Category: From Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WHERE SHOULD THEY GO? – 

May 29, 2021- The city responded to more than a month of complaints and numerous Post queries by erecting barriers on Tuesday, closing off the northwest corner to both legal and illegal uses, while cops in recent nights have boosted their presence. But neighbors are still incensed by the condition of the park and what they believe are token efforts by the city to return it to lawfulness.

“The zombies are now near the fountain, as well as next to the chess [southwest] corner. They’ve simply moved up about 200 meters from the now shuttered end of the park,” one angry neighbor emailed The Post on Wednesday. “I think all hell is going to break loose.”

The Post toured the park this week, after the “drug den” was closed, and still found the flower beds littered with syringes and scores of empty drug capsules. A park gardener told Hill he found two dozen syringes while tending the grounds Wednesday morning. Another resident contacted The Post following a recent 8 a.m. stroll to the park’s dog run, reporting a female giving oral sex to a drug dealer, with other men “lined up for their turn” with their pants open.

Another neighbor captured video of illegal fireworks lighting the air above the arch in the early Friday morning hours, past the park’s unenforced midnight closing time. 

more@NYPost

The post Washington Square Park ‘drug den’ horrifies Greenwich Village neighbors appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES – 

May 22, 2021 – The word valedictorian comes from the Latin vale dicere or “to say farewell.” So it is a goodbye speech, but also a “Look at what we’ve done” speech. And what seniors have done this year has never been done before. From start to finish, this school year has been under a cloud. At some schools, the doors never opened and learning took place not in thousands of classrooms but in millions of bedrooms and kitchens, on back porches and in parking lots or wherever the WiFi signal was strongest. For those lucky enough to have classes in-person, the experience was masked and distanced, tracked and tested, and always a small coronavirus outbreak away from everyone being sent home. Anxiety was a constant, especially for administrators and staff and teachers — God bless the teachers — but also the students who didn’t want to bring covid-19 home to their parents and grandparents, who didn’t want to be part of worsening the worst health crisis of their lives.

So, yes, vale dicere to all that. Goodbye and good riddance. But also . . . look at what they’ve done.

more@WashingtonPost

The post Valedictorians discuss a year like no other appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

FINE, TOTALLY FINE –  

May 17, 2021 – For many of us, emerging from pandemic life has created a flurry of new emotions. A large body of research shows that labeling these emotions — something scientists call “affect labeling” — can calm your brain and reduce stress.

But psychologists say that many people make the mistake of trying to ignore negative feelings rather than acknowledging them.  “We think labeling the emotion will cause us to focus on it and accentuate it,” said Matt Lieberman, professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of the book “Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to…

more@NYTimes

The post How Are You, Really? appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

CHECK THE DSM-5 – 

May 17, 2021 – “But you can also look within a person’s life across people,” he continued, “and say that the average mental health state for people is to not be in a state of diagnosable disorder.” We apply the same way of thinking to physical health conditions, since “the average state of health for most human beings is to not be experiencing a cold or the flu.” Thankfully the mental health struggles that most of us face will be temporary—“sort of like wave,” as Schaefer described them. “They surge, they crest, and then for most people they recede.” Transcending Stigma. The impulse to set a high threshold for what we call “mental illness” actually may betray a pernicious form of stigma. It’s easier to see mental illness as something that happens to “those people” if it’s relatively rare. Conversely, the actual numbers suggest that going through a major mental and emotional challenge is typical of the human experience. Thankfully the work that Schaefer and others are doing has direct relevance to the dehumanizing stigma that continues to surround psychiatric illness. “You can think of pretty much any successful person you really admire,” said Schaefer, “and the odds are pretty good that they probably had a significant mental health problem at some point. That in and of itself is very reassuring and normalizing—and helps you realize you’re not alone.” That message can start early, with what we teach young people about mental health. “The main message for parents is one that emphasizes appropriate socialization around mental health problems, and early intervention,” Schaefer said. “Normalize talking about emotions and mental health. And make sure your kids know it’s perfectly acceptable to go to therapy.” We can also provide kids and teens with the tools they’ll need for managing mental health challenges—especially with the additional challenges brought about by COVID-related isolation. “Help them to cultivate the coping skills, the self-talk, and the daily routines that other areas of science have shown contribute to psychological resilience,” Schaefer advised, such as the research-backed practices of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

more@PsychologyToday

The post Why Is Mental Illness “Abnormal” If It’s So Common? appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

TIME WILL TELL – 

May 19, 2021 – THOUGHTS REVEALED: Millions of patients for the first time can easily read their doctors’ case notes, thanks to a new federal mandate that opens up online access to information that’s long been hidden from their view. But for some, the early results have been unsettling, writes POLITICO’s Mohana Ravindranath.

Patients have reported that physicians’ unfiltered assessments include language they find condescending, stigmatizing and cavalier. One person seeking help for pain said the doctor’s notes minimized the suffering and labeled the patient a drug seeker. Another patient who recently had a miscarriage said the notes showed little regard for her emotional state. In other instances, patients said immediate disclosures of abnormal test results have been confusing and alarming. 

“It can be both technically difficult, and difficult emotionally, to read. But it can be really important,” said Erin Gilmer, a health policy lawyer. “The way it’s been for so long is doctors can basically write anything in your records, and you wouldn’t know about it until and unless you did a records release.”

more@Politico

The post The pandemic brought addiction recovery online, what’s next? appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE – 

May 16, 2021 – As it turned out, Sertürner got addicted while doing the research.

And although he sounded the alarm, people didn’t listen. Within a couple of decades morphine was being mass produced by a major German pharmaceutical company. And it quickly became clear that Sertürner’s theory was wrong. People could be just as addicted to morphine.

So what did they do about it? Make heroin.

No, seriously. They made heroin.

Heroin was also really effective at treating pain, but at an even lower dose. So again, scientists reasons that not needing as much of it would make it a less addictive opioid.

In fact, in the early 1900s, a religious organization in the United States supplied free samples of heroin through the mail to try to wean people off of morphine.

Here’s your heroin, sir.

That did not work either.

Fast-forward about a century later and scientists have created opioids like Oxycontin, which again was supposed to be less addictive.

You’re probably seeing a trend here. Throughout history we’ve been trying to get the same painkiller benefits that opioids give us without creating a new addictive drug. But what happened is that we’ve just created more types of opioids that people are getting addicted to.

So why are opioids so addictive? And if we know they’re this addictive and that people are overdosing on them, why are they still being prescribed?

Well, they’re incredible painkillers. And a lot of people rely on them to deal with chronic pain from an injury or surgery or even cancer.

more@SciTechDaily

The post Can We Make Opioids Less Addictive? appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

CALIFORNIA SCAMMING – 

May 16, 2021- After years of study, a first-of-its-kind coalition of more than 50 groups — including the California Hospital Association, California Medical Association, county health directors, public safety officials and family-based organizations — intends to change that. The Behavioral Health Alliance’s new Blueprint for Behavioral Health offers a new path forward for addiction treatment and much more. The need for a new approach can be seen in public parks, under freeway overpasses and even in sober living homes. ragedy has provided a most unwelcome clarity. “What I’ve learned is that the better places aren’t these private programs,” she said. “It’s the public programs that take MediCal for low-income people where you get better care.

“I wish I had known that.”

Coalition members want everyone to know that, and they waste no words in saying so.

“They’re in a different world,” said Steve Fields, the Progress Foundation’s executive director, referring to California’s vast network of private treatment programs that run on private health insurance payments.

more@OCRegister

The post Plugging deadly holes in California’s treatment system appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

MORE THAN SMACK –  

May 17, 2021 – The study doesn’t cover the past year, in which the COVID-19 pandemic thrust national economies into crisis and reshaped how millions of people work. But its authors note that overwork has been on the rise for years due to phenomena such as the gig economy and telework — and they say the pandemic will likely accelerate those trends.

“Teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work,” Ghebreyesus said. “In addition, many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.”

Also, recessions like the one the world has seen in the past year are commonly followed by a rise in working hours, the researchers said.

The study found the highest health burdens from overwork in men and in workers who are middle-age or older. Regionally, people in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region had the most exposure to the risk. People in Europe had the lowest exposure.

In the U.S., less than 5% of the population is exposed to long work hours, according to a map the WHO published with the study. That proportion is similar to Brazil and Canada — and much lower than Mexico and in countries across most of Central and South America.

more@NPR

The post Overwork Kills Over 745,000 People A Year appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO DONUTS – 

May 17, 2021 – Walls, 50, has served the Long Branch Police Department for 19 years, but he was immediately suspended without pay after his arrest. He is facing multiple criminal counts, including second degree “risking widespread injury” and third degree “manufacturing CDS (methamphetamine).”

He faces a total of 60 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

“The officers in our agency risk their lives daily to protect and serve our residents,” said Acting Long Branch Police Chief Frank Rizzuto. “It is disappointing beyond measure that one of our officers could have risked the safety of his family and neighbors by engaging in such dangerous conduct. This officer’s actions do not reflect the moral compass of our officers or this agency.”

Long Branch police were called to Walls’ house at 10:36 pm on Sunday night, receiving a report of a domestic disturbance. When officers arrived, another person in the house said Walls was involved in “suspicious narcotics activity,” according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni.

The New Jersey State Police and the Hazmat Unit responded to the scene. They found “materials, chemicals and instruments consistent with a methamphetamine laboratory in both the basement of the residence and in a shed on the property,” according to the prosecutor. Methamphetamine residue was discovered in chemistry-related glassware at the site, according to the New Jersey State Police.

The prosecutor’s office and Long Branch Police narcotics unit also revealed Walls was in possession of books related to making methamphetamine, explosives and poison.

Police also found a large, open and unsecured gun safe in the house, which contained two long guns, four handguns, eight ‘high-capacity’ magazines, and a large quantity of ammunition.

more@PIX11

The post Veteran cop charged with cooking meth in basement appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

NOT TIME TO GO ‘HOME’ YET –  

May 18, 2021 – “A medication-first approach allows patients to first be stabilized on medication, and then be brought into the right level of care to fit their needs — therefore decreasing the risk of overdose and relapse.” Medication-assisted treatment can increase retention rates in treatment and patients’ ability to gain and maintain employment, as well as reducing the need for inpatient detox, improving birth outcomes among pregnant women, sustaining recovery and reducing opioid overdose, Kuehl said.

Kuehl pointed to research finding that new users of syringe programs are five times more likely to enter drug treatment and about three times more likely to stop using drugs than those who don’t participate.

more@DailyNews

The post LA County expands Naloxone distribution among homeless appeared first on Addiction/Recovery eBulletin.