Blacks

in the death of one who dies," says the Lord. Therefore, turn and live! [Ezekiel 18:30-32]. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" [Romans 6:23].

“Looking for the telltale signs of illness or chronic conditions during a routine checkup requires a high level of doctorpatient communication, along with comprehensive tests that can detect problems before they worsen and become harder to treat,” said Dr. Albert Arteaga, pediatrician and CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. Preventive medicine works to reduce poor healthcare outcomes for Latinos and Blacks and the underserved when healthcare providers go the distance to make sure their patients get it.

“As a Latino-owned healthcare provider, we use CDC-approved treatment schedules to make sure our patients get the healthcare they need,” says Dr. Albert Arteaga, President and CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. A 2019 research paper in the

American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that “Racial/ ethnic mortality disparities persist and are widening for some age groups.” The age groups where disparities trended worse included the youngest and oldest. This trend reversed what had been a lessening in disparities from 2009 to 2012.

Latino-owned LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. works to reverse this downward trend and get Latino and Black patients back on track toward parity in improved health and well-being and this starts with its annual checkup outreach program.

“We believe that improved healthcare for all of our patients begins with a robust outreach program that contacts people to remind them when it’s time to come in for their checkup, annual for adults and more often for children 1 to 4,” said Dr. Albert

10 Overlooked Signs They May Be Bipolar

World/Health News

Arteaga, pediatrician and CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc.

Looking for the telltale signs of illness or chronic conditions during a routine checkup requires a high level of doctorpatient communication, along with comprehensive tests that can detect problems before they worsen and become harder to treat.

“Many of our adult clients, especially Latinos, seem to think that if they feel okay, they don’t need to see a doctor. Conditions like type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C, and some cancers can be ‘hiding out,’ so to speak, and by the time the patient starts to notice symptoms, it can be too late,” says Dr. Arteaga.

Dr. Arteaga adds that this is especially a problem with infants and young children who are not yet able to communicate clearly. Parents might think their child is just being fussy or going through the “terrible twos” and put off taking their little one to the doctor until severe symptoms start showing.

Infants need to get examined even more regularly. Heatlh.gov says children from ages 1 to 4 should see a doctor or nurse at 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30 months, and at 3 and 4 years. Early child development needs to be tracked carefully so that any warning signs of developmental problems can be addressed promptly and effectively.

Children all grow and develop at different rates. Some start talking sooner, some later. What’s required is a good overall assessment to determine if the child is on the right track. Health. gov concludes, “If you’re worried about your child’s health, don’t wait until the next scheduled visit—call your doctor or nurse right away.”

For more information or to make an appointment, call 1-855349-6019.

10 Overlooked Signs They May Be Bipolar...continued

Then I heard a loud voice say, Court is now in session! And the Almighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, the Judge, God the Father steps up to the throne. Stunned silence fills the courtroom. Mouths are agape. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. The trials begin. The testimony of the witnesses is clear and irrefutable. You are found guilty on all charges. You are sentenced to everlasting punishment. [Revelation 21:12-15]. Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [Matthew 25:41].

Bailiff, take them away! Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place where there are weeping and gnashing of teeth. [Matthew 25:30] I tell you, it would have been better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell to the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. [Mark 9:43,48].

Court is now adjourned.

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” [Luke 16:22-24] And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. [Revelation 14:9-11].

I tell you, still don’t get it, wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. [Proverbs 4:7].

The Road to Activism

Ward

Rachael

When it comes to mental illness, there are plenty of stereotypes. But in reality, mood disorders can be hard to pinpoint—particularly in people with bipolar disorder symptoms. Don’t believe what you see in movies. You can’t tell just by looking at someone that they might be bipolar. Take beautiful actress Lisa Nicole Carson, who shared her bipolar disorder with the world. Nobody knew before that!

Here are 10 signs that mood problems may be due to more than a quirky or difficult personality:

1. Greater Than Great Mood Bipolar disorder is characterized by up-and-down episodes of mania and depression. During a manic phase, some patients can have a total break from reality. But hypomania, which is also a symptom of the disorder, is a high-energy state in which a person feels exuberant but hasn’t lost his or her grip on reality.

“Hypomania can be a pretty enjoyable state, really,” Dr. Bearden says. A person’s mood can be elevated, they may have a lot of energy and creativity, and they may experience euphoria. This is the “up” side of bipolar disorder that some people with the condition actually enjoy— while it lasts.

2. Inability To Complete Tasks

Having a house full of halfcompleted projects is a hallmark of bipolar disorder. People who can harness their energy when they are in a hypomanic phase can be really productive. Those who can’t often go from task to task, planning grand, unrealistic projects that are never finished before moving on to something else.

“They can be quite distractible and may start a million things and never finish them,” says Don Malone, MD, the director of the Center for Behavioral Health and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio.

3. Depression A person who is in a bipolar depressive state is going to look just like someone who has regular depression. “They have the same problems with energy, appetite, sleep, and focus as others who have ‘plain old depression,’” Dr. Malone says. Unfortunately, typical antidepressants alone don’t work well in patients who are bipolar. They can even make people cycle more frequently, worsening their condition, or send someone into a break-withreality episode. “Antidepressants can be downright dangerous in people with bipolar because they can send them into mania,” he says.

4. Irritability

Some people with this condition suffer from “mixed mania,” where they experience symptoms of mania and depression at the same time. During this state, they are often extremely irritable. Everyone has bad days, which is one reason this kind of bipolarity is much harder to recognize.

“We are all irritable or moody sometimes,” Dr. Bearden says.

“But in people with bipolar disorder, it often becomes so severe that it interferes with their relationships—especially if the person is saying, ‘I don’t know why I’m so irritable…I can’t control it.’”

5. Rapid Speech

Some people are naturally talkative; we all know a motormouth or Chatty Cathy. But “pressured speech” is one of the most common symptoms of bipolar disorder. This kind of speech occurs when someone is really not in a two-way conversation, Dr. Bearden says. The person will talk rapidly and if you try to speak, they will likely just talk over you. They will also sometimes jump around to different topics. “What’s kind of a red flag is when it is atypical for the person to talk like this,” doing it only when they are in a manic cycle but not at other times, she says.

6. Problems At Work

People with this disorder often have difficulty in the workplace because so many of their symptoms can interfere with their ability to show up for work, do their job, and interact productively with others. In addition to having problems completing tasks, they may have difficulty sleeping, irritability, and an inflated ego during a manic phase, and depression at other times, which causes excessive sleeping and additional mood problems. A lot of the workplace problems can be interpersonal ones, Dr. Malone says.

7. Substance Abuse

About 50% of people with bipolar disorder also have a substance abuse problem, particularly alcohol use, Dr. Bearden says. Many people will drink when they are in a manic phase to slow themselves down and use alcohol to improve their mood when they are depressed.

8. Erratic Behavior

When they are in a manic phase, people with bipolar disorder can have an inflated selfesteem. “They feel grandiose

By Lou K. Coleman

and don’t consider consequences; everything sounds good to them,” Dr. Malone says. Two of the most common types of behavior that can result from this are spending sprees and unusual sexual behavior.

“I have had a number of patients who have had affairs who never would have done that if they weren’t in a manic episode…during this episode they exhibited behavior that is not consistent with what they would do normally,” he says.

9. Sleeping Problems

People with this condition often have sleep problems. During a depression phase, they may sleep too much, and feel tired all the time. During a manic phase, they may not sleep enough—but still, never feel tired. Even with just a few hours of sleep each night, they may feel great and have lots of energy. Dr. Bearden says staying on a regular sleep schedule is one of the first things she recommends for bipolar patients.

10. Flight of Ideas world to get your act together?

This symptom may be something that is hard to recognize, but it occurs frequently when someone is in a manic phase. People feel like their mind is racing and that they can’t control or slow down their thoughts. This flight of ideas sometimes occurs with pressured speech. People with bipolar may not recognize or admit that their mind is racing out of control, says Dr. Bearden.

I confess that throughout my life as an evolving queer organizer, I haven’t always been deeply aware of the intersectional components of systemic oppression. It’s easier to walk behind the footprint of another than to make new ones. Perhaps, that is why taking our shoes off in holy spaces means so much more—the footprint can be deeper; more visible for those who come next…

I do believe taking up the road of activism is a part of humanity’s collective charge to tend to one another, and I do know first-hand that it is no easy road.

There are those who wish to violently and oppressively strike the very soul force of your being into non-existence. And yet, those who strike are also those of whom God calls us to love. What a hard both/and balance; what a life-long call to do justice, walk humbly, and love with mercy.

It’s the first full week of June— the honorary designated month when LGBTQIA+ people receive more celebration for being human than they do throughout the rest of the calendar year. Capitalism paints company signs with rainbow colors, Target (kind of) supports Trans artists with their Pride collection, and for just a few weeks, the world seems possibly a little more “out loud” for queer people. But is it?

When the sidewalk paint fades from cities that allocate a minimal part of their fiscal budget to go BIG for Pride, do the footprints of activism remain? Do we stay living our lives “out loud” for queer folks? For trans folks? For Black and brown folks? For …. I could spend all day naming human bodies who need our love to be louder than hate. But what good would that do if you are not willing to take your shoes off and walk this activism road with me?

And finally, a neighbor stops to tend. Taking the injured to an inn, paying for their stay, and continuing to walk the road of activism. This Good Samaritan doesn’t ever get to see if justice is fulfilled. This neighbor decides that in the moment what is just and useful is to try, care, give, and continue onward.

What is just and useful in this moment is to name how I saw the road come to life this week:

Monday, June 5th, thousands gathered outside of Atlanta’s City Hall to give public comment on what is being called “Cop City,” a proposed $90 million+ police training compound backed by the Atlanta Police Foundation and several corporate partners. This facility will take over 300 acres of land stolen from the Muscogee Creek Nation and used for decades of racialized violence against Black and brown folks.

Tuesday, June 6th, after 15 hours of public comment, the Atlanta City Council funded “Cop City."

Among comments was the youngest public commenter yet, a young girl who read a rendition of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. She ended her comments with “Stop Cop City” and handed out 18 pinecones from the very forest “Cop City” would remove to City Council members.

Lou K. Coleman

Thinking you got all the time in the world to get your act together. Well, you don’t! If Jesus came on the scene saying, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at Hand” why would you think that you got all the time in the

I tell you; the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent...” [Acts 17:30-31]. Don’t be foolish, repent before it is too late, because contempt against the Lord is a very serious verdict. The consequences are eternal and will not be reversed. So repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure

My favorite Bible story since childhood has been that of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37 (NRSV). Jesus, an activist, is asked how humanity inherits eternal life. Jesus moves right past eternal life as his focus and places us in front of one another by responding with “loving neighbor as you love yourself.”

The parable of the Good Samaritan follows, giving us a first-row seat to the road of activism. The Empire attempts to control the bodies and minds of its constituents to keep walking. Priests contort their spiritual call to care for the sake of capitalism.

Despite Atlanta City Council’s vote to fund the project, thousands of Good Samaritans defended the forest and will continue to. And now we can help by spreading the word on the new referendum proposed by Atlanta activists to let the people of Atlanta decide on "Cop City." Here's a helpful link to share. This is the road to activism. And, if you haven’t seen the overlap yet, the wall behind the text, the road is very queer. Queer as in subversive of violence and hate. And that’s what Pride, for me, is all about. Rebuke of suffering. Embrace of resilience and joy. Reading The Lorax, sharing pinecones and believing in one another.

Take off your shoes. Leave footprints. Do what is just and believe in the ripple of justice that becomes a wave. And, above all else, love out loud, always.

Rachael Ward (they/them) is the Team Lead & Minister for Gender & Sexuality Justice Ministries for the United Church of Christ. In addition, Rachael Ward is the Executive Director for UCC HIV & AIDS Network (UCAN).