WARMTH AND AFFECTION – August 16, 2021 – Similar to regular hunger, touch hunger serves as an alert that something important is missing – in this case, the sense of security, intimacy, and care that comes with tactile contact. As people have taken pains to socially distance, many have discovered the sense of deprivation that can accompany the lack of affectionate touch. Touch hunger is essential to well-being throughout our life span. Psychologist Ruth Feldman has demonstrated that touch is instrumental for healthy physical and cognitive development beginning in infancy. During adulthood, affectionate touch contributes to both psychological health…
Author: Leonard Buschel
PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR – August 29, 2021- “Vaccinations are especially important to us because people with substance use disorders are at significantly higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and experiencing severe illness or dying as a result, and death rates are even higher for African Americans who have a substance use disorder and COVID-19,” Dr. Lee continued. “Additionally, infections require contact tracing and additional testing, which can cause major disruptions to operations and patient care. For all these reasons, our vaccination requirement has been the most important step of many we have taken over the course of the pandemic to ensure…
MORE KINDNESS PLEASE – August 21, 2021- SELF-DEPRECATORS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ACCEPT MISTREATMENT OR DISRESPECT FROM OTHERS 64% of Self-Deprecators consistently put others’ needs ahead of their own, even if it leaves them feeling angry, resentful, or uncomfortable (compared to 30% of Self-Appreciators, a 34-point difference). 66% apologize even when they haven’t done anything wrong (compared to 26% of Self-Appreciators, a 40-point difference). 58% feel that people take advantage of them (compared to 13% of Self-Appreciators, a 45-point difference). SELF-DEPRECATORS TEND TO HIDE THEIR TRUE THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, OR DESIRES 54% won’t express their opinions if there’s a chance…
NO VACCINE ‘CEPT GOD – August 20, 2021 – Because many who are already addicts are having to self-isolate or remain at home during a lockdown, there is also great risk of overdose. Emergency services are also under strain because COVID patients are prioritised making it harder to provide dependent individuals the treatment or emergency care that they need. As COVID affects the drug market, street drugs have also become limited in supply which means higher prices and reduced purity. The hidden pandemic is not only becoming a health and societal concern but also a financial one for many…
LIVING THE SOBER LIFE ONE ARTICLE AT A TIME – August 19, 2021 – Well done young lady,’ a Twitter user replied. Another posted: ‘Well done x I’m at 8 years x you are a lovely and beautiful lady x.’ ‘Congratulations Lisa, over 15 years for me,’ one shared. Lisa has a lot to celebrate at the moment, as she confirmed that she will be staying on the ITV soap for a while yet, signing a brand new contract. ‘I honestly still pinch myself that I get to play such an amazing character as Mandy,’ she told the Mirror…
NOW AND FOREVER – August 9, 2021 – 6. Get good sleep I used to go to bed at 2 or 3 a.m. and sleep till noon. Now I like going to bed at 9:30. I need my energy to do the things I have to do during the day. 7. Be open to change I never thought I’d have four children. I’m a fiercely independent person, but my priorities completely changed. 8. Listen to your kids When I was asked to do Dancing With the Stars, the kids were, like, “Yes, Mom!” It was the hardest work I’d…
LOVE THEM – August 21, 2021 – For years, Kayla West watched the opioid epidemic tear through her eastern Tennessee community. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, she treated people with mental illness but felt she needed to do more to address addiction. So in 2020, when the state created a position to help hospitals improve addiction care in the emergency room, West jumped at the opportunity. But a growing number of emergency rooms and health professionals are trying to change that by developing new approaches that address the missed treatment opportunity in ERs. “We know it’s possible because others…
DRESSING UP THE DRUG TRADE – AUGUST 21, 2021 – Drug lords switching out gold chains for bespoke suits, politicians proposing to legalize cocaine and judges acquitting cocaine traffickers on compassionate grounds. The criminal underworld in Latin America, the world’s most violent and unequal region, is changing faster than you can say Narcos. Forget everything you thought you knew about its drug barons. Those glitzy TV shows are out of date — the reality is a lot murkier. This week’s Sunday Magazine takes you on a journey through Latin America’s modern-day drug underworld, highlights some of the boldest ideas…
WATCH – BIG PHARMA’S BIG PARTNER – Sept. 19, 2015 – In the same month, it was reported that opium production is stronger than ever in Afghanistan, which now produces 90 percent of the world’s supply of the plant that’s refined to create heroin. This rise in production would have been impossible prior to the U.S.-led invasion, and it comes despite some $8.4 billion spent in counternarcotics efforts by the U.S., specifically designated to wipe out opium production in Afghanistan. In fact, as Global Post reported in October, under the watchful eye of the U.S., opium use expanded to…
HELL IS NOT HOT ENOUGH FOR THIS SCUM – August 18, 2021 – It is believed to be the first time that Dr. Sackler has answered questions in open court about the family’s opioid business. Similar to an extended deposition he gave in 2015 to Kentucky state lawyers, Dr. Sackler offered testimony largely pocked with faint or absent recollections, terse statements and deflections to his legal team. His voice often scarcely audible, he apologized for having laryngitis and appeared occasionally to fumble with the technology, which presented vexing challenges in volume level and in the opening of documents emailed…
FATAL LINE – August 17, 2021 – “We collectively urge that anyone who has purchased cocaine, or other narcotics, recently on the North Fork or Shelter Island, or know of a family member or friend that has purchased, safely dispose of these potentially lethal products,” Southold Town PD Chief Martin Flatley said in a statement, suggesting the dangerously adulterated drugs could still be circulating in the region. The already unacceptably high number of fatal overdoses in the United States surged nearly 30% nationwide to a record 93,331 deaths in 2020, according to a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control…
SHALLOW BREATH AND GRAVE – August 17, 2021 – The agency said the possible risks of particulate and chemical exposure from the recalled devices included asthma, skin and respiratory-tract irritation and “toxic and carcinogenic effects” to organs including the kidneys and liver. The Philips recall involved certain BiPAP (bi-level positive air pressure), CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) and ventilator machines manufactured before April 26. The company has to submit a repair-and-replacement program for the flawed components to the F.D.A. In the meantime, there are shortages and backlogged orders, created by delays in the replacements and the use of similar…
YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY – August 18, 2021 – Nicks added that the concept of publishing her life story has taken her years to think about. If she ever did, she added, it would need to be chopped up into four different books. “I think that what I would do first, and only lately have I thought this, I might sit down at some point across the kitchen table with some of my girlfriends who have been there for a lot of it and put on a tape recorder and just start talking from the very beginning,”…
NO LONGER “REBELLING” AGAINST GOOD HEALTH – August 18, 2021 – Last year Rebel Wilson embarked on what she dubbed her ‘Year of Health’. Tasked with overhauling her fitness and nutrition habits, Rebel set herself some pretty huge goals and (as we’re pretty sure you already know) absolutely smashed them. From working out with her PT Jono Castano to hiking, walking, resistance training, eating in moderation, listening to motivational podcasts and addressing her mental health, the Aussie actor changed her life and outlook. Now, today sharing a throwback snap of her before her weight loss and healthy lifestyle journey,…
A BRIGHTER OUTLOOK – August 16, 2021 – The stubbornly high, and steadily increasing, rate of suicides in the U.S. is one factor driving the shift. In April, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded eight grants to test new ways to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors in a fast-acting manner, including ketamine and using magnets to activate parts of the brain. Geoffrey Attardo first tried Prozac to treat his depression when he was doing postdoctoral research at Yale School of Public Health and was feeling the pressures of a new job in academia. Soon after he started,…
“Every idea occurs while you are working. If you are sitting around waiting for inspiration, you could sit there forever.” —Chuck Close (July 5, 1940 – Aug. 19, 2021)
TALIBAN JUNKIES – August 19. 2021 – The production of opiates has increased more than 40 times,” he said. According to Patrushev, the West has never been able to train the army, police and security services of Afghanistan. On August 15, the Taliban (terrorist group, banned in Russia) completed their takeover of Afghanistan by entering Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country to prevent what he described as bloodshed that would occur if militants had to fight for the city. Most countries have reduced or evacuated their diplomatic missions in the Central Asian country following the events. more@UrduPoint
HEROIN’S BAD WITHDRAWAL – August 16, 2021 – Afghan farmers weigh myriad factors in deciding how much poppy to plant. These range from annual precipitation and the price of wheat, the main alternative crop to poppy, to world opium and heroin prices. Yet even during droughts and wheat shortages, when wheat prices rocket, Afghan farmers have grown poppy and extracted opium gum that is refined into morphine and heroin. In recent years, many have installed Chinese-made solar panels to power deep water wells. Three of the last four years have seen some of Afghanistan’s highest levels of opium production,…
SAD ENDING – August 16, 2021 – Last year, Greiss pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and paying for patients at two addiction rehabs where was chief executive, South Coast Counseling and Elite Care Recovery in Costa Mesa. In approving the travel request, the government agreed to temporarily return his passport — a sign of official trust. But Greiss won’t make the trip. He died on Aug. 6 at age 51, said Sgt. Todd Hylton of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The cause of death is pending. “Tarek Greiss dedicated his heart and soul to helping others…
NO RELIEF IN SIGHT – August 11, 2021- According to the Associated Press, “in California, a quarter of the 161,000 people experiencing homelessness also have a severe mental illness.” They “pinball” between nonprofits and government agencies, “cycling through” emergency rooms, incarceration and homelessness. I have written before about people living well off the “homeless industrial complex”, from the lavishly paid administrators at the management-heavy Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to the developers who build taxpayer-funded housing for the homeless that costs more than $500,000 per unit. Taxpayers spend tens of billions of dollars on homelessness, and that’s without even…
NOT THE ONION – August 8, 2021 – That picture won’t change much on Monday, when one of the nation’s biggest opioid settlements is set to be effectively resolved. A federal judge is expected to certify Purdue’s bankruptcy plan, which sits at the center of a $4.5 billion settlement between the company and thousands of state and municipal governments that have sued for damages related to the opioid epidemic. In many ways, that settlement is atrocious. Members of the billionaire Sackler family, which owns Purdue and profited most heavily from the company’s opioid dealings — will not have to…
EVERYONE DESERVES RECOVERY? – August 2, 2021 – During the investigation, officers were able to quickly connect Tyler Anglin, 33, as a person of interest connected to Hinkle’s death. According to investigators, Anglin allegedly drove Hinkle to the Home Depot around 11 a.m., dropped her off there and left the scene on foot before calling dispatch a short time after. There were no signs of visible injuries. Her body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an official autoposy. Anglin is facing two counts of manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Police say Anglin didn’t seek out medical…
WATCH – SHE’S IN HEAVEN – August 11, 2021 – Mallard has only spent a week in the new apartment. She said she’s still getting accustomed to sleeping in her own bed. NewsChannel5 viewers donated a TV and stand, and three Amazon gift cards. A man who wanted to remain anonymous also donated a washer and dryer. “I can go in there and make tea and take a shower and now sit on a couch,” said Mallard. “It’s kind of, I really didn’t think it would happen. A long time I was waiting for it. And then people supported…
WATCH – BLACK MARKETEERS? – August 12, 2021 – Groogan described the definition of “diversion” as the re-routing of highly addictive, highly dangerous opiates into the black market for illegal sale. The civil seizure of the massive quantities of narcotics took place at the warehouse of Woodfield Pharma, also known as WDSrx. The Boca Raton, Florida, company is a contract pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor established more than 30 years ago. ASAC Smith told Groogan, “This is really the foundation of the opioid crisis in the United States. In an illicit market, Tramadol is used as a foundation for pills…
GETTING TURNT WITHOUT GETTING TURNT – AUGUST 13, 2021- Secret Dance Addiction – the brainchild of husband and wife duo Mike and Amber Handby – has taken Denver by storm with a Waking Up The Summer Dance Party Series. The series, continuing throughout September, offers a new type of nightlife – free of alcohol and with a focus on wellness and mindfulness. Mike and Amber started their journey of partying their way to wellness after meeting each other seven years ago in a recording studio. The two then came together as a couple and later formed the DJ pair…
LISTEN – IT’S LESS THAN YOU THINK – August 13, 2021 – STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE: There is this question looming, right? So is there even such a thing as a digital addiction? This is a big controversy right now. And the big official book on medical disorders, the DSM-5, does not actually recognize digital addiction as a disorder. DARIAN WOODS, BYLINE: Right. And some experts are making noise about this and calling for some more research. And that phrase, more research needed, was a green light to three behavioral economists – Hunt Allcott, Matthew Gentzkow and Lena Song.…
THE PROMISES COMING TRUE – AUGUST 13, 2021 – A new mom is being encouraged in her efforts to stay sober after assaulting her partner the last time she was intoxicated. Lissa Manning pleaded guilty last Friday to assaulting Nikko Biocchi at their Queen Street East residence on Dec, 14, 2020 and not keeping the peace. Biocchi confronted Manning about her recent alcohol relapse when she came home “heavily intoxicated,” assistant Crown attorney Marie-Eve Talbot told Ontario Court Justice John Condon during an online hearing. Manning spit in Biocchi’s face twice, pulled his hair and punched him in the…
HARM REDUCTION = DEATH REDUCTION – August 13, 2021 – “I know the people who ended up dying are the people who come out of rehab and use,” King said. “I just wanted to be safe.” She called the number. If she hadn’t, she likely would be dead. The hotline is like a virtual version of a supervised consumption site, also known as supervised injection sites — places where people can use drugs they bring while trained staff watch for overdoses. Hotline supporters say it’s a useful harm-reduction tool to decrease overdose deaths. Jessica Blanchard, a volunteer hotline operator…
ALWAYS TOO SOON – August 14, 2021 – Lisa had voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility early this week where she was battling the addiction problems that have plagued her these past few years. “I spoke to her on Monday and she was hopeful and confident, looking forward to putting this part of her life behind her. “Last night she lost the battle.” The cause of death wasn’t made obvious straight away, but a few months later, the Los Angeles coroner’s office confirmed that Lisa had passed away from accidental “multiple drug intoxication”. Just days after her death,…
WATCH – THEY SEE DEAD PEOPLE – August 8, 2021 – John Oliver explains how the Sackler family has been handling lawsuits related to the opioid crisis, how hard they’ve been fighting to defend their name, and why you should judge the situation for yourself. more@YouTube