Author: bkellaway

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Online for life? –  

August 28, 2020 – Call people: Most support groups will offer a phone list of members. If you like the way a person shares about their recovery, call them after the meeting and talk to them. This is welcome and a good way to build a support system. Connection is critical to recovery.

Meditation apps: There are many apps, and even some online groups, that teach and support a meditation practice. Meditation can bring a sense of calm and connection. When part of a daily practice and used in conjunction with support groups and a support system, meditation can be effective in decreasing urges to drink/use and give a sense of well-being.

Volunteer: Called “service work” in 12-step programs, helping others is one way to make meaning, get out of your own damaging thoughts, and contribute to making a better community. While some service work is sobriety-related, other efforts may involve community service or social activism. Some volunteer activities can be done online or at home. Foster a dog. Help people register to vote. Raise money for a charity that’s important to you. There are many ways to be of service to others. Focus on what you can control: There are parts of our lives over which we do have a fair bit of control. What are you doing to sleep well? Are you exercising? How is your nutrition? Are you bathing and getting dressed? The more you do to maintain a healthy routine, the better you will feel, especially if you are taking care of your basic needs in a healthy and responsible way.

Speak up: If you need help, ask for it. If you are struggling with addiction or mental health issues, let people know, and keep letting people know until you find the help and support you need. Talk about what’s bothering you. Friends or family may not be able to change what’s going on, but they can give you space to feel what needs to be felt, so that you can develop healthy coping mechanisms and develop resiliency.

Go to treatment: If you are unable to get or stay sober in the relative isolation that the pandemic has caused, residential treatment is an option. Many treatment facilities across the country have room at present. Treatment facilities are doing everything in their power to keep Covid-19 out of facilities through screenings and safety protocols. Now is a great time to get help in a residential treatment program.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Everyone should start an “artdiction” exhibit –  

August 28, 2020 – SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Tallgrass Recovery Art Show this Friday in Sioux Falls is giving people dealing with addiction to drugs and alcohol an outlet to talk about it.

More than 25 pieces will be on display at Post Pilgrim Gallery Friday night. Creator Joan Zephier says everyone is welcome to attend the event. She says the pandemic has caused a lot of struggle for people in addiction and recovery.

“We’re already isolated as a group and then to add something that we’re really isolated, so relapse was higher,” Zephier said.

The Recovery Art Show is free and is open from 6-9 p.m. at Post Pilgrim. There will be food and “live” music. Masks are required for the event.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

“Sisters are doin’ it by themselves” –

August 28, 2020 – From my work at Wellbridge Addiction Treatment and Research, I have seen, first-hand, the danger of heightened risk for alcohol and drug abuse that has resulted from COVID-19. Social isolation coupled with job losses, financial frustrations, and health concerns have caused many people to look for new outlets to relax, relieve stress, and provide entertainment.

While substance use disorder (SUD) has always been a global health concern, never in my 14 years as a licensed clinician have I seen such a concerning impact upon my field. Due to the pandemic, there have been disturbing increases in reports of alcohol sales, overdoses, and addiction relapses. In March, the first month of quarantine, alcohol sales rose 55% from last year.

When you’re home all day, the hours can blend together, boundaries may disappear, and suddenly it’s more difficult to distinguish when lunchtime turns to cocktail hour. Or perhaps, reaching for a cocktail signals that it’s finally time to relax and unwind. For women, moderate drinking is defined as one drink per day, while heavy drinking is defined as eight drinks or more per week. 

Zoom “happy hours” sprung up in the early days of the pandemic, which at the time provided a much-needed way for people, especially women, to connect with friends. But as these get-togethers mainly revolved around drinking alcohol, they sometimes perpetuated the desire to consider a second, third, or even fourth glass of wine or cocktail. As the weeks in quarantine piled up, so did alcohol consumption. Additionally, social media has played a significant role in bolstering this behavior with alcohol-related memes, including “quarantinis,” making light of the “need to drink” mentality to get through this difficult time.

more@SWAAY

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Cartoon character needs AA –

AUGUST 28, 2020 – Nicolas Cage will play an alcoholic, TV-loving dragon in Amazon’s TV adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s Highfire novel at Amazon, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed today.Davey Holmes (Epix’s Get Shorty, Shameless) is writing the series and will serve as an executive producer alongside Cage and Andrew Mittman of 1.21.

Colfer is known for writing the Artemis Fowl series of YA novels, which recently received a film adaptation from director Kenneth Branagh (the movie is now streaming on Disney+). Highfire was published in January of this year.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

The Doctor’s Opinion

August 31, 2020 – In October 1966 Stine Labs, a division of Du Pont pharmaceuticals, developed and released the drug Symmetrel (Amantadine).  It had proven to be effective prevention against Influenza A. Shortly thereafter, in 1968/9 the Hong Kong flu reached pandemic proportions and doctor’s testing this drug found that not only did it prevent the potent flu virus, it worked for treatment too.  In the late sixties and early seventies, more and more evidence was mounting that we had an effective antiviral to prevent and treat flu.  Ten years later, in October 1976, the FDA gave Du Pont permission to advertise Symmetrel for both prevention and treatment of Influenza A.  It so happens that all the major flu epidemics and pandemics of the 20^th century were type A, so we had a very powerful weapon against this viral disease.  The drug works by preventing the un-coating and release of viral RNA in the host cells, thereby stopping the spread of the virus within 24 hours.  The COVID-19 novel Coronavirus is an RNA virus, so logic would dictate that this drug would also be effective again the current pandemic. https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc7290190

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the following article does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Addiction/Recovery eBulletin or official policies of the Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

And the young shall lead them… –

AUGUST 31, 2020 – As Rumer explains now, she’s learned that it was never in her power to fix her mom. And she credits communities like Al-Anon, a recovery space for friends and family of alcoholics, with helping give her the support she needed to move on.

These days, Rumer and Demi (and Scout and Tallulah and Bruce) are all on the sober train, and find great strength in each other. In fact, Rumer says it was mom Demi in part who inspired her to get sober herself: “I was the last one [in my family] to get sober,” she admits. “And so also at that point I was like, ‘man, I can’t be the only one left here. This sucks.’” Three years sober and counting, Rumer is far from alone. And each time she shares her journey like this, she helps viewers everywhere feel less alone too.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Fly the 420 Friendly Skies –  

August 25, 2020 – The percentage of working Americans testing positive for drugs climbed last year, particularly for marijuana, according to a new report, indicating employee drug use was on the rise just as the coronavirus pandemic created new stresses. 

Overall, the proportion of U.S. workers who tested positive for drugs in urine in 2019 rose to 4.5%, the highest level in 16 years, according to Quest Diagnostics Inc., one of the largest drug-testing laboratories in the U.S., which analyzed approximately nine million tests last year on behalf of employers.

That percentage was 29% higher than the 30-year low of 3.5% a decade ago, in the early days of a resurgent heroin epidemic in the U.S. In more recent years, more positive tests for methamphetamine and cocaine have helped to fuel the increase in the share of employees testing positive for drugs. 

more@WSJ

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Doing Good by Doing Good –

August 24, 2020 – The building was put up for auction in July with Fisher Auction Co., with a $5.5 million minimum bid. It was previously asking $12.9 million.

According to information provided for the auction, the building is on 2 acres and was updated in 2001 and retrofitted into an Everest University career college. After Everest opted not to renew its lease, which expired in 2017, Meyers Group bought a portion of the property, and in 2019 turned it into a 144-unit apartment building with monthly rents starting at $1,750. That apartment building, Avery Pompano Beach, shares a four-story parking structure with the sold office tower. The apartment building and an HSBC bank onsite were not part of the sale.

A document provided with the auction said the building can expand by about 40,000 square feet and be converted into an assisted living facility, a hotel or apartments. Market rents include $12 to $17 for office space, $14 to $19 for medical offices and $27 to $30 for retail.

Pompano Beach is seeing some major development projects. In June, the developer of a 122-unit multifamily project in Pompano Beach with workforce housing got the green light after a redesign.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

The Majesty of Marriage –  

August 26, 2020 – Brett Favre is marred to Deanna Favre. Deanna is an author. She’s written two books: “Don’t Bet Against Me” and “The Cure for the Chronic Life: Overcoming the Hopelessness That Holds You Back” (co-written with Shane Stanford). The first was written about her battle with breast cancer. They both grew up in a tiny town called Kiln, Mississippi, and began dating at Kiln Hancock North Central High School. Deanna graduated in 1986 and played basketball on scholarship at a nearby community college. Brett finished up high school a year later, and Deanna transferred to the University of Southern Mississippi to be with him. In 1996, while Brett was an established quarterback in the NFL, Deanna Tynes took her partner’s last name and the two tied the knot. Deanna has two siblings. Her brother, Casey, died in 2004 following a tragic ATV accident in Hattiesburg.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Life’s Struggle –

August 29, 2020 – YouTube star and young father Landon Clifford hanged himself after struggling with depression and drug addiction for years, his heartbroken wife told their nearly 1.4 million subscribers. Camryn Clifford, 19, talks about her husband’s death in a 36-minute video that she posted to their popular Cam&Fam YouTube channel Thursday. He was only 19, too.

The emotional video, titled “My Husband Passed Away/Telling His Story,” details how Camryn found Landon hanging in the garage after he’d told her was going to take a bath – and how she cut him down with a knife before calling 911. Landon lingered six days in a coma before doctors declared him brain dead on Aug. 18.

“He has had mental health issues for as long as I have known him. He suffered from anxiety and depression. He has ADHD which he has had since he was a little boy, so his whole life he’s always just kind of struggled with his emotions and just the way his brain was wired,” Camryn said.

Landon had seen a psychiatrist about his panic attacks, depression and difficulty focusing. He was taking three medications.

“It was kind of a lethal mixture of these two very strong, heavy drugs, both very addicting and he just kind of fell into a hole,” Camryn told subscribers. “He needed the uppers to get up in the morning and downers to slow down at night. And the more downers he took at night the more uppers he needed to get up … So it was a very, very vicious cycle and he just kept taking more and more and needed more for his body to feel his effects.”

more@NYPost

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