“No personal calamity is so crushing that something true and great can’t be made of it” —Bill W.
Author: Leonard Buschel
Not an exclusive club – August 8, 2020 – Day said: “I grew up in a poor family, we went through some tough times, but so does the majority of the world. “My eldest sister basically raised us because mum and dad were gone at 4.30am and back at 7 at night.” Heartbreak was to strike when Alvyn died of stomach cancer when Jason was 12. Jason started drinking and fighting. It looked like he would go off the rails until Dening sent him to boarding school, triggering a chain of events that would lead to him becoming world No…
Doesn’t look like a murderer – July 7, 2020 – The Drug Enforcement Administration determined in its investigation that Kay had met with Skaggs and had text exchanges with him regarding drugs the night before the pitcher was found dead in his suburban Dallas hotel room. Kay was placed on leave by the Angels shortly after the incident and has not actively worked for the team in more than a year. Attorney Michael Molfetta, who had been representing Kay, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The criminal complaint details the DEA’s findings as it relates to Kay…
Crazy Times! Drugs Can Kill! – August 2, 2020 – And that has left people who have another potentially deadly disease — addiction — with fewer opportunities for treatment, while threatening to reverse their recovery gains. “It’s hard to underestimate the effects of the pandemic on the community with opioid use disorder,” said Dr. Caleb Alexander, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “The pandemic has profoundly disrupted the drug markets. Normally that would drive more people to treatment. Yet treatment is harder to come by.” Drug rehabs aren’t as much of…
Pinning the Demons… – August 5, 2020 – Celebrating 7 years of sobriety today. To all of you who supported me and stood by me, through good and bad, I want to thank you for not giving up on me. Salute! (With a glass of milk in my You Suck cup). more@Mandatory
Slitherin’ out on top – AUGUST 5, 2020 – he actor admitted that he first got drunk at the age of 12. The bartender, whom we then considered a hero, and now I understand that he belongs in prison, secretly brought us a full bottle of liquor. We drank it in the toilet and then staggered to the party. I vomited, I fell and tore off a giant curtain, climbed to kiss the girl, God bless her … I ran out into the street, vomited again, then I stumbled, smashed my head on the sidewalk and covered all my…
WATCH – Zoom and six feet away… – August 6, 2020 – He says he was at his wits end: in-and-out of jail and loved ones giving up on him. “I got 56 misdemeanors, 7 DUI’s, 6 felonies, and 16 driver’s suspensions. That’s all I used to know, that jail was an institution,” Anastasia stated. Then he hit rock bottom. “My mom died in 2011. She overdosed on Xanax and oxycodone, so I was just tired of my life. I just wanted to die,” he said. Until a friend got him some help. He spent months at several treatment centers…
WATCH – Human interest story – August 5, 2020 – “According to numbers I received from the 911 center, we’ve had 277 911 calls involving overdoses. Last year, for the whole year of 2019, I think we had 360. So we are on course to expand on last year’s number,” said Wood County Sheriff Steve Stephens. Walters says people with addiction need community and fellowship. He says it’s a crucial part of their recovery and the pandemic has largely taken them away. “Different buildings have different rules and regulations. And people just aren’t willing to have people in those…
Doesn’t sound very Christian – August 7, 2020 – “So, to me, I see that there’s clear need in Millville for this type of in-and-out patient addiction recovery service,” Worthington said. “There are people here now who are suffering from addiction. It’s not people from somewhere else. It’s people in Millville. “The site has been hosting recovering addicts for more than 20 years now through Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous,” Worthington added. “So, `those people,’ as they were called, are already on that property.” As board members and witnesses noted, the variance was needed because city ordinance only allows up…
Nothing compares 2 this – August 7, 2020 – “There were things out of my control, of course,” the 59-year-old told Rolling Stone. “And there came a time when I needed to really sit down with myself and say, ‘I can’t save him. I can’t give up my life and go try to live his life for him.’ And I had to come up against the possibility that he might die. But I had to be able to go on living.” “Of course it’s nothing a parent ever wants. But as a human being, I just needed to be at…
LISTEN – Shooting up… – August 7, 2020 – He had gone well past the ability of blending in and he exits the car, pretends to be a hotel patron and fails at scoring a cup of free coffee. Dedicated in his mission, he knows exactly where to go for a free cup of coffee-AA. No money, no license, no income, a list of potential felonies and a bunch of debts to some dangerous people, it’s 2010 and Brandon was at rock bottom. His younger brother Ryan had already graduated college and landed his first adult job. The big…
NO WORDS – August 6, 2020 – She gave of herself to everyone she met in big ways and small, a smile, a helping hand, or a reassuring hug. Her addiction took so much from her. It took her desire to do the things she loved. It took her ability to show her love. It took her smile. It took her sparkle. It took her sense of humor. It took and took and took until it took her life. When Sarah was 16 she had to have surgery to remove a large growth under her arm. She was prescribed an…
WATCH – Jane Velez-Mitchell is happy – August 8, 2020 – August 9 marks six years since he attempted to take his own life at the downtown bus loop with a loaded handgun. After an unknown teen talked him down, Malone saw it as a new lease on life and turned his life around for the better. “My time, I’d felt, had come for no return and that was why I had felt that this would be the easiest way to put myself out of the picture without thinking of the repercussions that followed,” Malone said, talking about…
Make Your Bed – July 22, 2020 – Of course, it’s more comfortable to snuggle in your sheets and stay in bed for a few more minutes. Yet, it won’t make you any happier. Here are five simple yet powerful practices for starting your day happier, healthier, and with more energy: Make Your Bed By making your bed first thing after getting up, you experience the first win of the day early on. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is because it’s an act of discipline. Activate Your Body Most people feel uptight after…
WATCH – Almost Heaven, West Virginia – August 8, 2020 – Santrock said the stress of COVID-19 along with isolation from the lock down in March caused him to overdose. “We’re addicts. We love to taking the easy road out. When something goes wrong in our lives or gets hard we’ll just run back to it. It’s the easiest thing to do than easier getting through whatever it is sober,” Santrock said. It’s a story all too common across the region. According to Cabell County Emergency Medical Services, last year there were 878 suspected overdoses, and so far this year…
Not a weight loss program! Good job! – August 8, 2020 – As well as trading in alcohol and soft drinks for water, the painter and decorator also started jogging, beginning with small steps and building up. Seven months on, and Ian has covered around 800 miles. Ian said: “I have lost around four stone since February, although I didn’t weigh myself when I first started in December as I was embarrassed, so it’s probably more. “I started off by walking and slowly upped it with small jogs in between until I could jog three miles, and started upping…
OBITUARY for Pioneer – July 24, 2020 – He founded CENAPS (Center for Applied Sciences), a private firm that provides training in behavioral health and addiction recovery. Gorski conducted training sessions and workshops in more than 20 cities per year, and he produced several books and videos on relapse prevention. “Anyone that knew Terry knew he committed his life and career to helping anyone who suffered with addiction and mental health disorders,” CENAPS business manager Tresa J. Watson and director of training Roland F. Williams wrote in a statement. “Terry helped us all understand that addiction is an insidious disease…
Hooked on a feeling… – August 9, 2020 – Ms. McConkey said the prevalence of people going out and having sex with strangers had decreased during the pandemic because of fear of the coronavirus, though it still happened. Mark Cross, a psychiatrist who works in private practice in Cremorne and Campbelltown, said it made sense that more people would present for help. “The overarching need to survive COVID and not put themselves at risk would be a strong reinforcement,” Dr Cross said. “There would also be the issue of there being less opportunity for meeting or hook-ups.” Dr Cross…
Stick with the Winners! – August 12, 2020 – Courtney Friel has been a news anchor at KTLA-TV, the number one news station in Los Angeles, since 2013. She also hosts the highly successful podcast “Keepin’ It Friel: Conversations on Recovery.” In 2007, at the age of 26, Friel was hired by Fox News Channel as a national news correspondent and fill-in host for “Fox & Friends,” where she worked for six years. She remains to this day the youngest on-air talent ever hired by the cable network. Previously she reported for CBS, ABC and Fox affiliate stations as well…
It works if you work it – August 8, 2020 – The night of drinking would start respectably enough, but casual getting-to-know-you moments and conversations about schoolwork would devolve as it wore on. Like many people, I used alcohol as a social lubricant, filling awkward pauses with sips. A drink or two and I’d relax. Three drinks in, I’d lose all inhibitions. I call it ‘trauma bonding’ aka “Let me tell you the worst thing that’s ever happened to me! Now, it’s your turn…” — it’s typical of people when they’re drinking. Drunken oversharing may feel like a shortcut…
WATCH – Reefer Madness – August 3, 2020 – Scott Storch has been clean and sober for a decade, ad now he’s paying it forward by launching his own rehabilitation center. The musician made the grand announcement on Instagram where he shared a clip of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I spent 8 years addicted to drugs and was able to get sober and rebuild my life. . Now it’s my turn to help save lives with my cannabis for healing rehab @theheavenlycenterofficial.” The Heavenly Center is an alcohol and drug rehab center in Studio City, California, and uses a unique…
The Power of the Ballot – August 11, 2020 – The group began its work in earnest in 2018, working closely with Recovery PAC, which has reported over $200,000 in in-kind contributions for things such as media promotions and staffing and executive expenses from the group in the past two years. While Ryan Hampton, the group’s organizing director, says the group isn’t directly associated with any recovery centers in the state, the team is made up of individuals affected by addiction and mental health recovery. “It’s really cool to be in recovery and be able to help mold the way…
Looking back, paying it forward – August 7, 2020 – Today, Kelly recalled these days while sharing her support with her long-time buddy who helped her these days. Unfortunately, her friend named Greta Barlow Clawson is the needed one these days because of his battle struggle with cancer. Kelly has penned a great letter to raise her motivation and celebrated her birthday with a classy celebration message. Here is the touching letter of Kelly Osbourne about his horrible addiction: “When I walked into ‘the rooms’ 3 years ago I was scared, desperately unhappy, lonely and broken in every sense…
Higher IQs? – August 8, 2020 – For Darien, a 28-year-old tattoo shop manager, working in hospitality meant that alcohol was an unquestioned part of her daily life. “I was absolutely overloaded with labour and underpaid, very much a cog in a system in need of a huge overhaul. So I would start work at 11am and be drunk by 3pm. I’d drink teapot negronis all shift, washed down with a nice bottle of wine or a jug of beer when I clocked off,” she says. Like many people I spoke to while writing this article, Darien’s decision to embrace…
The only dis-ease that KILLS OTHERS! – August 6, 2020 – According to an eyewitness, Whitaker’s demeanor showed she was “out of it” and appeared under the influence. The arrest report also outlined that the driver did not recall the crash, only that she had a couple alcoholic beverages at a friend’s house. Whitaker also admitted to consuming methamphetamine, heroin and PCP earlier that same day. When officers said that two people had died in the crash, Whitaker began crying and became apologetic, police said. Whitaker faces multiple charges including driving under the influence, reckless driving and failure…
Terrence Gorski died July 2. He will be missed! – 2020 – Conducting a Relapse Autopsy is Crucial So, if relapse is a process rather than an event, how does one identify their unique pattern and interrupt it early on? Start by asking the simple question, “what happened”? Ask this from a detached perspective, as if you were a scientist studying some natural phenomena. Adopt an attitude of curiosity and wonder rather than self-condemnation. The goal is greater awareness. Write a list of personal warning signs that lead you from stable recovery back to chemical use. Focus less on…
You have entered the Zoom Zone – July 26, 2020 – Moreover, how that social interaction happens seems to matter. For instance, functional MRI data reveal that live face-to-face interactions, compared to viewing recordings, are associated with greater activation in the same brain regions involved in reward (ie, ACC, ventral striatum, amygdala).12 So, more active social connection is associated with more perceived reward, which in turn affects the very neurological pathways modulating alertness versus fatigue. This neuropathophysiology may explain other proposed reasons for Zoom fatigue. For example, if the audio delays inherent in Zoom technology are associated with more negative…
Speed is of the essence – August 8, 2020 – Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, methamphetamine seizures increased by 52 percent, which shows how widely available this deadly drug has become. We must implement a national, whole-of-government plan to address this threat before it becomes the next preventable drug overdose crisis in our country.” “For years, meth has taken lives and destroyed families across America, particularly in the Midwest,” said Grassley. “Though this drug is not new, drug traffickers are finding new and harmful ways to increase meth’s potency and distribution, spiking overdose rates. By declaring…
WATCH – HORRIFYING Documentary – August 6, 2020 – Hasan Oswald’s first movie – part of the 2020 San Antonio Film Festival’s lineup – is a dependable and narrowly focused diorama of drug addiction in urban America. “Dependable” is an adjective that doesn’t have to do much heavy lifting here; the stories Oswald captures don’t garner groundbreaking insight so much as the dreadfully familiar cycles of surrender to the needle, vocalizations of self-defeat and false starts on self-improvement that we’ve seen played out in all manner of storytelling from “60 Minutes” special to awards-bait Hollywood production (Remember “Beautiful Boy”?).…
LISTEN – “We will get by, we will survive!” – August 6, 2020 – According to sources familiar with the band’s finances, the Dead could easily command $150 million for rights to its name, likeness and IP. It’s proof positive that nostalgia factors greatly in the business of the Dead, not just emotionally but with a steady stream of products. “I find it super exciting,” says Mark Pinkus, president of Rhino Records, the Warner Music Group label that houses all of the Grateful Dead catalog. “The band is very unique in that it has iconography that is striking and timeless.”…