Important Health Topic

I’ve noticed and found that African Americans tend to not got to the doctor regularly and take notice to symptoms of disease and infection whether it is mental or physical. This is partially due to the fact that they do not trust doctors and feel that there is unfair treatment in their care compared to that of Caucasian patients. I’ve also noticed that in the mental health world that many African Americans with bipolar disorder either go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed as schizophrenic and they are put on medications for the wrong disorder. It has been shown by the professors at the University of Connecticut that people of color including Latinos have excessively been misdiagnosed. Their plan is to find out why so many have been improperly diagnosed.


"Patients suffering from depression or bipolar disorder who only receive medications for schizophrenia will continue to experience their original symptoms," he said, "and they will be at risk for very poor outcomes.(1) My opinion is simple that doctors need to treat all patients fairly. These statistics aren’t shown in patients with fair skin so I feel that there should be more initiative to diagnosing people of color. One factor about why this is an issue is because of health insurance and lack of as to the type of service that the patients receive. Most people of color have little to no health insurance and so they are going to free clinics or less qualified doctors to receive treatment, and because they can’t pay much the doctor doesn’t take much initiative in diagnosing them so they receive the wrong diagnosis, the wrong medication, and it leads to negative results.

Another reason for [what?] African Americans is that underestimate the impact of mental disorders. Many believe symptoms of mental illnesses, such as depression, are “just the blues.” Issues of distrust in the health care system and mental illness stigma frequently lead African Americans to initially seek mental health support from non-medical sources.(2) I have seen from personal experiences that African American specifically shrug things off and put it off as something minimal when it is really something more than that. I’ve had three family members diagnosed with bipolar disorder. They shrugged it off at first as something minimal as having the “blues” or just “being down”. It progressed and things got worse but they never went and got help for it. For one family member it became so bad that he became a danger to himself and others. He was committed to the Psychiatric ward of the hospital and it was then found that he suffered from bipolar disorder. It was then that we found out the other two showed the same symptoms and assumed it was bipolar disorder. Part of the reasons why my other two family members never went for help is that they grew up during the civil rights era and never trusted the doctors because they kept the mentality that doctors aren’t fair and they discriminate against people of color.

People of color, especially African Americans, should take more care of themselves whether it is the mental or physical aspect of health. I also believe that doctors should take more initiative and care when diagnosing people of color in concerns of a medical disorder. The original purpose for the free clinics were so that people with little or no health insurance had someplace to go and receive effective and efficient medical at a low cost. These principles should be forced upon these clinics to ensure the correct treatment of people of color specifically. In return we break the chain of misdiagnoses and improper treatment of people of color. This will, in reaction, encourage more people of color to regularly see a physician and maintain mental and physical health.



Sources Cited

1. "Bipolar Disorders and African Americans." Bipolar Disorder Research Study (2005): n. pag. Web. 17 Nov 2009. .

2. "African Americans." American Psychiatric Association. . 2009. AMA, Web. 17 Nov 2009. .

3. “African American Health.” 2009. NLH, Web. 17 Nov 2009.

Homecoming pt 2 [Fashion Show]

Greetings to my fellow eagles and all prospective! Today’s topic will consist of the Homecoming fashion show (which my modeling troupe won by the way.YAY!!!!!)




So first was the fashion show, and the theme was the “Fashion Massacre”. The days leading up to the show were very hectic and irritating making sure last minute props were done and appointments were set to do hair and little last minute task. The day of the show went pretty smooth which I wasn’t expecting considering the fact we had all night practice the previous night and I hadn’t had any sleep. I returned to campus at 7am on Thursday and had to immediately prepare for my first class of the day. I soon noticed how tired I really was and drank my last Amp (those have become my best friends in college). Feeling a little bit better I continued with my day without anymore interruptions. After my biology lab I raced back to my room so that I could finish the hem of the skirts I made for the show. At first I didn’t think it would take much time, and that is why I waited 3pm to do them. But as soon as I started I realized it was more work than I thought. Considering the fact I had to meet with my Academic Advisor that day at 4:30 and report to the B.N. Duke auditorium at 5, it seemed impossible to get them done. But thank goodness for roommates like mine. She helped a great deal and we finished with minutes to spare.



Finally it’s time for the show to start and backstage becomes hectic with models running from point A to B needing last minute touch ups on makeup and hair. We finish up and send them to do their opening act. In the opening, all troupes participated in a union entrance. Each troupes then presented a few representatives on stage to create a cluster and the rest went to the back. Then once each troupe presented the rest of the models that went to the back returned in lines in the aisles, and the presidents from each troupe appeared in the front for recognition. Then the show began. The lineup including the following modeling troupes: Blaque Mystique, Bon Vivant Fashion Society, Evalesco, Prestige, Team Paradyce. I was unable to watch the other troupe’s performances because the fashion show had sold out and there was no room left for the troupes to see the other performances. But our show was exceptionally different and truly embodied the meaning of a fashion massacre. Our scheme was the BVFS asylum and the three patients were admitted for their addiction to money, accessories, and shoes. During the first scene the patients are brought out and the head Nurse (our president Mercadees Gray) admitted them and listed the daily schedule. Then the curtains close after the girls are put under sedation and they open up to the girls waking up and realizing where they are then they jump out the chairs and begin the women’s routine. After that the creative runway scene occurs. Then the men’s routine and their runway are next. After that it is the union scene between the women and men it was set up as a seduction scene and for the women patients to seduce the males (the doctors) to get out of the asylum. The finale was the whole troupe on the stage and in the aisles. After we finished our set we then began the long wait for them to announce the winners. It seemed like FOREVER and then finally they announced BON VIVANT as the winners and we ran to the stage. It was so exciting especially this being my freshman year and the first time I participated in an organization as such. So I say Congrats to my Bon Vivant Family and to all the others. WE’RE THE BEST!!
 

HomeComing Part I

Recently we celebrated our Centennial Homecoming; it was quite interesting and important. This being our centennial it was an important one. But it tends to be complicated because NC A&T, and WSSU also had their homecomings at the same time. Even with that obstacle we had a pretty fun homecoming. The first part of home coming consisted of the Comedy show, the Pre-dawn and the Coronation. The comedy show was one of the highlights of homecoming we had Benji Brown, Corey Holcomb and Kevin Hart. It was exciting and I had so much fun laughing and crying at the jokes. First there was Benji Brown with his famous impressions of a female and her friends. He talked about the typical female clique and how the act one way in front of each other but when they separate they talk trash about the others. Everything he said was so true which made it SOO SOO much funnier because females tend to act like that a lot. Then Corey Holcomb came on the stage and told real life situations. To some these jokes offended them but these real life situations concerning abortion, and bodily anatomy. With Corey Holcomb we were taken “to school” and learned the real things that they don’t teach us in class. Ha-ha. The final act was Kevin Hart. He was absolutely funny. His material was original and new. I would love to talk about it but because he was doing an HBO show he asked that we not discuss it or record it before it aired on television. I will say that as usual he talked about his kids and how they acted. He also talked about daily life and his attitude and temperament. I enjoyed myself and seriously have never laughed so hard in my life. On Saturday there was the Pre-Dawn “Survival of the Fittest.” It was a concert/Party, and they booked Shawty Lo, an artist known for being in the group D4L and having singles such as “Foolish” and “Dunn Dunn.” Unfortunately I didn’t get to see him perform but I did enjoy myself hanging with my friends and some of the members from my organization. On Sunday the Coronation was held in the B.N. Duke auditorium. This was a ceremony in which the Mr. and Miss of all organizations were presented to the public. I did not attend but I was told that it was lovely and exciting.