PODCAST – RENT – Jan. 5, 2024 – Alarmed by the rising tide of waste we are all creating, my family and I decided to try to make do with much less. But while individual behaviour is important, real change will require action on a far bigger scale. LISTEN@TheGuardian
Author: Leonard Buschel
WHAT STEP IS THAT? – Jan, 3, 2024 – Months after finalizing his divorce, Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney is entering 2024 with a new perspective. The country musician, 48, shared a lengthy note to X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday morning in which he reflected on the aftermath of his 2021 drunk driving accident, expressed gratitude for his sobriety… “First off, I am alive! There have been so many rumors and opinions thrown around about me — but I am finally healthy and ready for the world,” Rooney began his message. “And NO, I’m not transitioning to be a…
VIDEO – STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH – March 7, 2008 – Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself — at the university’s 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005. WATCH@YouTube
“You were Wild once. Don’t let Them Tame you.” – Isadora Duncan, 1877-1927
FAST FOOD? – Dec. 21, 2023 – These women know all too painfully well that something strange is happening in the United States in the long war on cancer. Although progress has been substantial in lowering the overall death rate from cancer, deaths due to some types of cancer have increased among people younger than 50. Colorectal cancer is one of the drivers of this trend. In the past three decades, incidence of the disease has risen significantly among people younger than 50, many of whom have no obvious risk factors, such as having a genetic predisposition. No one knows…
AND THE SERENITY PRAYER – Dec. 16, 2023 – Many people think, If it’s anxiety, I’ve got to take medication. And while I really believe in therapy, and certainly for a certain number of my patients, medications can be lifesaving, but these are not the only cures. The gut and brain are connected, which I go into in my first book. In my new book, I explain the high-level gut-brain connection again, and I also include this other connection: immunity. Our immune system is the system that protects our body, and about 70 percent of it is contained in the…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 2023 – Sinead (RIP) and Van perform a duet of the classic song. (From “Late Show” in London, 5/17/95) WATCH@YouTube
WIDE-AWAKE DREAMS – Dec. 19, 2023 – Over time, brain activity upon seeing an image started to resemble brain activity when daydreaming about that image. This is a sign that daydreaming was strengthening some neuronal connections while weakening others, creating a more efficient stimulus response overall. “Our findings suggest that daydreaming may guide this process by steering the neural patterns associated with the two images away from each other.” “We feel pretty confident that if you never give yourself any awake downtime, you’re not going to have as many of these daydream events, which may be important for brain…
IT’S HARD, IN A GOOD WAY – Dec. 29, 2023 – Chris Uhl poses outside of Metro Gallery on Dec. 28, 2023. He quit drinking a year and said, “Cutting alcohol out of my life was one of the best decisions I ever made.” Uhl is among what many say is a growing number of LGBTQ people who have decided to stop drinking. In addition to the physical challenges and mental strains that come with giving up alcohol, LGBTQ people, who already struggle with isolation and social ridicule, must also adjust to eliminating a behavior that is very much…
VIDEO – PLANNED THAT WAY – Dec. 20, 2023 – What would our country look like today if we’d spent money on addiction treatment rather than punishment? We’re diving into the ‘War on Drugs,’ why it didn’t work, and what we can do differently. WATCH@YouTube
PERSONAL ACCOUNT – Dec. 17, 2023 – When I was on meth, I was busy. Very busy. There was gardening to do, color-coding the closet, taking apart doorknobs, trying to put doorknobs back together and trips to Home Depot at 3 a.m. to look at light fixtures and nails. I had things to do, and whatever I was doing I was very interested in. Until I wasn’t, leaving the bathroom doorknob on the floor and moving on to some other project. Time on meth is very different from time with no meth. No more gardening or trips to Home…
BIG JOKE? – Dec. 14, 2023 – Jelly Roll talked candidly in a new interview with People magazine, discussing his struggle with drugs and alcohol. He said, “I had to learn that you could drink alcohol without doing cocaine. It took me a long time to learn that.” He added, “I’ve never said that, but that’s real. There was a long time where I just assumed, when people told me they drank without doing cocaine, I was like, I thought we only drank to do cocaine.” Jelly admits that he’s never been to rehab for his drug addiction; he…
VIDEO – IT’S ABOUT TIME – Dec. 22, 2023 – The Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey outlined his national drug crisis plan earlier this week — sharing his roadmap that focuses on ending the stigma and turning attention to treatment. “And this is not a political statement, or partisan statement. He owes it to this country as a father, as a father who understands the pain that every member of the family goes through when there’s someone in active addiction in their family,” Christie said, demanding that the issue be considered a top priority and reaffirming that…
SCIENCE MAY ONE DAY DO SO… – Dec. 21, 2023 – The test involves swabbing the cheek of a patient to collect a DNA sample that is then used to determine if there is a combination of genetic variants that may be associated with an elevated risk of developing opioid use disorder. The addictive potential of the painkillers has fueled an opioid epidemic that has caused more than half a million overdose deaths in the United States over a period spanning more than two decades. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday it has approved the…
NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR – Dec. 24, 2023 – Thousands of miles away outside Toronto, police in August found what is believed to be the largest fentanyl lab so far in Canada — hidden at a property 30 miles from the U.S. border crossing at Niagara Falls, N.Y. Investigators in Canada say the labs are producing fentanyl for domestic users and for export to Australia, New Zealand and, they assume, the United States. “It’d be hard to believe it’s not occurring,” said Philip Heard, commander of the organized crime unit for police in Vancouver, a city hard-hit by fentanyl overdose deaths.…
IF HE CAN, YOU CAN – Dec. 27, 2023 – Morton wrote, “Today, after years of alcoholism & drug addiction, I celebrate 5 years clean & sober.” “If you’re reading this & struggling with addiction, please know that recovery IS possible for you.” Am Among those who responded to Morton was Nita Strauss, who wrote, “An amazing accomplishment indeed!” “Huge congratulations – and thank you for being a light for those struggling!” the Alice Cooper guitarist added. Morton wrote about his sobriety journey in his 2020 solo song “All I Had to Lose.” READ@1057ThePoint
HUMILITY MATTERS – Dec. 23, 2023 – Pooja added the hashtags ‘sobriety rocks’, ‘sober life’, ‘sober living’, ‘one step at a time’, ‘one day at a time’, ‘own your story’, ‘share your journey’, ‘end the stigma’, ‘end the shame’, ‘recovery is real’, ‘recovery is beautiful’, ‘recovery is the new cool’ to her caption. Additionally, she said how women don’t get to voice their opinions on addiction as openly as opposed to the opposite gender. The ‘Jism 2’ director said on the show, “Society gives a license to men and thus they can openly speak about being addicted and recovering…
VIDEO – HELLO HIGHER POWER – Dec. 19, 2023 – “I’m just a hopeless dope addict that God turned into a dopeless hope addict. Amen,” said chaplain Williams to a group of long-term recovery patients at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. It’s message that connects with the men he serves because they know he’s been where they’ve been. Williams left a troubled upbringing and was on his own at the age of 11. Over the next several years, he self-medicated with alcohol. Drugs, broken marriages, and family failures followed. “I’ve been a part of so many drug-infested situations. Gun…
FOCUSING ON NOW – Dec. 28, 2023 – He is all about being “present,” including while on tour with hard rock band Rival Sons. And sobriety is crucial to that mindset. “In this job, it’s really easy to become an accidental alcoholic,” Scott tells SPIN backstage … “A drink before the show, a couple drinks after the show. … Just day after day after day. You’re not feeling like you’re binge-drinking. But then you end the tour and come home, and you start looking and calculating it, like, ‘I think I drank every single day. I’m pretty sure that…
VIDEO – BEAUTIFUL MUSIC VIDEO – Dec. 29, 2023 – “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King sits down with Lady A’s Charles Kelley and his wife Cassie Kelley in an exclusive interview about his path to sobriety. WATCH@CBSNews
DANGER AHEAD – Dec. 28, 2023 – Methadone withdrawal usually presents as a classical opiate withdrawal syndrome, including symptoms such as restlessness, pupillary dilation, sweating, insomnia, irritability, sneezing, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It rarely manifests as psychosis. Here, we discuss the case of a 43-year-old female with a history of long-term methadone use who presented with first-episode psychosis during methadone down-titration. She exhibited persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations, unrelated to classical opiate withdrawal symptoms. Medical tests were unremarkable. The patient was diagnosed with first-episode psychosis and was involuntarily admitted to our psychiatric hospital. As she suffered from hormone-dependent breast cancer…
MINE FIELD? – Dec. 14, 2023 – Reuniting with family often reactivates deeply ingrained roles, dynamics, criticisms, and nagging conversations,” says intervention specialist Dr. Louise Stanger. “If going home stirs more anxiety than joy, that instinct matters. Take care of yourself first – it’s okay to set new boundaries to protect your mental health, even during the holidays.” Several psychological phenomena contribute to the complex emotions tied to family during the holidays. When back in our childhood home, it can feel literally regressive being cast back into historical roles, no longer reflecting the adults we now are. Holidays also act…
MUST READ – Don’t Be Afraid… – Dec. 19, 2023 – Heart in your throat. Butterflies in your stomach. Bad gut feeling. These are all phrases many people use to describe fear and anxiety. You have likely felt anxiety inside your chest or stomach, and your brain usually doesn’t hurt when you’re scared. Many cultures tie cowardice and bravery more to the heart or the guts than to the brain. But science has traditionally seen the brain as the birthplace and processing site of fear and anxiety. Then why and how do you feel these emotions in other parts…
SMOKIN’! – Dec. 17, 2023 – Kat Von D has opened up about which of her addictions was the hardest to kick during an interview with Theo Von. She’s been sober since 2007, but also underwent a period where she became celibate for three years, gave birth to her first child in late 2018 and most recently converted to Christianity. Another big life adjustment she had to make was giving up her most beloved vice — smoking cigarettes. “Cigarettes was the hardest for me. Oh my gosh, I love smoking,” she admitted. “I love cigarettes. But I can’t, I don’t…
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES – Dec. 26, 2023 – “I never want to feel out of control like that again,” the former Olympic gymnast said of past addiction. The 31-year-old told her followers that her third c-section was “the hardest but smoothest” experience as she dealt with a lot of scar tissue and soreness afterward. However, despite the discomfort, Johnson said she didn’t want any medications that might bring up old habits from her past Adderall use. “Feeling great now though. I also refuse all pain meds haha (they make me SO sick and frankly after being addicted to adderall…
ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE – Dec. 17, 2023 – Since 2021, Kensington, a low-income neighborhood in North Philadelphia, has been ground zero for a new and dangerous sedative called “tranq”. Also known as “xylazine”, a side-effect of this drug can be struggling to stand upright, which is why users are commonly described in the media as “zombies”. Xylazine has only been approved for veterinary use, and because it’s not an opioid, its effects cannot be reversed by emergency medication like Narcan, resulting in more fatalities. The percentage of deadly opioid overdoses in which it was detected rose by 276% between January 2019…
VIDEO – IT AIN’T GOOD – Dec. 23, 2023 – The coroner told CBS News that while Denver has seen a decrease in fentanyl overdoses, use of nitazenes has emerged — which “raises new concerns.” Nitazenes were first developed in the 1950s and early 1960s, said Claire Zagorski, a chemist, paramedic and translational scientist in Austin, Texas. At the time, they weren’t illicit drugs, but were intended to be sold commercially. That never happened…In recent years, those original formulations have been used as a backbone by illicit drug manufacturers to make new synthetic opioids amid a crackdown on substances like…
BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY – Dec. 16, 2023 – The eye-opening report noted that aside from a lethal amount of ketamine mixed with the opioid-like drug buprenorphine, which is used to alleviate pain and help with addiction to opioids, Perry had been taking Tammoxifen to lose weight, antidiabetic medication and nicotine lollipops. The medical examiner’s report further exemplified how heavily Perry relied on prescribed and over-the-counter medication to maintain his quality of life. “In the assistant’s bedroom, there were multiple open, empty, half-filled medication bottles prescribed to the decedent, as well as over-the-counter medications, vitamins, digestive aids and dishes…
JUST ONE EXAMPLE – Dec. 27, 2023 – Nearly one in five Americans aged 12 and older used marijuana in 2021, and more than 16 million meet the criteria for a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder. “There is a lot of misinformation in the public sphere about cannabis and its effects on psychological health, with many assuming that this drug is safe to use with no side effects.” It is important for physicians and the public to understand that cannabis can have addictive effects and to recognize signs and symptoms in order to get properly diagnosed and treated,” he…
VIDEO – ASHTON KUTCHER, MILA KUNIS TOO! – Dec. 19, 2023 – Shelton, 47, hasn’t been able to master the ever-popular new year’s resolution. “I haven’t managed to stop drinking yet,” the country music star told “Entertainment Tonight.” “Even cutting back has been hard. I mean, it’s a resolution though. And I’ll say it again right now – that’s my New Year’s resolution. To either cut back or stop drinking altogether. Let’s just say I said it.” WATCH@Fox