I"m starting a new job, but will need to take time off soon for therapy

Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights.

I’m about to start a new job, my first with any prospect of security after several years of juggling part-time, short-term contracts, and I’m keen to make a good impression.

However, my previous work pattern and some of the stresses involved have taken their toll and I’ve been struggling with depression for a while. I have just been offered a few months of therapy on the NHS, starting in the next couple of weeks.

The catch is, to take this up I would need to take some time out of my working day. As a certain amount of my work is fairly independent of my colleagues’ input, making up the hours won’t be a problem. I’ve already worked out a few strategies to do this, depending on what would best fit with my new employer’s work pattern.

My worry is that I don’t know how to broach the subject – starting a new job by declaring any health issues is difficult enough, but I fear they may see those involving mental health as a stigma and this makes this worse.

How can I best approach this? I don’t feel I can let the opportunity for treatment go. I’ve done the sums and there’s just no way I can afford to get this privately, now or in the foreseeable future, but I also need this job.

Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.

I"m starting a new job, but will need to take time off soon for therapy

Three Bristol University students die within weeks of term starting

A coroner is investigating the circumstances surrounding the sudden deaths of three students, all believed to be first years, at one of Britain’s top universities within weeks of the new academic year beginning.

Though the causes of the deaths will have to be established by the Avon coroner, online tribute and fundraising pages for two of the three suggested they had taken their own lives.

The University of Bristol said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious and were not connected but it would carry out its own investigations to find out if lessons could be learned.

According to a survey by the National Union of Students (NUS) published last year, eight out of 10 students said they had experienced mental health issues in the previous year and a third said they had had suicidal thoughts.

One of the students who died has been named as Miranda Williams, 19, from Chichester, who was just three weeks into her first term.

An online fundraising page set up to raise money for the charity Papyrus, which works to prevent young people from killing themselves, said Miranda had died three days after she “decided to take her own life”.

A message on the page said: “Miranda suffered with depression and anxiety a lot of her teenage life … We blame the stigma of her illness for her death. It restricted the help she got, the support and the understanding.”

She was studying philosophy and was a member of the Jazz Funk Soul Bristol society, according to an email to students from the students’ union announcing her death.

It said support was available for students and added: “Shock, grief and understanding what has happened will affect us all differently.

“It is important to let this happen in its own time. Talk to each other, to your school, to your residence pastoral team and to your friends.”

The second first year student who died was the law student Kim Long, 18, from Penzance in Cornwall.

On an online tribute page his family wrote: “We have lost our dearest, loveliest and only son. Kim took his own life last week. He was considerate to the end by leaving us a loving letter which helps us to respect and accept his choice. May he rest in peace.”

A university spokesperson said: “Sadly we can confirm there have been three unrelated student deaths this term. These events are always extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with the students’ families and friends.

“Our student welfare services are offering support to anyone affected. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the cause of these deaths until the coroner has undertaken independent inquests, although we understand that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding them.

“The University of Bristol has around 22,000 students. We will, of course, be investigating if there is anything we need to do to learn from these sad events but we have no reason to believe they represent a wider issue.”

Bristol University students’ union’s student living officer, Stephen LeFanu, said the organisation was working hard to improve pastoral care.

He said: “Starting university can be extremely difficult. Some new students are without their support networks from home for the first time, and will be experiencing new academic and social pressures.

“Rising fees mean that students are also increasingly under a great deal of financial pressure, with many taking on part-time work alongside their studies. Many people will also experience complex mental health difficulties, regardless of their environment.”

In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.

Three Bristol University students die within weeks of term starting

Conjoined twins starting school four years after separation surgery

Conjoined twins who had a slim chance of survival are now preparing to go to school for the first time.

Rosie and Ruby Formosa, who were born joined at the abdomen and shared part of an intestine, needed an emergency operation to separate them when they were born in 2012. Their parents, Angela and Daniel Formosa, were told the girls had a low chance of survival when medics discovered they were conjoined. But after a successful separation operation at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh), the identical twins lead happy and healthy lives and are preparing to start school in September.

The four-year-olds from Bexleyheath in Kent were “very excited” to be starting school like their big sister, Lily, nine, Ms Formosa, 35, said. “Four years ago it wasn’t in my mind that this would ever happen,” she said. “When I was pregnant I didn’t think I’d ever see their first day at school so it is really amazing and all thanks to Gosh really.”

She said it was “heartbreaking” when she discovered the girls had the rare medical condition which occurs in one in every 200,000 live births.

The twins’ mother said they were very excited to start school. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA

“At 16 weeks they sent me to King’s College hospital and it was there that they discovered the connection between the girls,” she said. “It was heartbreaking really – I was already worried that they were monoamniotic [where twins share an amniotic sac], and conjoined was the worst-case scenario.

“I was really, really, really scared and really upset because at that point I was told that there was a high possibility that the girls wouldn’t survive the pregnancy.

“And if they did survive the pregnancy they might not survive the birth, then they might not survive surgery.

“They couldn’t tell what was connecting them,” she added. “I didn’t prepare to bring them home. It wasn’t until they were in hospital and they’d had their operation that my husband started painting the bedroom and getting everything ready for them.”

The girls were born at University College hospital in London by caesarean section when Formosa was 34 weeks pregnant. Within a couple of hours of being born, they were taken to Great Ormond Street for emergency surgery because of an intestinal blockage.

The operation to separate the twins took five hours. Photograph: Family handout/PA

Praising the staff at the children’s hospital, Ms Formosa said: “They had a look and did scans and all sorts of tests and it wasn’t until they got into surgery that they saw what was going on.

“It was on-the-spot decisions as to what was to be done.”

The operation to separate them took five hours and the girls were well enough to go home when they were just three weeks old. Their mother said it felt like a million years ago that she was waiting for the girls to come out of their surgery.

“The time has just flown by, I can’t believe how fast it has gone,” she said. “They are very excited [about starting school]; their big sister is in school so they can’t wait.

“They’ve met their teacher a few times and they love their teacher.

“They’re looking forward to painting, anything messy, they love reading.

“They are very similar, they are very bubbly little girls, they are very headstrong and very determined, which I knew they were from when they were in my belly because of the way they kept growing and surviving,” she added. “I knew they were going to be determined and they are. They rule the roost.”

Great Ormond Street hospital is the leading centre in Europe for the care of conjoined twins, performing the first successful separation surgery in 1985. It has since cared for 27 sets of conjoined twins.

The Formosa family are supporting the hospital’s charity through its Back to School campaign, which is celebrating all of the children who are able to go to school thanks to care at the hospital, as well as raising funds. The campaign encourages people to share their children’s back-to-school moments on their social media pages to help raise money.

Prof Paolo De Coppi, consultant paediatric surgeon at the hospital, said: “Over the last 30 years we have treated 27 sets of conjoined twins at Great Ormond Street hospital.

“The surgery is highly complex and requires teams from across the hospital to work together and combine a whole range of expertise.

“We’re thrilled that Rosie and Ruby are starting school this September.

“It’s always a joy to witness patients’ progress and to hear that they are reaching new milestones – this makes the job we do all the more rewarding.”

Tim Johnson, chief executive of Great Ormond Street hospital children’s charity, said: “Thanks to the world-class care given to seriously ill children from across the UK at Gosh, more children will go back to school or enjoy their first day at school.

“We’re encouraging people from across the UK to share their back to school or first day at school moments and donate to help raise money for the hospital. Text SCHOOL to 70020 to give £3.”

Conjoined twins starting school four years after separation surgery

One particular Million Facebook “Likes” for Natural News is Just the Starting: A Closer Seem at The Stories

Organic Information is constantly bringing overall health and wellness info to the forefront, no matter whether we/they/I/me are/am shedding light on the 70-yr previous who eats raw food items and looks half her age to the surprising information straight from the NN labs that Wheaties cereal is filled with metal fragments.

It’s no shock then, that the readership continues to expand and I couldn’t be happier simply because that means there is a whole lot of like-minded folks out there who are vehemently focused to overall health, wellness and the truth.

The Numbers Communicate for Themselves: In excess of 1 Million Natural Information Facebook “Likes”

In truth, NN Facebook web page “likes” have just lately reached the 1 million mark, and that doesn’t get into consideration the folks who read through the stories and assistance the goals but have not but hit the “like” button.

It’s thrilling and inspiring to see such ranges of commitment from All-natural News fans, and especially at such quickly-developing prices. For instance, on February 8, 2014 the quantity of Facebook “likes” at 8:30 am EST was over 974,000. Just four hrs later, there were an additional one,000. The subsequent day, it leaped to an additional 7,000 ahead of noon EST placing the numbers at a small in excess of 981,000. And here we are today, with in excess of 1 million. So thank you, every person. I’m past thrilled that so a lot of men and women are on board with NN in the mission to set people, and the planet, on track through awareness of healthier choices and breaking information.

As most of us know, it is all about staying informed and currently being in tune to injustices, not just shaking our heads in agreement like Huge Market bobble head dolls just due to the fact the mainstream planet said to. As a result, we’ve broken stories like that of Greg Caton, the guy minding his personal business marketing cancer-curing plant-primarily based topical herbs in Ecuador till U.S. officials arrested him foremost to his jail time and (get this) Interpol listing. We’ve shared our story about the remarkable healing positive aspects of cannabis oil and how it’s been proven to be a hugely efficient normal remedy for a variety of wellness circumstances.

Of program the record goes on.

A Closer Appear at Other Natural News Subjects

• Normal Information was the initial global news web site to support blow the lid off the fake acai berry scam that concerned all types of deceptive ads and fake information pages.
  Read through all about it: http://www.naturalnews.com/031280_acai_berries_scam.html


• NN played an crucial role in exposing Merck’s false vaccine science in which virologists ended up going public about their fraudulence.


• Natural News wrote about the everyday family objects that can lead to anything from birth defects to worsening a person’s asthma symptoms.


• Organic Information was the 1st internet internet site to break the Adya Clarity detox scam where customers were urged to take pleasure in shots of what was established to be 1200 ppm aluminum dissolved in sulfuric acid, imported into the United States as battery acid.


• On the autism front, we’ve written about Jenny McCarthy and her battle against autism, plus the dietary modifications she feels helps to alleviate her son’s signs and symptoms.


• NN is constantly covering the advantages of specific fruits, veggies and spices which may contain enhanced vision, fat reduction and blood strain reduction to title just a number of. From figs to fennel, everything from flatulence handle to more powerful bones might be recognized.

Again, a huge thank you to each one of you for your ongoing interest in awareness of these concerns. Regardless of whether you’re interested in learning about exposure of Large Pharma ills or the wellness benefits of specific essential oils and almost everything in amongst, Organic News I’m particular, will constantly be there for you.

Did you take pleasure in this story? Let other folks know! Share it, like it or comment (or all, if you’re so inclined). Remember, awareness is essential.

Subscribe to get much more stories by me personally.

One particular Million Facebook “Likes” for Natural News is Just the Starting: A Closer Seem at The Stories

Weight Acquire Starting up In Adolescence Is Linked To Greater Mortality Later in Daily life

A new review helps to resolve a nasty controversy from one 12 months in the past.

By Geoffrey Kabat

Just a yr in the past researchers at the Nationwide Center for Overall health Statistics published the results of a major examination of the connection of body mass index to subsequent mortality in the journal JAMA. The group led by Katherine Flegal carried out a meta-examination of all offered prospective research around the world that contained data on body mass index (BMI — defined as excess weight in kilograms/(height in meters)2) and subsequent mortality. (A meta-evaluation is basically an averaging of the results of personal studies with the objective of getting a more precise estimate).

Their sample integrated 97 scientific studies, almost 3 million folks, and 270,000 deaths. The authors utilised normal categories of BMI: 18.five-&lt25 (regular excess weight), 25-&lt30 (obese), and &gt=30 (obese). The last class was even more subdivided into 30-&lt35 (class 1), 35-&lt40 (class 2), and &gt=forty (class 3).

What they found was that, in contrast to regular fat people, these in the overweight class had a Reduced chance of dying of any trigger, and people in the obese group had an elevated risk. Nevertheless, more than half of those in the obese class had been in class 1, and these individuals had NO Improved Threat of dying in contrast to typical bodyweight men and women. Class two and 3 individuals did have a substantially elevated danger of death.

In other words, this analysis correlating BMI with risk of dying discovered that getting obese in fact appeared beneficial and that the ill effects of obesity had been limited to the quite obese.

The paper sparked a blistering retort from Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Wellness, who denounced the paper on NPR’s Morning Edition, calling it a “pile of rubbish” and saying that “no one particular ought to waste their time reading it.” He emphasized that, “We have a enormous volume of other literature displaying that people who gain weight or are obese have increased danger of diabetes, heart illness, stroke, a lot of cancers and numerous other circumstances.”

Letters to the editor integrated a defense of their examination by Flegal et al., as effectively as other supportive and critical feedback.

Now, virtually precisely one particular year later, a new paper goes a lengthy way towards clarifying the obvious contradiction between Flegal’s final results and people of Willett and other people. The paper appearing in the current concern of the American Journal of Epidemiology uses information from the potential Nationwide Institutes of Overall health-AARP Diet program and Wellness Study. This examine enrolled more than half a million AARP members in the mid-1990s and has followed the cohort in buy to document triggers of death. At entry into the research, participants finished a questionnaire covering their wellness, smoking habits, and self-reported fat and height, as nicely as their fat at ages 18, 35, and 50.

Using this huge information set, the authors, led by Kenneth Adams of the Minnesota Division of Wellness, examined the association of excess weight at diverse periods with complete mortality and mortality from distinct leads to (cardiovascular condition, cancer). But, in order to remove a significant distorting issue, they restricted their analysis to the 110,000 cohort members who had by no means smoked and were much less than 70 many years previous. (Like smokers in the examination could play havoc with the outcomes because smoking has results on weight and also on a person’s chance of dying).

Adams and colleagues examined the association of BMI at 3 different ages, weight change across 3 grownup age intervals, and the impact of initial attaining an elevated BMI at 4 successive ages.

More than 12.five years of following the cohort 12,017 deaths occurred.

What they identified was that BMI at all ages was positively related to mortality. Excess weight obtain was also positively connected to mortality, with more powerful associations for achieve among the ages 18 and 35 and ages 35 and 50 than between ages 50 and 69 years. Mortality hazards were greater in persons who attained or exceeded a BMI of 25. at a younger age than in persons who reached that threshold later in adulthood, and hazards had been lowest in individuals who maintained a BMI under 25..

In conclusion, the authors wrote: “Heavier original BMI and weight obtain in early to middle adulthood strongly predicted mortality danger in persons aged 50-69 years.”

The paper is not presented as a rebuttal of Flegal et al. It simply and in a easy method addresses the question of the effects of the onset of obesity at diverse ages on mortality. In truth, it doesn’t even cite the Flegal paper. Nonetheless, it is followed by a commentary that does mention Flegal, pointing out that “the findings contrast sharply with individuals of a latest systematic overview and meta-analysis.” The author of the commentary argues that a variety of various variables could describe the contradiction, including differences in the “reference group” for “normal weight” utilised in the two scientific studies.

Weight Acquire Starting up In Adolescence Is Linked To Greater Mortality Later in Daily life