Archive for the ‘Women's Health’ Category

In an interview with Connie Martinson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8uw51nrstA&feature=PlayList&p=39831ED1778A99A7&index=0&playnext=1 Pat Conroy http://www.patconroy.com (author of The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, South of Broad, and many other spellbinding novels) said that not only does he remember his dreams but also he weaves his dreams into his stories.

I was pleased to hear that because I too use dreams to show character growth in my novels.  Interpreting dreams and understanding personal dream-symbols enriches my life and my writing.  Thank you, talented Angie Choi author of My Dreams: A Simple Guide to Dream Interpretation http://alivehypnosis.com/mydreams.htm , for teaching me a most valuable skill.

Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan
author of Love Made of Heart

To comment on any of my columns (blog posts), just click on the blue title bar of the post, fill in the boxes and press “submit.”  Please click here for my blog’s most current post http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

As an author and community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan speaks out for public libraries, honors immigrant-stories, advocates compassion for mental illness, and helps survivors of violence find their own voices through writing.

http://lovemadeofheart.com

Mentally Disabled Adult, Children & Adolescent, Sexual Assault or Battery

This is Post #4 to follow-up on my three posts published on July 25 & 27, 2010

Re: what happened to my cousin July 22/July 23, 2010

Thursday August 5, 2010 a Victim’s Advocate at Community Violence Solutions “CVS” http://www.cvsolutions.org/ called me to offer help.

I gained nuggets from our conversation:

• The Victim’s Advocate at CVS  said the police ought to have escorted my cousin (because of her mental capacity of a ten-year-old or younger) to a “Children’s Interview Center” that night.  The Children and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Resource Center (CASARC) is an agency in the San Francisco Department of Public Health http://www.sfghf.net/programs/casarc.html For Contra Costa County, CA, there is: The Children’s Interview Center of Contra Costa, a program of Community Violence Solutions http://www.cvsolutions.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=70
• San Francisco Women Against Rape SFWAR  http://www.sfwar.org/resources.html I looked at their website; they show pamphlets in many languages;  http://www.sfwar.org/programs.html lists their programs

* * * * *

Resources for Caregivers from the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI
Full list at http://www.namisf.org/support.html (for families & friends in San Francisco)

NAMI-SF SUPPORT GROUPS
For Family Members Caregivers and Friends Only

• 1010 Gough, San Francisco
  2nd Wednesday at 6:30
  Contact Vicki Evans at 415-661-5208
• SF General Hospital
  7th Floor Room 7 M 30
  Tuesdays, 5:15 – 6:45 p.m.
  Call Susanne Killing at 415-558-5900

• New Family Support Group at Kaiser Hospital, French Campus, 4141 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco on the second Saturday of each month 10:30-Noon.
  Contact Pam Polos at 650-862-2886
• Sibling & Adult Children Network
  Call Mary Gullekson at 415-474-7010 for information
• Bilingual & Monolingual Support Groups
• Chinese Families Mental Health Alliance. Ed Koo 415-352-2047

* * * * *

Perhaps these nuggets are to help everyone gain awareness, get resources, and further promote advocacy for the mentally disabled community.  Law enforcement personnel need more education. We all need more education and resources to better help those who cannot speak for themselves.

My cousin’s siblings are focusing on their sister’s well-being and I am 100% supportive of their efforts.

I’ll be writing to  BringChange2Mind.org (the not-for-profit organization created by Glenn Close, CABF the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation , Fountain House, and Garen and Shari Staglin of IMHRO International Mental Health Research Organization).

http://www.bringchange2mind.org/

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

Mentally Disabled & Being a Non-consentable Person

This is Post #3 to follow-up on my two posts published on July 25 & 27, 2010

My cousin’s brother is one of the primary advocates for my cousin.  My cousin’s sister (who lives a thousand miles away) is another primary advocate.

This is the email I received today Tuesday, July 27, 2010 from my cousin’s brother (San Francisco):

“I just got off the phone with Detective ____ from Alameda County Sheriff’s department.

He told me that he will be handling the case. First thing he will do is to contact BART for the video. I already told him it’s from Contra Costa County (not Alameda County).

He mentioned that other than Sis’s mental capacity, there is no crime because she went willingly and based on Sis’s statements, the suspect stopped when asked to.

I told him that the SFGH examiner said Sis is a non-consentable person, meaning her “yes” answers do not qualify as consent. This is similar to a child consenting for sex. It still does not qualify as a real “yes”.

He will contact me after investigating.

I asked for a case number but he has not generated one yet because it is not yet determined how this will be handled.”

* * *

We are not going to give up on our family member or our community. The man in the car who stopped my cousin (between late night July 22 and early morning of July 23) asked her “Do you need help?” and she said “Yes.”  His not calling the police but taking her to his home, sexually battering her, and keeping her there until morning is helping ???

My cousins are brave and I am going to continue to support their efforts. I am contacting NAMI http://www.nami.org ,  Community Violence Solutions  http://www.cvsolutions.org/ and other agencies.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

From the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI’s website, I found the “How You Can Help” page http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?section=Take_Action :

Contact Your Representatives

It is important that you contact your state and national representatives to ensure they are working for people with mental illness.

A list of current legislation impacting mental health is available along with an easy way to contact your representative with just a few clicks of a mouse.

(For California  http://www.ca.gov http://www.senate.ca.gov/ http://www.assembly.ca.gov/)

Issues and Legislation http://capwiz.com/nami/issues/

The NAMI Newsroom http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=press_room the place for reporters, advocates and other media professionals. NAMI’s communications services team is available around-the-clock to news media for:

• Expert analysis on a wide range of issues related to severe mental illnesses or brain disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder/manic-depression, major depression, and anxiety disorders.
• Current data on research, treatments, rates of prevalence
• Interviews with national spokespersons and technical experts
• Access to persons with serious mental illness and their families who are willing to share personal stories with the media
• Comment on breaking news

Christine Armstrong, Media Relations Associate
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
Telephone: (703) 524-7600 · FAX: (703) 516-7238  ·
Email:  christinea@nami.org

We Didn’t Know What Questions to Ask the Police – Missing Person

Speaking Up & Asking for Help on Behalf of Folks Who Cannot Speak for Themselves

To follow up on my July 25, 2010 post . . .

My cousin (mentally disabled adult—capacity of a ten-year-old or younger) was reported as “missing.”

She had never left the house by herself but she did this particular night (around midnight)

She was in her slippers, denim trousers and fleece jacket.

She was recovering from surgery.

To help your loved ones when working with the police… If we had prior experience with “missing person” these would be the questions to ask the police:

• Will other counties be alerted?
• Will public transportation systems in our county and other counties be alerted? How about BART?
• What if she got into a stranger’s car?
• Will hospital emergency rooms be alerted?
• How can we work fast to ask neighbors if they saw our loved one around the time of the disappearance?  How do we disseminate fliers?

• Also, get names of officers, phone numbers, and report/case numbers.
• Ask “What will happen next?” “Then what?”  “Who will be in charge then?”

Thank you, San Francisco Police Dept.!      http://sf-police.org/

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

Please be careful. Please call 911 when you see/hear/sense anything that tells you “something isn’t right” because you could be preventing or stopping a crime.

My cousin (a Chinese woman in her thirties, mentally disabled) lives with her family in the outer Sunset area in San Francisco, CA.  She has never left the house by herself.

Between 11:30pm and midnight Thursday night, July 22, 2010, she had gone to her bedroom. Around midnight, a family member realized that she wasn’t in her room. She was nowhere inside the house. The front door was left opened.  The SF police was called.

My cousin was wearing her slippers and a fleece jacket. She was recovering from surgery.  How far could she have walked in her condition?

My cousin’s brother drove all over the neighborhood for 5 hours.

In the morning, my cousin’s sister called me.  I raced to San Francisco.  Our plan of action was to make hundreds of copies of the Missing Person flyer (with a photo of my cousin; my uncle had added Chinese words “Please help us find our daughter”)  and we would fan out and ask neighbors if they saw anyone walking late last night.

My cousin is now home, safe.  My cousin (who has never ridden public transportation by herself) was reported to be riding on a AC Transit bus.  The bus driver had noticed her riding for a couple of hours, back and forth; he remembered seeing her board at Downtown Berkeley; he called AC Transit Police; Alameda County Sheriff’s Department responded). However Alameda County had no record of her as a “missing person.”

How did she get there?  According to my cousin’s report to her brother approximately 24 hours later:

She had walked only a couple of blocks (remember–this is outer Sunset district in San Francisco) when a man in a car asked if she needed help.  She said “Yes.”  My cousin has the mental capacity of a child.  Instead of helping her by calling the police, the man took her to his home in the East Bay and sexually assaulted her and kept her there until morning when he took her to BART (Contra Costa County), bought her a ticket and told her to go home.

After hearing this from my cousin, my cousin’s brother called the police again. The police took my cousin to SF General Hospital for physical examination and interview.

This case is complicated – my cousin might have gotten into the man’s vehicle in San Francisco County; the BART ticket originated in Contra Costa County; she was found in Alameda County. Three counties.  Who’s case is it?  That BART ticket is a key evidence.

The main message in this post is this:

Family members didn’t hear my cousin leave her room, walk down the stairs, or open the front door. No one thought she would ever leave the house by herself. Friday night we asked the police how we could make the house safer (probably the same concern that families of Alzheimer’s patients have).  One tip:  use an alarm system so that other people in the house would be alerted when the alarm is tripped. Be safe, everyone. Talk to public safety representatives in your neighborhoods.

I thank our angels and the kind people who helped find our cousin.

Here’s the website for the Taraval Police district of San Francisco http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=858 Click on Community Updates http://www.sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=3323 to get a list of police stations that offer newsletters which inform residents of incidents occurring in their districts.

List of Stations in SF:

Central Station
Southern Station
Bayview Station
Mission Station
Northern Station
Park Station
Richmond Station
Ingleside Station
Taraval Station
Tenderloin Station

San Francisco Police Department Missing Persons

http://www.sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=84

Contact the police department in your city and ask to receive Community Updates.

Writers Take Care of Ourselves!

“20 Fun, Easy & Effective Ways To Manage and Reduce Stress”.

Get Access Here: http://www.premiersummits.com/cmd.php?Clk=3822318

Premier Summits Live Event: July 20-26, 2010

Remember, all live events are updated at 9am Eastern Time (2 PM Greenwich Mean Time) every day. The events of the day will only be available starting at that time, for the next 24 hours.

I listened to Diana Fletcher “Stress Reducing Strategies for a Busy & Hectic Lifestyle”

Top points I gained from Diana:

• Make time to breathe deeply – put one hand on belly; inhale through the nose & exhale through the mouth
• Drink water – to hydrate the body; to correct false-cravings for food
• Create buffer time – after turning off electronic gadgets (including TV or computer), give myself quiet time before going to sleep.

I listened to Elizabeth Diamond “How to Create the Life of Your Dreams Using the Intentional Scrapbooking Method^TM”

Top points I gained from Elizabeth:

• Identity the picture of what success looks like and create the scrapbook page/vision board (or “collage” as Mary E. Knippel of Open Up To Your Creativity would say); find material for the platform (paper, cardboard, T-shirt . . . )
• Feel the joy when I use “I statement” to see my dream in my mind’s eye (Teresa’s example:  “I am the female business owner who has given millions of dollars to thousands of charities worldwide.”  This is my dream–to help people on the planet by being a creator of prosperity–like philanthropist Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation.)
• Take a photo of myself while I am looking at my scrapbook page/vision board/collage and feeling the sensations of success; use the photo as inspiration. (Teresa’s example:  “Before I found my agent and before my publisher found me through my agent, I did create ‘This is what I would look like as a published author’ pictures for myself.  I’m happy to say that I celebrated my novel’s seventh anniversary in October)

Thank you to my sister who told me about Premier Summits –  free online audio events!

Thank you, Tom Nicoli for hosting and Keith Jennison for producer the series!

Thank you to all the presenters!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Author Teresa LeYung Ryan wears two hats.

• As a novelist, she uses her book Love Made of Heart to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas that their parents suffer.
• As a writing career coach and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published, Teresa helps writers identify their mission statements to attract agents, publishers and fans.

Her website WritingCoachTeresa.com offers resources for writers and readers.

My first experiences with hypnosis and self-hypnosis came from Angie Choi.  http://alivehypnosis.com/ I’ll talk more about remarkable Angie in another post.

Today I wish to share this information (lead came from my sister) with everyone who is connecting through my blog posts.  Writers need to manage and reduce stress too:

Free Online Audio Event • July 20 – 26, 2010

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hi Teresa,
It’s Tom Nicoli here. In this crazy economy and busy lifestyle
we all could use some ways to reduce everyday stress.

20 top professionals have come together for a free online
event. They are all sharing great information. It’s called
“20 Fun, Easy & Effective Ways To Manage and Reduce Stress”.

Get Access Here: http://www.premiersummits.com/cmd.php?Clk=3822318

I’m going to be there. Remember, it’s all free, and it
starting really soon. After you sign in to get all the
information for free, tell everyone you know. They’ll
want to know about this too.

All the best,
Tom
Hypnosis World Summit

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan

As a writing career coach and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published, Teresa LeYung Ryan helps writers identify their mission statements to attract agents, publishers and fans.  http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

As the author of Love Made of Heart and community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan speaks out for public libraries, honors immigrant-stories, advocates compassion for mental illness, and helps survivors of violence find their own voices through writing.  http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Dear Readers & Writers,

I’ll be wearing 2 hats on July 31, 2010.

Please look for me and my colleagues (our names in red font) at the 10:20-11:20am Fiction Authors panel. Our moderator will be Gail McGrath.

Then at 1:00-2:00pm I will conduct a writing workshop to help you transform personal experiences into potent stories.

My special thanks go to Jamie Finley, Dena Grover, City of Roseville Library, Margie Yee Webb and California Writers Club.

Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan

As an author and community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan speaks out for public libraries, honors immigrant-stories, advocates compassion for mental illness, and helps survivors of violence find their own voices through writing.

Love Made of Heart inspires adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas that their parents suffer.  http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published is the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook.  Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when building your writer’s name.” http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

News Details

Northern California Storybook & Literature Festival Saturday, July 31, 2010 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Maidu Library & Maidu Community Center Free and open to all ages Author panels and children’s entertainment are being planned; check back regularly for more information at www.roseville.ca.us/LitFest This project is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. Thank you to our sponsors: California Writers Club Whole Foods Featured Authors: Julianne Balmain, AKA Nadia Gordon Cara Black Ann Martin Bowler Catharine Bramkamp Joshua Buhs Robin Burcell Pat Canterbury Jeff Carlson Janet Ann Collins Louise Crawford Kim Culbertson Donna Del Oro Jeri Chase Ferris Tanya Egan Gibson B. Lynn Goodwin Margaret Grace Susan Grant Janis Herbert Laurel Anne Hill Alan Jacobson Pamela Johnson F.M. Kahren Hazuki Kataoka Karen Kostlivy Michele Krueger Kevin Kurtz Davis Liu, MD Nan Mahon Ben Malisow Jennifer Martin Antoinette May Diane McCarthy John McKinsey Marilyn Meredith Joanne Neft Carolyn Newcomer Susan M. Osborn Ann Parker Jack L. Parker Robin R Robinson Teresa LeYung Ryan Cindy Sample J. Scott Savage Richard Simmons Michael Troyan James Van Eaton Penny Warner T.E. Watson Michele Weiss Simon Wood Other Featured Guests: Lindsey Clemons, Literary Agent Verna Dreisbach, Literary Agent California Writers Club Capitol City Young Writers Friends of the Colusa County Library Friends of the Lincoln Public Library Friends of the Roseville Public Library Friends of the Yuba County Library Placer Arts Placer County Writers Group Roseville Public Library, Adult Literacy Sacramento Poetry Center Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators UC Davis Extension: Arts, Humanities and Writing Workshops & Panels: These are being scheduled. Please check back for more information. Children’s Entertainment Arts & Crafts: Build your own book Create a puppet Storytimes & Performances: These are being scheduled. Please check back for more information.

Many Chinese people (especially my generation and preceding ones) don’t like the number 4 because the Chinese word for “four” (in Cantonese, pronounced saay) sounds like the word for “dead” and “death.”

I like the number 4 – 4 legs to hold up the table I write on; 4 wheels to keep my vehicle on roads; 4 seasons; 4 compass directions; 4 parts in the Chinese word for “love”; 4 letters in the English word for “love”; 4 colleagues working on some of my projects; The Four Agreements by Don Miguel   Ruiz   http://www.miguelruiz.com/

Speaking of four, Theresa Stephenson’s friend Jill Lebeau, MS, MFT has co-authored Feng Shui Your Mind: Four Easy Steps to Rapidly Transform Your Life! with Maureen Raytis, MA, L.Ac.   www.fengshuiyourmind.com

Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan

I am so happy to announce the opening of the Love Made of Heart online store where you’ll find gift items for yourselves, women, children, moms and babies, friends and pets.  http://lovemadeofheart.com/Love-Made-of-Heart-Online-Store-&-Gift-Shop.html The Chinese word for “heart” is inside the word for “love.”

Love Made of Heart -  purple heart inside pink love

* * *
For Writers:
Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published is the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook. http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

To continue celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and AsianWeek (the voice of Asian America) I’m thinking about these books and authors:

Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

China Boy by Gus Lee

The Jade Rubies by Valerie Lee (I’m looking forward to reading this book this year)

Peony In Love by Lisa See

My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse

Wordsworth the Poet by Frances Kakugawa

My Half of the Sky by Jana McBurney-Lin

This Place Called Absence by Lydia Kwa (Ms. Kwa is Canadian)

Kiyo’s Story: A Japanese American Familys Quest for the American Dream by Kiyo Sato

Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston