Animal
Rights
My love for animals started at a very young
age. I found a young kitten who was hurt when I
was only six years old and I took it home with
me wanting my Mother to make her well. I have
had many different kinds of animals as pets,
including a rabbit, a small chicken, cats and
dogs, birds and an aquarium filled with tropical
fish. But I also became aware of all of the
beautiful wild animals and birds. I have never
been able to condone any animal being hurt nor
abused, whether domesticated or wild. I do not
consider hunting a sport. If you want it to be a
sport, give Bambi camouflage, a truck and of
course a very high powered rifle!
Children's
Rights
I feel very strongly about children’s rights.
I know from my own experience I would see little
children who were left to take care of their own
needs sometimes with no adult supervision. I
remember when I was only twenty-one of watching
three small children under the age of five, one
was completely naked and the other two didn’t
have hardly any clothes on. They were all
outside in the cold winter and snow was on the
ground. I was angered by what I saw and called
the local child welfare agency. When they came
to investigate they found the mother asleep on
the couch unaware or maybe not caring about
these little people whom she should have been
giving her full attention to. I don’t know the
circumstances of why this situation came about
but if people are going to have children then
they must accept the responsibilities and be
prepared to take care of their children.
It also bothers me how children are sometimes
treated as property, without any thought to
their feelings, wants or needs. Or used in the
ultimate war between their parents, treated as a
pawn. Left feeling hopeless they will somehow
displease one of them and risk losing that
parents love.
The Children's Bill of
Rights
All children shall enjoy the following
inalienable rights:
1. The right to be treated as
important human beings, with unique feelings,
ideas and desires and not as a source of
argument between parents.
2. The right to a sense of security and
belonging derived from a loving and nurturing
environment which shelters them from harm.
3. The right to a continuing relationship
with both parents and the freedom to receive
love from and express love for both.
4. The right to "listening" parents.
5. The right to express love and affection
for each parent without having to stifle that
love because of fear of disapproval by the other
parent.
6. The right to grow and flourish in an
atmosphere free of exploitation, abuse and
neglect.
7. The right to know that their parents'
decision to divorce is not their responsibility
and that they will still be able to live with
each parent.
8. The right to continuing care and guidance
from both parents where they can be educated in
mind, nourished in spirit, and developed in
body, in an environment of unconditional love.
9. The right to honest answers to questions
about changing family relationships.
10. The right to know and appreciate what is
good in each parent without one parent degrading
the other.
11. The right to have a relaxed, secure
relationship with both parents without being
placed in a position to manipulate one parent
against the other.
12. The right to have one parent not
undermine time with the other parent by
suggesting tempting alternatives or by
threatening to withhold activities with the
other parents as a punishment for the children's
wrongdoing.
13. The right to be able to experience
regular and consistent parental contact and the
right to know the reason for not having regular
contact.
14. The right to be a kid and to be insulated
from the conflict and problems of parents.
15. The right to be taught, according to
their developmental levels, to understand
values, to assume responsibility for their
actions, and to cope with the just consequences
of their choices.
16. The right to be able to participate in
their own destiny.
Withholding love for any reason IS
abuse!
There is No Excuse For Abuse, no matter what
kind and who inflicts it.
The children always suffer, be it emotional,
physical or sexual abuse.
Mental
Health
This is something I never realized was going
to impact my life and eventually change every
perception I had about my own life. Throughout
my life there were a lot of situations and life
lessons I had to face and I never gave it much
thought until now.
I did realize early in my life that I felt
different than other people. The first time I
tried to tell a doctor I was depressed I was
only twenty-five years old. I remember telling
the doctor that although everything in my life
was going well, I felt like going down to the
bridge and jumping into the river. His response
was to give me a prescription with the words on
it, “Please administer plenty of TLC” (Tender
Loving Care). Those words ring in my ears to
this day.
I tried again to tell a family doctor at the
age of thirty-two, his first response because of
knowing me for so long was I had been through a
lot in my life. I kept insisting it went much
deeper and he ordered blood work on me, the test
showed I had a low thyroid count. My doctor
started me on a prescription for Synthyroid
which I will need to take for the rest of my
life. It did not make the depression go away
completely, it did help some though. I did feel
what is the use, everyone was so use to me
cutting up and joking. They were never going to
realize the pain and torment going on inside of
me.
I was finally diagnosed three years ago by my
current family doctor. I told my doctor one day
I was depressed, now you have to remember each
time I saw him, we were always having fun and
laughing. He asked me how long I had been
depressed and I responded, “All of my life”. The
look on his face was one of shock. Finally a
doctor had heard me! He diagnosed me through my
answers to his questions and after consulting
with a psychiatrist that I was Bi-Polar.
We tried different medications and I also
started taking the combination of Omega 3, 6 and
9 vitamin supplement. The truly biggest help for
me besides having a caring and understanding
doctor was the love and support I received from
my husband. We both went online and started
getting educated about the disease, it’s causes
and effects. Now we are both more aware of the
signs which signal a change in my mental
outlook. I am a rapid cycler, which means I go
through cycles of being on top of the mountain
only to plunge rapidly down into a valley of
depression, not wanting to get out of bed for
days at a time, then it is back on the roller
coaster and I am on top of the world again with
thoughts and ideas racing through my head.
We have watched the progression in our
society of where more and more people are openly
talking about depression and admitting that they
too have depression. Depression can be caused by
many different things, sometimes it is seasonal,
sometimes over the loss of a loved one, so many
things which impact our mental process and
others are too quick to say it will soon pass.
There are no cures for certain types of
depression, there is help through proper
medication, talk therapy, education and a strong
support system. Some people are just having a
bad day, for the rest of us this does not hold
true.
If you feel like you are one of those people,
please visit the link I have here for Mental
Health, it is nothing to be ashamed of, and help
for you could be just one click away. Talk to
someone, anyone, get help...get educated!
Suicide
Prevention
This subject is probably one of the most
misunderstood things that many people may
experience or go through in their lifetime.
Either they have thought about it themselves or
they have a friend or loved one who has thought
about it or even mentioned it. I cannot
emphasize this too much, please NEVER dismiss
anyone you know saying they feel like taking
their own life. It is not an idle threat, nor or
they just using it as a ploy for attention. It
is most times a desperate and last cry for
someone to help them, even though they may not
realize or think they want help.
If you have a family member or friend in a
crisis:
If you have a family member or friend
who is suicidal, do not leave him or her alone.
Try to get the person to seek help immediately
from an emergency room, physician, or mental
health professional. Take seriously any comments
about suicide or wishing to die. Even if you do
not believe your family member or friend will
actually attempt suicide, the person is clearly
in distress and can benefit from your help in
receiving mental health treatment.
If you are thinking about harming yourself or
attempting suicide, tell someone who can help
right away:
Call your doctor's office.
Call
911 for emergency services.
Go to the
nearest hospital emergency room.
Call the
toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255);
TTY:
1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
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