Patients or Prisoners - Problems at the Institute of Mental Health, Chennai

News report of issues at the IMH in Chennai, India. Featured is Vandana Gopikumar, co-founder and Trustee of The Banyan, who points out the various lapses in patient care that the Institute has failed to address for too long.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hr-q8JKbFs&hl=en

Overweight Cat Health Problems - Secrets That Resolve Them

Overweight cat health problems are common, tragic and unnecessary. There is no such thing as an overweight cat (or any other animal) in the wild. This means all overweight cats and their associated health problems is a man-made condition.

Obesity puts a huge strain on internal organs and greatly upsets the natural functioning of your cat's systems.

Although there is more than one factor that contributes to this, diet is by far the most important trigger. And there are two main areas in the diet that leads to obesity.

The first area is the diet itself. Most cats are fed a processed, commercial cat food. You may think you are doing the best thing for your cat. But if you look at the (real, unlisted) ingredients of most of the commercial cat foods, you'll find a very high fat content.

You may not be very happy to hear this, but most commercial cat food manufacturers care far more about their profit than about the health of your cat. They spend far more on an attractive packet and alluring advertising, than they do on the quality of the food.

Cheap, unhealthy ingredients are the order of the day. And fat is one of the cheapest ingredients around. But has little nutritional value, certainly not in high proportions.

You can reduce or eliminate your overweight cat health problems by switching to a quality, home made, raw meat and bones diet.

It's not difficult, time consuming or expensive.

The second problem many cat people do is to leave food out all the time. Cats are not grazers, like horses. They are carnivores. They don't hunt all the time. Cats tend to rest after a successful hunt, and sleep for several hours.

Carnivores tend to have a lot of unsuccessful hunts. So your cat's digestive system is geared up to few meals rather than many. Two meals a day is perfectly adequate for all adult cats.

Too frequent meals also upsets your cat's digestive system, causing problems here.

Dealing with Early Teenage Behavior Problems

Parenting Question

"My lovely, cheerful, ever-helpful 11-year-old daughter has recently turned into
the troublemaker in my house. I have 2 other girls, ages 7 and 9, who are also
influenced by her behavior. Now, every meal seems like a battleground. The
11-year-old is usually making mean remarks and bossing everyone around. I try to
be patient, but it's very difficult!! She is also prone to raising her voice and
shouting at anything. Is this early teenage behavior problems and what can I
do??? "-- Mom Trying to Cope with Early Teenage Behavior Problems

Positive Parenting Tip for Early Teenage Behavior Problems

Dear Mom Dealing with Early Teenage Behavior Problems:

When your lovely sweet daughter has suddenly transformed into a bossy
troublemaker and brings down the entire family with the "adolescent blues", it
is important to remember that neither you, nor any member of the household,
needs to stand under her rain cloud. Here are a couple of ways to start
experiencing sunny skies again:

1. Encourage her.

One of my counseling mentors is the late Dr. Dreikurs. He wisely stated that, "A
misbehaving child is a discouraged child." Notice the things your daughter does
that are helpful, the times that she is happy, and mention them to her. One of
the best ways we can encourage children and teenagers is to have them contribute
more to the household. Consider having her help out more. If she resists (and
she might especially if she hasn't been doing much around the home), consider
going on strike in a few areas of household upkeep until she helps out. My
favorite gone-on-strike zone is making dinner: I refuse to no longer prepare our
evening meal without a child helping (they can take turns). Dinner can be a
great time when a family can come together to create a wonderful meal and share
the joys and challenges of their day.

2. Do your best to find out what's at the bottom of it!

Regardless if hormones play a part or not, it is important to find out what's
going on for her. During a quiet time (when no one is around) tell your daughter
you've noticed a change in her and that you can't imagine she is feeling very
happy inside to be lashing out at the people she loves. Ask her if this is the
case. If she says "No", then ask her what is going on and find out if there is
any way you can support her. If she is unresponsive, remain positive. Tell her
that, when she figures it out or wants to talk about it, you are there for her
and that you trust she will work it out.

3. Don't stand for disrespect.

It is completely fair to ignore teenagers with aggressive behavior (either
verbal or physical). Instead of screaming or raising your voice in response to
an adolescent who is behaving inappropriately, reply in a calm voice and say
something like, "I can see you're upset right now. When you're ready to talk
about it or want a hug, come find me." Then leave the room. Don't get into
screaming matches--you will likely lose.

The main key is to love and support your child, and to not allow early teenage
behavior problems to affect you emotionally.