SADLY, AN OBITUARY – May 10, 2023 – Armstrong, who had two children with her former husband and business partner, Jon Armstrong, began Dooce in 2001 and built it into a lucrative career. She was one of the first and most popular mommy bloggers, writing frankly about her children, relationships and other challenges. She parlayed her successes with the blog, on Instagram and elsewhere into book deals, putting out a memoir in 2009, “It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita.” Armstrong appeared on Oprah and was on the Forbes…
Author: Leonard Buschel
THANK YOU NETFLIX – May 8, 2023 – Based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article “The Family That Build an Empire of Pain,” and Barry Meier’s book, Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic, the series will follow a number of people involved in the early days of the crisis, from the Sacklers to the people trying to take them down, such as Uzo Aduba’s Edie, to those affected by the drug, like Taylor Kitsch’s Glen, a car mechanic who hurts his back on the job. “So much of this show is the…
VIDEO – LESLIE CROSSING THE JORDAN – May 10, 2023 – Bialik offered up how she thinks the show wrapped up. “Decide the ending you want, but for me, here’s where I think we all end up: Kat and Max live happily ever after, Randi and Carter get married and do the same, and Sheila is forever in everyone’s life bringing joy and wisdom. And Phil lives on forever,” she wrote. “Thank you for being a part of our journey.” Click@People
…“MY SECOND LIVER TRANSPLANT” – May 5, 2023 – Jaundice turns your skin yellow. Also the whites of your eyes. Swollen ankles and midriff fluid – edema and ascites, I would learn to call them – are other outward signs of advanced alcoholic liver disease. For the most part, though, liver failure sneaks up on you. I had been feeling fine, or as fine as I ever did in those days, though I had, yes, stumbled and fallen a couple of times trying to empty the cats’ litter box and struggled with the recycling bins. Mostly I was tired, convinced…
VIDEO – PEOPLE MUST REALLY LOVE THIS DRUG – May 9, 2023 – ST. LOUIS — A year-long operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) put thousands of accused drug dealers behind bars. The DEA St. Louis Division was a part of the mission trying to put a dent in the opioid crisis. It was called “Operation Last Mile,” and targeted operatives, associates, and distributors affiliated with the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels responsible for the last mile of fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution. According to a news release, the DEA’s top operational priority is to defeat these two cartels based in…
DOCUMENTARY FILMS RULE – May 9, 2023 – “Picture Proof” follows the daily lives of a West Virginia family, Ashley Ellis, her daughter, Piper, and her mother, Debi. Ashley Ellis was the victim of substance use disorder, and the documentary chronicles the family as they try to rebuild. The film is scheduled for a screening at WVSOM’s Student Center at 6 p.m. on May 12. According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), opioid use disorder among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 was 1.8% during 2017-2019. During the same timeframe, the…
THE MYTH OF NORMAL – May 10, 2023 – “I’m no stranger to the physical aspects of the job doing the whole action-movie thing,” Holland said. “But the mental aspect, it really beat me up and it took a long time for me to recover afterward, to sort of get back to reality.” In addition, the Spider-Man: No Way Home actor revealed he’d been sober for one year and four months. The actor recalled moments filming The Crowded Room that caused him to struggle. Nine months into filming the series, Holland found himself unable to detach from Danny, leading to…
AND LIVED TO QUIT – May 9, 2023 – Willis said he was then offered cocaine backstage at a gig, which led to him relapsing. He said: “Within a month I was doing six grams, bang, bang, bang, on my own, every f****** day and not coming home until three in the morning, pretending I was working on an album, which I wasn’t really writing. “I was making… music in a studio doing coke.” Talking about people telling his wife to leave him, he said: “I thought she would leave me many, many times, and I was involved in some…
LAUGHTER IS CARBONATED GOD – May 9, 2023 – Some actors are chameleons. Some have a style. Downey Jr. epitomizes both lines of thought. He’s a chameleon operating within a recognizable batch of characteristics. Even if he were covered in layers of hypothetical prosthetics, it would be impossible not to recognize his novel way of reading lines. He wields his talents according to his own sense of rhythm, not unlike a musician (which is an appropriate comparison, given his experience as a singer). What’s so recognizable about his vocal patterns is how that droll, almost laconic baseline is punctuated with…
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anais NinFeb. 21, 1903, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France – Jan. 14, 1977, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
HORRIBLE DISCOVERY – May 9, 2023 – The remains of a Los Angeles tech CEO who has been missing for more than a year were found in Santa Monica. Beau Mann, who was last seen a few days after Thanksgiving in 2021, was found dead in the courtyard of an abandoned property on Santa Monica Blvd. The coroner confirmed the remains were those of Mann but a cause of death has not yet been reported. Mann, 39, created the Sober Grid app, which connected thousands of people battling drugs and other addictions, offering them support and solutions. According to investigators,…
REALLY? – May 2, 2023 – Since 2020, the federal government allowed telehealth providers to prescribe the medication without a medical visit to ensure people could still get it during lockdowns and reduce exposure to COVID. The DEA, which regulates controlled substances such as buprenorphine, said the in-person visit is a necessary compromise that would allow people to still get the medication from a telehealth provider while reducing the likelihood buprenorphine is diverted for illicit purposes. In its proposed rule, the agency argues doctors also can order tests such as drug and toxicology screens and check for infectious diseases…
100% PROOF – May 1, 2023 – By sharing the moving stories of Soberlink clients who have successfully rebuilt their lives and relationships, the “Proof is Powerful” initiative brings attention to the significance of the little green checkmarks on a Soberlink calendar. As individuals demonstrate their commitment to sobriety, they progressively restore trust with their loved ones, creating a supportive environment for enduring recovery. The campaign poses the question: Can something as simple as proving sobriety truly be the key to unlocking this healing process? Grant, a former Soberlink client, witnessed this transformative power firsthand. Initially hesitant to use Soberlink,…
$400,000 in DEBT – May 7, 2023 – “I lost everything in the fire. I had no car, I had no clothes, I had no money — I was $400,000 in debt,” Bentley recalled. After moving to Hollywood, The Hunger Games star started taking mushrooms and ketamine, and while he recognized that can now be a mental health tool for some, it wasn’t for him. The psychedelics just led to more drugs. “I ended up going down the cocaine and heroin route,” he explained. “Hard drugs. Hard partying. You’re in clubs and you’re at after-parties, and there’s cocaine, and eventually…
TECH TO THE RESCUE – May 2, 2023 – After starting to code at the age of nine, Eleora proposed an Alexa skillcalled ‘Sober Tracker’ to help those struggling with alcohol addiction and substance abuse after being inspired by her grandfather’s own battle. Her design would see users tell Alexa things such as ‘help’, ‘I need some support’ or ‘I can’t do this anymore’ to prompt the virtual assistant to ask further questions. These will include asking how they are feeling on a scale of 1-10, if they need emergency assistance, or if they would like to chat, participate in…
PRINCE, TOM PETTY, MAC MILLER – MAY 2, 2023 – His bandmates first said they thought he died after accidentally falling and hitting his head, although, at the time, our law enforcement sources told us it was more mysterious … and the recent docs say he didn’t have any traumatic injuries, such as a head wound. We were also told his death could have been due to his battle with cancer, but the medical examiner’s report makes it clear it was the drugs. Click@TMZ
WHAT A SURPRISE – Feb. 14, 2023 – UPFs are notoriously low in fiber, which could also cause the breakdown of normal regulatory mechanisms by disrupting the gut microbiome. This could cause immune dysregulation, the impairment of gut barrier integrity, and the passage of bacteria into the circulation, leading to systemic inflammation. This also could activate gut-brain neural pathways that indirectly affect brain neurotransmitters. In addition, the impact of dysbiosis on the gut peptides and hormones produces a range of effects on the brain. The interconnected levels of these may reinforce unhealthy cravings for junk foods like UPFs, with binge…
SHE’S NOT THE ONLY ONE – May 2, 2023 – Instead, for me, the social implications of quitting alcohol proved most difficult. I had always leaned on alcohol as a crutch for my social anxiety, so I avoided large social gatherings for the first few months. But with time and support, I began loving my sober lifestyle, as well as the blissful nights of sleep, clear skin, and more stable mood that have come along with it. Of all the benefits, I didn’t expect that quitting drinking would have such a drastic influence on my immune system. Nearly a year…
FROM CHEAP DIVE, DEEP DIVE – May 4, 2023 – He found that “it was a really difficult thing to find people to connect with in recovery and sobriety in Northwest Ohio. I was always just a little bit different … There was always a lot of dogmatic things brought in from Midwestern AA.” A year into sobriety, he started meditating, beginning a path of serious spiritual practice. As he developed this dimension of his life, he and a friend decided to bring recovery and meditation together. They modeled their meetings after 12-step programs. Since they emphasized the 11th step,…
GOD, GRANT ME THE IRONY… – May 4, 2023 – When I decided to quit drinking alcohol because it was spiraling my life out of control, weed was never something I had questioned to quit as well,” Katie shared, “Alcohol would make me black out and turn me into a totally different person. I tend to pray and meditate after weed which helps my mental relationship with my higher power.” Chad, another member of the program who has asked that we not use his real name, has been sober for 14 years and doesn’t take issue with people attending meetings…
NOT IF THEY SMOKE POT – May 3, 2023 – “Our findings show that on a drink-for-drink basis, those with anxiety and depression experience more symptoms related to alcohol use disorder. If addiction were a competition, those with anxiety and depression would have a significant head start,” said Matt Kushner, PhD, a professor at the U of M Medical School. Internalizing disorders — like anxiety disorder or a major depressive disorder — commonly co-occur with AUD. Approximately 20-40% of people with an internalizing disorder have AUD, compared to 5% of the general population. Previous studies have shown people with internalizing…
REHAB INDUSTRY CONSPIRACY? – May 4, 2023 – The idea of it was introduced by Terence Gorski and Merlene Miller in their 1982 book Counseling for Relapse Prevention, and they expanded upon it in Staying Sober: A Guide for Relapse Prevention (1986). Staying Sober became an extremely popular workbook in the addiction treatment industry, and untold numbers of patients were introduced to the concept of PAWS as though it were a scientifically proven reality. It’s not hard to see why PAWS gained traction, in light of certain narratives that were dominant in the 1980s and have lingered since. Neither Gorski…
CAN BRAINS BOUNCE BACK? – May 5, 2023 – New Zealanders are some of the world’s biggest meth takers: wastewater testing has placed it in the top four consumers worldwide. The country’s physical isolation – 4,000km from the nearest major ports – makes importing hard drugs challenging and costly, but meth can be manufactured relatively cheaply and easily, and is derived from available pharmaceuticals. Almost a third of middle-aged New Zealanders have tried the drug, a University of Otago study found in 2020. In the backroom of Mātai research centre, Irwin thinks back to when it all started. He was…
GROWING NEW LIVES – May 5, 2023 – Erin Helms started Ellsworth Acres when she noticed that addiction recovery services did not address the person as a whole. She was working as a counselor at a treatment center in Ohio and felt that there was something missing from the traditional treatment model. In 2014, she opened her first recovery house in Lakewood to provide women with holistic support, both physically and emotionally. She saw a need for a workforce development program for women and created a paid training program. She also saw that agriculture offered so many tangible skills for…
NAPPING ANYTIME – May 5, 2023 – Remote work, for some people, is accompanied by a substantial increase in alcohol consumption. During the COVID pandemic, more than a third of Americans reported consuming more alcohol while working at home than was previously the case. While the lockdowns and imposed isolations are over (we hope), those who continue to work from home at least two days per week report higher levels of alcohol consumption than people who do not work from home at all. Studies also indicate that: The sharpest spikes in alcohol intake are seen in younger adults working from…
FRIGHTENING – May 2, 2023 – The leading medical professionals discussed treatment, including medication and long-term recovery with members of the Kittitas County recovery community and others looking for clarification and understanding. “Tonight, was about dialogue to resolve some misunderstanding about what recovery is. In the long, we’re all trying to accomplish the same thing,” said Wilson, who grew up in a dysfunctional family and eventually dropped out of high school once he started drinking and smoking pot. “I’m old school in my recovery, in other words you have to be abstinent from everything. At first when I heard people…
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE – May 3, 2023 – From the couch of his addiction treatment center, 49-year-old Michael Padrta is hopeful to finally be on a new path after almost 40 years of drug use and two stints in prison. May 3, 2023 – From the couch of his addiction treatment center, 49-year-old Michael Padrta is hopeful to finally be on a new path after almost 40 years of drug use and two stints in prison. “Around three years ago, when the pandemic hit, it was mostly heroin,” said Rhonda Woodside, a nurse practitioner, who specializes in addiction treatment. “And…
MODERN ROLE MODELS – May 5, 2023 – Though some, like Ben Affleck and Demi Lovato, experienced highly publicized setbacks, their slip-ups haven’t stopped them from resiliently pursuing sobriety. Others faced addiction that wasn’t always obvious—only Drew Barrymore’s closest circle, for example, was clued in to her alcoholism. Thankfully, resources for recovery are more accessible now than ever before. Here’s what sober celebrities have said about their own sobriety journeys, and the encouraging words they have for anyone also pursuing sobriety. Click@Glamour
A REAL HIGHER POWER – March 4, 2023 – At the time, alcoholism was not treated as a medical condition. The patient had been brought to her by Dr. Bob Smith, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous who was working at St. Thomas at the time. According to Dr. Caroline Healy of the EPIC Museum in Dublin, Sr. Ignatia found some private space for the patient in a storage room. He was later visited by members of what would become known as Alcoholics Anonymous. Together, Sr. Ignatia and Dr. Smith went on to establish one of the world’s first hospital-based programs…
WALL STRET JOURNAL: OPINION – May 2, 2023 – At an April Senate subcommittee hearing, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf blamed the pharmaceutical industry for a lack of nonaddictive nonopioid pain medications. In his telling, the FDA is waiting with open arms for any new analgesics that industry may develop: “We need to do everything we can do to push industry and make this happen.” He’s partially right: The government should commit itself to supporting private innovation. But it is disingenuous to blame industry for a dearth of treatments. Consider the evolution of the drug Toradol—generic name ketorolac—a…