JUST ENOUGH – Aug. 7, 2025 – Clarifying that she experimented “far before” 4-year-old son Cruz “was even in the picture,” Brittany continued, “And I hate it because now … there’s this narrative out there, like I’m a coke head or something.” After the Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen host reminded her of an earlier comment she made about being “done protecting Jax,” Brittany confirmed that she had helped her estranged husband hide his drug use during their decade-long marriage. “I never turned on him; I always protected him,” she elaborated. “I was constantly having to apologize for…
Author: Leonard Buschel
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus, Died: 135 AD Greece
SCIENCE MATTERS – July 24, 2025 – Moving toward saying no to drugs, cravings, and risky choices. The brain is a master controller, organized into large-scale neural networks that directly affect whether people with addictions break free or surrender. Research has identified a key site, the action mode network (AMN), offering potential current and future ideas for more readily resolving addictions. This network supports goal-directed behavior, including making decisions, carrying out actions, and adjusting behavior. In a 2025 paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Badke D’Andrea and colleagues used high-resolution fMRI scans to identify four subnetworks within…
AUDIO – FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN – July 22, 2025 – For the first time in history, fans at next month’s Dead and Company shows in Golden Gate Park will be able to purchase cannabis legally, according to Robby Saady, a vice president at Holistic Industries, which is the parent company for the Garcia Hand Picked cannabis brandThe Dead and Company shows are slated to take place at the park’s Polo Field and feature a cannabis consumption lounge and marketplace, similar to how the Outside Lands music festival has set up a legal place to buy and smoke pot. Saady…
VIDEO – CURIOSITY? – July 25, 2025 – A man in his 30s called into the Kyle and Jackie O show to speak with Dr Sam Hay, the network’s go-to physician, to ask for advice on how to manage his hip pain before he had replacement surgery. After getting the man off the phone, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson asked if Dr Hay would prescribe the caller pain killers. Co-host Kyle Sandilands then asked Henderson what her “go to” painkiller of choice was. Last year, the 50-year-old media personality revealed that she had been secretly battling an addiction to pain killers, sleeping…
JAPANESE WALKING – July 17, 2025 – From the daily 10,000-step method to the viral 12-3-30 treadmill workout, walking as an exercise has never been more popular. It comes with many health benefits, and the effort required is doable…even for the most exercise averse. But if 10,000 steps seems too intimidating or you’ve found yourself winded after attempting the 12-3-30 method, there’s another walking exercise that’s a bit easier that many experts advocate for: Japanese walking. As Shawn Anthony, MD, a board-certified sports-medicine orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai, explains, Japanese walking (a.k.a interval walking training) is a form of exercise…
OR ELSE? – July 24, 2025 Trump instructed federal agencies to determine methods to forcibly put homeless people dealing with mental illness or drug addiction into treatment centers for longer periods, while gutting existing harm reduction programs. – Civil rights organizations warned that Trump’s order would upend decades of legal precedent and would strip thousands of Americans of key civil right. “Endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe,” Trump wrote. “Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order. Surrendering our…
S CLUB STAR – July 19, 2025 – S Club singer Jon Lee has opened up about the challenging ordeal he went through with a crystal meth addiction, admitting at one point he found himself “smashing my flat up with a hammer”. The 43-year-old singer joined the pop group S Club 7 aged 15. The band became known for their uplifting hits including “Reach” and “Never Had a Dream Come True”. They initially split in 2010 before reuniting again in 2022. After Lee’s dad died in 2014, the performer said he “didn’t cope very well” and was offered crystal meth,…
IS JAIL PUNISHMENT? – July 14, 2025 – Terranova, who was found guilty of sexual exploitation of children and coercion and enticement of a minor, told a Federal Court judge he “was in a very dark place” because three of his fellow 121st Precinct officers had committed suicide. Christopher Terranova even went as far as buying a second home in Texas to be close to a teenage boy he was sexually abusing, and sent explicit chat posts to a teenage robbery victim. Terranova apologized to his four victims, but denied sexually abusing two of them, telling one, “You know and…
FIGHTING FOR NORMALCY – July 22, 2025 – Butterbean, the cult-hero boxer whose real name is Eric Esch, has come forward to reveal his past battles with sex addiction. Speaking to the Mirror, the 58-year-old admitted his own weight problems, past rejections and sudden fame fueled his addiction in the 1990s and 2000s. I’ve been married for a long time and I’ve always loved my wife, but that was something that I’ve always had trouble getting over,’ he told the Mirror. ‘Now, I’m good. I’m confident in myself now. I don’t have that problem. I’m a good boy now.’ Butterbean…
AND HE’S SUCCEEDING – July 22, 2025 – J.R. Montgomery strives to help those struggling with homelessness and substance use disorder. Studies show that peer support improves outcomes for those being helped, as well as those who help. Montgomery, a New York City native — from Staten Island to be exact — had donated a mound of clothes, as well as a tall gray backpack when he arrived at Family Kitchen just an hour earlier. “When you’re living on the streets,” Montgomery said, “the most important things to have are clean underwear and socks, a dry sleeping bag, and a…
ABOUT TIME – July 23, 2025 – Tianeptine, known as “gas station heroin” for its easy accessibility at local gas stations, is marketed as Coaxil or Stablon and is prescribed in some Latin American, Asian and European countries to treat depression and anxiety, In the United States, tianeptine is not approved for medical use. The FDA classifies the drug as a substance that does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient and brands it as an unsafe food additive. The FDA reports that tianeptine has been sold in-store and online, typically in tablet or powder form. CONTINUE@DelawareOnline
SAD BUT TRUE – July 25, 2025 – By definition, home is a haven where we generally feel safe. It’s a place of warmth and solace. That’s not the case for many people. For them, home is an awful setting where most of their nightmares come to life. It was such a horrible experience that it pushed them to run away and never look back. Some of them shared their stories in a Reddit thread from years ago, and they didn’t hold back. Prepare yourself for heavy, emotionally charged reads that are nothing short of riveting. CONTINUE@BoredPanda
GRAVEYARDS REJOICE – July 25, 2025 – The day before the bill passed the House, a group of researchers sent a memo to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, estimating that the package would cause about 156,000 people to lose access to treatment for opioid use disorder. The next day, the bill cleared the House, and the day after, Trump signed it into law. Linas called the findings “upsetting,” adding that the 1,000 additional deaths researchers projected was likely an underestimate because he and his colleagues only accounted for people not being able to access their…
VIDEO – HEALTH IS WEALTH – July 25, 2025 – Amish children showed extremely low allergy and asthma rates. This finding suggested that genetics isn’t the answer. Something else is at play here. So the researchers looked at how children in each group interacted with their environment. They found a major difference. When scientists analyzed dust samples from Amish and Hutterite homes, they discovered that Amish house dust had nearly seven times more microbes. To test whether this made a difference, they exposed mice to each type of dust. Mice that inhaled Amish dust showed much less inflammation in their…
ALL IN – July 24, 2025 – Rose E. Tolleson, an 85-year-old grandmother and Arkansas native, has courageously shared her deeply personal journey through gambling addiction in her new memoir, “My Battle With Gambling Addiction.” A Story of Addiction, Faith, and Redemption Tolleson’s memoir chronicles her descent from occasional casino visits with family to a devastating online gambling addiction that consumed her nights, drained bank accounts, and pushed her beloved husband Jeff to issue an ultimatum: quit gambling or lose their family home. Written with raw honesty and vulnerability, the book details how what began as fun outings to Mississippi…
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 382,659 views Apr 16, 2022 – Judas (Carl Anderson) sings the title song ‘Superstar,’ This dazzling interpretation of the hit Tim Rice – Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera tells the story of Jesus Christ’s (Ted Neeley) final weeks in a bold and epic production. CONTINUE@YouTube
VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE – 2025 – Performed live by students and teachers from the Candea College in Duiven, The Netherlands. 2016. Experience the groundbreaking rock opera that redefined musical theatre. Jesus Christ Superstar, created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, tells the final weeks of Jesus Christ’s life through the eyes of Judas Iscariot…— set to a powerful rock score that blends gospel, funk, and 70s glam. A bold retelling of a timeless story, this modern classic explores faith, fame, and betrayal in a way that still resonates today. Featuring iconic songs like “I Don’t Know How to…
TOO WOKE – July 21, 2025 – Attempting to eliminate funding for certain kinds of “woke” studies, the Trump administration erased hundreds of millions of dollars being used for cancer research. While researchers across the country have lost grants, two of the Trump administration’s political targets— Columbia and Harvard—have been hit especially hard. And across the board, many of these grant terminations appear to be part of the administration’s anti-DEI, anti-trans, and anti-vaccine agendas. Trump officials reportedly maintain a list of “flagged” keywords that they believe should trigger program reviews. In the NIH grants terminated so far, the 50 most…
STICK WITH THE WINNERS! – Aug. 5, 2025 – They belonged together. Now they work together. Jennifer Gimenez is a supermodel, actress, and prominent recovery advocate. Rising to fame with roles in films like “Blow”, “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle”, and TV shows such as “The Bold and the Beautiful”, Jennifer also appeared in reality series like “Sober House,” “Celebrity Rehab” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” However, her most impactful work lies in her journey of sobriety. Tim Ryan, often known as “The Hope Dealer,” is an acclaimed recovery advocate, interventionist and speaker. Featured in A&E’s documentary “Dope Man”,…
MS. SISYPHUS – July 8, 2025 – The reckoning that Robert Califf spent years warning about began, as so many things seem to these days, on social media. It was October 2024. His tenure as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration was winding down, and he was starting to imagine a happy retirement surrounded by grandchildren when he noticed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. taking aim at his agency, and the 19,000 or so people who worked there, on X. “FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” Kennedy wrote. “This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem…
THE NEW YORKER – July 21, 2025 – When Christine was nine years old, her mother, Mary, said, “Come here. I want to tell you a secret.” They sat on a brown couch in their living room, in Santa Ana, California. Mary, who was forty-three, said that a man she had known in medical school, a professor, was sending her messages about a plan to take her away and live in a mansion together. “I remember feeling really excited, because that fit with my sense of what should be happening,” Christine said. “I was really into ‘Harry Potter’ and the…
TOO MANY DOUBLES – July 23, 2025 – 178,000 people die from excessive drinking each year. The increase is tied to four groups that make up a greater share of heavy drinkers than they did two decades ago: Women, adults ages 45 and older, people living in poverty, and those with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome refers to a number of conditions, including high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Exactly why these groups are drinking more remains unclear. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Dr. Peter Martin previously told…
TOXIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ALCOHOL – July 21, 2025 – Courtney Stodden is embracing a sober lifestyle. The Celebrity Big Brother U.K. alum shared their decision to give up alcohol in a candid message about struggling with substances. “Alcohol, I’m breaking up with you,” Courtney wrote in a post on Instagram July 15. “It’s been a toxic relationship for years. Something I used to cope, to escape, to survive. But it’s hurt me more than it’s ever helped me—publicly and privately.” The 30-year-old also noted that the day before sharing the message marked “the last time” they would be drinking. “I’m…
FREE WILL? – July 24, 2024 – Anne Burrell’s sudden death last month at age 55 has been ruled a suicide. Police say the cause of death was “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine,” according to a statement provided to The Washington Post. Amphetamine is a stimulant found in prescription drugs used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and ethanol is a component in alcoholic beverages. The celebrity chef, known for her shock of platinum hair and her energetic presence on culinary competitions and shows for two decades, was found dead June 17 at her…
AUDIO – TAKE A LIFEGUARD – July 22, 2025 – Goin’ swimming? Keep in mind that more drownings occur in July than any other month of the year, the institute warns. Swimmers whose judgment is impaired by alcohol are more likely to take dangerous risks. Beware of going into deep water or staying in so long you get chilled and develop hypothermia. Lift a toast to summer fun but don’t let risky drinking ruin the party. Too much alcohol can be deadly in the summer heat, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism warns. And 1 in 6 Americans…
FAME IS FICKLE – July 25, 2025 – Lee, who was a high school student when her life became the focus of the 2010 series, told fans on TikTok that after her show ended, she “spent all my money on drugs” and hit rock bottom on more than one occasion. The former reality star said her struggles got worse after a breakup with an older partner she began dating at 20 years old. She did not know how to cope with the split, she explained, so she turned to substances. At her worst, she lived in her car and cycled…
KINDNESS MATTERS – July 25, 2025 – According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 7 young people aged 10–19 is living with a mental health disorder. That’s a stat that safeguarding specialist Steven Britton finds deeply concerning, especially when some of the most common symptoms are easily mistaken for typical teen behaviour. “Parents need to look beyond the surface and tune in to consistent changes that affect their teen’s mood, behaviour, and wellbeing,” says Steven, who has helped hundreds of young people through his tutoring and youth coaching company Top Grade Tutoring. So, how do you tell the difference…
MORE COUPLES THERAPY – July 24, 2025 – Their romance started off idyllic following a chance meeting on a Caribbean island, but the harsh throwaway comment Billy Joel uttered to wife Christie Brinkley amid his battle with alcoholism that later ended their 10-year marriage has now been revealed. Never more comfortable than with a keyboard at his fingertips, Billy was holidaying on the exclusive island of St Barts in 1983 when he happened upon a piano at the local bar. Pink from sunburn and dressed in a garish Hawaiian shirt, his playing had started to attract a crowd at the…
CANINE COACH – July 27, 2025 – The former Made In Chelsea star, 35, has released a book about her struggles, entitled Bad Drunk. ‘When you have a dog you’re not waking up with a hangover, you’re waking up and going for a walk along the river or meeting up with other dog owners. ‘Having Luna helps me talk to people; I can be quite socially awkward. And I find when you’ve got a dog and another person’s got a dog, you just have something to talk about.’ Millie, who is married to former Made In Chelsea co-star Hugo Taylor…