It's Tuesday and the news pickings are good

Tuesday is generally a big news days on the health news wires; it’s the day that many journals are published and the more eye-catching news stories are picked up. That gives me an interesting problem because on Tuesdays, I usually have a great variety of topics to write about.

I’ll often read one release and think “aha! That’s what I’ll write about today,” only to find a more attention-grabbing piece a few moments later. Take today’s news, for instance. Sleep is a very interesting topic. It’s a cause for much debate in families when it comes to children, especially teens. As someone who has always had difficulty sleeping, I know how important sleep is and horrid it is to feel as if you’ve never had enough.

But, then I read about the story about children and iron-deficiency. That’s a story of note too. So much of what our children are exposed to – or not exposed to – early in life will affect them well into adulthood. That topic included the stories about parents’ attitude towards asthma medications and flu shots. So, I figured, that’s what I would tackle.

Of course, just as I was about finished my newswire search, I came across the story about depression in women with migraine and I thought, oh boy, that’s a big one too – and one that hits very close to home because I fit into that category. I ended up emailing that story to a few people who I knew would find it worth reading.

What I find particularly captivating about the story with the migraine study is that it, once again, draws attention to how experiences as a child can truly and deeply affect the body years later. Of course, this brings into question the treatments that we use and their effectiveness. If the physical problems we have are caused by childhood traumas, can they be reversed without the physical interventions we end up having to use or is there a more effective way to ease the pain and discomfort if we can understand how it originates?

I know that many people who don’t understand the legacy of abuse do say that those of us who have suffered have to get over it, that we can’t blame our lot in life with what happened to us as a child. I understand and even agree with some of that thinking. I do believe that we are what we make ourselves despite of what happened in the past. I generally don’t blame the bad things that happen to me now on what happened to me as a child. I know it’s for me to make my life what it is, despite what happened in the past. However, if such abuse does have the lasting physical effect on our bodies that scientists are starting to find, then it may not be so easy to just leave it behind, to put it past us.

On the other hand, this type of information may give us another tool to heal because one part of surviving is not allowing the perpetrators to win – ever. And, if the effects of childhood abuse follows us into adulthood, they *are* winning. So, maybe the next time I have a migraine or start into a cycle of depression, I can use this information to fight it. He’s not going to win. He never has won and he’s not going to win now. I am stronger. *I* will win this fight.

News for Today:
Heart surgeries more dangerous for women, study indicates
Sleep vital for students, experts say
Overweight toddlers and those not in day care at risk for iron deficiency
Practice-based intervention has sustained benefits for children and families
Annual flu shot cuts need for doctors' visits, hospitalization among children
Parents' perceptions can hamper kids' asthma care, study finds
Involving parents in therapy doubles success rates for bulimia treatment
Depression in women with migraine linked to childhood abuse