Adult Men and Women Who Suffer From Chronic Depression

Market surveys on women, men and depression suggest an estimated 4.4 million Americans are believed to suffer from chronic treatment-resistant depression. Depression is a chronic, disabling disorder and a major worldwide public health problem. Depressive episodes usually recur over time, with risk for further episodes proportional to the number of prior episodes. After three major depressive episodes, the probability of recurrence is 90%. In the U.S. alone, approximately 18 million people suffer from depression over six million of which are receiving some form of medical treatment.

Market studies on women, men and depression also estimate that over 100,000 Americans each year are treated with electro convulsive therapy (ECT) for their depression. Roughly 15% of all people with severe depression that require hospitalization commit suicide. Disorders related to men and depression are also very expensive. Depression is ranked as the second leading cause of disability worldwide in 1990. Depression costs in the U.S. alone are estimated to exceed $50 billion annually, including over $12 billion in direct treatment costs. The total market in the U.S. for anti-depressants is estimated to exceed $6 billion.

Several general factors may be linked to women, men and depression but the exact causes of depressive disorders are unknown, although both biological abnormalities and psychological factors are thought to precipitate this disease. Diminished synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, are implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Most current standard therapies regarding men and depression are thought to affect either one or both of these neurotransmitter systems (1) SSRI drugs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) or (2) MAOI drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) that decrease the breakdown of norepinephrine and serotonin. It is of interest to note that several antiepileptic compounds, such as carbamazepine, valproate and lamotrigine, are used as mood stabilizers and that lamotrigine and gabapentin are also used as antidepressants.


Asbestos and Cancer - What you should know

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos related cancer, you may want to seek legal advice. Typical legal settelements can reach five
million dollars.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body's internal organs.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles.

What is the mesothelium? The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells: One layer immediately surrounds the organ; the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs (such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs) to glide easily against adjacent structures.

The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal reproductive organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis. The tunica serosa uteri covers the internal reproductive organs in women.

What is mesothelioma? Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium) is a disease in which cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide without control or order. They can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also metastasize (spread) from their original site to other parts of the body. Most cases of mesothelioma begin in the pleura or peritoneum.

How common is mesothelioma? Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any age. What are the risk factors for mesothelioma?

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing process, they may be inhaled or swallowed, and can cause serious health problems. In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk of lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney.

Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma. However, the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung.


Cosmic Relief

The Universe as we know it, see it and experience it, is not all there is. The Universe is always in motion - it is a vibrating, pulsating, resonating, magnetizing force and at the molecular level everything is in motion. It is pure energy.

What we are talking about here is the pure formless substance of the Universe - we can think of this in spiritual terms as God, Higher Power, Spirit or the Universe, or address it mentally as Infinite Intelligence, Universal Mind. Or if we're brave, we can take a giant leap into the area of quantum physics, where it is known as the field of all possibilities.

That Power - however you conceive it - is the source of everything we desire. It is awaiting our recognition and will create, attract, guide us to inspired action, magnetize and mold itself to whatever form we desire if we align ourselves with it through law.

Mental and Spiritual Laws

Law? There are laws with which we are familiar. We know that there are laws of physics, laws of chemistry, etc. But most people are not aware of the mental and spiritual laws that govern our very existence. Or we may know something about them but don't know how to relate to them or how to use them. When we were born, no one gave our parents a manual on the laws of the Universe to hand down to us.

So how do we know these laws exist or that this Power exists (aside from any intuitive feeling that it does)? We know because of its responsiveness and the results we experience when we align ourselves with it.

So how do we align ourselves with it? We connect with this Power, this creative force of the Universe, within, through the channel of our subconscious minds. The subconscious mind is the most fantastic computer you could ever imagine. It keeps our heart beating, our lungs breathing, and has perfect memory of every cell in our body. It has also recorded and stored everything that we have ever heard, said, felt, and experienced. Unfortunately, that includes all of that "faulty programming", all of the acquired beliefs and negative patterns from others that we have acquired from the time we were very young through our lifetime.

Our thoughts and our feelings, our deepest beliefs are the key to connecting with the Power that responds to our desires. But first we must break through and overcome the negative thought patterns and beliefs that we have acquired since childhood.

Now, in answer to a recent query…does it ever go away? No, it doesn't. We cannot delete this information from the subconscious perfect memory like we can with a computer. However, here is the good news…

Invisible Means of Support

The subconscious mind does not like to change and will create resistance. But there are techniques and methods for influencing the subconscious in a way that does not create argument. I call this "friendly persuasion". We gently shift the consciousness to create a new dominant thought in the mind.

THAT IS THE KEY. The DOMINANT thought.

The dominant thought in our subconscious is what determines our circumstances. So we must shift our consciousness to a new dominant thought. When we do so, we then open ourselves to the influence of the creative power of the universe - our "invisible means of support".

The following excerpt from my program will help explain this:

"The subconscious mind acts on the dominant thought therein. The repetition of positive words will eventually replace negative patterns in the subconscious, which block our success and limit our income and our good.

If we persist in adding clean water, drop by drop, into a bucket of muddy water, eventually we will end up with a bucket of clean water. The good news is that we don't need to completely fill our mind bucket; the dominant thought is all that is necessary for the subconscious to respond and create our desired result. So we don't have to completely eliminate the negative thoughts. 51% positive and we get the golden ring.

I know you are asking, how long will this take? I believe it will depend upon how diligently you apply the techniques and use positive words. And just as importantly, how carefully you monitor yourself so that you don't counteract the good mental work you are doing. If you asked a taxi driver to take you somewhere but gave him two addresses, where would you end up? Certainly not at your destination."


Is Your Health Portfolio Balanced?

We are all aware of the need to balance our financial portfolio so that in times of hardship or when disaster strikes -- stock market drops, pink slips, etc -- we will be affected by financial challenges as little as possible. Having a substantial bank account allows us many opportunities that people with lesser financial savvy and preparation must forego.

Perhaps you are at a “comfortable” financial level, able to pay off bills and credit cards timely, and have enough disposable income to enjoy a good quality of life. Perhaps you enjoy an “extremely high” financial level, with unending “toys”, travel when and where you want, and other opportunities for the “good life”. Either way you are able to handle sudden financial challenges and able to take advantage of financial opportunities as they come your way. Feels good, doesn’t it?

But what about your health portfolio? When faced with challenges such as a cold, flu season, children’s ear infections, etc. do you just accept them as part of life? What about when disaster strikes in the form of a serious health challenge to you or a family member. Is your health bank account equipped to fight back?

In the United States, the average age of disability (when quality of life becomes so poor that you need help for daily activities of living) is 65 years old. Modern medicine is providing miracles in keeping us alive longer -- increasing our “lifespan”. But what about the quality of our lives? If we want to continue our “healthspan” along with our “lifespan”, it is imperative to raise the level of our health bank account as well as balance our health portfolio.

If you think the cost of health care has gone through the roof now, wait until the majority of baby boomers reach the “age of disability”. Now is the time to take a serious look at your own health bank account and ask “Do I have all the energy I need each day?”, “What is my ‘cushion’ in case of serious illness?” and “Does my health portfolio need balancing?”