The conventional medical field is not always open-minded when it comes to the use of herbs. However, Colpermin is one of the rare exceptions due to its remarkable excellence in reducing the symptoms of IBS. Made from natural oil extracted from the peppermint plant, it is hard for medical practitioners to say no to this miraculous discovery. Since the world of chemically based drugs has not been able to find a permanent cure for irritable bowel syndrome, it becomes more evident that peppermint oil is the best remedy up to now.
Peppermint is used widely in food and beverages. When you drink peppermint tea, for example, it makes you feel refreshed. However, it is not that beneficial in terms of treating irritable bowel syndrome when you consume peppermint in the normal way. This is because when peppermint enters the stomach its efficiency is abolished through the digestion process. The only way for peppermint to be effective in treating IBS is when it is taken in the form of oil and that the oil is coated inside a capsule that can withstand the process of digestion.
Due to this reason, Colpermin is created. It keeps the peppermint oil untouched by the process of digestion until it arrives at the intestines. The coating of the capsule will only dissolve in the intestines and thus providing huge relief to many IBS sufferers.
There is no reason for anyone to continue to suffer with addiction, to believe that no one wants to help them and to believe that without quite a lot of money, that they cannot get the care they need and deserve for a better life of sobriety.
Governmental and conservative estimates show that ever dollar invested into substance abuse treatment programs yields an eventual dividend of 7 dollars in societal savings, and although the government does not yet do as much as they could, they do run an enormous array of free treatment programs to those in need.
In addition to governmental programs, there are thousands of charity, church and non profit rehabs that will take you in regardless of your ability to pay.
So where can you go to get help for drug treatment if you don’t have much money?
If you have private insurance:
Firstly, if you have any degree of private insurance, you may be covered for more than you think you are. Certain legislative changes have compelled insurance providers to cover a greater percentage of needed addictions treatment, and so if you are relying on dated policy documents for your coverage information, you may want to call your carrier, and find out what you are currently entitled to.
If you can possibly afford private care, this is likely the best option for you. With private care you can get into treatment immediately, you benefit from the greatest amount of individual and group therapies and you recover in a very comfortable and meditative environment. You may be required to contribute a substantial amount of money, but if you can achieve sobriety, it is always a good financial decision to get sober.
If you can access state funded rehab:
Secondly, if you cannot afford private care, you should determine whether you are eligible for state funded treatment. Even if you do not qualify for Medicare, you may qualify for partial payment in a state funded rehab, and you may even qualify for completely free treatment. The quality of some state funded facilities is quite high, and it is well worth a few phone calls to determine your level of eligibility.
Call you state social services office to find out what you need to do to get onto a waiting list of state funded care.
Totally free charity rehabs
If you are ineligible for state subsidized care, or you are eligible, but the waiting time for entry is just too long, you may want to get into a private but low cost rehab. A great many people fall into the gap between being able to afford private rehab and being eligible for state funded programs. You need not be poor to be unprepared for a many thousand dollar bill of care, and many of us enter into a need for rehab after addictions have already wreaked havoc on our finances.
Many of these rehabs will discount their already low cost programs to those in real financial need, and some operate completely free programs for those unable to pay. A great place to find out about low cost rehabs in your area is through your local church, through your local doctor, or through the state social services office.
Sober living housing
A last but not at all least option is to bypass rehab entirely, and enter into sober living housing. Sober living homes are not treatment centers, but ordinary residences comprised of a group of alcoholics and addicts supporting each other through recovery. These homes are generally very low cost or free to enter and all you must do is agree to abide by the rules of the house, and agree to contribute your share of the expenses once you can secure gainful employment.
No one in America needs to live with addiction thinking that they have nowhere to turn. You may not recover in luxury, but you will recover, and that’s surely the more important thing.
Stress – “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them”
UK Health and Safety Executive
Your employer now has a duty in law to ensure that you are not made ill by your work. And stress can make you ill. Although being under pressure can help improve your performance and productivity, excessive levels of pressure can result in stress, which can lead to mental and physical ill-health. According to a recent report by MIND, the UK’s leading mental health charity, more than 5 million people complain of extreme stress in their jobs, putting them at risk of a breakdown.(1) Employers who don’t take stress seriously may leave themselves open to compensation claims from employees who have suffered ill health from work-related stress.
In November 2004, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a new guide for managers on how to prevent excessive work-related stress – Tackling Work-Related Stress: A Managers’ Guide To Improving And Maintaining Employee Health And Well-Being.(2) With the aid of 12 new management standards, the guide provides a step-by-step approach for employers to use when handling the different causes of stress in the workplace. The guide recommends that employers should work with employees and their representatives, and provides advice on identifying those at risk from stress and on how to prevent problems occurring.
What does HSE expect employers to do?
HSE expects every employer to conduct risk assessments for health and safety hazards, including work-related stress. HSE recommends a three-step approach to risk assessment, to be taken in consultation with employees and their representatives:
Identify pressures at work that could cause high and long-lasting levels of stress Decide who might be harmed by these, and how Assess whether enough is being done to prevent that harm and, if not, decide the steps to be taken.
At each step, findings should be recorded, regularly monitored and reviewed.
The HSE have identified six key aspects of work that, if not properly managed, can lead to work-related stress and, within these key aspects, have established 12 management standards.
Key aspect of work 1: The demands of your job (includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment)
Management standard 1: Employees indicate that they are able to cope with the demands of their jobs.
Management standard 2: Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.
Key aspect of work 2: Your control over your work (how much say you have in the way you do your work)
Management standard 3: Employees indicate that they are able to have a say about the way they do their work.
Management standard 4: Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.
Key aspect of work 3: The support you receive from managers and colleagues (includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues)
Management standard 5: Employees indicate that they receive adequate information and support from their colleagues and superiors.
Management standard 6: Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.
Key aspect of work 4: Your relationships at work (includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour)
Management standard 7: Employees indicate that they are not subjected to unacceptable behaviour (e.g. bullying) at work.
Management standard 8: Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.
Key aspect of work 5: Your role in the organisation (whether you understand your role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that you do not have conflicting roles)
Management standard 9: Employees indicate that they understand their role and responsibilities.
Management standard 10: Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.
Key aspect of work 6: Change and how it is managed (how organisational change [large or small] is managed and communicated in the organisation)
Management standard 11: Employees indicate that the organisation engages them frequently when undergoing an organisational change.
Management standard 12: Systems are in place locally to respond to any individual concerns.
What does HSE expect employees to do?
As an employee, you too have a duty to take care of your health and safety at work. The HSE recommends that you:(3)
Familiarise yourself with the HSE’s management standards (see Table above) so that you can contribute more fully to discussions. Talk to your managers if you’re experiencing a problem – it’s part of their role to help you reach a solution. Take an active part in any discussions, action planning meetings, stress risk assessments, etc., and make sure you complete any questionnaires when you are asked to do so – your managers need your help in putting effective plans in place. Remember that consultation is a two-way process. Your managers must take your opinions into consideration when deciding what actions to take, and must communicate the reasons for their decisions. Read all communications. Make sure you understand the reasons for decisions and provide feedback if required. Attend any stress management training courses arranged by your employer. These should help you understand stress and how to deal with it. Recognise that you have a responsibility for your own personal stress and try to help yourself where possible.
References
1. Stress and Mental Health in the Workplace. http://www.mind.org.uk
2. Tackling Work-Related Stress: A Managers’ Guide To Improving And Maintaining Employee Health And Well-Being. http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/information.htm
3. Working together to reduce stress at home. A guide for employees. [http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/pdfs/leaflet.pdf]
Further information
For more information visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/information.htm or call the HSE’s InfoLine on 08701-545500, or write to: HSE Information Services, Caerphilly Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG.
A free employee leaflet is also available from the HSE website: Tackling Work-Related Stress – A Guide For Employees (Leaflet INDG341). This leaflet explains what stress is and how it affects people, providing details of what individuals can do at work to help their manager in tackling the problem.
The International Stress Management Association has produced a leaflet Working together to reduce stress at home. A guide for empoyees. The leaflet is supported by HSE, Acas, TUC and the CIPD. Visit [http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/pdfs/leaflet.pdf]
Copies Of Tackling Work-Related Stress: A Managers’ Guide To Improving And Maintaining Employee Health And Well-Being (ref HSG218; ISBN 0 7176 2050 6) can be ordered online at http://www.hsebooks.co.uk, or are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, tel: 01787-881165; fax: 01787-313995.