Sign In
Register
Exciting plans are underway for a new community park in Portal, Georgia — a vibrant gathering place designed by and for the community, welcoming people of all ages!
This park will be located just off Clarke Street and aims to offer a variety of recreational activities and opportunities including sports fields for kids, playgrounds for children and a pavilion for friends and family. The new park aims to promote an active, participatory lifestyle while providing a welcoming space for all.
Beyond recreation, the park area could support future expansion of Portal’s afterschool programs and summer camps, creating even more fun and enriching opportunities for youth engagement.

At a May 6 county commission meeting, the board unanimously approved the purchase of the 51.63 acres in Portal for the development of the complex. Recreation Director Dee Cosby explained the site would include ball fields, a barn to convert for maintenance use, and a home that could be transformed into an after-school and summer camp facility for 60 to 70 children.
The site may also support elections and public works use. “We like to tie things in with the schools,” Cosby said, citing its walkable proximity. Commissioners voiced full support, calling it a long-overdue addition for Portal residents.
While an official construction timeline has not yet been released, Bulloch County Recreation and Parks shared their excitement for the park plans, thanking the community for their support and patience as plans continue to develop.
More Spotlight >
More Local News >
© 2025 Grice Connect

source

June 17, 2025e-Paper
The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
Karnataka Today Your daily dose of news highlights from Karnataka
First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
June 17, 2025e-Paper
Published – June 17, 2025 07:30 am IST
Evaluating and addressing somatic symptoms — physical symptoms that a person experiences, often without a clear medical explanation for their cause, such as chronic pain, is a crucial component in the care of patients at risk of suicide, particularly those with depression, anxiety, or somatic symptom-related disorders, say experts. |Image used for representational purpose only | Photo Credit: AFP
In many parts of India, people live with chronic pain and often present it to doctors as a physical symptom for a medical solution. But when the pain persists — what does it do to one’s mind?
When patients say, “I can’t take this anymore,” the focus often shifts solely to their mental health, missing the underlying physical distress that has been building up for months or even years.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India had a suicide mortality rate of 16.5 per 100,000 population in 2016 — significantly higher than the global average — with chronic pain emerging as a key risk factor contributing to these deaths.
A growing body of scientific literature, including a recent Lancet Psychiatry study, urge the inclusion of chronic pain as an independent risk factor for suicide in formal risk assessment models. Despite strong neurobiological and epidemiological evidence, chronic pain remains absent from most standardised suicide screening tools — creating a significant blind spot in clinical practice.
This omission has far-reaching consequences in India, where large segments of the population experience undertreated or unrecognised chronic pain, often without access to psychological support or palliative care — especially in rural and underserved regions.
According to Ramdas Ransing, associate professor of psychiatry at AIIMS Guwahati, the relationship between chronic pain and suicide risk is complex and bidirectional — chronic pain can raise the risk of suicide, while individuals at risk of suicide may be more likely to present with somatic symptoms like persistent pain
“Any pain lasting more than three months is defined as chronic,” says Prarthana Saraswathi, consultant psychiatrist, Rela Hospital, Chennai. “But pain is not just a physical sensation. It’s deeply emotional, especially in contexts like India, where mental health stigma and weak pain management infrastructure leave many patients unsupported.”
Studies from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) show a high prevalence of depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts among those living with chronic pain. Yet, chronic pain is rarely documented in clinical settings as a psychological concern.
“The focus is overwhelmingly on pain as a bodily issue. Its emotional toll is simply overlooked,” Dr. Saraswathi notes. This often leads to patients expressing passive death wishes rather than overt suicidal ideation. Phrases like “I wish I wouldn’t wake up” or “I’m just a burden to my family” are common — especially among women suffering from chronic arthritis or lower back pain who feel unable to fulfil caregiving or household roles. Similarly, men with histories of physical labour, upon reaching old age and experiencing immobility, may struggle with self-worth, increased dependence and deepening isolation.
Despite these associations, most widely used suicide risk tools — such as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory — do not include chronic pain as a risk factor, focusing instead on psychiatric symptoms, substance use, and history of self-harm.
“Suicide screening models are still operating through a narrow psychiatric lens,” says Dr. Saraswathi. “They exclude chronic pain because it’s traditionally considered a medical problem.”
This disconnect creates a critical gap in assessment. “Many tools fail to flag high-risk individuals because chronic pain isn’t part of the checklist,” says Mithun Prasad, consultant psychiatrist, SIMS Hospital, Chennai. “But in clinical practice, people with relentless, treatment-resistant pain are more likely to suffer from depression, emotional fatigue, and sometimes suicidal thinking — especially when pain disrupts sleep, social life and a person’s sense of dignity.”
There is growing recognition that chronic pain and suicidality share overlapping neurobiological mechanisms, involving emotion-regulating circuits such as the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex. International studies suggest that even without a formal psychiatric diagnosis, pain alone can significantly increase suicide risk– making its exclusion from screening protocols a serious oversight.
“Pain doesn’t just live in the body– it seeps into a person’s identity and their ability to engage with life,” explains Dr. Prasad. “People stop planning for the future. They say things like ‘I’m tired’ or ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ These aren’t casual remarks — they’re red flags.” He adds that many patients carry their emotional burden silently, especially when they fear burdening family members or appearing weak. This is particularly visible in Indian families, where rigid gender roles, caregiving expectations, and economic dependence can magnify the isolation felt by those in chronic pain.
Including pain in suicide risk assessments is not without challenges. “Pain is deeply subjective and varies by etiology — neuropathic, psychological or inflammatory — making standardisation difficult,” Dr. Saraswathi notes. Additionally, clinicians may lack training in pain psychology, while pain specialists may not be equipped to assess suicidality. This lack of interdisciplinary coordination often results in fragmented care and missed warning signs.
There is also a practical burden– adding pain-related indicators could increase consultation time for clinicians already working in overwhelmed systems. Yet, experts agree that the benefits of early identification outweigh these concerns.
In India, socioeconomic vulnerabilities further complicate the issue. “A large portion of the population particularly in rural areas are daily wage workers whose livelihoods depend on physical ability,” says Dr. Saraswathi. “When chronic pain strikes, it doesn’t just cause physical distress. It brings financial insecurity, loss of identity and diminished self-worth induced by social stigma and ableism.”
Yet, suicides triggered by chronic pain are seldom recognised as such in official data. “National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports often cite ‘illness’ as a cause for suicide but don’t disaggregate chronic pain from other medical conditions,” she adds. This under-reporting limits evidence-based policymaking and prevents targeted interventions.
From a public health and policy perspective, including chronic pain in suicide risk assessments could be transformative, says Astik Joshi, child & adolescent and forensic psychiatrist, New Delhi. He advocates for this inclusion across specialties and age groups.
“Pain needs to be acknowledged not just as a medical or psychological issue — but as a biopsychosocial risk factor,” he says. “Suicide assessment models must move beyond psychiatric diagnoses to account for long-term physical suffering, especially when paired with emotional exhaustion, helplessness, and isolation.”
“Suicide risk assessment should be part of the management and follow-up care in every pain clinic,” Dr. Ransing says, adding that evaluating and addressing chronic pain is equally crucial in the care of those with depression, anxiety, or somatic symptom-related disorders.
Experts propose nationwide capacity-building workshops, integrated pain and mental health clinics and routine cross-referrals between pain specialists and psychiatrists. “A national programme that links chronic pain with suicide prevention is long overdue. With proper training and advocacy, this gap is not insurmountable”, say Dr. Saraswathi
Experts suggest a stepwise reform model: beginning with the early identification of pain through orthopaedic and palliative consultations, followed by integrated assessments — where emotional wellbeing is routinely screened alongside physical symptoms. Tailored interventions, including counselling, social support and appropriate medication, can ease both the physical and psychological burden.
( Suicide helplines across the country can be accessed here)
Published – June 17, 2025 07:30 am IST
health / suicide
Copyright© 2025, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions  |  Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

source

How to burn more fat while exercising  The Times
source

North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS) has ended its contract with United Healthcare for certain Medicare Advantage plans. The change took effect on June 1. The decision comes after more than a year of talks between NMHS and United Healthcare.
NMHS operates eight hospitals and over 70 clinics in North Mississippi. United Healthcare is the nation’s most profitable health insurance company. About 17,000 United Healthcare Medicare Advantage members live in NMHS’s service area.
Most of them are existing patients, said Wally Davis, NMHS’s vice president of payor strategy and partnerships. Other United Healthcare plans will still be in-network at NMHS. These include commercial and employer-sponsored, Marketplace, Medicaid, and CHIP plans.
The change will also apply to Medicaid-required Dual Special Needs Medicare Advantage plans. NMHS ended the agreement because Medicare Advantage inpatient claims were often delayed or denied, Davis said. The issue has gotten worse since NMHS first raised concerns last year.
In May, 42% of inpatient claims at North Mississippi Medical Center-Tupelo were initially denied. This is up from 17% in February 2024.
The overturn rate has stayed around 85% since last year. “We continued conversations about the core problem, which has been the denial percentage itself, but we never really received a clearly defined response from United as to why those denials were occurring,” Davis said. United Healthcare suggested extending the current contract to keep talking, said Tracy Carr, a spokesperson for the company.
“Unfortunately, NMHS refused,” Carr said. Patients with United Healthcare Group Retiree Medicare Advantage plans will still be able to get services at NMHS locations. These plans offer out-of-network benefits.
Patients’ share of the cost will be the same as if they were part of the network for some or all services, according to Carr. United Healthcare members who are in the middle of treatment with an NMHS provider for a serious or complex condition may be able to keep getting covered services for a period of time, Carr said. Davis encourages patients to contact Medicare to discuss options for changing their Medicare Advantage enrollment.
This includes during the special enrollment period. Medicare’s open enrollment period is from Oct. 15 to Dec.
7. There is an additional open enrollment period for those already enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans from Jan. 1 to March 31.
Learn more about us.
Led by editor-in-chief, Stephanie Johnson, we take great pride in the quality of our content. Our writers create original, accurate, engaging content that is free of ethical concerns or conflicts. Our rigorous editorial process includes editing for accuracy, recency, and clarity.
Learn more about our process.
Join the ‘Self Made’ newsletter, earn more with freedom, and discover true wealth.

SelfEmployed.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range, can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, SelfEmployed does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Sign in to your account
Username or Email Address
Password
Remember Me

source