a work in progress

Recovery Tweets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

The rehab racket: The way we treat #addiction is a costly, dangerous mess http://t.co/R3Lwq3hvGg via @motherjones
— jmpoole.com (@jmpoolecom) May 19, 2015

Tweets from https://twitter.com/jmpoolecom/lists/recovery

Tweets by @jmpoolecom

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New Years Eve Drinking, Embarrassingly Drunk?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

An honest assessment from one who's "been there:"

I used to get embarrassingly drunk on New Year's Eve. Then I quit drinking at all | Melissa Petro | The Guardian: ".... There was a time that I drank to relax and have fun. Then I discovered that the nervousness that crippled me at cocktail parties and the financial pressure I felt knowing I’d spent too much money on holiday gifts dissolved in my in my vodka seltzer (easy on the seltzer). I even found I could ignore the concern for my waistline when I ate that third or fourth canapé, so long as the eggnog was spiked. When drugs and alcohol were on the scene, I was doing them. People drink to soften the edges, I often told myself – but my edges were too jagged to be smoothed away with one beer and being under the influence only made my anxieties worse. Other areas of my life deteriorated: I gained weight, I went deeper into debt and, worst of all, I made a mess of many of my relationships. So then I got sober. But it didn’t fix everything – let alone make for an enjoyable holiday. My first New Year’s Eve after getting sober, I was fighting with my live-in boyfriend at the time and deeply unhappy with my life. In tears, I’d locked myself in the bathroom, and cried because eight months of abstinence from alcohol had done as little to wash away my problems as drinking had. That was seven years ago. I learned that sobriety is about more than putting down the glass – it’s about addressing the issues that made me feel like I needed the drink in the first place, which I’ve done with some assistance. But the issues still resurface every holiday. The temptations are everywhere. From endless parties and family gatherings you feel obligated to attend, to the rich foods you regrettably indulge in, and the expensive presents you feel compelled to purchase but can’t afford, it’s a time of year engineered for consumption. For a “more” girl like me, it can be hard to say “no”...." (read more at the link above)

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Middle-Aged People More Likely to Die From Drinking Than Students

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Informative study reported by Bloomberg:

Middle-Aged Are More Likely to Die From Drinking Than Students - Bloomberg: "Middle-aged Americans are far more likely to die from alcohol poisoning than college students, belying the notion that binge drinking mostly plagues younger adults. Three-quarters of alcohol-poisoning deaths occur in people ages 35 to 64, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today in a report. Most of the deaths are among men and non-Hispanic whites. “This study shows that alcohol poisoning deaths are not just a problem among young people,” Robert Brewer, the CDC’s alcohol program lead and the report’s coauthor, said today in a statement. “It also emphasizes the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to reducing binge drinking.” More than 2,200 Americans die from alcohol poisoning a year, an average of six a day, the CDC said." (read more at the link above)

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Drug Use by Children, Hospital Admissions Rise

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Jerusalem Dispatch
Drug use by children leads to hospital admissions rise
BBC News
"But any increase in hospital admissions relating to illegal drug misuse ... He added: "Gone are the days when those suffering from drug addiction ...
Increase in child drug admissions - The Courier

Addicted: Looking at causes and antidotes to the drug problem in the county
Stillwater Gazette
“A lot of times I would walk down these halls blacked out on drugs.” ... Opiate addiction rarely starts by sticking a needle of heroin in your arm, and law ...

WSMV Nashville
Those struggling with addiction often seek help during holidays
WSMV Nashville
When it comes to addiction, the numbers are staggering. Each year, about half a million people die from drug abuse. About 100 people die each day ...

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Breaking the Chains of Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

AsiaOne
More people seeking help to break chains of addiction
AsiaOne
SINGAPORE - More people here are seeking help to kick their addictions, which include drugs, alcohol and gambling, according to Singapore's ...

Grant to boost Hall inmates' drug treatment
Gainesville Times
As the program currently operates, New Hope Counseling comes in twice a week to give drug counseling with a certified addiction counselor. The new ...

Raising awareness about addiction
So Md News
The rate of drug use in Southern Maryland seems to be measured by ... said Emily Harman, a member of Parents Affected By Addiction, a regional ...

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Alcohol and Addiction News Digest, December 27, 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000

News DIGEST:

Violent Crime Decreases After San Francisco Stopped Prosecuting DrugUsers
Reason (blog)
Suhr is no fan of drug legalization. He views drug addiction as a serious public health problem, a debatable assertion with its own set of dubious ...

News Item
Drug dealer gets 10 to 20 years
News Item
The state Attorney General's Office said he was dealing drugs with a ... who claimed Picarella preyed on their drug addiction by trading heroin for sex.

Burlington Times News
Targeted treatment
Burlington Times News
Drug addiction is one of the root causes of crime and one of the greatest predictors a person will commit more crimes. Studies show as many as 80 ...

Woman Steals Guitar to Buy Food and Drugs
ABC News
Woman Steals Guitar to Buy Food and Drugs. More. Part 3: Smiley says she stole a guitar because of her drug addiction and recent life struggles.

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Alcohol and Addiction News Digest, December 20, 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000

NEWS digest:

Drug Discovery & Development
Link found between brain chemical, drug addicts
Economic Times
Once drug use escalated and became frequent, the anti-addiction effect of ... pharmaceutical therapies to help prevent and treat drug addiction.

St. George Daily Spectrum
Recent news stories on drug busts lead to online debate
St. George Daily Spectrum
These same people also felt drug addiction should be dealt with as a health ... With drug use comes violent crime, so if we allow it to take hold in our ...

Scotland approves new drug for alcoholics (VIDEO)
Malay Mail Online
GLASGOW, Dec 6 ― Scotland is the first country to give approval to a new pill that helps patients reduce their alcohol dependency, according to a ...

Kiran Bedi suggests three-pronged strategy to PM Modi to curb drug menace
Oneindia
In 1986, I started seeing our youth getting trapped into drug addiction. After that we witnessed a sharp rise in the cases of crimes. All types of crimes ...

U-T San Diego
Father-and-son authors writing book on drug abuse
Town Hall
According to Houghton Mifflin, the new book will draw upon research into drugs and drug addiction to help teens and tweens make "informed ...

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No Such Thing as a Glamorous Drunk

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000

From Johnny Depp to Hunter S Thompson: no such thing as a glamorous drunk | Film | The Guardian: ".... Today, for the first time in years, I recall that night at the Iron Horse and the mounting irritation and disappointment of the audience there. If Depp ever wanted to be Thompson, he can now tick that goal off his list. His weekend performance was arguably more authentic than the ones he gave in Fear and Loathing and The Rum Diary. His performance was a triumph; he caught the man to perfection. He was dull and confused. All that was missing was the whisk."

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Sunk Cost Bias, Meditate for 15 Minutes, Debias the Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000

We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.

"A new study finds that just 15 minutes mindfulness meditation can help free the mind of biased thinking. The research, published in the journal Psychological Science, tested the effects of meditation on a well-established mental bias called the ‘sunk cost’ bias (Hafenbrack et al., 2013). The sunk cost bias refers to the fact that people find it difficult to give up on a goal into which they’ve already made a large investment. Even once the goal has gone stale or proven unworkable, there’s a tendency to throw good money (or effort) after bad, simply because a significant investment has already been made. “Well,” people say to themselves. “We’ve come this far…” The effects of the ‘sunk cost’ bias can be seen in public projects that go way over budget and in military campaigns which continue long after their objectives have proven unworkable... One of the strengths of meditation is that it shifts mental focus into the present moment. In comparison to a control condition, thinking mindfully doubled the number of people who could avoid the sunk cost bias." read more: Meditation Can ‘Debias’ the Mind in Only 15 Minutes — PsyBlog

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Meditation, Taming the Voice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:00:00 +0000

"The voice in your head is what takes you out of the present.... when you find yourself running through your trip to the airport for the seventeenth time, perhaps ask yourself the following question: ‘Is this useful’?”(source infra)

How to be 10% Happier | Farnam Street:

How to mediate
1. Sit comfortably. You don’t have to be cross-legged. Plop yourself in a chair, on a cushion, on the floor —wherever. Just make sure your spine is reasonably straight.
2. Feel the sensations of your breath as it goes in and out. Pick a spot: nostrils, chest, or gut. Focus your attention there and really try to feel the breath. If it helps to direct your attention, you can use a soft mental note, like “in” and “out.”
3. This one, according to all of the books I’d read, was the biggie. Whenever your attention wanders, just forgive yourself and gently come back to the breath. You don’t need to clear the mind of all thinking; that’s pretty much impossible. (True, when you are focused on the feeling of the breath, the chatter will momentarily cease, but this won’t last too long.) The whole game is to catch your mind wandering and then come back to the breath, over and over again.

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Walter Mischel, The Marshallow Test, Self-Control

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Mischel believes that the skills which enable us to delay gratification are the same skills that allow us to make other good choices despite temptations to do otherwise. “We’ve found a way to really improve human choice and freedom,” he told me. “If we have the skills to allow us to make discriminations about when we do or don’t do something, when we do or don’t drink something, and when we do and when we don’t wait for something, we are no longer victims of our desires.”

Walter Mischel, The Marshallow Test, and Self-Control: "The longer a child delayed gratification, Mischel found—that is, the longer she was able to wait—the better she would fare later in life at numerous measures of what we now call executive function. She would perform better academically, earn more money, and be healthier and happier. She would also be more likely to avoid a number of negative outcomes, including jail time, obesity, and drug use... Mischel has consistently found that the crucial factor in delaying gratification is the ability to change your perception of the object or action you want to resist. Trying to avoid the tasty treat in front of your nose? Put a frame around it in your mind, as if it were a picture or photograph, to make the temptation less immediate. One boy in Mischel’s test was initially unable to wait, but, with careful instruction, eventually learned to hold out. When Mischel asked him what had changed, the boy replied, “You can’t eat a picture.” Mischel used a different kind of picturing when he quit smoking—he replaced his pleasurable associations with cigarettes with the image of the man in the hospital. The key, it turns out, is learning to mentally “cool” what Mischel calls the “hot” aspects of your environment: the things that pull you away from your goal. Cooling can be accomplished by putting the object at an imaginary distance (a photograph isn’t a treat), or by re-framing it (picturing marshmallows as clouds not candy). Focussing on a completely unrelated experience can also work, as can any technique that successfully switches your attention...." (read more at the link above)

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Hack Your Brain's Default Mode with Meditation (video)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Dan Harris: Hack Your Brain's Default Mode with Meditation -

Dan Harris explains the neuroscience behind meditation, but reminds us that the ancient practice isn't magic and likely won't send one floating into the cosmic ooze. He predicts that the exercise will soon become regularly scheduled maintenance, as commonplace as brushing your teeth or eating your veggies. Harris, an ABC News correspondent, was turned on to mediation after a live, on-air panic attack. His latest book is 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story (http://goo.gl/wfSX4E).

Transcript - There’s no way a fidgety and skeptical news anchor would ever have started meditating were it not for the science. The science is really compelling. It shows that meditation can boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, help you deal with problems ranging from irritable bowel syndrome to psoriasis. And the neuroscience is where it really gets sci-fi. There was a study out of Harvard that shows that short daily doses of meditation can literally grow the gray matter in key areas of your brain having to do with self-awareness and compassion and shrink the gray matter in the area associated with stress.

There was also a study out of Yale that looked at what’s called the default mode network of the brain. It’s a connected series of brain regions that are active during most of our waking hours when we’re doing that thing that human beings do all the time which is obsessing about ourselves, thinking about the past, thinking about the future, doing anything but being focused on what’s happening right now. Meditators not only turn off the default mode network of their brain while they’re meditating but even when they’re not meditating. In other words, meditators are setting a new default mode. And what’s that default mode? They’re focused on what’s happening right now.

In sports this is called being in the zone. It’s nothing mystical. It’s not magical. You’re not floating off into cosmic ooze. You are just being where you are – big cliché in self-help circles is being in the now. You can use that term if you want but because it’s accurate. It’s slightly annoying but it’s accurate. It’s more just being focused on what you’re doing. And the benefits of that are enormous. And this is why you’re seeing these unlikely meditators now, why you’re seeing the U.S. Marines adopting it, the U.S. Army, corporate executives from the head of Ford to the founders of Twitter. Athletes from Phil Jackson to many, many Olympians. Scientists, doctors, lawyers, school children. There’s this sort of elite subculture of high achievers who are adopting this because they know it can help you be more focused on what you’re doing and it can stop you from being yanked around by the voice in your head.

My powers of prognostication are not great. I bought a lot of stock in a company that made Palm Pilot back in 2000 and that didn’t go so well for me. But having said that I’m going to make a prediction. I think we’re looking at meditation as the next big public health revolution. In the 1940s if you told people that you went running they would say, who’s chasing you. Right now if you tell people you meditate – and I have a lot of experience with telling people this, they’re going to look at you like you’re a little weird most of the time. That’s going to change. Meditation is going to join the pantheon of no brainers like exercise, brushing your teeth and taking the meds that your doctor prescribes to you. These are all things that if you don’t do you feel guilty about. And that is where I think we’re heading with meditation because the science is so strongly suggestive that meditation can do really, really great things for your brain and for your body.

The common assumption that we have, and it may be subconscious, is that our happiness really depends on external factors – how was our childhood, have we won the lottery recently, did we marry well, did we marry at all. But, in fact, meditation suggests that happiness is actually a skill, something you can train just the way you can train your body in the gym. It’s a self-generated thing. And that’s a really radical notion. It doesn’t mean that external circumstances aren’t going to impact your happiness. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to be subject to the vagaries of an impermanent, entropic universe. It just means you are going to be able to navigate this with a little bit more ease.

Directed / Produced by Jonathan Fowler, Elizabeth Rodd, and Dillon Fitton.
Published on Aug 19, 2014

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Drew Pinsky, board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Triangulation 166 | TWiT.TV: "Host: Leo Laporte interviews Dr. Drew Pinsky, an American board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist, and radio and television personality. He is best known for his work on the radio show Loveline, the TV show Celebrity Rehab, and the podcasts he cohosts with Adam Carolla."

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Heroin and Prescription-Pill Epidemic, Staten Island

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000

How Staten Island Is Fighting a Raging Heroin and Prescription-Pill Epidemic: "....“So we did heroin, and I overdosed, and the guy with the naloxone injected me with it, and all I remember is waking up and feeling so horrible that I thought the people I was with were being mean to me. I didn’t thank anybody for saving me—I was only angry and upset that they had made me feel like this. The withdrawal came on immediately and it was very, very painful, like twenty times worse than the worst flu I ever had. But without the naloxone I don’t know what would have happened. The thought of being left passed out where I was still scares me. We were homeless junkies. Nobody who saw me would have bothered with me. No way anybody would’ve called 911.” She talked about her recovery and what it still involves. I asked her what she imagined would be the best possible result of the work she’s doing, and she said, “I love that question!” Her voice brightened completely. “We’re going to stop this opioid pandemic!” she said, and began to explain how." (read more at link above)

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Lessons From My 20s, By Ryan Allis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Lessons From My 20s - By Ryan Allis

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Alcohol Attributable Deaths, New Mexico Leads US

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000

• Chart: New Mexico Leads the U.S. in Alcohol Attributable Deaths | Statista:
Alcohol Attributable Deaths, New Mexico Leads US

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Addictions, Habits, Osmo (video)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Osmo from Vadim Draempaehl on Vimeo.
A short movie about... well... I think it's about habits or addictions you can't get rid of...................?

Directed by Vadim Draempaehl
Produced by Tina Draempaehl
3d modelling and animation by Vadim Draempaehl
Compositing and background modelling by Tina Draempaehl
Additional 3d modelling by Andras Kavalecz
Music by Ben Kloss
SoundFx by Sibin Vassilev
Renderservice by MBA Studios
Funding: Spellcraft Studio and Osmo Studio
.
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Power, Dependency, Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000

And codependency --

Power and Dependency | Big Think | Influence, Power, & Politics: ".... Much of what makes us miserable in life comes from seeking what others won’t or can’t give us. By continuing to let them determine our happiness, we give power to the wrong people. When feeling deprived of something important, consider whether you’ve given power to the wrong person or people. It may seem at first that there is no choice. But it can be wonderfully freeing to discover that indeed there is and that choice puts power back in your hands."

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Lies, Your Mind, Life Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000

The Lies Your Mind Tells You to Prevent Life Changes : zenhabits: ".... First, the main principle: the mind wants comfort, and is afraid of discomfort and change. The mind is used to its comfort cocoon, and anytime we try to push beyond that comfort zone very far or for very long, the mind tries desperately to get back into the cocoon. At any cost, including our long-term health and happiness.... The key is to learn whether they’re true, and see your pattern. Here’s what I’ve done:

Notice the excuse. It has way more power if it works on you in the background.
Try to have an answer for the excuse beforehand — anticipate it.
If you give in, that’s OK, but recognize that you’re giving in to a lame excuse. Be aware of what you’re doing.
After giving in, see what the results are. Are you happier? Is your life better? Was it worth it giving in to discomfort?
Learn from those results. If you pushed through and are happy about it, remember that. If you gave in to excuses, and didn’t like the result, remember that.

If you consciously practice this process, you’ll get better at recognizing and not believing these lies. And then, bam, you’ve got your mind working for you instead of against you."

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How to Look Stupid, Hold A Beer in Your Hand

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Alcohol and Stupid Behavior--

How to Look Smart - Julie Beck - The Atlantic: "Speaking of incompetence: don’t drink in public, at least not at work functions. The perceived association between alcohol and stupid behavior is so strong, according to a 2013 study, that merely holding a beer makes you appear dumber *"

*Rick and Schweitzer, “The Imbibing Idiot Bias” (Journal of Consumer Psychology, April 2013)

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Alcohol, deadliest drug in the US

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Alcohol, the deadliest drug--

Alcohol is still the deadliest drug in the United States, and it’s not even close - The Washington Post: "... Which intoxicating substance is associated with the most lethal violence? Devotees of the Wire might presume that cocaine or maybe heroin would top the list, especially if you asked the worst causes of violence in poor, minority communities. The correct answer, by far, is alcohol. It’s involved in more homicides than pretty much every other substance, combined. Alcohol’s relative importance has grown over the last fifteen years, as aging populations of cocaine users account for a declining proportion of violent crime. Here in Chicago, positive cocaine screens in the Cook County Jail are down by about half when compared with ten or twenty years ago. The same is true in many other cities.Surveys of people incarcerated for violent crimes indicate that about 40% had been drinking at the time they committed these offenses. Among those who had been drinking, average blood-alcohol levels were estimated to exceed three times the legal limit. Drinking is especially common among perpetrators of specific crimes, including murder, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence...." (read more at link above)

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Addiction, Early America, C-SPAN video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Addiction Early America | Video | C-SPAN.org: "Panelists talked about how different social groups used and abused laudanum, opium, and alcohol in the 19th century. They said alcoholism was primarily a male problem, while thousands of women were addicted to laudanum. The panel also talked about how these addictions were treated and perceived across race, gender, and social class. This discussion was part of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic conference in Philadelphia." (video at link above)

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Creating Your Life Purpose

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Lessons From My 20s - By Ryan Allis by Ryan Allis

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Alcohol Still a Leading Killer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Alcohol Remains a Leading Killer - NYTimes.com: "Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, is responsible for 10 percent of deaths among working-age adults in the United States, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers used an online tool called the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application to estimate alcohol-related deaths ranging from car crashes and alcohol poisoning to liver and heart disease. They defined binge drinking as at least five consecutive drinks for men and four consecutive drinks for women. One in six adults from 20 to 65 reported binge drinking at least four times a month; the actual number is likely higher because subjects tend to underreport their drinking habits, the researchers said. The number of Americans who binge drink skyrocketed during the 1990s and leveled off in 2001, but the average frequency of binge drinking episodes is still rising. Excessive drinking is the fourth leading cause of preventable death in the United States, after smoking, poor nutrition and physical inactivity...." (read more at link above)

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Obscure Rule Restricts Health Law Care for Addicts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Obscure Rule Restricts Health Law’s Expansion of Care for Addicts - NYTimes.com: "Obscure Rule Restricts Health Law’s Expansion of Care for Addicts... On its surface, the Affordable Care Act seems like a boon for addiction treatment centers like the South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, housed in a no-frills former hotel outside Chicago. The law allowed states to expand Medicaid to many more low-income people, meaning that drug addicts and alcoholics who were previously ineligible could now receive coverage for substance abuse treatment, which the law has deemed an “essential health benefit.” But there is a hitch: Under an obscure federal rule enacted almost 50 years ago, Medicaid covers residential addiction treatment in community-based programs only if they have 16 or fewer beds. The South Suburban Council’s main treatment program has 48. So the very people who might have flowed through its doors in search of care will not be coming. And the same problem faces many other centers, which typically are larger than 16 beds, experts say. The quirk in the law could have a significant impact on substance abuse treatment in Illinois and the 25 other states that have expanded Medicaid under the health care law... (read more at link above)

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