s need to continue on this trend of gradual adaptation whilst als o not compromising on the concept of modernisation. Ultimately in practical terms in regards to the issue of adaptability, the documentation of a codified constitution would stifle a fundamental aspect of the current British constitution weakening the view that the advantages of a codified constitution now outweigh the disadvantages. The rigid nature of the constitution as well as being clear in the aspect of adaptability is similarly mirrored in it’s black and white viewing towards declaring the rights of those residing within any given area, in this case the UK. In many respects it could be viewed that the black and white nature of the constitution could be beneficial and remove any grey areas that still remain within the British Judiciary system in particularly in relation to rights. The creation of a codified constitution potentially entails the entrenchment of The Human Rights Act (2000) to protect the rights of citizens within the UK. The codification of the constitution could lead to the rights of those within the UK taking some sort of tangible format, and during a time in which fervent interest in rights is groomed along by those who seek it’s entrenchment, there could potentially be some reasoning behind this being an advantage of codification as well as the prospect of enhanced patriotism. Although, with multiculturalism so prominent within the UK it is difficult to imagine enhanced patriotism being of significant importance. What must be said though is that in anyone’s mind the preservation of the rights of citizens is a firmly reassuring idea. Furthermore, It could be argued that the Human Rights Act does not go far enough as by preserving parliamentary sovereignty and making parliamentary legislation an exception to it’s jurisdiction, the act fails to deal with the fundamental issue in the British constitution; that is, the enormous power of central government and its complete control over parliament. This, in the eyes of cynics at east, feeds into the argument of codification as had the Human Rights Act been binding on parliamentary legislation, it may have represented a major check on governmental power. However, what must be said is that however weak cynics may sight the Human Rights Act and view codification as some form of panacea, there are a few cases of practical evidence to show otherwise with the anti-terrorism legislation of 2004 a primary example which contradicts claims that the Act is weak, this, despite the fact that the issue of Human rights in relation to the creation of a codified constitution and its advantages does on the whole seem a credible one. A final point in regards to this issue would be where the creation of a codified constitution would leave Common Law. Common Law is a system in which law is derived from previous cases in court and is adapted upon. This of course brings together the previous topic of adaptability in regards to Human Rights, making one wonder whether there would ever be minimal adaptation to Human Rights through common law or any issue in the constitution for that matter. However the common misconception that no amendments can be made to a constitution is void; however a significant amount of time and money is usually the cost. This plays into the fact that there is a minor issue with codification in this particular branch of Human Rights, however this issue is not representative in the wider picture as a whole, with Human Rights a credible advantage of codification when weighed against its disadvantages. What must not be forgotten in all of this however is that the nature of the current constitutional format is relatively democratic and whilst in theory the transitional period may run smoothly, the change to a codified constitution may in fact be disruptive to the political process which may indirectly hinder the manner in which democracy is used within the UK in the short-term. However, by the same token, it could be claimed that the codification of a constitution could create clarity in terms of rights linking into the previous topic whilst not only aiding the entrenchment of key concepts in relation to democracy such as rights but creating a plausible argument in favor of the advantages of a codified constitution in regards to the current system. Ultimately though whilst a plausible argument is created in favor of the statement that the advantages of a codified constitution now outweigh the disadvantages is created, it must not be overlooked that there would undoubtedly be a potentially damaging transitional period, and this coupled with the fact that so many of the arguments in favor of a codified constitution seem mainly plausible in theory as opposed to practice equally re-affirms the idea that the advantages of a codified constitution as of now at least do not outweigh those of the current system. Therefore, when all is weighed into consideration the advantages of a codified constitution cannot be considered to outweigh the disadvantages as of now due to numerous flaws, as well tenuous links. Whilst the constitution may be amended similarly to the US and in theory appear to represent an element of stability, the fact that there has only been 1 amendment in the last 20 years, whilst many of its amendments have been due to prominent political issues as opposed to smaller yet highly relevant social matters, is equally as damning in its refusal to keep pace with an ever changing western society. This is highlighted in terms of entrenchment, which aligns society with concepts which in truth are redundant but are upheld purely because of entrenchment, bringing to light the fact that in the short-term modernising the UK in the form of a single document is not worth having it lost in archaic doldrums that will almost certainly hinder society in the long-term. The issue of short-term and long-term is similarly mirrored in regards to the transitional period bound to ensue once codification takes place. This ultimately begs the question as to whether or not the many of the tenuous advantages of codification really supplement the political imbalance and dysfunction that will likely ensue in the short-term especially in an era in which the public’s sense of patience justifiably wears thinner and thinner. As well as this, the inception of devolution and Blair’s Labour Parties other constitutional reforms post 1997 are representative of the flexibility of the current constitutional format, and as of now have made the need for codification ultimately superfluous, as opposed to pre 1997, as in reality the advantages of a codified constitution do not outweigh the disadvantages, and in truth; never will.

Hello Hello Essays (3431 words) - HIVAIDS, Health,

hello hello AIDS and YOU (May 1987) By Martin H. Goodman MD (this essay is in the public domain) Introduction: AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is at present a sentence of slow but inevitable death. I've already lost one friend to AIDS. I may soon lose others. My own sexual behavior and that of many of my friends has been profoundly altered by it. In my part of the country, one man in 10 may already be carrying the AIDS virus. While the figures may currently be less in much of the rest of the country, this is changing rapidly. There currently is neither a cure, nor even an effective treatment, and no vaccine either. But there are things that have been PROVEN immensely effective in slowing the spread of this hideously lethal disease. In this essay I hope to present this information. History and Overview: AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Defficiency Disease. It is caused by a virus. The disease originated som ewhere in Africa about 20 years ago. There it first appeared as a mysterious ailment afflicting primarily heterosexuals of both sexes. It probably was spread especially fast by primarily female prostitutes there. AIDS has already become a crisis of STAGGERING proportions in parts of Africa. In Zaire, it is estimated that over twenty percent of the adults currently carry the virus. That figure is increasing. And what occurred there will, if no cure is found, most likely occur here among heterosexual folks. AIDS was first seen as a disease of gay males in this country. This was a result of the fact that gay males in this culture in the days before AIDS had an average of 200 to 400 new sexual contacts per year. This figure was much higher than common practice among heterosexual (straight) men or women. In addition, it turned out that rectal sex was a particularly effective way to transmit the disease, and rectal sex is a common practice among gay m ales. For these reasons, the disease spread in the gay male population of this country immensely more quickly than in other populations. It became to be thought of as a "gay disease". Because the disease is spread primarily by exposure of ones blood to infected blood or semen, I.V. drug addicts who shared needles also soon were identified as an affected group. As the AIDS epidemic began to affect increasingly large fractions of those two populations (gay males and IV drug abusers), many of the rest of this society looked on smugly, for both populations tended to be despised by the "mainstream" of society here. But AIDS is also spread by heterosexual sex. In addition, it is spread by blood transfusions. New born babies can acquire the disease from infected mothers during pregnancy. Gradually more and more "mainstream" folks got the disease. Most recently, a member of congress died of the disease. Finally, even the national news media began t o join in the task of educating the public to the notion that AIDS can affect everyone. Basic medical research began to provide a few bits of information, and some help. The virus causing the disease was isolated and identified. The AIDS virus turned out to be a very unusual sort of virus. Its genetic material was not DNA, but RNA. When it infected human cells, it had its RNA direct the synthesis of viral DNA. While RNA viruses are not that uncommon, very few RNA viruses reproduce by setting up the flow of information from RNA to DNA. Such reverse or "retro" flow of information does not occur at all in any DNA virus or any other living things. Hence, the virus was said to belong to the rare group of virues called "Retro Viruses". Research provided the means to test donated blood for the presence of the antibodies to the virus, astronomically reducing the chance of ones getting AIDS from a blood transfusion. This was one of the first real breakthr oughs. The same discoveries that allowed us to make our blood bank blood supply far safer also allowed us to be able to tell (in most cases) whether one has been exposed to the AIDS virus using

Ayurvedic Medicine v. Western Medicine Essay Example

Ayurvedic Medicine v. Western Medicine Essay Example Ayurvedic Medicine v. Western Medicine Essay Ayurvedic Medicine v. Western Medicine Essay Medicine: the science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease (in technical use often taken to exclude surgery). For centuries medicine has been the backbone of health care and prevention of disease. In the West most forms of medicine are chemical based and man-made but on the other hand many people also use more homeopathic forms of medicine containing natural herbs and plants to cure ailments some of these can be categorized into Ayurvedic medicine. In a further analysis of these two forms of medication one can determine, if there is, which type is more effective and suitable for todays day and age. From the stone ages humans have been practicing health care for the most part in rudimentary ways. There is indication of Neolithic people using herbs and other plants as forms of medicine for thousands of years. This begs the question if our ancestors were correct in their first method of technique or if the advancements in Western medicine since then have proven to be more effective? A form of modern day medicine that follows the patterns of the Neolithic people is Ayurvedic medicine. This form of medicine originates in India about 5000 years ago and focuses on the body, mind, and environment trying to bring a balance amongst these three factors and thus hoping that this will bring forth a healthy being. â€Å"Ayur means â€Å"life† and â€Å"vedic† means â€Å"knowledge† in Sanskrit in essence Ayurveda hopes to bring knowledge of life to the way of medicine. Since this form of medicine was first practiced in India many philosophies of Hinduism are woven into the way Ayurveda is practiced. Hinduism deals a lot with the spiritual world and how the body and soul connects with the universe. Much like concepts in Hinduism, â€Å"the concepts of universal interconnectedness, the bodys constitution (prakriti), and life forces (doshas) are [also] the primary basis of ayurvedic medicine. † (Johns Hopkins) . These three doshas are categorized by one: Vata; which controls bodily functions dealing with motion. Two: Pitta; which controls the body’s metabolic functions. Three: Kapha; which controls growth in the body. Through these pathways those who practice Ayurveda try and achieve a homeopathic method of restoring or preventing disease. Hindus believe that to reach salvation, or moksha, one has to find the right balance in life and follow that path. Ayurvedic treatments follow a similar pattern where one must find the imbalance in ones life and treat that at its core. Ergo bringing balance back to these doshas. Many of these methods include a wide range of therapies, meditation, dietary changes, yoga, etc. Aside from the treatments methods Ayurveda medicinal products also greatly differ from that of the West. Where Western medicine is man-made and evidence based, Ayurvedic medicine is all natural taken from herbs, plants, spices etc. For example; Triphala, a common Ayurvedic medicine is a full combination of plants. This particular medicine is made by combining three different types of fruit bearing plants (without the seed). Ayurvedic medicine, like this medication, all follow a fully plant based foundation. When using these kinds of medicine the years of education that go behind it is still important. In the United States and Canada there are no Ayurvedic training and licensing standards set nor are there any practitioners but â€Å"in India, there are many undergraduate and postgraduate colleges for Ayurveda, where the training can involve up to five years of study† (Altmedicine). Ayurvedic medicine has proved to help in many situations in a case study I read from the Jiva Ayurvedic treatment center a forty year old woman suffering from cancer used the Rasayana and Sroto Shodhak Chikitsa treatment, which combined minerals, herbs, and spices for a longer lifespan and to boost immunity. It was recorded that â€Å"her bone scan, brain scan, and the thorax-abdominal scan reports showed up normal results, indicating that her condition was stabilizing with the treatment† (Jiva). This case is just one example of the many times Ayurvedic medicine has been effective in helping prevent and treat disease. On the other hand though, as technology has improved and the study of the body has reached new depths Western medicine has discovered startling new medications that have paved way to the eridcation of some of the most fatal diseases and prevented many others. Western medicine is an applied science where the patient is treated by various health care professionals, coming in contact with numerous technologies, and ingesting a chemical based medication. To sum up Western medication in the most laman of ways: clinical judgement is used to find a prognosis and diagnosis for a patients ailment and thus drugs and sometimes radiation or of the like are used to treat or prevent the disease. Although many of todays medicines are made from plants it undergoes a chemical  process to create the end result most of us use. The research and development that goes into creating a new drug is much more extensive than Ayurvedic medications because of the time and money invested as well as the compounds used to create the drug are much more extreme than most of the herbs and spices used in Ayurvedic treatments. In the United States, in every country for that matter, Western medicine has been the foundation of health care and been constantly advancing. Since the days of plants based medications and eradicating diseases like polio, to using new technology to detecting cancer earlier and discovering newer and newer vaccinations Western medication has been ever-changing. Unlike Ayurvedic medication, Western medicine has been known to work quicker and more effectively. Possibly because there is more evidence in favor of Western medicine as well as practitioners and researchers choosing that path to study and follow with more people there is a more time and money invested. Though this may be the opinion of some, both medicines have proven their merit in many cases. With an evident pattern among both these styles of medication where both try to prevent or cure illness the method amongst these two medicines are highly different. With such different methods there will undoubtedly be side effects that highly differ amongst these two styles. Ayurvedic medicine in some cases have showed a high count of metal in the medications used for treatments. Research indicated that â€Å"one in five Ayurvedic medicines commonly used by followers of the ancient Indian health philosophy were found to contain the metallic poisons lead, mercury or arsenic† (Reuters). After studying these toxic metals it is unclear as to how exactly these metals get into the medications. Some researchers believe that it can be found in the soil that these herbs and plants are found and thus contaminates them or another possibility is the human pollution especially common in a lead polluted country like India. Most commonly it may be a manufacturing accident or even intentional injection. Dr. Robert Saper of the Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center commented that â€Å"theres some studies that show that some herbs have a very promising anti-diabetic effect, anti-high blood pressure effect, [and] a cholesterol-lowering (effect). † Evidence showing that though these medicines may hold metals, if researchers of Ayurvedic practice can remove the toxicity of these drugs than there is a promising future for Ayurvedic  medicine and, if the right processes are harvested, can possibly be a leading system for generations to come. Western medicine on the other hand hold a different set of side effects that have a far wider range. Because Western medicine is based more on a chemical process to create the drug the body becomes much more susceptible to negative reactions. Allergic reactions can be fatal; â€Å"antibiotics such as those in the sulfonamide and penicillin families cause allergic reactions in around five per cent of the population† (Betterhealth). Another common issue with Western drugs is that people get highly addicted to them and it can cause ulcers or adverse long term effects like in the case of Advil; if used to an extreme it can cause stomach ulcers because the acidity in the drug strips away stomach lining. This is clear evidence showing that the acidic levels in many of the more modern medicine have a serious negative effect on patients. Relying on anything can be harmful because as the saying goes; too much of a good thing can be bad. For Western medication, creating a new drug means doing hours of research and testing the drugs and once this is done the drug would have gone through numerous synthesis’ before finally being put on the market. Unlike Ayurvedic medicine, the United States has stricter regulations on the drugs that are produced as final products. The Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA has to approve the drug after its first stage of clinical testing, first on animals then on humans. After the passing those tests the FDA can deem the drug fit for consumption and is allowed to sell in the market. Most people would imagine that once testing is complete all side effects should be known and if there is a serious problem with the drug then the FDA wouldn’t approve it, correct? Well the biggest issue that arises is that most of these drugs may have hidden effects that researchers don’t find, because they didn’t know to even look for it. Some of these effects can be so fatal that the drugs needs an immediate recall off the market but in most cases the drug might go back to the first phase of testing or it is added to the list of side effects this drug has. For an individual trying to decide which method to try when dealing with a medical issue theres a lot of factors to consider with all these different issues with both styles of medicine is it hard for one to decide which method will be the best for them. From what I have learnt from my research if someone wants to pick a style of medicine it is impacted by one important element: time. The timing is very significant. Meaning that depending on how far along the medical issue is be that it might be diabetes or cancer both have phases and with a combination of these both styles prognosis can be much more optimistic. Bibliography. Abbott, R. B. et al. Medical student attitudes toward complementary, alternative and integrative medicine Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2010) How We Discover New Medicines. . N. p. , 06 Aug 2013. Web. 6 Dec 2013. gsk. com/research/how-we-discover-new-medicines. html . . John Hopkins University . Web. 6 Dec 2013. . ummedu. . University of Maryland Medical Center . Web. 6 Dec 2013. . Vilinius, Lithuania. Jiva Ayurveda. . N. p.. Web. 6 Dec 2013. . Wong, Cathy . Ayurveda. . N. p. , 13 Aug 2013. Web. 6 Dec 2013. . . www. chopra. com. The Chopra Center. Web. 6 Dec 2013. .