Author: Leonard Buschel

WATCH – SOBER IS BETTER – May 20, 2021 – To most skateboarders, time at the local skate park is all about perfecting their craft — time to get on their boards, practice new skills and just let loose. For pro skateboarder Brandon Turner, time at the skate park has become much more than that. “It’s a community and connection,” he said. “It’s freedom.” Turner became a local legend in the skateboarding world as a kid. He rose up the ranks becoming a skateboarding prodigy. He spent most of his teen and young adult years touring the globe, becoming…

LIVING IN D’LIGHT –  May 21, 2021 – But, she says, after reaching out to addiction support group Heal the Hurt (HTH), her recovery has been ‘astounding’. “Heal the Hurt has helped me to realise that childhood trauma was not my fault, to face my past and see it as the past, not my today. “With the help of group therapy in a safe environment of discussion and no judgements I slowly started believing in myself again with the help and power of the 12 steps to recovery.” She adds: “I now have a new thinking process, I had to…

FINE, TOTALLY FINE – May 17, 2021 – For many of us, emerging from pandemic life has created a flurry of new emotions. A large body of research shows that labeling these emotions — something scientists call “affect labeling” — can calm your brain and reduce stress. But psychologists say that many people make the mistake of trying to ignore negative feelings rather than acknowledging them. “We think labeling the emotion will cause us to focus on it and accentuate it,” said Matt Lieberman, professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of the book…

SNOW ANGELS – May 21, 2021 – Fearless and prolific conflict photographer James Nachtwey has been at the frontline of battles all over the world. On this occasion, he travelled with visual journalist and editor Paul Moakley throughout the states of New Hampshire, Ohio, Boston, and San Francisco to send these dispatches from the war on drugs. Jeffrey Stockbridge documents life in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighbourhood during a span of six years. Once a thriving industrial town, unemployment hit an all-time high after closures of the area’s textile mills. “When the jobs disappeared, the drugs moved in,” explains Stockbridge in a…

THAT’S ALL? –   May 22, 2021- Nikki had a successful career in healthcare, a detached home and, more importantly, two children and a loving and supportive husband. But alcohol held her in a vice-like grip for 15 years – and in lockdown, it grew even tighter. Nikki spent £150 a week on wine, sinking three bottles a night and topping up with three triple gins or vodkas. Every day started with a hangover and she sometimes couldn’t remember what had happened before she blacked out. She was also left nursing a £10,000 debt headache too. Nikki says: “Lockdown made…

“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” —Anna Lappé

An original story by Christopher Dale. – Nicholas had been virtually sober once before … well, virtually anyway. Unfortunately neither the liquor store nor the whiskey nor the inevitable DTs were avatars. They were real, and so was his alcoholism. Now it was time again, and Nicholas knew it. The telltale, all-too-familiar signs were back. He was out of a job, out of money, and out of patience. The hangovers, dry heaves and shakes had returned; the friends, family and fiancé had left. His tolerance for alcohol had grown exponentially, while the distance between sincere never-again vows and that first…

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE – May 9, 2021 – “Not every mom would do that,” Becky, 29, said, fighting off tears as her mom sat stoically across the table watching her youngest daughter, more proud of the demons Becky fought off than of her role in the situation. After beginning the year-long program at the Healing House and New Beginnings, a Christian recovery facility in Jefferson City, in October 2019, Becky is now living what she calls her best life, and she is very aware of the role her mom played in making that possible. “When it comes to…

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ADDICTION – May 11, 2021 – But a Hollywood movie cannot just be about boredom. It requires a meaty emotional conflict, preferably one that can be resolved in a couple of hours. Deb, for instance, says she blames doctors who overprescribed painkillers for Molly’s addiction, but the audience later learns that she left her family and that Molly grew up in a volatile, loveless home. A daughter’s feeling abandoned by her mother, the mother’s blaming herself for her child’s addiction — here is something we can chew on. The demands of mass-market Hollywood dramas seem almost engineered to…

DRY AF – May 11, 2021 – By the late 19th century, alcohol-free hotels, pubs, and community gathering spaces could be found all throughout the country and remained popular until after World War II, when society embraced consumerism and sobriety became unfashionable. Gradually every temperance business in Great Britain shuttered, until there was but a single Mr. Fitzpatrick’s outpost open, barely clinging to life, but keeping its doors open thanks to a passionate clientele of older teetotalers. In recent years the current owner began making efforts to appeal to children and families, which has breathed new life into the old…

“We are not saints…” UNTIL NOW! – May 12, 2021 – Born in 1856, Talbot started drinking at age 12, and for more than 16 years afterward was mired in addiction — even “pawning his own clothing and boots” for alcohol, said Father Braschoss. When friends refused to buy him a drink one evening, a penniless 28-year-old Talbot took a three-month sobriety pledge, eventually extending it to a lifetime commitment through the Dublin-based Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart. Talbot went on to lead a quiet, ascetic life that included daily Mass, prayer, Scripture reading and charitable works.…

ONE PILL MAKES YOU HAPPIER – May 10, 2021 – Drugs long stigmatized, such as psilocybin and MDMA, are rising in profile as mental illness treatment options. Just last week, results from a phase 3 trial of MDMA combined with talk therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder showed results that were impressive. “This is a pivotal event,” said Elemer Piros, a biotech analyst at Roth Capital Partners who covers the emerging alternative mental health treatment space. “It may not seem humongous, but it is one of the best and most rigorously executed trials in the space. And the results corroborate what…

MAN IN A VAN – May 12, 2021 – The best place to get to know Maurice Abbey-Bey was in the van. Most days, he roamed around the streets of D.C. in a white outreach van belonging to the harm-reduction organization HIPS, handing out clean needles and condoms to residents who need them and administering life-saving Narcan to people experiencing drug overdoses. Known to his colleagues and friends as the “Jesus of the streets,” or simply “Moe,” the D.C. native led an incredible life, one that took him from the dark pits of opioid addiction to the forefront of drug…

WAR CRIME IS REDUNDANT –  May 14, 2021 – The inquest heard his records showed several occasions between 2017 and 2020 when he went to A&E after either self-harming or reported suicide attempts. Before his death, the lorry driver had a crash which led to his HGV licence being revoked on 30 January which “had a significant adverse effect on his mental health”. Separately, Combat Stress’s funding arrangements changed and Mr Shingler was told on 9 February he would be referred to NHS providers instead. Ms Hunt said: “Understandably, we know receipt of that letter did cause distress to Lance.”…

DYING TO LOSE WEIGHT – May 13, 2021 – “Quick things like Tik Tok and Instagram are so focused on the image, and so that’s what people are really tuning into, much more than other content,” Dr. Kathryn Pieper, child psychologist and director of Children’s Mercy Hospital’s eating disorder clinic, said. That content is being internalized and can trigger people who are pre-disposed to mental illnesses and eating disorders. “There have actually been a number of studies that have shown the more social media usage, the increase in negative body image, because of all the social comparison involved. And I…

WATCH – BACK ON TRACK –  May 13, 2021 – Ware has opened up with frank transparency about his past, using it as a means to move forward in his ongoing fight with the effects of depression. In the film, he details his relationship with the clique he fell in with as a teenager and how their interactions went from relatively minor mischief to a dark place. One day in woods, Ware’s group scattered and fled after soaking him with gasoline and setting his legs ablaze. Help eventually came, and a painful recovery from severe burns followed. But so did…

WATCH – SOBRIETY COMES IN ALL SHADES – May 14, 2021 – I kind of was like, ‘I’ve already been to prison, how much more can it hurt to get my face tattooed?’ and I really didn’t realize what I was getting myself into,” Zebrasky said. Zebrasky dealt with hateful comments from friends and strangers alike. “The things that people were saying about me like ‘oh she’s always going to be a junkie, she’s never going to stop using drugs,’” Zebrasky said. “I’m more hurt than anything because people make these assumptions by just looking at me and I’m not…

MONTHLY SELF CARE – May 14, 2021 – Erica Taylor, co-founder and chief growth officer, TINSEL Experiential Design, New York “During quarantine, I got very into jigsaw puzzles as a way to do something with my hands but turn off the busy thoughts in my brain. Now, as we re-emerge, I’m finding it so energizing to do very physical things like rollerskating and socially distanced, masked-up dance parties outside in my neighborhood. My biz partner, Adette C. Contreras, is also a pro at mindful rituals and practices focused on well-being.” Evan Babins, event project manager, C2 International, Toronto “In order…

EVERYBODY LOVES BRAD – May 15, 2021 – Though the idea of divorce was heartbreaking, Garrett and Diven knew that a tumultuous relationship would have created a volatile home environment for their children. They both focused on co-parenting their kids after their split. “In hindsight, I think maybe I wanted to be a parent more than a husband,” Garrett wrote. “What was important was figuring out what was best for everyone in the long term. As in all failed marriages, the tension between me and their mom would have been more devastating in time than the much needed separation, which…

WATCH/LISTEN – THE CELESTIAL TUNING FORK? – May 11, 2021 – “Voyager 1 is in an interesting region of space that is outside this thing called the heliosphere, which is the protective bubble that encases all the planets in the solar system,” said Stella Ocker, a doctoral student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and one of the authors of the new study. “So, it’s really our only tool for directly sampling the nature of interstellar space.” Ocker and her colleagues don’t yet know what’s causing the “hum,” but it was measured through ripples of plasma in what’s known…

Lemon Jelly – Come – Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London that formed in 1998 and went on hiatus starting in 2008. Since its inception, the band members have always been Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. more@YouTube

MIRACLE AND MIRACLE WORKER – May 16, 2021 – Trejo’s children, Gilbert and Danielle Trejo, both got help at CRI-Help when they were struggling with addiction. Gilbert Trejo has nearly seven years clean while his sister has almost eight years. “My kids are my greatest accomplishment,” Danny Trejo said. “I just adore them. But I wouldn’t have them if I didn’t get sober. If I didn’t get clean and sober, there’s no doubt that I’d still be in prison or dead. It’s that simple because that’s the train I was on. The only thing that stopped it was the program.”…

STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – May 13, 2021 – Fay Zenoff holds a MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business and has a 30 year career in management with experience in a variety of sectors including education, tech, financial services and consulting. One does not need to have a drinking or drugging problem to benefit from recovery solutions. See Fay’s offerings for more details about her programs and services. “My work is focused on ending the shame and stigma of addiction — so that more people can find sustainable recovery. Be it by dismantling the often subtle discriminatory messages…

WATCH – DR. BERGER DOES IT AGAIN – May 12, 2021 – 12 Essential Insights for Emotional Sobriety reflects a capstone on the series and is a culmination of five decades of clinical practice, direct recovery experience, and working with groups and recovery professionals on what works in sobriety. “Emotional Sobriety is the key to long term sobriety, as well as critical to anyone seeking a happier and more fulfilled life,” says Berger. “As recovery progresses,” Dr. Berger says, “we begin to sense that there’s a more authentic self inside us. That’s our true self, the feeling of what we…

SANTA TOOK ALL THE CASH – May 12, 2021 – According to the Washington Post, the US Department of Labor had reviewed the Salvation Army’s “work therapy” program and determined it was unlawful and ordered the nonprofit to pay participants a minimum wage. The organization reportedly refused to comply and received support from various Congress members, before the DOL abandoned its efforts. “We appreciate the good that the Salvation Army has done in the world and the homeless shelters,” Gay Crosthwait Grunfeld and Michael Freeman, two of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said Monday. “And we support all efforts to…

PROFITS BEFORE PEOPLE – May 14, 2021 – Zimmerman’s testimony was part of a trial in which the municipalities accuse AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. of fueling the opioid epidemic by sending 127.9 million opiate doses into Cabell County from 2006 to 2014. A reduction in the amount shipped after 2011 led users to turn to illicit opiate drugs, like heroin, they said. The defendants said it is the Drug Enforcement Administration that sets opiate shipment quotas, and while they reported suspicious orders to the federal regulator, they never received feedback on their next step. The high shipping…

HITTING THE GLASS…FLOOR –  May 14, 2021 – When it comes to addiction, gender matters. Women often get addicted for different reasons than men, they go into treatment for different reasons, and they get and stay sober for different reasons. The good news about all that is that the addiction treatment women receive is evolving to account for those differences, and women are the better for it. Research and anecdotal evidence have identified at least three paths to addiction that may be more prevalent among women than men. The first and most troubling involves past or ongoing trauma. In the…

WATCH – AT ITS EXREME, EVERYTHING TURNS TO ITS OPPOSITE – May 12, 2021 – People become addicted to drugs for many different reasons. For Jeff Blackburn, it happened very young while he was living in a broken home. He told 59News his father was very abusive. He said while he was searching for a father figure in his life, he was molested at just 12-years-old. He turned to marijuana, and before he knew it his drug addiction was out of control. “By the time I was 14 I was drinking, doing acid. By the time I was 16 I…

WATCH – HIGH MARKS FOR HAPPINESS – MAY 10, 2021- “Today I have 31 years drug and alcohol free,” he wrote on Monday in honor of the anniversary. “I want to give thanks to everyone walking this path with me, and welcome anyone thinking about joining us; the free and the happy. And a big hug to my family for putting up with me!! Xoxo” He shared a photo by Dewey Nicks, taken for a feature story in Variety earlier this year. In that piece, Lowe explained that the moment he realized he needed help was when he missed an…

WATCH – A GREAT TV SERIOUS –  May 13, 2021 – The series finale of MOM comes to CBS and Paramount+. In “My Kinda People And The Big To-Do” Bonnie gains a new outlook on her sobriety after dealing with difficult news. Also, Jill and Andy take a big step in their relationship. more@CBSPittsburgh