Our Iraq War veterans face increased risks of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) without sufficient medical treatment. PTSD is a common but often overlooked illness in the United States today and is defined as a mental disorder caused by a disturbing psychological event. It is a debilitating condition that disrupts one's functioning in everyday life and is usually exhibited in war veterans who often wake up screaming from nightmares about combat 30 years after their service.
While by no means a comprehensive list, here's an alternate list of things each and every one of you can do to resist the negative impact you have on our ecosystem. Incorporating these suggestions into your everyday life may be difficult, even painful, but it is possible and absolutely necessary for the survival of the planet and the plants, humans and non-humans inhabiting it.
Back-stabbing; conniving; manipulative; bitch: We all know the stereotypes of strong and successful women in the workplace. However, what if these so-called "ill-founded" images weren't really that off-point? As young girls in Girl Scouts and then as members of sororities in college, women are taught the importance of sisterhood, solidarity and friendship. Yet, many women in the workplace have been known to put aside these vital lessons in hopes of a pay raise or promotion. It is unfortunate that in the workplace, many women are known to sabotage rather than help fellow female co-workers get ahead.
We all get those pesky e-mails at the end of the quarter that remind us to fill out five different faculty evaluations for our professors and teaching assistants. And frankly, a lot of us don't. As a result, a great flurry of e-mails collect in our inbox, many rife with exclamation points reading, "Window Closing!" However, with a couple clicks of the delete button, we continue on our way with final papers and exams. For a moment, imagine that your professors anxiously await your feedback. They're not just pleasantly interested; they are twiddling their thumbs in excited anticipation to read what you write about them. Why, you might ask? Perhaps they are motivated by a personal desire to improve their teaching skills. Now, add the additional motivation of a $10,000 bonus...
Interrogations, temporary detainment or warm welcomes. Sometimes you can decide your form of reception, though it often comes down to repressing one identity in favor of another. The selective use of a passport from multiple choices, for those able to obtain more than one, may be a matter of self-identification, depending on the circumstance and the location. For many living in the era of transnational terrorism, the process of traveling has become as much a matter of security as racial profiling. In some places, they are one and the same.
If you drove to a local elementary school, the kids you would be staring at are the first generation of children expected to die at a younger age than their parents. Medical technology is quickly advancing every year, but remains unable to counteract the growth in American waistbands. Rising trends in obesity and a lack of exercise are predicted to decrease the American lifespan.
