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Why some people stay with their partners even after abuse
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No Caption - photo by Herb Scribner
Celebrity news went into a frenzy on Monday when reports surfaced that hip-hop stars and former celebrity couple Rihanna and Chris Brown are thinking about getting back together.

The celebs, who broke up in 2013 after a tumultuous relationship that included Brown assaulting Rihanna in 2009 before that years Grammy Awards, were seen speaking through FaceTime, according to The International Business Times.

[Rihanna] is taking it slowly, one source said, according to The IB Times. She still loves Chris and wants to make sure that this time they do it right.

Brown and Rihanna are not unlike a significant amount of other Americans who have experienced an abusive relationship. As a matter of fact, 24 percent of women and 14 percent of men over the age of 18 have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to The National Domestic Violence Hotline.

And some of them choose to stay in their harmful relationships, even long after the abuse has occurred. One example of this is the NFLs Ray Rice and Janay Palmer, who got married even after violent video footage leaked of Rice abusing Palmer.

There are a lot of reasons abuse victims will stay with their partner, according to The Domestic Abuse Project. Some victims worry that their partner would take violent action against them if they ended the relationship. Others are concerned that their partner would spread rumors or misinformation about them to others if the relationship ended, according to the DAP.

Mental abuse may also make it difficult to leave, according to the DAP. Some abuse victims feel as though theyre worth nothing and they dont deserve better, which makes them happy to stay in the relationship or return to it. Victims also may be so used to the lifestyle of their abusive relationships that they come back to it when they cant find another partner, according to the DAP.

People wind up blaming themselves for the abusive behavior of their partners, Craig Malkin, a clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School, told Time magazine last year. They convince themselves if they approach the person differently, maybe they wont be abused.

But sometimes partners stay for reasons other than themselves. Victims may also have concerns that their abusive partner will hurt their children through kidnapping or physical abuse, according to the DAP.

Some victims want their children to have a two-parent real family so badly that theyll stick with the abusive relationship, too, the DAP reported.

And one in three domestic violence victims will stay with their partner because they dont want to leave their pet with their partner, which I wrote about in April of this year.

In fact, almost one out of every four domestic violence victims actually return to their abuser because they were concerned for their pets well-being, according to a report from The Humane Society.

Sadly, domestic violence is something one in every four women will experience at some point in their lives, Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said in a press release. This isolating experience is made even worse for those who fear for the safety of their pet. Most pet lovers, including me, consider their beloved dog or cat a part of their family.

And, over time, the desire to leave may dwindle even more, especially as the relationship continues to intensify, Malkin told Time magazine.

Eventually theres sort of this wearing down for people on the receiving end of the abuse where they continue to tolerate more and over time feel less entitled to safety, Malkin told Time.

Still, its a complicated process for abuse victims, according to Leslie Morgan Steiner of CNN. Oftentimes, abuse victims will love their partner so much that they cant imagine a life without them, even if the relationship is full of torment and abuse, Steiner said.

Like in the case of Rihanna and Chris Brown, sometimes love is so strong that they will stick together or get back together even after the damage is done.

The answer is as complicated as love itself, Steiner wrote. We victims tend to be hope junkies, open-hearted and optimistic. We believe that our loved ones are capable of change. Some would say we are nave. Others say we are too kind or too forgiving. Often we cannot find the courage to leave an abusive relationship until our life (or our children's safety) has been threatened.

There are warning signs to help women avoid domestic abusive relationships from the start. Some of those warning signs include the abuser criticizing their partners friendships, food choices and weekend plans.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.