Dear Readers: We have recently received a number of inquiries about how those with mental health disorders should approach dating relationships. Given the volume and intensity of the letters on this topic, we will create a “series” on this topic, each Tuesday for the next five weeks. Our team will devote a portion of the column to offering advice on this subject. Using this series format will allow us to explore a single topic in greater depth and detail, so I am hopeful that readers of the column will find it both informative and interesting. If feedback is positive, we will aim to continue to apply this series format to several other of today’s most relevant topics in the future.
Statistics on the prevalence of mental health disorders indicate that about one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental health condition in a given year. Despite their pervasiveness in modern society, however, there is still a significant stigma attached to mental health disorders, which can make dating with a mental health condition an isolating and challenging experience. Of course, the difficulty of entering into a romantic relationship as someone with a diagnosable mental health disorder will vary depending on the type of the disorder and its severity. Regardless, having a mental health disorder of any kind can make navigating the world of modern dating all the more complicated and confusing.
Next week, in an effort to assist those with mental health disorders who are looking to enter into healthy romantic relationships, we will publish our first piece of advice on this topic. In the meantime, the column will continue with its standard, familiar “question and answer” format, but please stay tuned for the next week’s initial installment of this series. Feel free to present any information, experiences or questions you may have on this subject, and we shall seek to provide as much comprehensive and targeted information as possible.
MOM WORRIES ABOUT EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE
DR. WALLACE: I’m a high school student and I live with my family here in Southern California. The other day I heard my parents talking about the tornadoes that have sprung up in various parts of the country, and this made my mother think again about the fact we live in earthquake country. My father didn’t seem too worried, but my mother was talking about learning what preventative measures our family might be able to take to protect our home as much as possible against a potential earthquake.
Do you think my mother is smart to consider this, or being overly worried? — Living in Earthquake Country, via email
LIVING IN EARTHQUAKE COUNTRY: Your mother is actually very wise to consider how best to keep your family home safe and intact as much as possible against natural disasters like earthquakes.
I don’t know what year your family home was built, but many seismic building codes were not in effect until the early 1980s. This means if your home was constructed prior to that it might be at a higher risk of sustaining damage during an earthquake. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) points out that some moderate preventative spending can potentially mitigate a much larger repair bill after an earthquake.
A typical retrofitting of a family home involves contractors utilizing the crawl space underneath the home to brace the walls and bolt the structure to the foundation. This usually takes a few days, and most projects can’t be completed for less than $10,000 total cost.
You can suggest to both of your parents that they look into the California Residential Earthquake Mitigation Program to see if they might qualify to receive a portion of the funds needed to install these preventative measures.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected] To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
