AUDIO – LOST AT HOME – March 6, 2022 – In most cases, their waiting lists were closed as well, even though Gullett was willing to pay hundreds of dollars in cash for each session. She spent February’s Super Bowl in tears, watching the Cincinnati Bengals, the team her father rooted for. “I’m in a big city. I’m in L.A. We have a lot of therapists,” she said. “So it’s just kind of wild to me that that many people are at capacity.” It has been difficult to find mental health counseling in much of the United States for…
Author: Leonard Buschel
BOOK REVIEW – March, 2022 – As some of the millions of people on psychiatric medication inevitably decide to discontinue their meds for one reason or another, what I’m witnessing is that there are legions of people in the midst of withdrawal who are experiencing such symptoms as insomnia, irritability, depression, anxiety, something called “brain zaps,” and even suicidal thoughts. They feel alone in this experience, and struggle to find support or appropriate guidance from doctors. This situation is made even more difficult by the fact that psychiatrists are not even taught how to help people get off these drugs;…
IT’S ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY – March 10, 2022 – Authorities described the clinics as “pill mills” and said they were frequented by people suffering from addictions and drug dealers seeking high-dosage prescription drugs like oxycodone.The injections were selected because they were among the highest reimbursing procedures, rather than based on medical need. Some patients developed adverse conditions, including open holes in their backs. “Evidence further established that the defendant physicians repeatedly performed these unnecessary injections on patients over several years,” the Justice Department said in a release. Francisco Patino, a doctor and part owner of the clinics, used proceeds…
LISTEN – MONEY FOR NOTHING – Mar 10, 2022 – A new legal opinion from the Biden administration appears to clear the way for wider use of an underutilized harm reduction technique: paying people addicted to drugs for staying clean. Known as “contingency management,” the idea is supported by decades of research that shows providing repeated small payments for meeting goals in the recovery process has an outsize impact in helping people remain sober. Contingency management is considered especially valuable for treatment of people addicted to stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine because there are no proven medications for…
AUDIO – MAKING THE MOST OUT OF SOBRIETY – March 11, 2022 – “It’s a blessing,” Crosby said via a Zoom call with reporters. “You can’t make it up. A lot of people have been asking like, ‘Did you plan to do that? I’m like nah, it just happened. It was the universe. It was supposed to happen. It’s a major blessing. There’s no other place than I’d rather be. I want to be a Raider for life. I got it tatted on me before I ever made a play or anything. “I feel like I showed the fan base…
SOBER BROTHERHOOD – Mar. 10, 2022 – “What I had to do then is buy into the system. So all my friends were White because I wanted to stay sober. For those seven years, I did whatever it took, aside break the law, to stay sober. That didn’t make me feel good because I wasn’t with people who look like me,” Hayden said. In response, Hayden, along with Peter Bell, Jim Bransford, and other Black people from St. Paul and Minneapolis, started the first Black AA group in the state of Minnesota, adding Afrocentric supplements to the standard 12-step program. …
TOO MANY NOTES – March 10, 2022 – Through all of these stories, Cameron is able to stray away from being preachy or judgemental the way he always has: through humor. He’s not just a great writer, but an incredibly funny one, and similar to a great stand-up comedian, it makes it easy to listen to what he has to say. “Cancel Culture” is a cleverly-named song clearly meant to bait both the people who get excited to dogpile onto anything they deem Roganesque, and the people who are actively seeking out “woke mob” criticism — it ends up…
THEY KILLED THOUSANDS – March 10, 2022 – “This is a day like no other in the history of American jurisprudence,” Anne Andrews, a lawyer on a committee for 70,000 relatives and those in recovery, said just before the start of the hearing. “The Sacklers have to listen to the direct victims of their crimes, the stories of people who have died, who lost the potential of their lives. But for years the Sacklers painted them in their emails as slime, addicts, as low lifes, and that it was their fault they were addicted. But they are America. They…
CRAZY – Dec. 26, 2021 – “We have to convince these kids to release their self-diagnoses but when they leave us they go right back into that TikTok community which reinforces their beliefs,” said Don Grant, executive director of outpatient services for Newport Healthcare’s teen treatment center in Santa Monica, Calif. He hasn’t kept a tally of the teens who use TikTok to self-diagnose but said it’s significant. Dr. Grant, who chairs a committee of the American Psychological Association that develops guidance for psychologists and the public on device and social-media use, explained that being saturated with negative content can…
SOBER IN SECONDS – Mar. 7, 2022 – I love the phrase “sober curious,” because it centers curiosity — something that feels more organic and accessible than hard-and-fast rules that sobriety has historically been associated with. Jordan Grainger is a 23-year-old TikToker in Seattle who satisfies that curiosity by making TikToks about all of her routines and life experiments, from trying press-on nails to quitting drinking. She makes earnest TikToks about why she became curious about sobriety and what she’s learned about herself and way she uses substances along the way, but she also isn’t shy about telling her…
EVEN A SMALL ONE? – March 4, 2022 – The research, which was published today in the journal Nature Communications, analyzed data from 36,678 adults across the U.K.; it’s important to note that the partipants were healthy, but middle aged and older. So while the risk for your shrinking brain might be lower, this is an early reminder to get your rosé habit in check before you hit 50. Researchers found that even light to moderate drinking was associated with lower brain volume. So the more alcohol people consumed, the more brain matter they appeared to lose. Consuming one unit…
MOCKTAILS? OR MOCKTALES? – March 8, 2022 – “Back then, the majority of places would have a token lemonade with fresh herbs or something with ginger beer, drinks that were very one dimensional,” he explains. “Just because you’re not drinking doesn’t mean you need less of an experience.” Bragg says he puts as much thought and research into the spirit-free cocktails served at Southern Belle as he does for the drinks containing alcohol. He believes around 10 percent of guests who dine at Southern Belle opt for non-alcoholic drink pairings with the restaurant’s tasting menu. “I knew there was…
OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES – March 1, 2022 – In 1960, at age 26, Goodall relocated from the U.K. to what is now Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park to live with and study the Kasakela chimpanzee community. There, she made a monumental discovery: that they had unique personalities and emotions. Her work forever changed the science of primatology. Since then, she has been fighting to conserve the habitat of her beloved chimps, as well as those of other species, through the Jane Goodall Institute and its global youth program, Roots & Shoots. For Atwood, climate change has long…
VIDEO – THE REAL BATTLE – March 11, 2022 – “The U.S. Military Academy is aware of the situation involving West Point cadets, which occurred Thursday night in Wilton Manors, FL,” an academy spokesperson said in a statement. “The incident is currently under investigation and no other details are available at this time.” West Point, the nation’s oldest military academy, trains cadets to serve as officers in the U.S. Army. Admittance into the academy requires a nomination from a U.S. House member or U.S. senator. Gollan noted the home was a rental property being used by the cadets on their…
THANK YOU CAPT. OBVIOUS – Mar. 8, 2022 – It’s a lot to process. “I definitely don’t think that anybody should ever be used to seeing things like this,” Lubkova says. “But that’s kind of what it came down to. If I want to know what’s happening in my country, I unfortunately have to see this with my own two eyes.”People in Ukraine and around the world are watching the crisis unfold not only through traditional news sources, but also on social media via raw, personal TikTok videos, Instagram stories, and tweets. It’s not exactly the “first social media war,”…
NOW HE TELLS US! – Mar. 8, 2022 – Audiences are consumers & subjects of mass media As an internationally taught artist, Paik spent a considerable amount of time in various countries, observing the similarities and differences in everyday life. His worldview is shown most significantly in TV Buddha, one of his most iconic works from 1974. In this piece, an antique Buddha statue sits across a round television set that has an uncanny resemblance to an eyeball as it plays CCTV footage from a camera pointing back at the sculpture. As the visitor stands behind the Buddha to look…
AUDIO – SO MANY LOSSES – March 7, 2022 – Lanegan, who died Feb. 22 at the age of 57, talks about losing Kurt Cobain, Anthony Bourdain, and other close friends, and shares heartbreaking details from his struggles with addiction and homelessness — including how Duff McKagan and Courtney Love came to his rescue. more@RollingStone
I’LL TAKE THE 80’S FOR 200, ALEX – Mar. 10, 2022 – He reflected on how it was a different time back then. “It was before the bill had become due and we just didn’t know. Not only that … people were saying it was good for you. It helped you think, it was what ‘successful’ people did in our industry. All the people you admired did it,” Lowe explained. “I got tired after a while of hating the birds chirping. When I would hear birds chirping, I would just get so tense. It took me years before I…
“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” —Emily Dickinson
MORE DEATH AROUND THE CORNER? – Mar 1, 2022 – Krotulski said current trends suggest nitazenes, or any other drugs for that matter, are unlikely to surpass fentanyl in their prevalence, as Mexican cartels have a tight hold on the drug and its production and distribution into the U.S. But Krotulski says nitazenes are grossly underreported as they are not routinely tested for, especially when a medical examiner discovers fentanyl was present in someone who experienced a fatal overdose. Krotulski said his lab alone has had at least 1,000 identifications of nitazenes and estimates the drug may account for…
(needs free registration to read) PREJUDICE – Feb. 26, 2022 – Women face extra hurdles in battling addiction because male-focused drug support services are neglecting their needs, new research has found. The study, carried out by We Are With You, the UK’s leading drug, alcohol and mental health charity and shared exclusively with The… more@Independent
DRIVE IN, CARRIED OUT – Feb. 26, 2022 – When it comes to the Ch’King, the chain’s new signature chicken sandwich, it is by far the worst pick of its kind. Of course, chicken sandwiches are generally high in fat and sodium, but even among the unhealthiest options out there right now, the Spicy Ch’King stands out as an over-the-top option in every aspect. For comparison’s sake, Popeyes’ spicy chicken sandwich has 700 calories, 42 grams of fat, and 1,473 milligrams of sodium, while Wendy’s Classic Big Bacon Cheddar clocks in at 810 calories, 45 grams of fat, and…
ONLY ONE FAMILY – March 3, 2022 – The legacy of alcohol and drug use as a coping mechanism among generations of Native Americans is one that Mariesha Keith does not want to see passed on. Keith, Tribal Liaison and Indian Preference Coordinator for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, is making it her mission to ensure that future generations of tribal members have healthier ways to cope with the legacy of trauma. In June 2019, she organized a Sobriety Walk at the NHBP’s annual Pow Wow. The walk has not happened since then because of COVID, but…
HAD TO GET CLEAN – Feb. 27, 2022 – He grew up in the suburbs where life was so peaceful and the urge to mess things up was usually there. “I got arrested at 15 for joyriding in a stolen Mercedes. And for good measure there was a gun in the car. I just had to endanger myself-it was a kind of self-harming” Hardy was expelled from school, was arrested and also became addicted to drugs and alcohol even as a teenager. Like he said, a lot of things didn’t work out for him as he had the habit of…
KEEP COMING BACK AND BACK – Feb. 25, 2022 – Asked about his current health status, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’m doing well. I’m an AA guy. I’m a 12-Step Program guy. I spent six months in a rehabilitation center, locked down. I went to court a few times; I had trouble with the law. And if that’s what it took to get me where I’m at right now, that’s what it took. It’s been a long time coming. “I was sober and clean for 21 years,” he explained. “I was sober and clean when I was 32…
BOOK REVEW – Feb. 25, 2022 – The precipitating event in “Cost of Living” is the author’s psychiatric hospitalization at 19: “It wasn’t that I had wanted to die, exactly. It was more that I just couldn’t keep living.” Maloney’s choice of a nearby, independent hospital’s emergency room over the bigger university hospital “where the state might pick up your bill if you were declared indigent” leads to the crushing debt at the heart of the book. “Sitting on a cot in the emergency room, I filled out paperwork certifying myself as the responsible party for my own medical…
VIDEO – SO SICKENING – Feb. 24, 2022 – The film asks why a predator was allowed to do this time and time again. Better yet: Why did so many of us do and say nothing? Five years in the making, the film pieces together the timeline before their deaths using news footage and commentary from those who knew the men, but, like its title, it goes beyond the work of traditional true crime documentaries. With the help of Raniyah Copeland, former president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, psychologist Gregory Canillas, award-winning author George M. Johnson, journalist…
NO SALVATION? – Feb. 25, 2022 – That means many London-area residents seeking help with long-term addiction must go back to waiting months for a treatment centre bed while remaining in the same circumstances enabling their addiction. “It’s heartbreaking. We’ve seen the success of the program,” DeActis said. “It’s been such a good program for our community here in London.” The centre, housed in the Centre of Hope on Wellington Street, provided 26 private rooms, 24/7 support, and counselling to people with long-term addictions, many of whom had finished a withdrawal program and waiting for a clinical treatment bed.…
LET’S PLAY CONCENTRATION – Feb. 28, 2022 – “Rather than getting caught up in the pain or craving,” Garland explained, “we teach people how to step back and observe that experience from the perspective of an objective witness. When they can do that, people begin to recognize that who they truly are is bigger than any one thought or sensation. They are not defined by their experiences of pain or craving; their true nature is something more.” Garland is the associate dean for research at the University of Utah College of Social Work and directs the Center on Mindfulness…
READING IS HEALTHY – Feb. 22, 2022 – During my active addiction, I thought I was going to die and I accepted that. It sounds morbid, but it was where I was in life. I was in love with heroin and the dysfunctional relationship I had with it. Being present in my everyday life was very difficult. Using drugs for the first time at the age of 12, I was just trying to fit in and have fun. Then there was heroin. The crimes I would commit and the hurt I would cause the people I loved never crossed…