Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 3 Issue 80 i The Art of Healing

sometimes the hero stumbles and falls right off of the page sometimes the princess rolls her eyes and says “i don't want to be saved” sometimes the dragon needs rescuing and the villain aches to be helped sometimes, in the darkness the lost boy finds himself sometimes the prince is cunning and not at all what he seemed sometimes the witch's kindness shows it's she who deserves to be queen sometimes we shouldn't define people by someone else's point of view just because it's what we've been told doesnt make it true SRWPOETRY…

HEALING | social health The Connecting Communities to Care project aims to design a community-based social connection model of care targeting isolated older people with chronic conditions living in the South East Melbourne Primary Health Network area. The four-year pilot is being delivered in collaboration with Alfred Health, South East Melbourne PHN and the Australian Disease Management Association. It will leverage a combination of screening, engagement, community based activities and social prescribing. Bolton Clarke Research Institute Senior Research Fellow Dr Rajna Ogrin said the idea originated when her colleague Judy Lowthian came across a Health Connections program being run in the U.K. “We've been doing quite a lot of work in the area of trying to connect people in the community and realised social aspects are pivotal to optimising wellbeing.…

A new study from the University of East Anglia highlights the neuro-protective potential of cranberries. The research team studied the benefits of consuming the equivalent of a cup of cranberries a day among 50 to 80-year-olds. They hope that their findings could have implications for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. “Dementia is expected to affect around 152 million people by 2050. There is no known cure, so it is crucial that we seek modifiable lifestyle interventions such as diet, that could help lessen disease risk and burden,” lead researcher Dr David Vauzour, from UEA's Norwich Medical School said. “Past studies have shown that higher dietary flavonoid intake is associated with slower rates of cognitive decline and dementia. And foods rich in anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins, which give berries…

• Deaths as a result of temperature variability accounted for 3.4% of all deaths globally between 2000 and 2019. • Asia had the most deaths globally between 2000 and 2019, followed by Australia and New Zealand. • Australia and New Zealand had the biggest increase in deaths per decade (7.3%), followed by Europe (4.4%) and Africa (3.3%). The study, using data from the MCC Collaborative Research Network, explored the association between temperature variability and mortality in 750 locations across 43 countries or regions. Increased risk of death is associated with short-term temperature variability, but until now, there's been no comprehensive assessment of the temperature variability-related mortality burden worldwide. Professor Yuming Guo, Director of the Monash Climate, Air Quality Research (CARE) Unit, said more attention should be paid to the health…

Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) Professor Peter Silburn AM said his team, together with Neurosciences Queensland and Abbott Neuromodulation, have developed a remote care platform which allows patients to access treatment from anywhere in the world. “By creating the world's first integrated and completely wireless remote care platform, we have removed the need for patients to see their doctor in person to have their device adjusted,” Professor Silburn said. Electrodes are surgically inserted into the brain and electrical stimulation is delivered by a pacemaker which alters brain function - providing therapeutic relief and improving quality of life. This digital platform allows clinicians to monitor patients remotely, as well as adjust the device to treat and alleviate symptoms in real time. “We have shown that it is possible to minimise disruption to…

HEALING | emotional health There are five core aspects of EQ: • Self-knowledge • Self-control • Social skills • Empathy • Personal motivation for self-growth The depth and breadth of these key components might seem intimidating, but increasing your EQ doesn't need to be complicated. Over the years working with clients as a clinical psychologist, I've developed a simple, actionable strategy that reliably helps people grow in each of these areas simultaneously. The method is a simple 1-2-3 process. As situations come up in life that bring up uncomfortable thoughts and feelings such as anger, irritation, or confusion, mentally run through these three steps. Although the process may feel unfamiliar at first, it will become second nature with patience, practice, and perseverance. Each step naturally increases all five of the…

WELLNESS | workplace health We spend on average, one-third of our lives at work, which can be exhausting if our wellbeing isn't supported. A survey conducted by Employment Hero from 13-25 February, 2022 of over 1,000 workers from around Australia, looked at the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, how financial stress was affecting work days of employees, and how personally fulfilled employees were feeling by their work. Things have changed a lot in the last two years. It's safe to say we've all felt the force of the pandemic - in every aspect of our lives. From an employer perspective, in 2021 we saw 60% of employees rating their employers’ commitment to wellness as good. In 2022 however, this has dropped to 52%, indicating companies may be taking their foot off…

Researchers asked 1,423 American adults to rate how likely they were to forgive themselves for the things they did wrong and forgive others for hurting them. The participants also answered survey questions about how they had slept in the past 30 days, how they would rate their health at the moment, and how satisfied they were with their life. The results suggested that people who were more forgiving were more likely to sleep better and for longer, and in turn have better physical health. They were also more satisfied with life. This was true of people who were more forgiving of others, and people who were more forgiving of themselves - although forgiving others had a stronger relationship with better sleep. Forgiveness of self and others “may help individuals leave…

Dr Chris Rinke, and his team at the University of Queensland's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, fed superworms different diets over a three-week period, with some given polystyrene foam, some bran, and others put on a fasting diet. They discovered that the common Zophobas morio ‘superworm’ can eat through polystyrene. “We found the superworms fed a diet of just polystyrene not only survived, but even had marginal weight gains,” Dr Riske said. “This suggests the worms can derive energy from the polystyrene, most likely with the help of their gut microbes.” The research team used a technique called metagenomics to find several encoded enzymes with the ability to degrade polystyrene and styrene. Dr Riske says the long-term goal is to engineer enzymes to degrade plastic waste in recycling plants…

In a first, a group led by the Potsdam Institute used a quantitative food and land system model to gauge the effects of degrowth and efficiency proposals on the food sector's greenhouse gas emissions. They found that combining a dietary shift, emissions pricing, and international income transfers could make the world's food system emissions-neutral by the end of the 21st century - providing at the same time a healthier nutrition for a growing world population. “Just shrinking the size of our current food system won't cut emissions much. Instead, we need to transform the very nature of that global food system,” says Benjamin Bodirsky, researcher at Potsdam and the World Vegetable Center in Tainan, Taiwan and author of the study. “That means on the one hand that people consume what…

WELLNESS | environment Researchers are warning U.S. leaders and health officials against national strategies for a ‘new normal’ of life with COVID-19. The warning, published in a Journal of General Internal Medicine viewpoint, argues that talks of a new normal fail to incorporate important lessons from the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic: the significant role of noncommunicable chronic diseases in exacerbating COVID-19, and the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on underserved populations and communities of colour. Non-communicable chronic diseases are those that are not spread from person-to-person and persist for at least one year, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. They are the leading cause of death worldwide and represent a global health threat that predates the COVID-19 pandemic. Jun Ma, from the University of Illinois Chicago, is…

WELLNESS | physical health Here's a scenario so common that it applies to nearly 92 percent of older adults with cancer: An individual comes in for treatment and reports taking several medications that might include a drug for high blood pressure or heart disease, an antidepressant, or something for diabetes. The person may also take frequent doses of a headache pill, over-the-counter pills to relieve heartburn or reflux, antihistamines, and vitamins and minerals. But, patients may not report these as often to the medical team. This soupy concoction defines ‘polypharmacy,’ or the concurrent use of multiple medications which can make a person more prone to harmful drug interactions, something that is especially dangerous for cancer patients about to undergo therapy. Even for individuals who do not have cancer, multiple medication…

In the early part of the twenty-first century, data suggested that adolescents and young adults had strong psychological wellbeing often doing better than the generations immediately above them and about as well as seniors. However since then, evidence of the beginning of a serious decline in the mental functioning of younger age groups has emerged. In a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents and adults, increasing rates of major depressive episodes from 2009 to 2017 has been discovered, along with increased serious psychological distress and suicide-related outcomes from 2008 to 2017 among young adults aged 18 to 25. The authors did not find such increases among adults ages 26 and over. Further, in the recent Mental State of the World Report (2021), based on data from more than 223,000 people…

It has just been so wonderful over the last couple of months to finally attend a few events. There is nothing like being face-to-face with people. And I find when I am attending industry events, when you are talking with someone who is also passionate about helping others and living a healthy lifestyle, it's like you are family. This is how I felt when I attended the Medical Cannabis Summit, the Naturally Good Expo, and the Mind, Body, Spirit festival earlier this year. It is just so heartening to see the many businesses that are operating in the natural health/wellness space – and to not just see them online. There are a few articles in this issue that refer to technology in the health space, and reveal some of the…

Rather, energy specialist Ari Whitten, author of Eat for Energy, suggests some pro-active (and unexpected) measures. 1. Saunas “The research on sauna use is just mind-blowing,” says Whitten. For example, one study shows that participants who stayed in a 140-degree Fahrenheit sauna for 15 minutes, five times a week, reported significantly increased energy levels, as well as a calmer, more positive mood. And on a broader scale, research has shown that sauna bathing 4-7 times per week enhanced longevity by 40%. “It's very powerful stuff,” Whitten declares. “I'm a huge fan of sauna use.” Of course, you only spend as much time in the sauna as you can tolerate, whether that's 15 minutes or 40 minutes. Know your limits. 2. Exercise When it comes to energy levels, mitochondrial health is…

WELLNESS | technology Most research on measuring human biomarkers, which are measures of a body's health, rely on electrical signals to sense the chemicals excreted in sweat. But sensors that rely on perspiration often require huge amounts of it just to get a reading. Some wearable devices, like smartwatches or fitness trackers, are already capable of measuring pulse rates or temperatures, but this team's concept is to allow the technology to sense biomarkers related to metabolic disorders, like heart disease or diabetes. “Discerning health issues through the skin is really the ultimate frontier,” said study co-author Pelagia-Iren Gouma who leads the Smart Connected Health project which aims to support research in health and medicine. “The project still has a couple of years to go,” said Gouma. “But in six months,…

HEALING | social health Known as the Make Room project, the collaboration will see a Melbourne City Council-owned building at 602 Little Bourke Street converted into safe and supported accommodation for those experiencing homelessness and sleeping rough on the city's streets. On completion, the property will be managed by Unison Housing and will feature up to 50 studio apartments as well as communal living areas, and will also offer housing and homelessness services and other support for residents. Corporates have become involved too, with PWC and ANZ fundraising for Make Room and Bunnings committing to delivering a rooftop garden at the property. With a total cost of $20 million, Make Room has also benefited from funding commitments from the state government, The Ian Potter Foundation, and the Lord Mayor's Charitable…

Mom, I'm feeling nervous,” my 12-year-old daughter shared one night as I tucked her into bed. “Are you just having nervous feelings or are you thinking about something?” I asked. “Ukraine,” she replied. I asked if she wanted to talk about it. She didn't. “I just want you to tell me a story, a happy story, to help me fall asleep.” In that moment, I found myself going through the eternal parenting struggle - the struggle of wanting to do or say the right thing and not knowing exactly what that was. I wanted to know if she had talked about the Ukraine at school or if she had heard something in the news. I wanted to ask what it was that made her feel nervous and what I could…

HEALING | emotional health If you have doubts about yourself, you're not alone. In fact, clinical psychologist Ronald D. Siegel has heard doubts from many of the clients he's worked with over nearly 40 years - and grappled with them himself, despite being an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “I noticed there was one painful struggle almost everyone seemed to share; the relentless quest to feel better about themselves,” he writes in his new book The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary. In fact he explains, most of us go about our days with ‘self-evaluative thoughts’ rattling through our brains; concerns about our performance at work, disappointment about what we see in the mirror, and judgements of our lovability based on the last conversation we had. Even when we feel…

HEALING | emotional health In the late afternoon - I had just sat down for the first time that day to have a bite to eat - the intensive care unit paged me. The artificial heart patient was still bleeding. My colleagues were unsure if it was due to a clotting problem or a surgical issue. If it was the latter, I would have to operate again. Disrupted clotting can be tackled with a unit of stored blood or an anti-coagulant. At the same time an assistant doctor called to tell me the relatives of the patient with the implanted heart were waiting for me, distraught. There were five of them, and the patient's very pregnant wife was at the end of her tether. She wanted to know how the…