The EU has approved for the first time the use of a medicinal cannabis product aimed at patients with two rare, but severe, forms of childhood epilepsy.

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China expands drug bulk-buy program, puts pressure on pharma firms

China expands drug bulk-buy program, puts pressure on pharma firms
Reuters: Health
(This September 2 story was corrected to show program covers entire country (not almost entire country) and to show Fujian and Hebei provinces had already joined the scheme, paragraphs 1,8)

South Korea confirms fourth case of African swine fever

South Korea confirms fourth case of African swine fever
Reuters: Health
South Korea confirmed on Tuesday its fourth case of African swine fever at a hog farm in a town 40 km (25 miles) north of its capital Seoul, just a week after the deadly disease was first discovered in the country.

Is Your Past Too Heavy to Haul Around?

Imagine a cloth bag containing 10 pounds of river rocks, their surface smoothed by years of water washing over them, tumbling them, moving them downstream. You are asked how long you could possibly hold the bag draped over your shoulder or held extended out from one arm. What might your answer be?

When I offered this exercise at a substance addiction out-patient rehab where I worked from 2012-2014, the teens would laugh and say that they could do it for an extended period of time. I nodded and they took on the challenge. Within moments, their resolve faded as they realized how heavy 10 pounds could be and try as they might, a minute or so was all they could handle.

I gave them a few options. They could either put the whole thing down or take the rocks out a few at a time and see if that made it easier to hold. The rocks represented the choices they had made, the drugs they ingested, the ill-advised friendships they had attracted and maintained, and even more powerful; the beliefs they held that enabled all of this to occur. I asked what it might feel like, in either case, to unburden themselves and stand up straight. Several had been bent by childhood events, losses, parental substance addictions, family dysfunction and the concomitant choices they had made and thought they still had to. I reminded them that their history need not be their destiny.

That line remains with me each day as well. My history is not my destiny, regardless of how deeply entrenched my beliefs might be. I consider my own life lessons that led me to buy into the mindset that told me I had to develop into an overachieving Type A personality to overcome childhood health challenges. When I was four, I was diagnosed with asthma that required frequent trips to the family doctor’s office for allergy shots and far too often for my comfort, sitting in my parents’ bathroom, in the wee hours, breathing in steam as it billowed out from the running shower until the hot water ran out. It kept my lungs open and functioning rather than feeling at times like a collapsed accordion. Added to that was the podiatric impediment of being pigeon toed and flat footed that required wearing red, clunky orthopedic shoes. Not exactly the height of fashion for a time when penny loafers, moccasins and sneakers were accustomed footwear back in the 1960s.

Bless my parents for encouraging athleticism and reminding me that I could do anything I set my mind to. Admittedly, I took it too far at times, wanting to stay ahead of the crowd. Why should that be a problem? It became so when enough never felt like enough and my hyper-critical persona that I call Perfectionista came to call with increasing frequency. There were times when the desire for stellar performance and productivity overshadowed good sense and exceeded my body’s ability to keep up. It hit home in a life-threatening way on June 12, 2014, when a fully occluded artery sent me to the hospital for the insertion of a stent to prop it open and functioning and allowed me to remain on this side of the veil. Even now, five years later, I remind myself that I need not prove anything. I’ve earned my chops personally and professionally. I can still strive for excellence and scale the wall without hitting it.

In my therapy practice over the years, I have worked with clients who face such challenges. They tote around the bag of rocks that could have labels on them that read: “You’ll never be enough.” “You won’t succeed, so why bother?” “You can’t compete with your siblings.” “He or she is favored by others.” “You are always at fault in the eyes of others.” “You can never come out on top.” Some feel excluded from the proverbial Winner’s Circle and carry resentment that impedes their forward progress. Sometimes we are able to break through those roadblocks or least take a temporary detour. Those who insist that they have no choice but to feel as they do, are doomed to add rocks to the bag and become bent from the burden. They express that if they put the bag down, then it means the other people who handed it to them in the first place will get away with whatever it was that they did. 

Questions I ask:

• Can you go back and change the events that occurred?
• If you had a time machine, and could return to the original experiences, knowing what you now know, what might you have done differently?
• What beliefs arose from the original occurrence?
• Do they benefit you or hinder you?
• Do you want to continue viewing your life through limiting lenses?
• Do you want the people in your life to reinforce your attachment to the old story?
• Can you re-write the narrative?
• What is your investment in maintaining the beliefs, and is there secondary gain?
• What thought can you change that might free you?
• Are you willing?
• Where could you go and what could you do if you put the bag down completely and never hoist it up again?

As I was writing the article, the song “The Rock and the Hill“ by Allison Moorer came on the radio which was the perfect reinforcement of the topic. 

Are you willing to be rock steady instead of standing on rocky ground?

Is My Relationship Picker Broken? 5 Signs You’re Choosing Emotional Manipulators

Is it possible to have a broken picker when it comes to choosing a partner? Have you ever wondered why you have a pattern of malfunctioning relationships? I have worked with clients over many years that all appear to have selected partners who are consistently manipulative. I’m here to tell you, choosing poorly in relationships is not just due to being unlucky. There is actually some rhyme and reason to it. But I am not just referring to regular relationships with a partner who refuses to pick up his socks or a partner who doesn’t know how to cook. I am referring to the doomed pattern that occurs when we pick a partner who is emotionally manipulative.  

First, let’s briefly discuss what an emotional manipulator looks like. There are a multitude of different descriptions of what an emotional manipulator looks and acts like, but the short answer is someone who knows how to exploit every vulnerability and weakness you have and will do it at the drop of a hat.  

Why do we pick these people? What is it about us that encourages the emotional manipulator to target us and why do keep going back? If you want to figure out why you are a poor picker, then read on.

Indicator #1: You have low self-esteem.

I know, I know, shocking! Doesn’t everyone have low self-esteem of some sort? Yes, arguably so, but poor pickers who choose emotionally manipulative people to be their partners have issues with self-love. They struggle to love themselves unconditionally and unconsciously seek to find someone who can take up that slack. They end up choosing a person who has their own issues with self-love. Spoiler alert: Emotionally manipulative people also have low self-esteem and lack unconditional self-love.    

Solution: Work on your self-love! How you ask? It’s very simple; treat yourself like you would treat your best friend. If you won’t tell your best friend she’s horrible, don’t say it to yourself. And, oh yeah, you don’t have to believe what you tell yourself at first for this to work. Fake it til you make it!  

Indicator #2: You thrive on taking care of other people.

What’s wrong with this you say? Well, in healthy relationships, we care for one another; we don’t take care of one another. Of course, I am working on the assumption that most people are capable of taking care of themselves (which, I dare say, they are). But, poor pickers believe that people need to be taken care of. And, of course, emotional manipulators are more than willing to present themselves as victims who need someone to pay attention to them, enable them and take care of them.

Solution: Divorce the idea that grown adults need to be taken care of. They don’t! Now, this is not to say that there aren’t people who “suck” at life. There are! But, the reason they suck is likely because you have been doing everything for them. So, stop! Use your energy toward working on your own self-esteem (see Indicator #1). When you do this, I promise you will feel much, much better.

Indicator #3: They have an unrealistic, romanticized idea of love.

Wouldn’t everyone like to ride off into the sunset with our ideal partner? Of course, but let’s get real, that isn’t going to happen. Love takes time! That’s right folks, “love at first sight,” “He told me he was going to rescue me,” or “It was a thunderbolt of lightning” is not love! I’ll repeat it… it’s not love! For the poor picker, however; these statements are music to their ears. Remember, the low self-esteem critic is very loudly whispering in your ear, so hearing someone say they are going to “take you away from all this” is hard to resist. 

Solution: Love is created and developed with trust, effort, and understanding over time. If your partner is asking you to go 150mph and you just met, slow it down! You can’t see anything going 150mph in a car, so why would you think you could do it in a relationship?

Indicator #4: Difficulty identifying their own reality.

No, I’m not saying that poor pickers are crazy. But, it is unlikely that they are in touch with their emotions or are willing and able to express their emotions. It is more than likely that poor pickers are avoiding their true emotions by self-medicating, and/or engaging in compulsive unfulfilling behaviors like spending, eating, and working too much. They are not talking about their unpleasant emotions, engaging in dialogue about difficult topics and definitely not sharing their day with their families around the dinner table.

Solution: Start identifying your emotions. Ok, this might be a hard one to do on your own, but that’s what therapists are for. Find a therapist who can help you identify and express your emotions so you can learn to live in the reality of your own life.  

Indicator #5: They are looking for someone outside of themselves to solve all of their past relationship problems from their family of origin.

Ok, so this is a biggie! What does this mean? It means that we all pick partners who are familiar to us (aka: We marry our parents). As humans, we are looking for what is comfortable for us. We aren’t out in the world saying, “Bring on the most awkward and uncomfortable experience ever!” Nope, we connect with people who have characteristics we are familiar with. In the case of the poor picker, what is familiar is dysfunctional. The poor picker chooses someone who unconsciously reminds them of their dysfunctional parent(s). They believe that if they can make the relationship work with the dysfunctional partner, they can fix what was broken in their childhood. Sounds like a plan, right? Sorry, the only way to fix problems from childhood is to work on ourselves to resolve any issues remaining from childhood.  

Solution: This would be a job for that therapist I mentioned in the solution for Indicator #4. A trained professional can help you sort through any unresolved issues with your family so that you can move from being a poor picker to being a healthy picker.   

So, now you know! Go out there and turn your poor picker into a healthy picker! 

Newark city officials say filters 97% effective in reducing lead in water

Newark city officials say filters 97% effective in reducing lead in water
Reuters: Health
Temporary water filters installed in homes in New Jersey's largest city of Newark are at least 97 percent effective in reducing lead in drinking water, officials said on Monday, but that doesn't mean the water is safe to drink.

Aid group says vaccine 'rationing' in Congo is hampering Ebola fight

Aid group says vaccine 'rationing' in Congo is hampering Ebola fight
Reuters: Health
The World Health Organization is "rationing" Ebola vaccines in Democratic Republic of Congo, with access controls meaning too few people at risk are being protected in an outbreak of the deadly disease, the aid group MSF said on Monday.