CONNECT Mental Health

CONNECT Mental Health

HEADLINE #1-PKG

COMING UP ON THIS EDITION OF CONNECT.

WE TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WAR TAKES A TOLL ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN.

WE’LL ALSO EXAMINE THE CAFFEINE CRAZE AND HOW CAFFEINATED DRINKS AFFECT OUR BRAINS.

AND WE TALK TO SOME LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENTS ABOUT HOW MENTAL HEALTH MAY HAVE PLAYED A PART IN RECENT CAMPUS SHOOTINGS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ALL THAT AND MORE NOW ON CONNECT.


Welcome-RDR

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THIS EDITION OF CONNECT. I’M FAITH ABUBEY.

I’M PHIL TENSER. TODAY WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND HOW IT AFFECTS MORE PEOPLE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK THAN YOU MAY THINK.

WE’LL CONNECT WITH WAR VETERANS, SOME CENTRAL NEW YORKERS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE AREA ON HOW THEIR MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES.

Mental Illness Explanation-RDR

FIRST. WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH? IT MEANS LIVING A MEANINGFUL, PRODUCTIVE LIFE.

MENTAL ILLNESS, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT CHANGES A PERSON’S THINKING, MOOD, AND ABILITY TO RELATE TO OTHERS.

FIFTEEN PERCENT OF ALL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE AFFECTED BY A MENTAL DISORDER. THAT’S THE *SAME* PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM CANCER. OR THE EQUIVALENT OF 45-THOUSAND PEOPLE IN ONONDAGA COUNTY.

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MENTAL ILLNESS IS RELATED TO CASES OF SUICIDE, HOMELESSNESS, AND VIOLENCE.

CONNECTS MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL IS HERE TO DISCUSS HOW THE VIOLENT EFFECTS OF WAR HAS TAKEN A TOLL ON VETERANS LIVING RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK.


Veterans Mental Illness-INTRO

HUNDREDS OF VETERANS RETURN TO CENTRAL NEW YORK WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES. FOR MANY OF THEM, LIFE-THREATENING EVENTS CAN CAUSE THEM TO DEVELOP POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. THEIR LIVES ARE NEVER THE SAME ONCE THEY LEAVE COMBAT.


Veterans Mental Illness-PKG

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IS THE MOST COMMON MENTAL ILLNESS FACING VETERANS. NOT FORMALLY DIAGNOSED UNTIL THE 80S, A STUDY BY U-C SAN FRANCISCO SAYS IT ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN HALF OF VETERAN’S MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSES.

CHARLES PAPPY PATCHIN IS A VIETNAM WAR VETERAN. HE SAYS TREATMENT FOR P-T-S-D WAS NOT AVAILABLE WHEN HE RETURNED FROM VIETNAM.

MANY VETERANS DO NOT IMMEDIATELY SEEK TREATMENT AFTER RETURNING FROM WAR. FOR SOME, IT TAKES MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS BEFORE THEY GET TREATMENT.

HIS WIFE AND FRIENDS TOLD HIM HE SHOULD SEEK HELP FROM THE V-A. TO HIS SURPRISE, HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH P-T-S-D.

PATCHIN SAYS CERTAIN SMELLS, SOUNDS AND ACTIVITIES CAN REMIND VETERANS OF THEIR TIME IN COMBAT. FOR HIM, A SITUATION AT HOME TOOK HIM RIGHT BACK TO VIETNAM.

THE SYRACUSE VA SERVES MORE THAN 40-THOUSAND VETERANS.

A NEW STUDY FROM U-C SAN FRANCISCO SHOWS THAT MORE THAN A THIRD OF VETERANS RETURNING FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WHO RECEIVED TREATMENT FROM VETERANS AFFAIRS BETWEEN 2001 AND 2005 WERE DIAGNOSED WITH MENTAL HEALTH OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESSES.

PATCHIN MAY HAVE SERVED MORE THAN 30-YEARS AGO BUT HIS MEMORIES IN VIETNAM REMAIN VERY REAL.


Veterans Mental Illness-TAG

PATCHIN SAYS P-T-S-D IS A NATURAL REACTION TO UNNATURAL SITUATIONS. ALTHOUGH HE WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT HE HAD THE DISORDER, HE SAYS KNOWING IT NOW ALLOWS HIM TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT HIS PAST. HE JOINS US TODAY WITH CONNECT’S FAITH ABUBEY.


Veteran Interview-INT

elaborate on the attic story.

why do you think so many veterans are hesistant to go to the va?

what improvements do you think the va could make?

what can the military do in the prevention of military service-related mental health disorders?

you served in vietnam over 30 years ago, does p-t-s-d still affect you just as much now as it did then?


VA Paperwork-RDR

WOUNDED SOLDIERS AT FORT DRUM, OR AROUND THE WORLD, WON’T BE GETTING HELP LIKE THEY USED TO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

AFTER A YEAR OF DENIALS, THE ARMY ANNOUNCED THAT THE V-A WILL OFFICIALLY *NOT* BE ALLOWED TO HELP WOUNDED SOLDIERS FILE PAPERWORK DETERMINING THEIR HEALTH CARE AND DISABILITY BENEFITS.

TWO WEEKS AGO, THE ARMY’S SURGEON GENERAL TOLD CONGRESSMAN JOHN MCHUGH IT WASN’T THE ARMY THAT WAS MAKING THE V-A STOP.CONTRARY TO THE NEW DEAL. THE STATEMENT SAYS THE V-A WILL HANDLE PAPERWORK. BUT, QUOTE, “WILL NOT PREPARE DOCUMENTATION FOR OTHER THAN V-A BENEFIT CLAIMS.”


Commentary-RDR

The United States is a place where members of the armed forces are highly respected especially when they are active, serving members. But what happens after a soldier becomes a veteran? Does this same level of respect remain, or does the way that people treat them gradually change?

Well, as disabled veterans who sought assistance from the Department of Veteran Affairs at Fort Drum last year quickly realized, “benefits” aren’t always what they are cracked up to be.

Army officials instructed the VA not to help disabled veterans fill out paperwork that would help determine if the veterans were qualified to receive healthcare benefits and annual disability payments. Now, with veterans being denied the help that they need many are trying to figure out why the Army would put up a blockade like this, and why the VA would comply with what the Army asked of them considering the fact that the VA’s mission is to aid veterans in need.

Ironically, although the Army claims that the VA is not qualified to help veterans fill our this extensive paperwork, it seems as though those who work with the VA would be the most equipped to aid veterans in filling out paperwork since the counselors at the VA understand the health issues that the veterans are dealing with.

How can anyone expect for veterans with various disabilities to be able to fill out in depth paperwork alone? Better yet, should we allow veterans to fend for themselves in this capacity after they have defended this country and kept us safe?

I have an uncle who was a World War II veteran, and if he had been put in a position where it was made extremely difficult for him to file paperwork to receive health insurance and annual disability payments, I can only imagine the disrespect that he would have felt. To have served this country, and to have dedicated precious time, and to have risked his life all in the name of keeping American citizens safe… all to possibly turn around and in essence have this country turn its back on him would have been devastating for him and his family.

I don’t think that it’s fair for any division of the Armed Forces to deny any serviceman or woman help if they are in need. When these men and women bravely give up their lives to serve this country, nobody questions them or their dedication because of this country’s need for protection. If servicemen and women denied this country help when it came to situations like the Viet Nam War or the War in Iraq, where would this country be?

To go to war and to expect to return in one piece is ideally what everybody strives for, but this is not a reality. People go to war, and although some make it back home without any permanent damage, many come home with extensive physical injuries and mental conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If veterans have these issues, wouldn’t you say that they have EARNED the right to have everything taken care of with the help of, and possibly at the expense of the military organization that they were a part of?

I would.


Tease

NEXT ON CONNECT. WE’LL DISCUSS THE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON OUR BRAINS AND HOW TOO MUCH OF IT CAN UPSET OUR MENTAL HEALTH.


BREAK 1

Fade to Black for Commercial


Welcome Back-RDR

IF WE LOOK AT OUR BRAINS AS SYSTEMS, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE AFFECTS OF ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHEMICALS WE PUT INTO OUR BODIES. HERE WITH ME IS ASSITANT PROFESSOR OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS DESSA BERGEN-CICO TO TALK ABOUT A FEW OF THOSE CHEMICALS AND THE CHANGES THEY CAN CAUSE.


Caffeine Craze-INT1

Is addiction chemical or mental?

How do the chems work?

Caffeine addictive?

Minimum/maximum effect/dose?

Your use of caffeine?


Caffeine Craze-PKG

TRACK 1

COFFEE AND A HEAVY DOSE OF CAFFEINE ARE NOT JUST FOR ADULTS ANYMORE.

NAMES LIKE MONSTER, RED BULL, ROCKSTAR AND AMP ENERGY DRINKS ARE AS POPULAR WITH TEENAGERS AS FOLGERS AND MAXWELLHOUSE ARE AMONG ADULTS.

TRACK 2

ACCORDING TO A 2006 STUDY, ONE IN THREE TEENAGERS OR MORE THAN SEVEN MILLION SAY THEY DRINK ENERGY DRINKS. STUDENTS AT NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL IN SYRACUSE SAY ENERGY DRINKS ARE A POPULAR WAY TO START THE DAY.

“I see a lot of kids bringing energy drinks to school because they be tired in the morning, school starts too early.”

TRACK 3

SENIOR JAYSON SANDERS SAYS ALL IT TOOK FOR HIM WAS ONE CAN.”

“The reason I started drinking it was because we were outside at my old neighborhood playing ball and they came in the little Redbull car and they came and they were like do you want some of our Redbull. Are you serious? I’m dead serious. It was in the summertime. They came and everybody just ran to it and got some and after that I’ve just been hooked ever since.”

TRACK 4

GUIDANCE COUSELOR DAN GOWER SAYS IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MARKETING. STUDENTS AT NOTTINGHAM CAN BUY COFFEE USING THIS MACHINE IN THEIR LIBRARY.

“It doesn’t disturb me that the younger generation has them as early as the middle school years maybe even late elementary school years. They see it like oh that’s cool I want to try it.”

TRACK 5

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY STUDENT AARON BURTEN SAYS HIS CAFFEINE ADDICTION STARTED IN HIGH SCHOOL.

“Coffee good, it’s sweet, it got a lot of caffeine. It keeps me going, I put a lot of sugar in it.”

“A lot of my friends we weren’t twenty-one so we couldn’t go to bars and hangout.”

TRACK 6

SO HE AND HIS FRIENDS WOULD GO TO COFFEE SHOPS LIKE COFFEE PAVILLION AND DRINK COFFEE FOR HOURS. NOW HIS CAFFEINE PALATE HAS SPEAD TO SOMETHING STRONGER, ENERGY DRINKS MIXED WITH ALCOHOL.

“It was Redbull, Grey Goose and vodka and I was drinking them all night long. I had probably nine or ten because my friend just kept buying them.”

TRACK 7

AND HE IS NOT ALONE.

“I went to Florida State University and they actually have these large Jager machines that mix the Jager and the Redbull together.”

“I’m just addicted to it and my body needs it, so not so much tolerance but withdrawal if I don’t have it.”

TRACK 8

TAFT SAYS IF HIS BODY DOES NOT HAVE HE’LL GET HEADACHES AND CRASH. ADDICTION EXPERTS SAY CAFFEINE DEPENDENCY CAN CAUSE THE MIND TO PLAY TRICKS.

“You can then understand the fogginess, the physical discomfort, the irritability, all the things that you recognize physically in terms of not being able to function without caffeine. So it’s absolutely addictive.”

TRACK 9

SO ADDICTIVE THAT COMEDIAN DAVE CHAPPELLE MADE A PARODY OF REDBULL.

“I think there is a parallel between caffeine and alcohol, that they cancel each other out just like cocaine and alcohol. Probably it’s exactly the same.”

TRACK 10

BUT THEY DON’T, INFACT, DOCTOR DESSA BERGEN-CICO SAYS THE TWO CAN CAUSE A TOXIC MIX.

“It makes you feel like an awake drunk so to speak. It masks some of the sense of the intoxication that you might normally otherwise have and so that people are more alert and don’t feel drunk doesn’t mean that your blood alcohol level isn’t rising.”

TRACK 10

AND AFTER 10 TO 15 JAGERMEISTERS, THAT’S REDBULL MIXED WITH JAGER LIQUOR, YOUR ANGER LEVEL CAN ALSO RISE.

“The short fuse from the chemicals in the energy drinks combined with the disinhabition affect of alcohol will make people more likely to lash out and punch somebody.”

“I went outside picked my cousin up threw him through a table and we ended up walking down the street and I really don’t remember anything much after that.”

TRACK 11

BUT BECAUSE THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT REGULATE ENERGY DRINKS, THE MAKERS OF THESE PRODUCTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO REVEAL HOW MUCH CAFFEINE IS IN A CAN AS LONG AS THE WORD CAFFEINE IS ON THE LABEL.

“The amount of sugar and caffeine in this one sixteen ounce can of Monster Assault is equivalent to not one but two eight ounce cups of coffee and 2-hundred 23 starburst fruit chews.”

TRACK 12

BERGEN-CICO SAYS THE DAILY CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION SHOULD NOT EXCEED FOUR TO FIVE HUNDRED MILLIGRAMS AND THE BEST WAY TO MONITOR INTAKE IS TO READ.

“Read the can labels and look at the caffeine consumption and do some assessments.”

TRACK 13

AND SHE ALSO SAYS IF YOU MUST HAVE A CAFFEINATED BEVERAGE DRINK IT IN MODERATION.

“I used to drink about five Redbulls a day now I’m down to about two.”

TRACK 14

AND IF DADARRIO ONLY DRINKS TWO REDBULLS, ADDING UP TO ONE HUNDRED SIXTY MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE HE’LL BE WELL ON HIS WAY OF CUTTING DOWN HIS CAFFEINE DEPENCENCY. THAT IS IF HE DOESN’T HAVE OTHER CAFFEINE FILLED DRINKS THAT DAY.

TAISHA WALKER REPORTING FOR CONNECT.


Tease-RDR

WHEN WE COME BACK. WE’LL TAKE A LOOK AT MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT MIGHT HAVE PLAYED A PART IN RECENT CAMPUS SHOOTINGS.


BREAK 2

Fade to Black for Commercial


Welcome + Prozac-RDR

WELCOME BACK TO CONNECT. A RECENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT ANTIDEPRESSANTS ARE NOT THE ‘MIRACLE-CURE’ PILLS THEY WERE ONCE THOUGHT TO BE. THE STUDY COMPARED FOUR OF THE MOST PRESCRIBED ANTIDEPRESSANTS. FOUND THAT THERE IS VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM. THEY ARE MOSTLY EFFECTIVE FOR SEVERELY DEPRESSED PEOPLE.

PLACEBO PILLS WERE ACTUALLY FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY *MORE* EFFECTIVE THAN REAL DRUGS. ONE OF THE CO-AUTHORS OF THE STUDY SAID THAT A PERSON’S *BELIEF* IN THE MEDICATIONS HAS A BIG IMPACT ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL WORK.

ALSO, FOUR YEARS AGO, DRUG COMPANIES WERE ORDERED TO ADD WARNINGS TO ANTIDEPRESSANT LABELS. MANY OF THE DRUGS WERE FOUND TO INCREASE SUICIDAL THINKING AND BEHAVIOR.


Shootings-RDR

IN THE PAST YEAR, TWO SHOOTINGS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES CLAIMED THE LIVES OF CLOSE TO FIFTY PEOPLE. POLICE REPORTS SHOW SHOOTERS AT BOTH VIRGINIA TECH AND NORTHERN ILLINOIS HAD HISTORIES OF SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. BOTH WERE REFERED TO COUNSELING SERVICES AND WERE IDENTIFIED AS DANGERS TO THEMSELVES AND OTHERS.


Student Reaction-INTRO

CONNECT VISITED ONONDAGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO ASK STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR REACTIONS TO THE SHOOTINGS. MANY OF THEM SAID EVEN IF A PERSON LOOKS FINE, YOU NEVER KNOW *WHAT* THEY ARE THINKING.


Student Reaction-SOT’s

Jacquelin

“I mean, I think a person in a normal mental state would have no reason to go around start shooting people just because they think that’s okay to do.”

Ammar Gibbs

“You can never really tell with people, you know what I’m saying? What looks good on the outside.that person could be dealing with some serious issues on the inside.you got a human mind you’re dealing with.it’s like a puzzle.it can happen anywhere. I’m pretty sure those kids at Virginia Tech didn’t think it can happen there, but it did.”


Student Reaction-TAG

THE STUDENTS WE TALKED TO ALSO SAID FRIENDS AND SOCIAL LIFE ARE IMPORTANT TO A PERSON’S MENTAL HEALTH.

AND WHILE THEY KNOW IT’S A POSSIBILITY, THEY AREN’T *TOO* WORRIED ABOUT A SIMILAR SHOOTING HAPPENING HERE.


Goodbye-RDR

THE MIND IS A COMPLICATED AND MYSTERIOUS SYSTEM. THE CAUSES OF PROBLEMS, AND EVEN THE CURES FOR THEM ARE DAUNTING.

GROWING AWARENESS CAN ONLY HELP MAKE THESE PROBLEMS EASIER TO COPE WITH. THANKS FOR JOINING US, I’M PHIL TENSER.

I’M FAITH ABUBEY. SEE YOU NEXT TIME, ON CONNECT.


Credits