Category: From Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Stick with the Winners! –

August 12, 2020 – 

Courtney Friel has been a news anchor at KTLA-TV, the number one news station in Los Angeles, since 2013. She also hosts the highly successful podcast “Keepin’ It Friel: Conversations on Recovery.” In 2007, at the age of 26, Friel was hired by Fox News Channel as a national news correspondent and fill-in host for “Fox & Friends,” where she worked for six years. She remains to this day the youngest on-air talent ever hired by the cable network. Previously she reported for CBS, ABC and Fox affiliate stations as well as shows including “America’s Most Wanted,” “Extra,” and “E! News.” Friel has more than a decade sober and speaks around the country on the topic of sobriety. Friel was born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia and currently resides in Los Angeles with her fiancé and two children.

Q. If you are in recovery, what was your Drug of Choice? When did you stop using?
A. Alcohol, Cocaine, Xanax, Adderall, Ambien. 09/09/09

Q. Have you ever been arrested and if so, for what?
A. No, thankfully.

Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice or a wicked twist of fate?
A. I believe some people’s brains are just wired differently and can’t just have one drink, we want to keep going and turn into not our best selves. If that’s an illness or disease then so be it.

Full profile @AREB

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

It works if you work it  –  

August 8, 2020 – The night of drinking would start respectably enough, but casual getting-to-know-you moments and conversations about schoolwork would devolve as it wore on. Like many people, I used alcohol as a social lubricant, filling awkward pauses with sips. A drink or two and I’d relax. Three drinks in, I’d lose all inhibitions. I call it ‘trauma bonding’ aka “Let me tell you the worst thing that’s ever happened to me! Now, it’s your turn…” — it’s typical of people when they’re drinking. Drunken oversharing may feel like a shortcut to intimacy, but you’re likely to forget half of what was said, so you’re not really building any kind of long-lasting friendship, and it seriously alienates anyone with a healthier sense of self.  The next day, I’d wake up — alone, if I was lucky — my head pounding, heart racing as memories of the night before flashed back to mind. Assuming I hadn’t lost it, I’d look down at my phone to find dozens of worried texts and missed calls. At some point I’d call the bar looking for my bank card and discover I’d racked up a hundred dollar tab. 

more@BusinessInsider

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Reefer Madness –  

August 3, 2020 – Scott Storch has been clean and sober for a decade, ad now he’s paying it forward by launching his own rehabilitation center. The musician made the grand announcement on Instagram where he shared a clip of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I spent 8 years addicted to drugs and was able to get sober and rebuild my life. . Now it’s my turn to help save lives with my cannabis for healing rehab @theheavenlycenterofficial.”

The Heavenly Center is an alcohol and drug rehab center in Studio City, California, and uses a unique model of cannabis as a part of its recovery and healing structure. The center also offers courses in music production, instrumentals, internet and radio broadcasting, light therapy, food as medicine, and much more. He and his business partner Steve Label hope to end the stigma surrounding cannabis use.

more@HotNewHipHop

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

The Power of the Ballot –

August 11, 2020 – The group began its work in earnest in 2018, working closely with Recovery PAC, which has reported over $200,000 in in-kind contributions for things such as media promotions and staffing and executive expenses from the group in the past two years. While Ryan Hampton, the group’s organizing director, says the group isn’t directly associated with any recovery centers in the state, the team is made up of individuals affected by addiction and mental health recovery.

“It’s really cool to be in recovery and be able to help mold the way Nevadans live with certain bills or issues that might be able to help somebody down the road,” said Phoenix Cutler, an organizer based out of Reno. “One of the big things I’m a huge advocate for is pay it forward.”

The organization is based out of Las Vegas, but has a network of organizers statewide, the majority of whom have life experience with addiction and are themselves in long-term recovery.

“People from the north, people from the south, it’s a very diverse group,” Hampton said. “It’s also bipartisan, made up of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.”

In addition to the poll, the group has been working to bring attention to recovery issues in the state, including hosting a series of town halls which included multiple legislators discussing how COVID-19 has affected addiction and mental health recovery as rates of overdoses and alcohol sales rise and providers seek to address the growing issue. For the last several weeks, the organization has been interviewing candidates for state office regarding their positions on addiction and mental health recovery in the hopes of releasing official endorsements prior to the general election in November.

more@TheNevadaIndependent

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Looking back, paying it forward –  

August 7, 2020 – Today, Kelly recalled these days while sharing her support with her long-time buddy who helped her these days. Unfortunately, her friend named Greta Barlow Clawson is the needed one these days because of his battle struggle with cancer.

Kelly has penned a great letter to raise her motivation and celebrated her birthday with a classy celebration message.

Here is the touching letter of Kelly Osbourne about his horrible addiction:

“When I walked into ‘the rooms’ 3 years ago I was scared, desperately unhappy, lonely and broken in every sense of the word. Greta Barlow Clawson was the first person to welcome me, make me feel comfortable, and take me under her wing.

This woman walked every single painstaking step of my recovery with me. I could not have gotten through it without her. Today is this incredible women’s birthday! I love you so much Greta it hurts!! Happy birthday my sweet bestie!

more@MetalheadZone

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Higher IQs? –

August 8, 2020 – For Darien, a 28-year-old tattoo shop manager, working in hospitality meant that alcohol was an unquestioned part of her daily life. “I was absolutely overloaded with labour and underpaid, very much a cog in a system in need of a huge overhaul. So I would start work at 11am and be drunk by 3pm. I’d drink teapot negronis all shift, washed down with a nice bottle of wine or a jug of beer when I clocked off,” she says. Like many people I spoke to while writing this article, Darien’s decision to embrace sobriety was directly related to her mental health. 

“I was having drinks in the park with friends and somewhere during the second beverage, it felt like an alarm system went off in my brain; I just didn’t feel safe. I didn’t want to feel intoxicated, I wanted the safety of sobriety and to keep hold of my mental tools. I left the park and walked around until I was sober. It took a few of these events before I picked a date and promised myself a year of sobriety, at the end of which I would take stock. It’s been about eight months and I have no plans of going back.” 

Prior to going sober, Brodie, a 25-year-old public health researcher, was a “complete binge drinker” who would struggle to limit herself to only one or two drinks. She chose sobriety for a variety of reasons. “I have family members that are or were full-blown alcoholics, and had a fear of ending up like them. My drinking was getting more regular and I kept embarrassing myself while drunk. Nothing too bad, but I don’t deal well with any embarrassment. 

“My mental health while sober was not great, but it was worse when I was drunk, and hungover.” 

Aside from avoiding embarrassment and bad hangovers, she’s found that her depression has improved significantly since being sober, and while she still has difficult periods, “…my coping mechanisms now are a lot healthier and I am better equipped to ride out the low times,” she says.

But there are also plenty of young people who don’t fall into the “problem drinker category” that are opting for sobriety. ​Kitch, a 24-year-old social content manager, describes her approach to drinking prior to going sober as “pretty normal”.

more@FashionJournal

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

The only dis-ease that KILLS OTHERS! –  

August 6, 2020 – According to an eyewitness, Whitaker’s demeanor showed she was “out of it” and appeared under the influence.

The arrest report also outlined that the driver did not recall the crash, only that she had a couple alcoholic beverages at a friend’s house. 

Whitaker also admitted to consuming methamphetamine, heroin and PCP earlier that same day.

When officers said that two people had died in the crash, Whitaker began crying and became apologetic, police said.  

Whitaker faces multiple charges including driving under the influence, reckless driving and failure to decrease speed.

more@News3LV

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Terrence Gorski died July 2. He will be missed! –  

2020 – Conducting a Relapse Autopsy is Crucial

So, if relapse is a process rather than an event, how does one identify their unique pattern and interrupt it early on? Start by asking the simple question, “what happened”? Ask this from a detached perspective, as if you were a scientist studying some natural phenomena. Adopt an attitude of curiosity and wonder rather than self-condemnation. The goal is greater awareness. Write a list of personal warning signs that lead you from stable recovery back to chemical use. Focus less on the moment of use; you are more interested in identifying the factors which led to that point.

• What were the stressors that were not sufficiently addressed?
• Were there any irrational thoughts that you could have disputed?
• Is there a primary emotional response that triggers your addictive act?
• Can you identify the absolute earliest moment when the thought of drug use entered your mind?
• Did you dismiss the thought of drug use as ridiculous or deny the possibility of using drugs again?

There is never just one warning sign, but usually a series of signs that build on one another. It is the cumulative effect of these factors that wears the individual down.

Relapse does not happen when the addict takes the first drink or drug. Relapse is a process that culminates in drug use. The relapse process causes the addict to feel pain and discomfort which in turn distorts the ability to think clearly. The pain and discomfort can become so intolerable that the addict becomes unable to live normally when not using.

more@RecoveryView

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

You have entered the Zoom Zone –

July 26, 2020 – Moreover, how that social interaction happens seems to matter. For instance, functional MRI data reveal that live face-to-face interactions, compared to viewing recordings, are associated with greater activation in the same brain regions involved in reward (ie, ACC, ventral striatum, amygdala).12 So, more active social connection is associated with more perceived reward, which in turn affects the very neurological pathways modulating alertness versus fatigue.

This neuropathophysiology may explain other proposed reasons for Zoom fatigue. For example, if the audio delays inherent in Zoom technology are associated with more negative perceptions and distrust between people, there is likely decreased reward perceived when those people are videoconferencing with each other. Another example is direct mutual gaze. There is robust evidence on how eye contact improves connection—faster responses13, more memorization of faces14, and increased likeability and attractiveness.15 These tools of social bonding that make interactions organically rewarding are all compromised over video. On video, gaze must be directed at the camera to appear as if you are making eye contact with an observer, and during conferences with 3 or more people, it can be impossible to distinguish mutual gaze between any 2 people.

Not only are rewards lessened via these social disconnections during videoconferencing compared to in-person interactions, but there are also elevated costs in the form of cognitive effort. Much of communication is actually unconscious and nonverbal, as emotional content is rapidly processed through social cues like touch, joint attention, and body posture.16 These nonverbal cues are not only used to acquire information about others, but are also directly used to prepare an adaptive response and engage in reciprocal communication, all in a matter of milliseconds.17 However, on video, most of these cues are difficult to visualize, since the same environment is not shared (limiting joint attention) and both subtle facial expressions and full bodily gestures may not be captured. Without the help of these unconscious cues on which we have relied since infancy to socioemotionally assess each other and bond, compensatory cognitive and emotional effort is required. In addition, this increased cost competes for people’s attention with acutely elevated distractions such as multitasking, the home environment (eg, family, lack of privacy), and their mirror image on the screen. Simply put, videoconferences can be associated with low reward and high cost.

more@PsychiatricTimes

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Speed is of the essence –

August 8, 2020 –  Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, methamphetamine seizures increased by 52 percent, which shows how widely available this deadly drug has become. We must implement a national, whole-of-government plan to address this threat before it becomes the next preventable drug overdose crisis in our country.”

“For years, meth has taken lives and destroyed families across America, particularly in the Midwest,” said Grassley. “Though this drug is not new, drug traffickers are finding new and harmful ways to increase meth’s potency and distribution, spiking overdose rates. By declaring meth an emerging drug threat, our bill helps law enforcement better respond to the challenges presented by drug traffickers’ evolving tactics, and urges our federal partners to continue to prioritize a response and strategy to address the meth crisis.”

What the bill does:…

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