Media and Diseases

It has recently been a very important issue as to what the media chooses to show and display of certain topics. For example, the media will focus on the coming out story of a popular male athlete, while it would give no attention to a female athlete or an athlete from an unpopular sport.

A similar idea can be seen in the way the media chooses to show different diseases. Many diseases, such as autism and breast cancer have various walks, and celebrities raising awareness, and raising money. However there are many diseases like dystonia, that a New York Times blogger, Allison London, talks about in this article "Disease and the Public Eye." She contemplates why certain diseases get to be so well known while others no one has ever heard of, even though they may be less rare. "Dystonia is quite rare but, by some estimates, there are more people who have it than have Huntington's Disease, A.L.S. and Muscular Dystrophy combined." Dystonia deserves much more awareness for the amount of people who suffer from it. Because of the lack of awareness, London has to deal with weird looks in public places because people don't know about her disease.

I think a possible reason the media chooses to highlight certain diseases, is because they might think some diseases appear more "glamorous" than other diseases. While distonia causes people to hunch over and spasm, a cancer patient can gracefully loose their hair. Obviously, cancer or any other diseases are not glamorous in any way, but it is easier for the media to portray them in that way.

Why else could the media only choose to focus on certain diseases?

Gambling and Suicide Rates

As I've been researching suicide rates and what is making them rise, I've come upon some pretty interesting ideas that could definitely contribute to the rise. However, I'm pretty sure these causes aren't great enough to make a huge impact, but it is interesting nonetheless, as small causes can add up to one large cause. One idea I came across on the New York Times, is that the rise in gambling could be a potential cause of the rising suicides. Dr. David Phillips claims here, that the suicide rates in Atlantic City, Reno, and Las Vegas (all very large gambling cities) are four times as great as the suicide rates in cities of comparably sizes where gambling is not prominent.

One reason for this, may be because gambling causes many people to be put into financial crisis. After they gamble all of there money away, they may be left with little to nothing. And I have found in my research, that when people are dealing with financial crisis, they are much more likely to commit suicide.

Another possible reason may be that compulsive gamblers often have many other problems such as drug and alcohol abuse. These are often also accompanied by depression, which in turn leads to higher suicide rate. So many people who have depression and abuse alcohol and drugs, may be moving to gambling cities because of their issues.

Do you think gambling could have a real, noticeable effect on suicides, or is it more of a happenstance that people already susceptible to suicide move to places where they can frequently gamble?

A.D.H.D Medication: The Brain's Steroids

The number of people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (A.D.H.D.) is higher than ever. According to the New York Times in "A.D.H.D. Seen in 11% of U.S. Children,"  nearly 1 in 5 high school boys are diagnosed with A.D.H.D. in the United States. While many people think that this is a good thing, it is also possible that children are being diagnosed purely to help their behavior and perform better in school. Therefore, many children may be unnecessarily taking medication. Because there is no definitive test, doctors can give the medication to anyone who they feels may be affected with this disorder after taking an oral and behavior test.

Many people though are largely disregarding the health risks of these medications. People who take these are susceptible to abuse and dependence. Also because the medication can improve concentration and performance, many students with the medication will give some out to friends. It goes on in many schools, because many students are willing to do anything for a potential to better their grades.

I know that especially during finals, dealing of Adderall, a medication prescribed for A.D.H.D., is very common around my school. Students think that the Adderall will help them focus to study for their finals. This, in my opinion, is a form of cheating. People without A.D.H.D. are giving themselves unfair advantages on tests. I think that A.D.H.D. medication is equivalent to steroids for sports, a drug that can drastically improve performance.

What do you think needs to be done about the number of people diagnosed with A.D.H.D? How can the amount of medication given out be slowed?