Podcast aims to shatter stereotypes
By Ishita Verma
A new podcast aims to highlight the struggles two Edmonton friends face as people living with disabilities. Carly Neis is an actor with cerebral palsy, and Laurel Carter is an event planner with visual impairment. The two have launched the podcast Disabled as Folk.
“Just because we’re disabled folks doesn’t necessarily mean it always has to be a soppy story,” Neis told CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active. Carter and Neis are using their podcast to showcase disability through education and a whole lot of humour. “We wanted people to be able to get to know us on a personal level, as well as kind of learn about disability, in a less formal or aggressive way,” Carter said. Topics include “We’re just trying to find humour in all the weird nuances of living with disability.”
The podcast is split into three episodes, with a focus on bullying, language and what “ableism” means in today’s day and age.
In the first episode the co-hosts tell their personal stories. They bring in guests for the remaining episodes.
“A lot of our conversations basically boiled down to how we’re shoved in a box, have certain expectations, and how we break through that box,” Neis said. “We’re working really hard to change that outlook.”
Photo: CBC
Bursts of Brain Activity: A Rare Look
By Charles Q. Choi
As people die, their brains are widely believed to stop working. However, near-death experiences are common across the world, and experiments have found that dying lab animals experience bursts of brain activity. Now, scientists have revealed that they’ve detected the same kind of brain signals in dying comatose -patients in the journal –Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This -small study, the most detailed yet on the dying human brain, may shed light on mysterious phenomena such as near-death experiences.
After “cardiac arrest”—when the heart stops—people typically appear to lose consciousness. However, researchers have long questioned whether consciousness actually continues in some covert manner during the dying process.
Previous research suggests 10 to 20 percent of cardiac arrest survivors report near-death experiences, which often involve a feeling of leaving the body, love and light, and seeing spiritual beings. A number of scientists even claim near-death experiences can occur when electrical activity has apparently stopped in the brain.
A Woman’s Changing Body
By Dr Diane Downing
Your likes, dislikes, and perspectives have undoubtedly changed over time….your body has, too.
In a society that idealizes the young and thin, regular body changes seen during aging are often unwelcome. Confronted with the impossible task of defying time, some women turn to cosmetics and plastic surgery. Others become preoccupied with their weight and develop a negative body image, lower self-esteem and social withdrawal. However, understanding your body’s natural aging process can help. Know that normal aging involves a gradual decline in function and in the body’s ability to repair itself. Health problems and medications can accelerate these changes. But you can adjust your wellness routine to keep your body and mind in working order as long as possible.
It is common to see a decrease in muscle mass, causing your body to feel less strong than it did in your youth. Women may also develop wrinkles from reduced elasticity and firmness of their skin, or thin and graying hair. While men often stop gaining body fat around 55, weight gain tends to continue in women until the age of 65, primarily because metabolism slows with aging, making it harder to maintain or lose weight after age 60.
