Michelle Obama is smart to have therapy in her sixties

For many 60 is an age of reckoning. Women have gone through menopause, many couples are empty-nesting, or near to it, and God knows what the state of your relationship is. People realise, 'I've got a good 20 or so years left, if I'm lucky — what am I going to do with it? How am I going to give it meaning?' At last you have the opportunity to make it about you. But for that you have to explore who you are, what you can be and what you need.
Therapy is about helping you with that. And in speaking publicly about seeing a therapist at 60, Michelle Obama has set a great example. It's the age by which we've shed a lot of

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Times

an hour ago

• Times

How can hospitals have dignity if staff don't notice you're dead?

There have been miracles happening at a mental health hospital in the east of London — miracles so remarkable that I am surprised so little has been made of it. What happened at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford was that a patient died — but then three days later was seen by staff cheerfully eating his breakfast. Extraordinary goings-on, don't you think? Or perhaps, worryingly, not quite as extraordinary as they appear. The man who died and then — stone rolled away from the tomb — was up and about eating his cornflakes three days later was called Mr Winbourne Charles. He had been admitted to Goodmayes suffering from depression, and five months later he killed himself. So how was he seen eating his breakfast three days later? He wasn't. The staff who were meant to be watching him had not even noticed that he had died: they lied on the official forms, not realising that Mr Charles had been in a coffin for the best part of 72 hours. Such was the level of care and concern. Such was the rigour and the attention to detail. • Rod Liddle on his radio comeback: Somehow I'm still on air When Mr Charles was admitted to Goodmayes it was with a clinical psychological assessment which revealed he was a very high-risk patient and should be observed once every 15 minutes. Goodmayes downgraded that assessment so that he should be observed only once an hour. But it didn't really matter, because the staff didn't even do that. It turns out that he hadn't been observed for at least two hours when he was found dead. You might gauge the interest the Goodmayes staff took in their employment, and in the people they were there to care for, by their behaviour at Mr Charles's inquest. One staff member gave evidence lying in their bed at home, because they weren't due at work that day. Another gave evidence from the Tube because they were on their way to the airport to take a nice break in the sun. In my days of court reporting the coroner would have sent round the Old Bill to drag that person from their pit and grounded all flights — but times change. The authority has seeped away. We know about Mr Winbourne Charles partly because of another inquest into another unnecessary death at the same hospital and some expert digging by the BBC, which revealed at least 20 more very dubious deaths at the North East London NHS Foundation Trust. People who had been on short-term medication for years and years. People neglected. The staff not doing what they were paid to do. At Mr Charles's inquest the coroner recorded a verdict of death by suicide contributed to by neglect. The trust accepted the verdict and admitted that the behaviour of its staff at the inquest had been 'unacceptable', and so you might expect things to be changing in Goodmayes right now. You'd be wrong. On the hospital's own site the latest review — from May this year — details the utterly useless nature of the service provided for patients. Underneath it says: 'Goodmayes Hospital has not yet replied' — but then, in fairness, it says that underneath all the reviews, dating back to 2023. Where do we start with this farrago? Perhaps with the nature of management in the public sector, where a laxer atmosphere and regimen prevails than in the private sphere, and where it seems that the ethos is far more about supporting the staff than providing for the customer, or patient. There are no sales figures and financial imperatives to sharpen the concentration a little. The unions are on the side of staff and the managers dare not demur. Nobody is on the side of the patient, the taxpayer. But I do not think that is the main problem. In the past year I have been detailing here the various manifestations of Skank Britain and the cultural shifts that have led us down this fetid back alley. The dissolution of authority and the refusal of people to take responsibility for their own actions, or indeed for themselves. The notion of such terms as 'discipline' and 'duty' becoming de trop and the insistence by each errant individual that he or she mustn't be judged and will behave exactly as they wish, thank you. The almost complete lack of regard for that most annoying of encumbrances, other people. A lack of dignity in the self and towards others. And, perhaps more than anything else, the long-term whittling-away of a communitarian ethos, the sense that as a nation we have a responsibility to look out for one another and to do the right thing. All of that stuff has largely gone, I fear. Goodmayes Hospital is as much a function of Skank Britain as some feral lout on the Tube with his feet on the seats and hideous music blaring out of his infernal device. Two members of Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton and claimed to have put out of action a couple of Voyager air-to air refuelling tankers. Three questions arise. First, why weren't they shot? Second, the prime minister called it an act of vandalism — but isn't it, more properly, an act of treason? And, finally, why hadn't Palestine Action already been put on the list of proscribed terrorist organisations and its members arrested? You will be relieved to know that Olsi Beheluli is still with us. Olsi, an Albanian by birth, has recently been released from prison after an 11-year stretch for heroin dealing. In a move that suggests he is perhaps not the sharpest tool in the box, he photographed himself sitting in front of a vast pile of banknotes worth £250,000. Anyway, the Home Office wanted him out of the country, but the immigration tribunal judges wouldn't have it. In gaining British citizenship, Olsi had signed a form which stated that he had never done anything that 'might indicate that you may not be considered a person of good character'. Dealing skag didn't remotely count. Readers of a certain age may remember the comedian Dave Allen's observation that, as 10 per cent of road accidents were caused by drink-drivers, it followed that 90 per cent were caused by people who were sober. 'Why don't those people keep off the roads and let us drunks drive in safety?' he asked. The dyscalculic lefties will all be channelling Dave, having read about the Ministry of Justice stats released last week which showed that more than a quarter of all sexual assaults on women last year were carried out by people not born in this country. You can hear them now: 'That means 74 per cent were carried out by British people and nobody has suggested investigating them. Racist!'

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Real Housewives star Dolores Catania reveals frightening health crisis that led her to have surgery

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania revealed she was forced to have heart surgery after suffering from atrial fibrillation (AFib). Her condition is a form of arrhythmia, meaning her heartbeat had become irregular, causing her to have chest pains that began six months ago. Last month she underwent a cardiac ablation, a procedure that destroys the small bit of heart tissue that was causing the problem. Dolores, 54, went public with the news this weekend, posting an Instagram video that began with her boyfriend Paulie Connell driving her to the hospital. 'We are going to get my procedure done. It's a cardiac ablation for my AFib. I know, I'm too young to have this,' she quipped to the camera. As they emerged from the car and walked into the building, he asked if she had a 'last word' to say, to which she beamed at him and said: 'Love you.' She also posted photos and video of herself in her bed and gown, including one apparently post-op snap of herself grinning beside her electrophysiologist, whom she jokingly referred to as her 'other electrician.' 'About six months ago, I was driving when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest that radiated down my arm,' she explained in her caption. 'As women, we tend to ignore aches and pains, brushing them off as part of everyday life- but this felt different,' remembered Dolores. 'After that, I started experiencing frequent flutters in my chest, sometimes waking me up at night. Eventually, I got scared enough to call my cardiologist,' she wrote. 'He gave me a heart monitor to wear, and within hours, he called to tell me I had AFib (atrial fibrillation). He referred me to an electrophysiologist, who confirmed the diagnosis,' added the New Jersey-born reality star. 'He told me, 'You're not the same girl I met two years ago when you came here with Paul.' Some of you may remember that my boyfriend, Paul Connell, was diagnosed with WPW (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome) and also needed an ablation.' Dolores offered a word to the wise to her fans: 'I'm sharing this because I want you to listen to your body. That racing or fluttering in your chest you feel doing simple tasks during the day- that's your body trying to tell you something. DON'T IGNORE THIS. AFib increases your risk of stroke or heart attack.' She crowed: 'I'm not 6 weeks out and back to myself! I'll be off all medication soon, and I haven't had any episodes since the procedure.' Dolores urged readers not to 'wait' as their 'heart health is not something to take lightly,' adding that she 'was truly in the best of hands' with her doctors and encouraging her public: 'Take care of yourself you deserve it!!' She began dating Paulie four years ago after they met in line at an Apple Store, and the pair have been living together for the bulk of that time. Her surname comes from her ex-husband Frank Catania, whom she was married to from 1994 to 1998, during which time they welcomed two children. Dolores has publicly claimed the marriage crumbled after she discovered that Frank cheated on her during her pregnancy with their son Frankie, 27.

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

The baldness cure that can cause permanent erectile dysfunction and suicidal thoughts. It cost PE teacher Sam his life... now doctors say patients MUST be warned

A powerful hair-loss treatment being touted by influencers on TikTok may trigger erectile dysfunction and even suicidal thoughts, experts have warned. Videos of young men proudly showing off their regrowth after taking the daily tablet dutasteride have racked up millions of views on the social media site.