Is Filmmaking Hazardous to Your Health? – Feb. 27, 2018 – “Hollywood is a disgusting place,” Timothy said. “I think that’s been a major factor in Ben’s drinking. You’re forced to develop a persona that is hard to shed and go home to your family. It affects your whole life. I think that’s one of the dangers of the film industry.” The 74-year-old father added, “It’s very difficult to balance family life in the midst of global stardom. It’s a hard, taxing life. In the world outside of the entertainment industry, marriages end all the time. It’s as common as…
Author: Leonard Buschel
Sober Living Death – March 1, 2018 – Jamie, still under his father’s health insurance, went to Palm Beach County, Fla., for treatment. He first spent a month at the Beachway Therapy Center, then moved on to a sober living house with a strong reputation in Delray. He was sober, attended outpatient treatment meetings and eventually got a job working as a law clerk. “At work he was doing well, but, at home on his own, he was depressed,” Daniels says. Florida has become the nation’s recovery capital with more than 400 sober living homes in Palm Beach County alone.…
Sometimes Quitters Win – February 20, 2018 – Alcohol use disorders are the most important preventable risk factors for the onset of all types of dementia, especially early-onset dementia. This according to a nationwide observational study, published in The Lancet Public Health journal, of over one million adults diagnosed with dementia in France. This study looked specifically at the effect of alcohol use disorders, and included people who had been diagnosed with mental and behavioural disorders or chronic diseases that were attributable to chronic harmful use of alcohol. Of the 57,000 cases of early-onset dementia (before the age of 65),…
Public Executions? – March 1, 2018 – the President commented on “some countries” that have much stricter punishments for drug dealers. This came after a riff on the “drug dealers and drug pushers” who Trump says are “really doing damage.” “Some countries have a very, very tough penalty. The ultimate penalty. And by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties,” Trump said. The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s follow-up questions about what exactly Trump meant. The comments come after Axios…
Honoring Jane Velez-Mitchell – Feb. 27, 2018 – “The ESHA awards are crucial for the recovery community in that they provide a fun way for addiction experts to come together and celebrate sobriety while, at the same time, trading ideas and strategies about how best to inspire and promote recovery.” At the 9th Annual Experience, Strength and Hope Awards (ESH Awards), Emmy Award-winning journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell was honored for her work in carrying the message of recovery. Orchestrated by Leonard Buschel of Writers In Treatment, the Experience, Strength and Hope Award is given each year in recognition of a memoir…
The Weight is Over – Feb. 26, 2018 – Based on population trends, more than seven in every 10 people born between the early 1980s and mid-90s will be too fat by the time they reach middle age. In comparison, about half of the “baby boomer” generation, born just after World War Two, were fat at that age. Being fat as an adult is linked to 13 different types of cancer, says Cancer Research UK, who did the analysis. The list includes breast, bowel and kidney cancer, but only 15% of people in the UK are aware of the link,…
Thoughts are Things – Feb. 22, 2018 – Vera found it easier to focus on the fibromyalgia pain than her scary emotions. As she ate breakfast, flashbacks of her early family file flooded Vera’s vision. She relived the tension she used to feel coming home from school wondering if her parents would fight out loud or give each other the cold shoulder. Her mother would take out her frustration on Vera the oldest and quietest of her kids. Her muscles tightened up as she recalled the fear of uncertainty and not knowing how to speak about her worries. It was…
Nutrition Counts – Feb. 23, 2018 – A recovery program akin to Alcoholics Anonymous helps people overcome food addiction Danielle (not her real name) knew she had a problem with food. At 5 foot, 5 inches tall her weight reached 160 pounds during her 20s. She tried different diets and controlling her weight through exercise. She would drop down to about 140 pounds, but then gain it all back again … Danielle won’t use her real name, not because she doesn’t want to share her success finding a long-term fix to her obsession with food. When she was 33 and…
Fingers Crossed – Feb. 22, 2018 – In Alaska, where deaths declined more than 11 percent between the 12-month period ending July 2016 and the 12-month period ending July 2017, the state’s public health chief, Jay Butler, said the trend has been cause for some optimism. The greatest portion of that decline was in prescription opioids, drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin, Butler said. “And we may be seeing a plateauing, if not a decline, in overdose deaths from heroin,” he added. “The bad news is that we’re seeing more deaths from fentanyl.” Indeed, fentanyl-related deaths spiked more than…
Success – Feb. 20, 2018 – NASHVILLE, TN, Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ – American Addiction Centers (AAC) is breaking new ground in addiction treatment with the release of its first patient outcome studies. AAC is joining the ranks of only a handful of national treatment centers to measure outcomes and publicly share the findings. Utilizing three years of tracking and research, with the assistance of Centerstone Research Institute (CRI), the studies analyzed how treatment at AAC facilities impacted the lives of patients. Results indicate that 63 percent of AAC patients maintain abstinence one year after treatment, as compared to national…
He Knows From Whence He Came – Feb. 22, 2018 – Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the country may be making progress fighting the opioid epidemic. The number of overdoses dropped in 14 states over a 12-month period ending in July 2017, but Georgia was not on the list. Georgia ranks 11th in prescription opioid overdoses. The CDC says the people at the highest risk to become heroin addicts are between the ages of 18-25 and are addicted to prescription pain killers, cocaine or alcohol. Here’s the story of one young man who became…
Money Addiction? – Feb. 24, 2018 – The doctor, who specialized for nearly 40 years in anesthesiology and pain medicine, was accused of selling Oxycodone and Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, without a legitimate medical purpose to undercover operatives who visited his Victorville office … A search was served in his Victorville office in 2014, during which time he surrendered his medical license … The counts include five counts each of distributing Oxycodone and Xanax. The prescriptions were allegedly sold in 2013 in exchange for cash, “outside of the usual course of his professional practice and without performing any type…
How About Next Year’s Super Bowl? – FEBRUARY 19, 2018 – Sober Grid is widely known as being a leader in the addiction space, and has managed to gather the largest user base in the mobile peer support recovery community. Their large user base ensures that Sober Grid is able to gather sufficient data to produce valid results. They are also being advised by Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and renowned addiction expert Dr. Warren Bickel, amongst many others. Sober Grid intends to pursue phase II NIH and NSF grant projects. In phase II they aim to deliver efficacious interventions…
NO Funding? Feb. 20, 2018 – MANCHESTER, N.H. — Addiction recovery center Hope for New Hampshire Recovery is shutting down four of its five locations because of funding issues. The organization said Tuesday it was shutting down its locations in Franklin, Concord, Claremont and Berlin by the end of the month. Its original location in Manchester will remain open … Hope for New Hampshire Recovery officials said financial support for the other centers never materialized. “When we were initially asked to open centers in these communities, we intended for them to be sustained via a blended funding stream,” said Scott…
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes – Feb. 23, 2018 – While the study is small—evaluating devices in a random sample of 56 users—it revealed that a significant number of the devices produced aerosols with potentially dangerous levels of lead, as well as other important metals such as chromium, manganese and nickel. Chronic exposure to such metals by inhalation has been linked to wide ranging effects—including cancer—on multiple organ systems including the lungs, brain, heart, liver, as well as the immune system. Even though the FDA has the ability to regulate e-cigarettes, there has been no firm indication if, or how,…
So Sad: More Will Be Revealed – February 26, 2018 – According to the Orange County Coroner’s office, Mark Vallas, 24, died at 1p.m. Saturday at New Existence Recovery, a substance abuse treatment facility in Huntington Beach. The coroner’s office said the cause of death was under investigation. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday … Mark Vallas, the son of former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, died on Saturday at a substance abuse center in Huntington Beach, California. Paul Vallas’ brother, Dean Vallas, confirmed Mark died Saturday afternoon. Mark Vallas’ father, Paul Vallas, was the chief executive officer of…
It’s Not Easy Out There – Feb. 26, 2018 – Depression is a growing threat to American children and teens. As many as 1 in 5 teens experience depression at some point during adolescence, but parents often miss the clues, and as many as two out of three young people with depression go undiagnosed, research shows. Because so many young people with mental illness don’t get help or treatment, pediatricians should routinely look for signs of depression in their young patients, according to updated guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. “So many teens don’t have access to mental health…
New York Times – Feb. 17, 2018 – Guns are a big part of the callousness, but only a part of it. They are one of three main reasons the United States has become “the most dangerous of wealthy nations for a child to be born into,” according to a study in Health Affairs. The other two are vehicle crashes and infant mortality. The chart here, from that study, shows just how much of an outlier the United States has become. This country suffers almost 21,000 “excess deaths” each year. That’s how many children and teenagers would be spared if…
Telling It like it Is – Feb. 23, 2018 – Mackenzie Phillips, the actress from the TV show One Day at a Time, was in Horry County Thursday night sharing her story of addiction and recovery. She spoke at Horry Georgetown Technical College about her cocaine addiction, saying she has been in and out of treatment 11 times. She’s now a counselor at a treatment facility in California and wants addicts to know there is help out there. “We have enough treatment. We just don’t have enough access to treatment. So there is plenty of treatment but the number of…
Then Auctioned Off? – Feb. 23, 2018 – A change in Kentucky law could mean that children born addicted to drugs would be labeled as neglected and abused at birth. In addition, mothers could have their parental rights terminated and lose their children if they are not enrolled in a drug-treatment program. State lawmakers say the change is meant to address the increasing number of drug-addicted babies born in the Bluegrass state. The new bill aims to “amend the definition of an ‘abused or neglected child’ to specify that it relates to a child diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome.” This…
Let There Be Life – Feb. 24, 2018 – the face of this emergency, dedicated public health officials and policymakers have suggested some vital solutions. One important, rigorously tested harm-reduction method, however, is still rarely discussed in the United States: supervised drug consumption sites, also known as safe injection sites. This must change. All evidence so far shows these facilities have proved incredibly effective at slashing overdose deaths in every country that has welcomed them. If lawmakers are serious about ending the opioid crisis, American cities and states should follow their lead. At safe injection sites, trained staffs provide clean…
DON’T DROP the SOAP – February 26, 2018 – LOS ANGELES — A self-dubbed “Rehab Mogul” who operated more than 13 drug treatment centers in Southern California was convicted Monday of rape and drug dealing. In all, Christopher Bathum, 56, was found guilty of 31 criminal counts. A Los Angeles jury also found him not guilty on 12 similar counts and deadlocked on three others. Before he was arrested in 2016, Bathum owned and operated 13 “Community Recovery” treatment centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as six in the state of Colorado. He faces a maximum sentence…
Evolving Man PODCAST – Feb. 21, 2018 – Jordan is a sex and relationship coach who helps his clients zero in on whats holding them back, and at lightning speed. He is a no BS coach who gets straight to the root of an issue without delay. He can do in 1 hour what some therapists take 100 hours to do, which is why he is in such high demand. Check out his coaching page at jordangrayconsulting.com Jordan is a recovering sex addict, and he is a powerful coach for people looking for support in their recovery. Jordan’s story is…
With an Injection of Fentanyl? – Feb. 25, 2018 – In Singapore, the death penalty is mandatory for drug trafficking offenses. And President Trump loves it. He’s been telling friends for months that the country’s policy to execute drug traffickers is the reason its drug consumption rates are so low. “He says that a lot,” said a source who’s spoken to Trump at length about the subject. “He says, ‘When I ask the prime minister of Singapore do they have a drug problem [the prime minister replies,] ‘No. Death penalty’.” • But the president doesn’t just joke about it. According…
Sober, and the Living is Easy – Feb. 23, 2017 – In 2015, he opened the Lighthouse, a luxury sober-living home in Darien for executives. Last year, he opened a second branch in New Canaan. With rates of $10,500 to $17,500 a person a month that are not covered by insurance, these homes are not for people of modest means. The house in New Canaan is 8,000 square feet and valued at more than $4.5 million. It is decorated like a home in a design magazine; the basement contains a golf simulator. But Lighthouse homes are more than a comfortable…
Children of the Corn? – Feb. 14, 2018 – KIDS THESE DAYS Human Capital and the Making of Millennials By Malcolm Harris 261 pp. Little, Brown. $25. THE SELFIE GENERATION How Our Self Images Are Changing Our Notions of Privacy, Sex, Consent, and Culture By Alicia Eler 294 pp. Skyhorse. $24.99. iGEN Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood By Jean M. Twenge 342 pp. Atria. $27. Full Story @ NYTimes.com
No Artificial Sweeteners – Feb. 24, 2917 – Sweetin, 36, revealed: “I have not had any alcohol in at least eight years, and I have been sober from illegal substances for at least six years. “I take my sobriety very seriously and would not do anything to jeopardize my commitment to sobriety.” After a recent accident, where she broke her ankle, she admitted that she had to take pain medication to help her cope. “I broke my ankle so badly that I had to have surgery in order to permanently have plantes and pins support my ankle,” she revealed. Full…
Married to Recovery? – Feb. 23, 2018 – Ms. de Lesseps says she has quit smoking, been practicing yoga, regularly attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and rehearsing rigorously. A few months ago, she moved to the Upper West Side, where she enjoys walking her dog, a Westie named Aston, in Riverside Park … After her arrest, she checked herself into a rehab facility for a month, cutting into an already tight rehearsal schedule. But Ms. de Lesseps, a woman for whom art and life have always been deeply intertwined, felt that the show must go on. Full Story @ NYTimes.com
The Rooms to the Rescue – Feb. 16, 2018 – The Irish actor spoke candidly about his past demons. International actor Gabriel Byrne joined Ryan Tubridy on this week’s Late Late Show following his recent win at the Irish Film and Television Awards held on Thursday of this week. Byrne took home the Lifetime Achievement Award at the awards this week, and held an interview with Tubridy to speak candidly about both the high and low points of his career which has spanned five decades. His first topic, his personal struggle with alcoholism in his twenties, struck a chord with…
Pill Pushers – Feb. 13, 2018 – The Sackler family, a sprawling and now feuding transatlantic dynasty, is famous in cultural and academic circles for decades of generous philanthropy towards some of the world’s leading institutions, from Yale University to the Guggenheim Museum in the US and the Serpentine Gallery to the Royal Academy in Britain. But what’s less well known, though increasingly being exposed, is that much of their wealth comes from one product – OxyContin, the blockbuster prescription painkiller first launched in 1996. The pill is stronger than morphine and sparked the opioid crisis that’s now killing more…