Drama queen? – August 27, 2020 – Filming the heavier scenes during the feud: “There was some heavy stuff there in the beginning, especially with the wreck scenario. It was just very heavy stuff. I’m always interested as everybody is different in so far as how the viewer feels watching at home, especially hardcore fans of mine. Even thinking back to the stuff with CM Punk when I was failing drugs tests, they turned it into a storyline and that’s what I mean when I talk about roller-coasters of good and bad. Throughout all of that, so long as I…
Author: Leonard Buschel
Heaven on Earth – August 30, 2020 – After the birth of her daughter Adalynn in 2013, Messer found herself suffering from serious and chronic back pain. She was prescribed some pain meds by her doctor, and that quickly escalated into a full-blown addiction to the pain medications. She could no longer live without the pain killers and reported that she sought opportunities to purchase the pills on the street when she so desperately needed more. More@Mom
“We are sitting under the tree of our thinking minds, wondering why we’re not getting any sunshine” —Ram Dass
FINALLY! – August 20, 2020 – “The world we are proposing will significantly reduce the harm experienced by the most marginalized in our society and actually improve public and community health,” said Queen Adesuyi, a policy manager at DPA’s Office of National Affairs. “It will also reveal the truth—that the problem has never been drugs. After one of the largest political uprisings in history this year, maintaining the status quo is not as politically feasible as it might have been in the past.” Titled the Drug Policy Reform Act, the model bill’s many provisions including abolishing criminal penalties for drug…
WATCH – The friendly skies – August 17, 2020 – Brandon Turner’s pro skater skills earned him attention, admiration and sponsorships and now it’s helping people struggling with addiction. more@CBS8
WATCH – Bridge over troubled waters – August 18, 2020 – In Clark County, Nevada fentanyl-related deaths have jumped 125% compared to this point last year, according to data from Southern Nevada Health District. In 2019 there were 64 deaths, and so far this year there have been 63 fentanyl-related deaths. “There’s absolutely no doubt that the distress caused by COVID-19 is shifting people more into having addiction disorders, is worsening those that have it and is blocking people from being able to maintain recovery,” Dr. Paul Earley, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said. Treatment facilities…
WATCH – Sober Housewives of the Pandemic – August 20, 2020 – Luann understands why studies show alcohol use is way up since the pandemic began in March — people turn to booze to ease pain — but she says, for her, it only raised her anxiety level … something no one needs more of these days … As you may know … Luann’s path to sobriety followed her Christmas Eve 2017 arrest after an alleged drunken dispute with cops in Palm Beach. A judge placed her on probation in 2018 and ordered her to stay off drugs and alcohol…
Making money from depression? – August 7, 2020 – As Mr. Lori drank a tall glass of red wine and watched, he noticed that a few employees kept glancing his way. Afterward, a member of the marketing department approached and asked if he was OK. Later, Oren Frank, Ms. Frank’s husband and the chief executive, thanked him in the elevator. Somehow, word had gotten around that Mr. Lori was the client in the re-enactment. Mr. Lori began to reconsider whether Talkspace was the dream employer he’d imagined — and whether it could be trusted to protect the privacy of…
MEDIA: Book of the Month – 2020 – So this can lead to what’s called “anticipatory grief”, and the feelings or symptoms we’re referring to are referred to as pre-trauma symptoms. We want to avoid these cumulative, pre-trauma symptoms being left unattended to, and morphing into post-traumatic stress issues later on. Maintaining Emotional Sobriety During COVID-19, contains the kind of information and work pages that help you to gain insight into which of these issues or feelings might be showing up for you. It gives you a user-friendly way to understand and process them so that you can transform feelings…
HOW MUCH $? – August 17, 2020 – This is my 100th blogpost since I started writing Psych Unseen for Psychology Today 6 years ago. In order to commemorate the milestone, I thought I’d take a break from talking about my favorite topics these days—false beliefs and conspiracy theories—for a moment, and do something a bit more light-hearted and retrospective. Here then are answers to the top 5 most frequent questions I’ve been asked though the years about being a psychiatrist. more@PsychologyToday
Quit or Die? – August 18, 2020 – “I couldn’t really see myself coming out of it.” But come out of it he did, and a decade later, Clune is sharing his story in “Hi, My Name is Dicky,” a raw documentary available on iTunes and AppleTV that details his life from aspiring youth hockey player to out-of-control junior antagonist to pro athlete teetering on the edge — one consumed by drugs, alcohol and mental illness. His journey to recovery started in earnest on that lonely stretch of highway. “My brother really had to talk me off the ledge,” Clune…
WATCH – Perseverance Furthers – August 18, 2020 – Nance was eventually suspended from the tennis team, but received great support from his coaches. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to conquer his addiction, which followed him to college in Chicago. Numerous emergency room visits due to alcohol were a wake-up call, but he was still unable to harness his demons. Eventually, Nance made his way to Cambridge on a scholarship, but that’s where things crumbled. His spent his scholarship money and missed rent. After a very sobering conversation with the school provost, Nance knew it was decision time. While reflecting…
WATCH – Quitting is for Lovers – August 19, 2020 – Lisa also spoke about past ‘fake and false’ friends who were around her for the ‘wrong reasons’. The star added that she used to wake up cringing after not remembering the night and would worry in case she argued with someone. Lisa penned: ‘CELEBRATION [star emojis] wow FIVE years ago today I drank my last drop of alcohol [pray hands emojis] I wouldn’t change it for ANYTHING. ‘My life is so much clearer, happier, gained more glow, laugh so much harder, having the life I always dreamt of, no…
Investigating the Investigators – August 20, 2020 – Regarding psychiatry’s theoretical roots, the authors explain that many professionals are questioning the validity of the DSM, which is failing to align with the forward edges of “genetics, systems neuroscience, and behavioral science.” Additionally, co-morbidity or overlap between disorders leads many to question the scientific status of the manual. There are practical issues as well; for instance, individuals may lose insurance coverage for their conditions if the DSM removes certain diagnoses. Still, the DSM has been called an “impediment to progress” by the 2013 director of the National Institute of Mental…
Unclear on the concept – August 21, 2020 – He said the children were locked in the back bedroom and he went outside where she followed him and hit him some more. When he tried to push her away he said she bit him in the hand. Officers said they saw wounds on his upper body and a bright red mark on his neck and a circular wound on his hand. In April, police arrested Hernandez for assault at the same location. They said the man and his son talked to them from a bedroom window where they and his…
Phoning it in? – August 20, 2020 – Ascent, a subsidiary of Sober Grid Inc. in Boston, has been awarded funding from the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services Agency to deliver treatment services that increase long-term positive outcomes for those struggling with addiction. Through Sober Grid’s online app, Ascent provides recovery support services to the African American, Hispanic and other minority communities. Many people in recovery lack access to an effective continuum of care for addiction recovery, and there are few online tools for ongoing and proactive support. Ascent aims to address this lack of access to cost-effective,…
WATCH – MEDIA: Coming soon… – August 21, 2020 – SNO BABIES depicts the grim realities of addiction and its effects on families. Kristen and Hannah are likeable, college-bound teens – and heroin addicts – hiding their plight behind the facade of middle-class suburbia. more@Fox44News
The Lord’s Prayer? – August 21, 2020 – In a recent interview with Christian Post, Cassidy says, “My faith is the number one thing in my life and has such deep emotional meaning that resonates with me. Every time I go to write a song, I pretty much can’t help but write to Jesus, or at least something about love and spirituality.” This song emulates the David and Goliath story, as Cassidy sings about any giant people may be facing, can be overcome through the power of God. He says, “”Run at the Giant” is about how the biggest…
WATCH – Don’t bogart that knob my friend – August 19, 2020 – In a world of contactless online shopping and buying groceries, you’ll now be able to purchase cannabis contactless in Colorado. The pot vending machines hold up to 2,000 products, including flower, edibles, and vape oils. Strawberry Fields has one of the “tricked out vending machines” where customers can buy marijuana without having to interact with a budtender. Customers do have to check in with a representative in person to provide ID showing their age. Strawberry Fields Cannabis tells KRDO that the vending machine arrived last week to…
How to be human? Humane? – August 19, 2020 – Try not to be overly reliant on people, places, and things to make you feel “OK”Acceptance is the answer to all of our problems (not always agreement)“One day at a time”Turn inward for calmAsk for help and be open to receiving itWhat you focus on manifests (positive and negative)Set boundaries to protect your mindSurround yourself with positive influences and energyIf you do not charge your own battery, you will have nothing to give othersInvite spirituality into your day- it is the one constantYou can restart your day at any…
WATCH – Charmed Life – August 19, 2020 – “It went from cocaine to oxys to heroin to heroin and crystal meth and it was just a never-ending process,” Staples explains from the Layman Way Recovery Center in Alfred that has become her new home. The drugs eventually landed Staples homeless. During the summer of 2019, she was living in a tent in the middle of the woods in Sanford, she weighed 80 pounds, had no money, and began shoplifting to support her habit. It was her rock bottom when she finally got arrested and was in and out of…
Legalize It! – August 22, 2020 – Many youth who are in this situation fail to gain the notion of personal responsibility for their actions, which hinders their capacity to develop the independent living skills to grow into a responsible adult. So, you now have an individual who is delayed in their development into adulthood. Some youth who I have recently spoken to are simply taking advantage of the situation and now have a mindset of entitlement. The issue is that this approach requires no accountability for the user and the temporary situation becomes a long-term issue for the youth.…
MEDIA: BOOK Review – August 21, 2020 – It’s the story author Jax Miller is now hoping to share with the world. Her book “Hell in the Heartland” was released July 28 and was her first soiree into fiction writing. “I’m from New York. I lived in Ireland for nearly a decade and that’s where I started my writing career,” she told the Progress. “I honestly don’t know where I first heard about this story, maybe a one-off on TV. But I knew I wanted to write about it. It’s a fascinating story. From her office in Dublin, Miller called…
WATCH – Back for the Dead! – August 21, 2020 – “Hear the snorting?” Deputy Steeves asks. “Pinpoint pupils,” he notes. The sheriff’s office says constricted pupils, labored breathing and snorting are all signs of respiratory distress due to a drug overdose. Steeves administered naloxone, better known as Narcan Nasal Spray, to the man’s left nostril and pushed him up onto his side.The man regained consciousness and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office completed the rollout of its bodycam program the day before. The office equipped 80 deputies with the technology. BodyWorn camera…
Stick with the Winners! – A regular panel member on NPR’s Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me, Alonzo Bodden has been making audiences around the country laugh for more than 20 years. In his stand-up special, Heavy Lightweight, which streams on Amazon Prime Video this summer, he goes from heavy topics like slavery, politics, and the #MeToo movement, to lightweight topics such as millennials, yoga pants and Taco Bell. some topics you cant categorize like Kanye West. As he says, “he likes to mix it up and hopes that audiences will join him for a laugh and a think, or two.” His first big comedy…
Let’s Make a Friel – Aug. 19, 2020 – “Our Inspire division champions stories that uphold the triumph of the human spirit and Courtney’s journey aligns perfectly with this. Her story is both comedic while also being sensitive to those struggling with addiction. The contrast of being a straight-laced Fox reporter and a party girl is also something ripe for humor with the potential to appeal to a large demographic.” “Tonight at 10: Kicking Booze and Breaking News” shares experiences and insights into addiction and the world of network news, including detailing encounters with President Donald Trump and the…
RIP – August 24, 2020 – “We are heartbroken at the passing of our managing director and beloved friend Clancy Imislund. He has been the heart and soul of The Midnight Mission since joining the organization in 1974. Clancy’s profound impact and influence have transformed the course of countless lives worldwide.For 46 years, he worked relentlessly helping disenfranchised people in Skid Row find a pathway to self-sufficiency. As a leader in the 12-step community for more than 61 years, Clancy’s legacy has reached the farthest corners of the world. more@Obituary
Swiss bank accounts stay hidden? – AUGUST 17, 2020 – The filings cited more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. tied directly to prescription opioids between 1999 and 2016. In large states such as California and New York, claims alone totaled more than $192 billion and $165 billion, respectively. Forty-nine U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and various territories are making the claims. Oklahoma settled litigation with Purdue last year. Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 under pressure from more than 2,600 lawsuits brought by cities, counties, states, Native American tribes, hospitals and others. The lawsuits said the company, and in…
When will rehab industry promote the good work they do? – August 17, 2020 – Gerner admitted last year that the company had actively recruited patients with premium insurance plans so it could maximize profits by billing carriers for high-cost, out-of-network reimbursement for treatment. In some cases, Liberation Way even paid for health plans for clients without coverage, routing the money through sham charities with names like “Hope for Families” to skirt rules barring anyone but family members, religious organizations, or legitimate nonprofits from covering the costs. Patients whose insurance had been bought for them were required to live…
BOOK REVIEW: The Madness of American Incarceration – July 21, 2020 – Montross is a gifted, often compelling storyteller. She opens her book with an explanation of how the whims of police officers can lead two similarly situated people battling psychosis to experience divergent, life-altering fates. If one officer delivers someone exhibiting psychiatric symptoms to a mental hospital, that person may receive the treatment required to stabilize and improve. But if another officer delivers someone exhibiting the same symptoms to jail, that person enters a world almost perfectly calculated to exacerbate despair. To illustrate this point, Montross recounts the history…