Amortal's Favorite Links on health from Diigo

Natural Treatment for Clinical Depression

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:14:10 -0000

Tags: depression health mental health

Posted by: amortal

All The Best Tips on Getting In Shape, In One Handy List | Zen Habits

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:53:19 -0000

I’ve written a bunch of articles about health, fitness, and the challenges of getting in shape, and I thought it would be useful to compile some of the best articles in one place.

My Favorites

* 31 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise
* 17 Fitness Truths To Get You In Great Shape
* Zen To Slim: A Simple, 5-Step Weight Loss Plan
* The Rules of the Unbelievable Lightness of Being Club
* 17 Tips to Help You Get Leaner and Fitter

Starting Out

* 4 Simple Steps to Start the Exercise Habit
* How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit
* How to Get Back on the Exercise Train
* Get Healthy and Fit, Part 2 - Exercise Edition
* Beginner’s Guide to Running
* 6 Tips for Commuting to Work by Bike

The Next Level

* The Zen of Running, and 10 Ways to Make It Work for You
* 16 Tips to Triple Your Workout Effectiveness
* How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat
* Top 42 Exercise Hacks
* 10 Great Workouts to Spice Up Your Running Program

And More

* Simple Things You Can Do to Lose Weight
* Want to gain weight? Focus on muscle-building, not calories
* 80 Awesome Weight Loss Tips

Tags: health

Posted by: amortal

Secrets of Great Doctors: Get the Best Medical Care: Become a Smart Patient

Sun, 18 May 2008 00:17:28 -0000

Secrets of Great Doctors\nAn insider's guide to getting the best medical treatment

Tags: health literacy doctors

Posted by: amortal

Special Health Section - The New York Times

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:52:57 -0000

A Guided Tour of Your Body - learn the best that science and medicine can offer for taking care of yourself

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

A Guided Tour of Your Body

Tags: health

Posted by: amortal

5 Psychological Experiments That Prove Humanity is Doomed

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:58:15 -0000

A number of psychological experiments over the years have yielded terrifying conclusions about the subjects.

Oh, we're not talking about the occasional psychopath who turns up. No, we're talking about you.

Tags: health future politics

Posted by: amortal

For the Elderly, Being Heard About Life’s End - New York Times

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:22:02 -0000

Tags: dying health healthcare elderly

Posted by: amortal

Memory Training Shown to Turn Up Brainpower - New York Times

Sat, 03 May 2008 19:11:21 -0000

Tags: health brainpower

Posted by: amortal

Benefits of Exercise - Medicine and Health - Jane Brody - New York Times

Sat, 03 May 2008 18:03:43 -0000

You Name It, and Exercise Helps It

Tags: health

Posted by: amortal

Book by Doug Kaufmann and others - Know The Cause

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:32:55 -0000

As I began to help people with their health problems using an antifungal approach, it dawned on me that millions of people who have never met me could also benefit from this knowledge. Unfortunately, no one had ever published on the broad spectrum of symptoms and diseases I saw reversing when using this relatively simple approach. Worse, finding scientific information on each malady was much like finding a needle in a haystack. Although is took decades, thanks to my books, the work is now largely completed. You'll enjoy the education and feel more confident in my conclusions because of the scientific references I have listed within the pages of these books. Read and learn!

Tags: books health diseases fusgus

Posted by: amortal

One View of 'A Bipolar Life'

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:46:25 -0000

For the more than 2 million people with bipolar disorder, life can be a constant struggle to manage the extreme swings in mood and energy. For the subset with a severe form of the disease called bipolar I, achieving that balance can be even more difficult. Marya Hornbacher's new from-the-trenches memoir, "Madness: A Bipolar Life," offers a disturbing glimpse into the mind of someone with that condition.

"Madness" finds Hornbacher alternately drunk, hospitalized, starving, compulsively shopping, screaming, crying, cutting and combinations thereof.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

What is your goal with "Madness?"

I want to show [people] that it's scary but it's not foreign. These people are people. Don't back away.

My great hope was to bring someone both inside the mind of someone with bipolar and inside the mind of a regular person with a mental illness.

What are the biggest misconceptions about people with mental illness?

The idea that this is about character, that it's not really an illness and it's a character flaw.

I'd invite all those people who believe that to an anatomy-of-the-brain class, and they can learn that it is a brain disease! It's not about being a bad person or committing sin.

It's really backwards and anti-modern to think that you should just be able to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps."

Now there's a caveat to that: As soon as you know you have bipolar, you better take your meds. Those are your bootstraps.

Tags: health mental bipolar

Posted by: amortal

Mayo Clinic medical information and tools for healthy living - MayoClinic.com

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:03:10 -0000

Tags: health reference

Posted by: amortal

Atrial fibrillation - MayoClinic.com

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:00:36 -0000

Tags: health heart

Posted by: amortal

29 Exercises You Can Do At (Or Near) Your Desk - Lifehack.org

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:58:38 -0000

Tags: desk exercise fitness health howto

Posted by: amortal

Five Minute Consult - www.healthleadersmedia.com

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:41:56 -0000

Tags: health leaders media

Posted by: amortal

Health Progress: Spirituality and Medicine

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:13:18 -0000

Hospital patients often count on chaplains for the comfort and inspiration they provide. But at one Midwestern medical center chaplains are working to extend the healing power of spirituality beyond the bedside-into doctors' offices, summer camps for grieving children, even the operating room.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

extend the healing power of spirituality beyond the bedside-into doctors' offices, summer camps for grieving children, even the operating room

It used to be that the physician and spiritual leader was often "one and the same" person

In 1993, just two years before the Harvard meeting, only three of the 123 colleges of medicine in the United States actually offered courses on the importance spirituality plays in health care. But by 1999, 50 of those institutions were offering spirituality classes.

annual "Faith and Medicine" forums

Among the topics discussed in recent forums were "The Need to Listen versus the Desire to Tell," "Reconciling Personal Beliefs with the Obligation of Medical Professionalism" and "What Do We Say about Each Other as Physicians and Faith Leaders?"

writing letters for terminally ill patients

"In fact, spiritual care and medical care are partners and each has its vital and proven role in the restoration and maintenance of total health."

Tags: SJHS chaplaincy health medicine progress

Posted by: amortal

Health Progress: MEASURING WHAT CHAPLAINS DO

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:53:15 -0000

A New Study Sheds Light on Chaplain Competencies and Productivity

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

chaplains are learning to better define their roles, to articulate their duties, and to foster recognition of their contribution to patient care

administrators are often content with the symbolic nature of the chaplain's role

to define:

* A common language to describe what chaplains do

* The typical outcomes of their work

* The most appropriate ways to measure their productivity

families see chaplains as surrogate family members who help them cope with the death of a loved one

"Many of the people surveyed didn't know if they actually met a chaplain or not," he said. "We saw that chaplains had to take part of the responsibility for fuzzy perceptions of their roles. The problem is that fuzzy perceptions are not conducive to clear productivity and performance expectations or assessments for chaplains."

chaplains are available to meet others' needs with no agendas of their own; to provide comfort and support in a variety of circumstances; and to facilitate an individual's journey toward peace and wholeness, among other things

four recommendations to directors of spiritual/pastoral care for the improvement of chaplain performance and productivity measurement:

* Engage staff chaplains in a reflective process of role clarification, to identify and prioritize the most common key activities and competencies expected of them.

* Engage colleagues from other disciplines to help chaplains articulate performance expectations (outcome measurements) in a behavioral, common language.

* As a starting point for an improved and locally customized approach to measuring chaplain productivity (efficiency), create a template to define levels of task complexity for each of five to 10 key chaplain activities.

* Make a firm commitment to continuing education in order to develop the skills and competencies highlighted by the study, which will make a difference in the quality of spiritual/pastoral care.

An example of a task involving a lower degree of complexity is a patient death that is anticipated by both the patient and his or her loved ones. A more complex situation arises in the case of the death of a patient who is unprepared for it or whose family members are in conflict about the wishes of the deceased. "In either case, a chaplain must respond to the patient's death, but many more skills and competencies are needed to deal effectively with the complex situation,"

We have developed algorithms for this and other chaplain tasks to clarify roles, ensure quality spiritual care, and eliminate rework.

a form that helps chaplains perform detailed assessments of patients' spiritual well-being

measure their productivity in terms of outcomes. "We're also studying our chaplains' nonproductive time to determine whether we have the right people doing the right things and using the right tools in spiritual care,"

developing a tool that will serve a dual purpose: to enable patients, families, and caregivers to evaluate chaplain performance and, at the same time, educate those populations about the role of chaplaincy. "The very process of completing the evaluation will educate the user about what they can and should expect from a chaplain,"

Many of our residents conduct life reviews, looking back to assess the things they did or did not do. As chaplains, we can help them achieve closure and let go of guilt or regret. We can help them decide what they want to happen in their lives now as well as during and after their funerals. We also work with families to help them deal with the decline of a loved one.

the importance of gathering qualitative rather than quantitative data

The study helped our chaplains name and claim their profession by identifying some common language, levels of practice, competencies, and standards of care to which they can be held accountable

when CHI's facilities develop their own individual, customized lists of chaplain competencies

a lot of face-to-face dialogue with chaplains throughout our system to gain their acceptance of the study

it is much harder to add value to an organization when no one understands what you do

We dropped the chaplain-specific question from our survey for a number of reasons, but primarily because the chaplains' ministry today is so multidimensional that no single question can adequately capture their impact on patient satisfaction.

more helpful and detailed feedback from routine internal surveys of sample groups of nurses, physicians, family members, and other key stakeholder recipients of their ministry

the Catholic Health Initiatives Task Force on Chaplain Performance and Productivity, Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity

Tags: SJHS chaplaincy chaplains health progress

Posted by: amortal

Catholic Health East: Ethics Topics

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:35:16 -0000

Select a topic below to view articles, state laws, policies and helpful links

Tags: SJHS catholic ethics health

Posted by: amortal

Find Health Progress Articles | Find Articles at BNET.com

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:15:49 -0000

Most Recent Articles from Health Progress

Tags: health progress sjhs

Posted by: amortal

Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS) - Informed Consent

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:58:21 -0000

Tags: health informed consent literacy

Posted by: amortal

Ensuring Safety: Informed Consent for Patients with Limited Health Literacy

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:56:45 -0000

Tags: health literacy

Posted by: amortal