Leslie Glass's Blog, page 293

Working Long Hours Linked To Depression In Women

From Science Daily:

Women who work more than 55 hours a week are at a higher risk of depression but this is not the case for men, according to a new UCL-led study with Queen Mary University of London.

The study of over 20,000 adults, published today in the BMJ’s Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, found that after taking age, income, health and job characteristics into account, women who worked extra-long hours had 7.3% more depressive symptoms than women working a standard 35-40 week. Weekend working was linked to a higher risk of depression among both sexes.

Women who worked for all or most weekends had 4.6% more depressive symptoms on average compared to women working only weekdays. Men who worked all or most weekends had 3.4% more depressive symptoms than men working only weekdays.

“This is an observational study, so although we cannot establish the exact causes, we do know many women face the additional burden of doing a larger share of domestic labour than men, leading to extensive total work hours, added time pressures and overwhelming responsibilities,” explained Gill Weston (UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care), PhD candidate and lead author of the study.

“Additionally women who work most weekends tend to be concentrated in low-paid service sector jobs, which have been linked to higher levels of depression.”

The study showed that men tended to work longer hours in paid work than women, and having children affected men’s and women’s work patterns in different ways: while mothers tended to work fewer hours than women without children, fathers tended to work more hours than men without children.

Two thirds of men worked weekends, compared with half of women. Those who worked all or most weekends were more likely to be in low skilled work and to be less satisfied with their job and their earnings than those who only worked Monday to Friday or some weekends.

Researchers analysed data from the Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). This has been tracking the health and wellbeing of a representative sample of 40,000 households across the UK since 2009.

Information about working hours, weekend working, working conditions and psychological distress was collected from 11,215 working men and 12,188 working women between 2010 and 2012. Depressive symptoms such as feeling worthless or incapable were measured using a self-completed general health questionnaire.

“Women in general are more likely to be depressed than men, and this was no different in the study,” Weston said.

“Independent of their working patterns, we also found that workers with the most depressive symptoms were older, on lower incomes, smokers, in physically demanding jobs, and who were dissatisfied at work.”

She added: “We hope our findings will encourage employers and policy-makers to think about how to reduce the burdens and increase support for women who work long or irregular hours — without restricting their ability to work when they wish to.

“More sympathetic working practices could bring benefits both for workers and for employers — of both sexes.”

The post Working Long Hours Linked To Depression In Women appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Emma Thompson’s Letter: Why I Can’t Work For Him

From Mary McNamara @ LA Times: Emma Thompson pulled out of a project at Skydance Animation after the studio hired John Lasseter. When Skydance Media Chief Executive David Ellison announced this year that he was hiring John Lasseter to head Skydance Animation, many in and outside the company were shocked and deeply unhappy. Only months earlier, Lasseter had ended his relationship with Pixar — where he had worked since the early ’80s — and parent company Disney after multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior and the creation of a frat house-like work environment. Lasseter had admitted to inappropriate hugging and “other missteps.”

After announcing the hire, Ellison sent a long email to staff, noting that Lasseter was contractually obligated to behave professionally, and convened a series of town halls in which Lasseter apologized for past behavior and asked to be given the chance to prove himself to his new staff. Meanwhile, Mireille Soria, president of Paramount Pictures Animation, with which Skydance has a distribution deal, took the highly unusual step of meeting with female employees to tell them that they could decline to work with Lasseter.

But it was Emma Thompson, the politically outspoken newly anointed dame commander of the British Empire who made the first real definitive statement on Lasseter, and one of the most significant decisions in post-#MeToo Hollywood.

In mid-February, it was reported that the two-time Oscar winner had pulled out of Skydance’s highly touted animation feature “Luck,” citing her concerns about Lasseter’s hiring. According to her representatives, from the moment the hire was announced, Thompson began conversations about extricating herself from the project; she officially withdrew Jan. 20.

In a letter she sent to Skydance management three days letter, she acknowledged the complications caused by a star withdrawing from a project, including the effect her decision would have on the director, the rest of the cast and the crew. But in the end, she wrote, the questions raised by the Lasseter hire made it impossible for her to remain in the film.

Thompson declined to comment on her decision, but she made the letter available to The Times. (When contacted, Skydance representatives had no comment.) Here it is, in full:

As you know, I have pulled out of the production of “Luck” — to be directed by the very wonderful Alessandro Carloni. It feels very odd to me that you and your company would consider hiring someone with Mr. Lasseter’s pattern of misconduct given the present climate in which people with the kind of power that you have can reasonably be expected to step up to the plate.

I realise that the situation — involving as it does many human beings — is complicated. However these are the questions I would like to ask:

If a man has been touching women inappropriately for decades, why would a woman want to work for him if the only reason he’s not touching them inappropriately now is that it says in his contract that he must behave “professionally”?

If a man has made women at his companies feel undervalued and disrespected for decades, why should the women at his new company think that any respect he shows them is anything other than an act that he’s required to perform by his coach, his therapist and his employment agreement? The message seems to be, “I am learning to feel respect for women so please be patient while I work on it. It’s not easy.”

Much has been said about giving John Lasseter a “second chance.” But he is presumably being paid millions of dollars to receive that second chance. How much money are the employees at Skydance being paid to GIVE him that second chance?

If John Lasseter started his own company, then every employee would have been given the opportunity to choose whether or not to give him a second chance. But any Skydance employees who don’t want to give him a second chance have to stay and be uncomfortable or lose their jobs. Shouldn’t it be John Lasseter who has to lose HIS job if the employees don’t want to give him a second chance?

Skydance has revealed that no women received settlements from Pixar or Disney as a result of being harassed by John Lasseter. But given all the abuse that’s been heaped on women who have come forward to make accusations against powerful men, do we really think that no settlements means that there was no harassment or no hostile work environment? Are we supposed to feel comforted that women who feel that their careers were derailed by working for Lasseter DIDN’T receive money?

I hope these queries make the level of my discomfort understandable. I regret having to step away because I love Alessandro so much and think he is an incredibly creative director. But I can only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising.

I am well aware that centuries of entitlement to women’s bodies whether they like it or not is not going to change overnight. Or in a year. But I am also aware that if people who have spoken out — like me — do not take this sort of a stand then things are very unlikely to change at anything like the pace required to protect my daughter’s generation.

Yours most sincerely,

Emma Thompson

These are issues raised by many after news of Lasseter’s hiring broke, and as other men who stepped down or were fired from high profile jobs after being accused of inappropriate behavior have attempted to return to their industries. They are, perhaps, described more succinctly by Thompson — she did win one of those Oscars for screenwriting — but far more important is that they are literally parting words.

Thompson walked away from a film she wanted to do and a director with whom she wanted to work because “no” means “no,” and it needed to be said in terms that Hollywood can understand.

The post Emma Thompson’s Letter: Why I Can’t Work For Him appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Yoga For Back Pain

From Start Standing: Though yoga is an ancient practice, modern science is now backing up what yogis have known for years, that yoga is great for posture and spinal alignment (though there are many other benefits).

Yoga postures are called asanas. Each posture that’s listed below includes it’s name in Sanskrit, which will always end with asana.

Yoga postures will strengthen the muscles of the core which will help you maintain proper posture. Sitting for too many hours for too many years combined with a lack of resistance training results in a weak core. Some people have back issues because they lack the strength in their core and back to maintain proper posture.

Another benefit of yoga is to reduce stress and tension. Deep breathing combined with prolonged focus on doing the postures that consciously tense and relax muscles results in yoga practitioners feeling relaxed and energized after practice.

Long-term practice promotes better awareness of your body and mind, so when you start to carry tension, you’re aware of the change and you can work to relieve it.

A 2017 study published by the National Institutes of Health found that yoga is effective for chronic lower back pain and may be a reasonable alternative to physical therapy. The study concluded that those doing yoga were equally less likely to need pain medication as those who were doing physical therapy.

Research from Division of Physical Therapy at Georgia State University came to a similar conclusion. Their main finding was that yoga can decrease pain and increase functional ability in patients with lower back pain. They explain, “In addition to stretching and strengthening the muscles of the back and lower extremities through physical postures, yoga may have the additional benefit of reducing stress through meditation and breathing exercises, contributing to an overall reduction in symptoms for individuals with low back pain.”
Who Can Do Yoga?
Almost anyone can do yoga, but it’s best to speak to your doctor before you begin doing yoga, especially if you issues such as a herniated or slipped disc or a spinal fracture. Dr. Lauren Elson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, recommends that people follow proper form and speed and don’t move quickly into a pose, as opposed to “gradually lengthening into it.”
Recommendations
It’s a good idea to find a yoga program led by a certified instructor, and to let the instructor know what kinds of back issues you’re dealing with. And as there are many styles of yoga and types of classes, it’s a good idea to start with a more gentle style of yoga. Don’t force yourself into any poses. Give your body time to get stronger and more flexible.

If you get the ok from your doctor and you want to start practicing, you’re going to want to get a yoga mat so you don’t slip. If you’re in a warm climate or your yoga class turns the heat up, you may even want to cover part of your mat with a towel. And it’s a good idea to bring water so you don’t get dehydrated.

Yoga poses are usually done in combinations that balance each other. A pose where you’re doing some kind of a forward bend will often be followed by a backward-bending pose. If you’re practicing on your own, it’s a good idea to follow this guideline.

You may find it useful to use a yoga prop such as a foam block for some of the poses. Yoga blocks are used if you don’t have the flexibility to touch the floor, or if you need extra support. These can be especially useful if you have any back issues and you want to start your practice gradually and reduce your chances of straining.

Another thing you’ll learn in class is proper breathing, which usually involves breathing into your lower abdomen first, then into your upper lungs and chest. When you exhale, you push the air from your lower abdomen. This is known as diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing. Many yoga classes will teach you the ujjayi breath, which involves making a slightly aspirated sound as you inhale and exhale.
Finding A Yoga Class
There are many different styles of yoga and types of classes. Some styles are gentle while others are vigorous. Some will place an emphasis on meditation, and others solely on the physical postures. Other styles, such as Bikram Yoga (or “hot” yoga), practice in 90-105 degree heat.

The best class for you will depend on your level of physical fitness, possibly your age, if you have any injuries, if you like heat or not, and your goals. It’s a good idea to do some research on the class, school, and instructors before you join a class. And you can talk to the instructor before you take a class to talk to them about your goals.

If you try a class and it doesn’t work for you, most metropolitan areas have lots of yoga classes. It’s common that yoga schools offer teacher training, so schools will create teachers and sometimes even competition for themselves. In your area, you may find teachers who just finished a teacher training program as well as teachers with decades of experience who have even spent time in India doing more in-depth training.

If you find a school, class, and/or instructor that you like, get in the habit of asking questions before or after class. Many yoga teachers are very patient and willing to help you improve. You may want to ask about modifications if you have back pain, or about how to do the poses properly. Some yoga teachers will also be open to doing private training, which tends to be significantly more expensive than group classes.
The Best Yoga Poses for Your Back
Downward-Facing Dog (adho mukha svanasana)

This is one of the most well-known poses in yoga that stretches your hamstrings, calves, and shoulders.

To do this pose, you can start on your hands and knees, both shoulder width apart (called table pose). Spread your fingers apart, exhale and lift your knees away from the floor, press backward so your hips lift up towards the ceiling. Next press your heels down to the floor while looking towards your stomach. Hold the pose for a few breaths. This posture is very commonly done in combination with upward dog.
Upward-facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

This posture stretches your abdominal muscles, opens up your chest, and is great for your spine as many people hunch forward, looking down at their phones dozens of times per day.

This posture is done by inhaling and lifting your chest off the floor using your back muscles, supported by your hands pushing your torso off of the floor.  The tops of your feet should be pressed into the floor and your legs should be off of the floor. Look straight forward or slightly up.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Child’s pose can be done in combination with upward dog and downward dog, or by itself. It’s a calming pose that’s great for reducing stress while it stretches your shoulders and back.

To do this pose you can start on all fours with your big toes touching. Separate your knees as wide as your hips, then sit back until your glutes are almost touching your heels or resting on your heels. If you have a hard time doing this pose, you can place a folded blanket between your calves and your hamstrings.

You can leave your arms stretched out in front of you, or you can bring them to your sides palms up. Keep your eyes closed, hold the pose and breathe for as long as comfortable.
Cat (Marjaryasana) And Cow Pose (Bitilasana)


Cat and cow poses are great warmup poses and great for beginners. They’re often done in combination to start your yoga practice to stretch your spine and neck.

The cat pose starts in the table position/on all fours and you arch your back while exhaling, letting your back round, and look down without forcing your head down. It should look similar to a cat when they’re scared and trying to scare off an attacker.

From the cat pose move into the cow pose by lifting your head up, inhaling, drawing your shoulders away from your ears and dropping your chest, giving the opposite rounding that you had with the cat.

If you have a neck injury, it’s safest to keep your head in alignment with your torso.




Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana)

The triangle pose is great for strengthening your lower back, upper back, and legs while stretching your hips and muscles along the sides of your torso.

Point your front foot straight and your back on a 45-degree angle with your legs 3 to 4 feet apart. Stretch your right arm down towards the floor, touching the ground if possible, or resting your hand on a yoga block if you need. Your left arm should reach towards the sky opening up your chest. Your shoulders should be stacked on top of each other so they make a straight line that’s perpendicular to the floor. Gaze up towards your left hand.
Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

The chair pose strengthens your shoulders, quadriceps and your posterior chain: glutes, hips, and back. It’s called chair pose because it’s as if you were sitting down in a chair.

Start by standing upright with your legs straight and putting your feet together with your big toes touching, though beginners can stand with the feet hip-width apart. Inhale and raise your arms above your head, then bend your knees as you exhale your knees, while drawing your shoulder blades into your upper back as you reach your elbows to your ears. Draw your tailbone towards the floor. The goal is to get your thighs parallel to the floor, though you may have to work up to that point. Your weight should be mostly on your heels. This pose can also be done with your knees and feet hip-width apart.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

The pigeon pose isn’t a beginner pose, but is a great stretch for the hip rotators and flexors, as well as the glutes. Many people experience back issues do to tightness in these areas.

To do this pose, you can start in downward facing dog. You’ll bring your right leg forward and try to get your right shin perpendicular to your left leg, then drop your hips to the ground. If you need support, you can put a yoga block under your right glute. Your right ankle can be somewhere near your left hip, though as you get more advanced, your right shin will be more parallel with the front edge of the mat. The more perpendicular your right leg is to your left leg, the more intense the hip opening will be. Try to keep your hips square with the front edge of your mat.

Slowly lower yourself down, starting with your palms on the floor. You can gradually go down to your forearms, and if you want more opening, reach your arms out in front of you.

You can look forward, or for advanced practitioners, reach back and grab your left leg and pull it up while arching backward.
Conclusion
There are many postures in yoga, and everyone will respond differently to them based on their unique situation. And as you practice, poses that you had difficulty with before may become easy and enjoyable later.

If you’re suffering with back pain and you’re considering yoga, don’t expect immediate results. It may have taken you years to get to the point where you developed back pain, so give it time for your body and mind to change. As with anything, the more you put into it the more you will get out of it.

The post Yoga For Back Pain appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Eminem Teaches Royce da 5’9″ The Secret Of Creating Sober

From Djbooth @ TMIR: Sobriety is a very personal subject for all people, not just artists. Often, hip-hop gets pegged with glorifying substance abuse, and while at times that may be true, there are also artists who speak on their truth and struggles with substance.

One of those artists is Royce da 5’9”, who recently revealed in an interview with Ari Melber on MSNBC that he learned a very valuable lesson on sobriety from Eminem.

“One of the things I learned from him, is you don’t have to be drunk and high in order to create music,” Royce said.

Considering Eminem has himself battled addiction, and Royce is a recovering alcoholic, this is powerful stuff. Many artists will tell you that they’ve come to rely on drugs to be creative but to hear that Royce learned he did not need his crutch to create his art is a beautiful thing.

Addiction is a very subjective path to navigate, but it sounds like Royce da 5’9” is in a much better place. Good for him.

The post Eminem Teaches Royce da 5’9″ The Secret Of Creating Sober appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Pain Sufferers Need Treatment Solutions

Six years ago, in a small Florida city, an outraged crowd of concerned citizens demanded a reason for the high number of opioid deaths. A local Congressman and an FDA representative told the large and hurting crowd that restrictions couldn’t be put on the synthetic heroin, Oxycodone, and other powerful opioids that were killing people, because “the nurses tell us people are in pain.”

Oxycodone Wasn’t Designed For Chronic Pain

Oxycodone was approved in 2004 for sick and dying patients. After it was approved, it was widely distributed by physicians for all kinds of pain, and surgeries.

It was never supposed to be a first choice medication for either short term pain or chronic pain.

In fact, instead of mitigating chronic pain, powerful opioids can create their own dangerous cycle of drug craving and drug sick pain.

Back in 2010,  the impact of opiates was already devastating in this small Florida city. Over three hundred young people had perished of overdoses within the last two years. No one but their mothers were speaking for for them, and the word of “nurses” turned out to be more powerful that the voices of mourning families. But chronic pain is not to be dismissed.

The Issue Of Chronic Pain Is A Real One

Thousands of people have chronic and debilitating pain. Because of the attitude that pain can only be treated with powerful drugs, other solutions for dealing with pain, especially pain in those recovering from addictions have not been explored enough.

A Pain Expert Explains

The incidences of opioid overdoses have not abated. We continue to see headlines reporting that over 60,000 people are dying each year. There are also between 80-110 million adults suffering from chronic pain in the United States. As more and more those with legitimate chronic pain conditions lose or receive a limited supply of their opioid medications, they overutilize emergency room visits (sometimes weekly) and run up medical costs.

These complex chronic pain patients make up 20% of the patient population, and consume 80% of medical services with little to no improvement in quality of life. Currently, individuals seeking treatment for addiction are billed through mental health services, and those seeking treatment for chronic pain are billed through the medical system. However, the high-utilizing complex chronic pain patients require a specialized, coordinated care model that combines mental health and medical treatment to address the coexisting biological, psychological, and social disorders that fuel chronic pain suffering and addictive behaviors.

What Is The Solution For Chronic Pain Sufferers

Unfortunately, insurers – to our knowledge – have not recognized nor do they have a system in place to bill for concurrent bio-psycho-social-spiritual treatment, even though research shows that it is the most effective way to lower costs and increase positive patient outcomes.

Treatment Providers Must To Offer More Options

We know that chronic pain is costing this country just under a trillion dollars every year. What are your thoughts about how to address this? I would love to inspire a dialog between stakeholders. Are these issues being discussed amongst treatment executives? What solutions would are being recommended for this very expensive population? Whose attention should this be brought to? CEOs? CFOs? Chief Medical Officers? Chief Clinical Officers? Segment Strategists? Network Contracting Executives? Now is the time to address this treatment necessity.

The post Pain Sufferers Need Treatment Solutions appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Are Pain Meds Safe?

Almost daily we hear about opioid-related overdosing and accidental deaths. At the same time, many people need pain medication. We need to look at a middle ground.

In the not-so-recent past, narcotics were a first choice option for pain sufferers, whether for short-term acute pain, such as from a broken arm or a torn ACL, or for long-term chronic pain such as osteoarthritis, headaches, or fibromyalgia. Acute pain goes away, as does the need for narcotics. Chronic pain, however, may last a lifetime with ongoing needs for pain meds. Also if one has a problem with addictions to substances, recovery becomes even more complicated due to the addictive potential of opiates.

OTC Are The First Line Of Pain Meds Defense

We know that over-the-counter pain (OTC) are the first line of defense and they work together with the body’s natural opiates to help in pain relief.

What Are OTCs?

Aspirin
Ibuprofen
Acetaminophen
Ben-Gay

Secondly, the use of prescription, non-narcotic pain medications are also valuable for pain relief. Yet for some people, these medications do not aid in the reduction of pain.  This is when the option of narcotic pain medications must be explored.

What Are Prescription Non-opioids?

Antidepressants
Anti-convulsants
Steroids
Muscle relaxants (which can also be addictive
Anesthetics (such as pain injections)

What’s The Difference Between Dependence And Addiction?

Dependence means a person relies on a certain medication.  For those who take narcotic medication for the long-term, dependence is a given. For example, we are physically dependent upon medications such as antidepressants for depression.

Dependence means that we must have these medications and that when we go off of them, we will have withdrawal symptoms similar to symptoms that an addict may have.

However, most people don’t fit the definition of an addiction which is:

“An addiction is an unhealthy relationship with a mood-altering substance, event, person or thing which has life-damaging consequences (author unknown).”

Dependence Can Lead to Addiction

Many people using narcotics for pain control may not meet the standards for addiction, but they may be dependent. While it is possible to become addicted, the pros and cons of use must be explored, especially for those people who have addictions or have had addictions in the past. This can become a “slippery slope” into addiction. Further, sometimes when a person who is addicted to pain medicines, must have them to recover from a surgery.

Monitoring Is A Must Even For Those Who Are Not At Addiction Risk

Recently, I ran into my friend Jenny, a former co-worker who is recovering from an alcohol and drug addiction. We began discussing chronic pain and narcotics.

I can take narcotics for chronic pain without fear of becoming addicted. I also have my use closely monitored by a pain-specialist physician and my therapist. I have no desire to take more pain meds than needed and can go days/weeks without use. Also, I don’t like the effect of a heavy dose (which I know from recovery from surgeries), so taking the opioids at a higher dose than needed is not a temptation for me.

My friend, Jenny, however is a different story. She has specific pain from a horrible illness and has to take narcotics. She is monitored closely, but also told me she takes it only as prescribed, as it is the only mediation that works for her.  She knows she can’t misuse it, or she will be in significant pain, and her physician won’t prescribe it. Her monitoring is absolutely necessary for she is at risk.

The Pain Med Takeaway

While we understand there is a significance over-reliance of prescription opiates, I don’t believe in “throwing out the baby with the bath water” as for some people, opiates are the most viable option for pain management. With stricter guidelines being put in place, it will become safer for use and not abuse.

The post Are Pain Meds Safe? appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Face Fear And Learn To Let It Go

From Fran Simone Ph.D. @ Psychology Today: At a recovery meeting for loved ones we focused on fear which can crush and overpower. Often we project worst case scenarios. A litany of “what ifs” take over. We ruminate, we project, we worry. Our hearts sink when the phone rings in the middle of the night. Is our loved one in jail, or a car wreck, or a hospital emergency room? Because these heart breaking events are often consequences of substance abuse, loved ones often stay on alert.

Fear manifests in different ways. There’s fear of a tragic event, like a drug overdose, DUI, or suicide. And then there are less dramatic and more subtle worries. For example, when talking on the phone to my adult son who is in recovery, I pick up on his tone of voice. If it appears off kilter then “what ifs” take over:

What if something bad is happening?
What if he’s depressed?
What if his depression triggers another episode of substance abuse?

Although most parents pick up variations in their children’s tone of voice, I doubt that they jump to extreme conclusions. Rather, they might think that their loved one had a bad day or is tired or upset. More times than not this has been the case with my son.

As Mark Twain said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”

But what if the worst thing did happen, then how do we deal with the fear that it will happen again? One way to break the cycle is to stay present. Easier said than done. But when you think about it, all we have is the present moment. The past is over and the future doesn’t exist. Members in my recovery group have shared ways to stay present. These include:

Meditation
Prayer
Gardening
Cooking
Painting
Interacting with children, and
Volunteering

I’ve found that some of these suggestions have worked for me. Recently I participated in a drawing class where I became singularly focused on drawing a simple ceramic bowl. Totally present for two hours: just me, a set of pencils, drawing paper and that bowl.

Swimming laps is another method I’ve found helpful. Stroke, breathe, kick….back and forth from one end of the pool to the other. I recently read a book by Andy Puddicombe, The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness, How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day. It’s helped motivate me to begin meditating on a regular basis. After all who can’t find ten minutes a day to help become less anxious and sad?

The slogan “One Day at a Time” reminds me to stay present. It helps pull my attention away from projecting into the future and leaving yesterday’s baggage behind. Similarly “Just for today” lightens my load of fear and worry. Another slogan, “Easy does it” reminds me to be gentle with myself when I revert to becoming anxious and fearful.

To quote Mark Twain again, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.”

The post Face Fear And Learn To Let It Go appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Jada’s Red Table Talks: Recovery, Sobriety, and Healing

From Joi-Marie McKenzie @ Essence: Although Black History Month is coming to a close, the time to reflect, admire and celebrate Black women isn’t stopping anytime soon. With Women’s History Month approaching, ESSENCE is using the month of March to shine a light on not one, but three women, who embody excellence across generations.

When Jada Pinkett Smith first sat down at her red table, encouraging not only her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris to pull up a chair, but also her daughter, Willow, to join the conversation she had no idea seven years later Red Table Talk would be a digital phenomenon.

For many, the Facebook Watch series fills a void left by The Oprah Winfrey Show, which went off the air after 24 seasons in 2011. But unlike Oprah Winfrey, who wanted her viewers to live their best lives, instead Pinkett Smith and her clan simply want viewers to open up about their lives.

Viewers can feel that the Smiths have no agenda other than offering reflective conversation; it makes viewers want to pull up their own chair and oftentimes pause the Facebook video to think about what they’ve just watched.

“Everybody has a place at the table because there’s not just one perspective,” Pinkett Smith says in our March cover story, titled Talk Is Chic. “That’s what makes the show awesome to me.”

The show has also introduced us Pinkett Smith’s mother, Banfield-Norris, whom the family lovingly calls Gammy. The 65-year-old has gifted viewers with her wisdom-peppered reflections on domestic violence, which she’s survived, and sobriety. Banfield-Norris is now celebrating 27 years sober.

The cover story also features Pinkett Smith’s 18-year-old daughter Willow, whose heavy head nods and “yeaaaaaahs” at the red table have not only spawned memes, but observations that Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith have raised a young woman, who’s already well beyond her years.

The post Jada’s Red Table Talks: Recovery, Sobriety, and Healing appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

These States Are Hardest Hit In Opioid Epidemic

From Ben Tinker @ CNN: While there’s early evidence that the explosive rate of opioid deaths has started to slow, opioids killed more than 49,000 people in the United States in 2017, according to preliminary data. A new study reveals which part of the country has been affected the most by the ongoing epidemic.

In a study of opioid deaths from 1999 to 2016, “we found that, in general, opioid mortality is skyrocketing,” said Mathew Kiang, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Population Health Sciences.

More specifically, the study, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that the mortality rate from synthetic opioids in 28 states more than doubled every two years from 1999 to 2016. The District of Columbia saw the greatest increase in its opioid mortality rate, which more than tripled every year since 2013.

Synthetic opioids are manmade drugs such as fentanyl, as opposed to semi-synthetic opioids such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, or natural opioids such as codeine and morphine.

Fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and just ¼ of a milligram can be deadly. For comparison, a standard low-dose aspirin is 81 mg. If you were to cut that tablet into 324 pieces, one of those pieces would equal ¼ milligram.

“One thing I do want to highlight is that, despite the large differences in deaths across states, there’s no evidence to suggest that there’s differences in use,” Kiang said. “What we think is happening is that the heroin just continues to get more and more potent in the eastern United States, whereas heroin [in] the western United States has traditionally been this brown tar heroin. It’s much harder to lace with fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.”

At the national level, opioids were responsible for shaving 0.36 years off Americans’ life expectancy in 2016, the study says. That’s a greater loss of life than caused by guns or motor vehicle accidents.

New Hampshire and West Virginia saw the biggest drops in life expectancy, of more than a year, due to opioid deaths. Montana and Oregon were the only states to see a decline in opioid deaths from 1999 to 2016.

According to the report, “emerging research … suggests the opioid epidemic has evolved as a series of 3 intertwined but distinct epidemics, or waves, based on the types of opioids associated with mortality”:

Utilizing data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics and the US census, Kiang and his colleagues identified 351,630 opioid-related deaths from 1999 to 2016. Over that 18-year period, deaths from opioids increased by 455%. Men, on average, died at age 39.8, women at age 43.5.

Kiang said that, if anything, the number of opioid deaths is probably underreported because synthetic opioids require additional testing by a medical examiner. He hopes testing for synthetic opioids will become standard whenever the cause of someone’s death is classified as an overdose.

Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, said, “to talk about solutions, you have to frame the problem the right way.” To him, that means looking at the opioid crisis not as an overdose epidemic but as an addiction epidemic.

“Preventing opioid addiction is necessary for the long term, so that this crisis ultimately comes to an end. And preventing opioid addiction really means much more cautious prescribing.”

Kiang agrees that there are multiple factors at work. “We need to make treatment at least as accessible, available and affordable as heroin,” he said. “It shouldn’t be harder to get help than it is to get heroin.”

CNN’s Nadia Kounang contributed to this report.

The post These States Are Hardest Hit In Opioid Epidemic appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.

Bravery & A Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

For years, I ate foods I hated because I was terrified of being punished. Thanks to recovery, I’m getting braver, and I’m remaking my favorite foods, like this blueberry cobbler, to serve my special dietary needs.

Fear Stems From My Childhood

When I was growing up, I had no control over what I had to eat. Liver and onions, slimy canned spinach, fried squirrel, and fried rabbit, were all dishes I HATED. They were all served weekly. The dinner table rule was “Eat it or wear it.”

I Still Live In Fear

I’m a grown up, and almost never share a meal with my parents, but this still haunts me. Because I refuse to accept that this happened. As long as I pretend (denial) it didn’t happen OR shouldn’t have bothered me, the wound will not heal.

When I was a kid, I should have been given a choice to eat what was prepared or make my own food. How I was treated was wrong, but I’m too afraid to say it out loud. Just typing it makes me break out in a cold sweat. Until I can admit the truth, I will be imprisoned by the lie.

Deep-seated fears like this are quite common among adult children of alcoholics and survivors of child abuse. Emotional abuse makes people fearful. They are particularly afraid of confrontation or using their voice.

Saved By A Higher Authority

Recently, I learned I am allergic to gluten. What a relief! Now I have someone bigger and braver than me who supports my food choices. However, I want that same freeing endorsement for all of my choices. And I have that choice. The only person holding me back is me.

I don’t have to stand up to all of my fears at once. Taking each day, one day at a time keeps the new habit manageable. Likewise, I don’t have to give this much thought. All I need to do is practice my canned response, “That doesn’t work for me.”

Blueberry Cobbler Sans Gluten & Fear for One

I used this new principle to tackle one of my favorite recipes, blueberry cobbler with a crumb top. Since wheat flour “No longer works for me,” I replaced the flour with blended oats. If you are allergic like me, make sure the oats are gluten free. Oats are essentially a gluten free grain, however, they are often cross-pollinated by nearby wheat. Be sure to read the label.

For The Filling:

1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed
2 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of butter cut into small pieces
1 small oven-proof dish. I use a 4 cup glass bowl.

Spray the baking dish with non-stick spray.  Add the berries, sugar, vanilla, and butter to the bowl and stir to combine.

For The crust:

1 cup gluten-free quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
3 tablespoons of butter

Place all of the ingredients in a food-processor and blend until the crust is the consistency of small pea-sized clumps. For a more refined crust, blend the oats first then blend in remaining ingredients. Spread the crust mixture on top of berries. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

* White flour may be substituted for the oats and tastes just as good. Sometimes I use brown sugar instead of white.

The post Bravery & A Blueberry Cobbler Recipe appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.