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**LET'S TALK**

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| ####### FALL 2005 HEALTHY BODIES ● SOUND MINDS ● A SAFE PLACE TO WORK |
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**October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month**

THE NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (NCADV) sponsors
**Domestic Violence Awareness Month** every October to raise awareness
of domestic violence and work to end such violence against women and
children.

Anyone in an abusive situation knows trying to get out of it can be
difficult, even dangerous. However, this doesn't mean you don't have
options.

First, contact your local domestic violence organization (listed in the
telephone directory) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at
**800-799- 7233** (or **800-787-3224** for TTY). It provides crisis
intervention, information and referrals to local organizations. For more
information, log on to the NCADV Web site at
[*www.ncadv.org*](http://www.ncadv.org/).

To read more about protecting yourself against domestic violence, read
*Close the Door on Domestic Violence* on page 3 of this newsletter.

It's Time to Think Positive

PICTURE A ROSE BUSH IN FULL BLOOM. What did you notice first: the roses
or the thorns? A rose bush has plenty of both. But if you focused on the
roses and overlooked the thorns, you were thinking positive.

Thinking positive is a choice. It's a decision to appreciate the roses
in your life (loved ones, favorite activities and relaxing moments)
while letting go of the thorns (stresses, disappointments and losses).

This doesn't mean pretending to be happy when you're not. If you're
upset, it's important to talk about and deal with your feelings.

Thinking positive means choosing to fill your mind with positive
thoughts. Your reward will be a calmer, more hopeful attitude.

A positive outlook helps you relax and feel more competent when dealing
with everyday challenges.

**How to change your mind**

If you tend to count your worries instead of your blessings, it's time
for a fresh approach. Here's how to start thinking more positively.

□ **REASON WITH FACTS**, not feelings. Changes in your life can make you
feel **O D I**

uncertain and anxious, causing you to fear the worst. Instead, step back
and get the facts. Talk to an expert, such as your doctor, and find out
exactly what you can expect.

□**STAY CONNECTED**. Keep in touch with friends and loved ones, and be
open to developing new friendships.

□**PLAN FOR YOUR HAPPINESS**. Schedule time for pleasant activities as
often as possible. Having something to look forward to will keep your
spirits up.

□ **FIND THE SILVER LINING**. Give yourself time to adjust to change or
loss. Change can bring new opportunities: Be open to them. Your life
won't be the same, but it likely can be better than what you imagine.

**Late-Breaking Health News**

**\>\>Laughter Helps Blood Vessels Function Better**

Using funny movies to gauge the effect of emotions on cardiovascular
health, researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center in
Baltimore found that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood
vessels. While the study participants watched the films, their laughter
caused the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the
endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow.

When the same group of study volunteers was shown a movie that produced
mental stress, their blood vessel linings developed a potentially
unhealthful response called vasoconstriction, reducing blood flow.

"The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis
or hardening of the arteries," says principal investigator Michael
Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of
Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. "So, given the results of our
study, it's conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a
healthy endothelium and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease."

**\>\>A Man's Waist Size Can Predict His Diabetes Risk**

A 13-year study of 27,000 men found the bigger the waist, the greater
the risk of developing diabetes. Men with waists 37.9 to 39.8 inches in
circumference, for example, had a risk five times as great as those
whose waists were 29 to 34 inches, according to the study published in
the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*.

Researchers report waist size seemed to be a better gauge for diabetes
risk than body mass index, a measure of height and weight, or a
waist-to-hip ratio.

**\>\>The Buzz About Energy Drinks**

Highly caffeinated energy drinks --- such as Red Bull, Go-Fast and
Monster --- are marketed as sources of increased energy and
concentration. The drinks typically contain sugar, caffeine (often 80 mg
per serving) and taurine, an amino acid containing sulfur.

***Fall 2005*** 2

But research at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor
raises some concerns about the beverages, particularly when they're
mixed with alcohol, ingested before intense exercise or used by
children.

Mixing these beverages with alcohol is like putting one foot on the gas
and one foot on the brake, say the researchers. Consuming them before
intense exercise can strain the body and cause dehydration or even
collapse. And, they can cause children to be hyperactive.

**VITALITY-ON-DEMAND**

**A world of additional health information available via your
computer.**

You may think of this publication as just a newsletter. But would you
believe it's also an access index to one of the largest databases of
family health and personal self-care data around? With our free
Vitality-on-Demand (VOD) service, you can get all of the information you
need any time you want it!

**Visit www.vitality.com for more articles and to search for topics you
would like to learn more about.**

**It's simple. And it's free.**

**Via the Internet:** Visit our home page at *www.vitality.com* and
press the Vitality-on-Demand button to search by keyword. Or click on
Special Reports to access the articles listed below.

**SPECIAL REPORT**

**119** Identity Theft

**120** How to Quit Smoking

**541** Sensible Weight Loss

**542** Lowering Your Cholesterol

**543** Reducing Your Stress

**544** Walking for Fitness

**545** Workstation Comfort

**546** Fixing an Aching Back

**547** Start An Exercise Program

**548** Controlling Allergies

**549** Lowering Health-Care Costs

**550** Living With Arthritis

**551** Dealing With Headaches

**552** High Blood Pressure

**Close the Door on Domestic Violence**

EMAND

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS BEHAVIOR SOMEONE USES to control a spouse or
partner through fear and intimidation. It can involve emotional, sexual
and physical abuse, as well as threats and isolation. In most cases, men
are the abusers.

Abuse can show itself in the following ways:

□ **PHYSICAL BATTERING** --- the attacks can range from bruising to
punching to life-threatening choking or use of weapons.

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□ **SEXUAL ABUSE** --- a person is forced to have sexual intercourse
with the abuser or take part in unwanted sexual activity.

□ **PSYCHOLOGICAL BATTERING**--- psychological violence can include
constant verbal abuse, harassment, excessive possessiveness, isolating
the victim from friends and family, withholding money and destruction of
personal property.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, there is
help available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at
**800-799-7233** (or **800-787-3224** for TTY), or, in an emergency,
call **911**.

**Clues to violence**

The following signs often appear before abuse occurs and can be a clue
to a potential problem:

□ Violent family life

□ Use of force or violence to solve problems; warning signs include
having a quick temper, overreacting to little problems and frustrations,
cruelty to animals, punching walls or throwing things when upset

□ Alcohol or drug abuse

□ Access to guns or other weapons

□ Extreme emotional highs and lows; the person can be extremely kind one
day and extremely cruel the next

□ Rough treatment; the person has used physical force trying to get you
to do something you don't want to do

**Make a safety plan**

A safety plan is a list of things you can do to help increase safety for
you and your children. For example:

□ Identify areas in the house that are safe --- where there are no
weapons (not the kitchen) and where you can go during an argument (not
the bathroom, where there is no means of escape).

□ Try to keep a phone nearby so you can call for help (get a cell phone,
if possible) and memorize important numbers.

□ Let neighbors or friends you trust know about the situation and
develop visual or verbal signals you can use to tell them abuse is
occurring.

**Preparing to leave**

If you've decided to leave, here are some ways you can prepare:

□ Find local resources, such as battered women's shelters, and ask for
help preparing to leave.

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□ Keep important documents, such as your checkbook, credit cards,
address book, identification cards, birth certificates and documentation
of abuse, together in a safe place.

□ Put aside money if you can, and hide an extra set of car keys.

□ Plan for a quick departure, and know where and how you will escape.
You can ask for a police escort when you leave and get an order of
protection.

**The Facts About GHB: The "Date Rape" Drug**

**4**

**RAPE. BEATINGS. ROBBERY. COMA. DEATH.** These are common side effects
of a popular drug called GHB.

"GHB can turn a pleasant night out into a nightmare. The worst part is,
you may never wake up," says Jerry Frankenheim, Ph.D., a pharmacologist
and program officer at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in
Rockville, Md.

GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutyrate) is one of a group of drugs associated with
dance clubs and all-night rave parties.

**Excessive dangers**

Like alcohol, GHB is a depressant. In low doses, it reduces inhibitions
and causes retrograde amnesia --- people who take it forget what
happened to them.

GHB is known as the "date-rape" drug because it can easily be slipped
into a drink, making the victim helpless against sexual or other
assaults.

In higher doses, GHB causes coma and death from respiratory failure or
aspiration --- choking on your vomit.

Here are other reasons GHB worries doctors and parents:

□ GHB is hard to detect. The taste is easily masked by most drinks.

□ It's one of the easiest club drugs to make. Most street GHB is made in
home

labs, so the doses are unreliable.

□ There's no simple test for GHB and no antidote. "You go to the ER, and
doctors

have no idea what they're dealing with," says Frankenheim.

**To be safe:**

□ Never accept any food or drink from a stranger --- or even someone you
know.

□ Watch your drink being poured and be sure it's from a fresh bottle or
can or

straight from the tap.

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□ Keep your drink with you at all times.

□ Seek medical help quickly if someone appears to be overdosing.

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| **The Federal Consortium EAP provides assessment, counseling,         |
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| throughout the United States.**                                       |
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| *Information published in Let's Talk is the opinion of the sourced    |
| authors. Personal decisions regarding health, finance, exercise and   |
| other matters should be made after consultation with the reader's     |
| professional advisers. All models are used for illustrative purposes  |
| only.*                                                                |
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| ### *Copyri                                                           |
| ght © 2005 Health Ink Communications. All editorial rights reserved.* |
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