Do you have scars because of a fire, blast injury, automobile accident, surgery, or other cause? While scars can cause pain and loss of function, those that disfigure the face and are always visible to others can be especially traumatic.
Shalom Blac was badly burned in a childhood accident, and the resultant scars led to staring and bullying from others. To overcome these problems, Blac learned to skillfully use makeup to hide the disfiguring scars. With experience, she became such an expert at it that she now has a motivational YouTube channel with nearly 500,000 subscribers where she offers makeup tutorials.
Check out Blac’s video channel at www.youtube.com/channel/UCHdbS7-HdeC6PMo9EtY5hFA to learn how she transforms herself with makeup and wigs and how you might be able to do the same.
SPOTLIGHT ON BOOKS
Tackling life: How Faith, Family, Friends, and Fortitude Kept an NFL Linebacker in the Game
by Kevin Reilly with John Riley
Tackling Life is Kevin Reilly’s story about achieving a dream, losing it, and then creating and achieving new dreams. While preparing to resume his professional football career in the 1970s, the 28-year-old was faced with the devastating news that his sore shoulder was caused by a rare tumor—a tumor that required the amputation of his left arm and shoulder and ended his football career. However, through faith, family, friends, and fortitude, Reilly, who once played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, went on to overcome depression and build new careers in the corporate world, broadcasting, and motivational speaking.
Only a Third of Patients Diagnosed With Depression Start Treatment
Despite the wide availability of effective treatments for depression and a growing effort nationwide to detect and begin treating depression during primary care visits, only about one-third of individuals newly diagnosed with depression start treatment, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
The researchers found that out of more than 240,000 patients who received a new diagnosis of depression in a primary care setting, 35.7 percent initiated antidepressant medication or psychotherapy within 90 days of their diagnosis. Among those with more severe depression, about half started treatment.
“There was some older, more limited evidence that many people who are diagnosed with depression do not begin treatment, for reasons ranging from stigma to challenges accessing behavioral health services,” said Beth Waitzfelder, PhD, lead author and investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.
For patients who did initiate treatment, more than 80 percent started antidepressant medication rather than psychotherapy. The researchers found that older patients were less likely to choose psychotherapy, with 25 percent of patients age 18-29 starting counseling, compared to 7 percent of patients age 75 and older. All racial and ethnic minorities were more likely than non-Hispanic white people to start psychotherapy rather than medication.
Amputees and those with conditions that people with limb loss often have, such as diabetes, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder, may experience periods of significant depression. For those individuals, seeking treatment may be a first step toward enjoying life again.
This article was adapted from information provided by Kaiser Permanente.
