Battling the Storm Within Blog : May 2018

Sweeping veterans policy bill passed overwhelmingly in the House

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers advanced a $52 billion veterans legislative package on Wednesday that would overhaul outside medical care options for Department of Veterans Affairs patients, expand stipends for veteran caregivers and launch a review of the bureaucracy’s national footprint.

Despite the cost of the plan, the measure easily passed the chamber by a vote of 347-70 and has the blessing of the White House, which said the legislation “will help to ensure that veterans choose the VA by getting them the right care at the right time with the right provider.”

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www.empowermiwomenvets.com

VA Expanding New Holistic Health Programs

According the the VA's website, the Whole Health Initiative is a new program that they say creates a personalized health plan that considers the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and environmental needs of veterans. The VA says the Whole Health System "acknowledges that health care involves more than the physical human body."

Read more...
https://www.military.com/militaryadvantage/2018/05/15/va-expanding-new-holistic-health-programs.html

Scientists Have Identified The Physical Source of Anxiety in The Brain

We're not wired to feel safe all the time, but maybe one day we could be.
A recent study investigating the neurological basis of anxiety in the brain has identified 'anxiety cells' located in the hippocampus – which not only regulate anxious behaviour but can be controlled by a beam of light.

The findings, so far demonstrated in experiments with lab mice, could offer a ray of hope for the millions of people worldwide who experience anxiety disorders (including almost one in five adults in the US), by leading to new drugs that silence these anxiety-controlling neurons.

Read more...
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-identified-control-switch-anxiety-brain-cells-neuron-disorder-anxiety?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Branded+Content&utm_campaign=ScienceNaturePageSign

York Habitat for Humanity searching for veteran to fill vacant home

NEWBERRY TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, P.A. --- York Habitat for Humanity officials are sending out a plea for veterans or anyone who may know a veteran family in York County to contact them.

A home volunteers built on the 900 block of Conewago Avenue has been empty for more than a year.
"The process has taken a lot longer than we had hoped that it would," said Mark Mattern, associate director of York Habitat for Humanity.

Read more...
http://fox43.com/2018/05/10/york-habitat-for-humanity-searching-for-veteran-to-fill-vacant-home/

How A 25-Year-Old Drug For Nerve Pain Called Gabapentin Showed Up In Opioid Overdoses

As the opioid crisis rages on in America, users who want to get high are now taking a drug that has been traditionally prescribed for nerve pain.

The Problem With The Drug

Gabapentin is a generic drug that is typically used to treat nerve pain and seizures. The 25-year-old drug was one of the most prescribed medications in 2017.

Read more...
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/226988/20180505/how-a-25-year-old-drug-for-nerve-pain-called-gabapentin-showed-up-in-opioid-overdoses.htm

Care at VA Hospitals as Good or Better Than Elsewhere in U.S.: Report

FRIDAY, May 4, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The overall quality of care provided by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration is equal to or better than that provided by other health care systems in the United States, a new report says.

The Rand Corporation study did find significant variation in quality among individual VA hospitals -- but less variation than was seen among non-VA facilities.

Betrayed by her own corporal: Foul-mouthed Army instructor faces court martial

The footage posted to Facebook has been liked and shared thousands of times

It shows the distraught woman sobbing as her instructor shouts abuse at her

She cries uncontrollably and is reduced to a quivering wreck in disturbing clip

British Army is now trying to track down the abusive corporal who could be fired

Battling the Storm Within

Sunday, May 20, 2018

The Problem With The Drug