Life Happens

Did you know that federal authorities have a policy to deny passports to applicants owing more than $2500 in child support payments?

Recently an LA man discovered that policy when he had to pay $311, 491 in back suppot payments before he could get renew his passport while he was stuck in Hong Kong, China.

“This is a wake-up call for individuals who should have been meeting their obligations,” said Al Reyes, a spokesperson for the LA  county’s Child Support Services Department.”

Depressed people get more of a psychological boost from marriage than people who aren’t depressed, even though depressed people tend to have poorer quality marriages, a U.S. study finds.In the study, a team at Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus analyzed data on 3,066 single people, aged 55 and younger, who took part in the U.S. National Survey of Families and Households. The OSU researchers identified people who married during a five-year follow-up period and asked them about the quality of their marriages and changes in their psychological health.

People who married and divorced during the five-year period were excluded from the study.

The researchers found that, overall, participants who got married scored an average of about 3.5 points lower on a 12-item depression test (a score of 23 or higher indicated depression) than when they were single.

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Yoga’s postures, controlled breathing and meditation may work together to help ease brains plagued by anxiety or depression, a new study shows.Brain scans of yoga practitioners showed a healthy boost in levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) immediately after a one-hour yoga session. Low brain levels of GABA are associated with anxiety and depression, the researchers said.

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Passive-aggressive behavior is a communication style that is very difficult to deal with. Persons who communicate in this way are often stubborn, they obstruct goals while denying they are doing so, they procrastinate, and they are often sullen.

They agree to everything, yet accomplish almost nothing they agree to, while blaming outside events for their lack of achievement.

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Nearly 10,000 men and women in Southern California find safety and support in quality sober living each year.

Studies have shown sober living to be tremendously effective in promoting long-term recovery from alcoholism and addiction.

To help you find a sober housing facility that meets your needs, visit the Penny Bail Bonds Sober Housing page on their newly designed website.

Penny Bail Bonds is a unique bail bonds company in promoting resources for people to put their lives back together.

Penny Bail Bonds believes that good parenting is an essential ingredient to ultimately reduce crime in our society. Good parenting includes getting your child help for problems he or she might have such as ADHD, learning problems, behavioral problems, or emotional problems.

To help parents find resources to deal with these issues, as well as resources to generally get your kids back under control , please  click here.

Proposition 21 in Calfornia was meant as a weapon against hardcore gangs and juveniles who commit heinous crimes.

But, according to a recent report in the Orange County Register, the law is not applied evenly. According to their statistics, Proposition 21 has been used most against black, Hispanic and Asian teens.

And, according to the newspaper, The Orange County district attorney directly charges youths in adult court more often thn any other California county does. Comparing the number of juvenile felonyy arrests shows an even starker disparity: proportionally, Orange County uses this power to prosecute juveniles as adults nine times as often as Los Angeles County.

What do you think? To read about both sides of the issues, click here.

According to Dr. Toby P. Goldsmith, domestic violence may start when one partner feels the need to control and dominate the other. Abusers may feel this need to control their partner because of low self-esteem, extreme jealousy, difficulties in regulating anger and other strong emotions, or when they feel inferior to the other partner in education and socioeconomic background. Some men with very traditional beliefs may think they have the right to control women, and that women aren’t equal to men.

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Recent research shows there is a starting correlation between substance abuse and arrests: One Australian study, for instance, showed 86% of people arrested had a substance-use disorder compared to just 7% in the general population.

Obviously, it is important for society to understand   drug  (and alcohol) abuse, so that we can develop programs to help abusers and addicts before their behavior leads to arrest and incarceration.

Let’s start with looking at common myths about addicts and addiction. The first myth is that addicts are bad, stupid or crazy.

Click here to learn why this myth is just that….and also learn what the other six myths are.

Are you a compulsive gambler? According to Dr. Scott Teitelbaum, the following signs and symptoms can help you decide:

• increasing the frequency and the amount of money gambled
• spending the majority of free time thinking about gambling
• spending an excessive amount of time gambling at the expense of personal or family time
• being preoccupied with gambling or with obtaining money with which to gamble
• feeling a sense of euphoria, an aroused sense of action or a high from gambling
• continuing to gamble despite negative consequences such as large losses, or work or family problems caused by gambling
• gambling as a means to cope with uncomfortable feelings
• “chasing” or the urgent need to keep gambling, often with larger bets or the taking of greater risks in order to make up for a loss or series of losses
• borrowing money to gamble, taking out secret loans or maximizing credit cards
• bragging about wins but not talking about losses
• frequent mood swings—higher when winning, lower when losing
• gambling for longer periods of time with more money than originally planned
• lying or secretive behavior to cover up extent of gambling

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