Leslie Glass's Blog, page 295

Compulsion? Habit? Addiction? What’s The Difference?

Confused about your habits and compulsions? Are they addictions? If you’re wondering about the too-muchness in your life, definitions might help. After awareness, you can create an action plan to make changes.

Habit

A habit is something we do over and over that may be unconscious and automatic. Everyone has a wide variety of habits, some of which like washing up or turning off the lights, or checking emails are harmless, beneficial, or necessary. Others like nail biting or drinking to excess can have negative consequences. But if someone can stop from repeating the action, it’s not considered an addiction.

Addiction

An addiction is an extreme habit. Addiction is a continued behavior, activity, intoxicant, or substance use despite ongoing and increasingly negative consequences. That means you can’t stop no matter what. An addiction to substances, or behaviors, tends to get worse over time. Addiction is chronic and progressive.

Compulsion

Compulsion is an uncontrollable urge to do something, and when considerable discomfort is experienced if the action is not performed. With addiction there is a loss of control of actions and a compulsion to do something or use a substance no matter how dire the consequences may be.

Compulsion And Addiction Go Together

When someone suffers from an addiction, they cannot control their compulsion, no matter how hard they try or how determined they are to stop. Even though the person may know the devastating effects of their addiction, they do not have the means to stop. Either the person’s mind is so attracted to the substance or the activity, or the person may experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms (if they abuse drugs or alcohol) if they stop.

How Addiction Begins

Often the first steps to addiction are habits or behaviors that give pleasure like Tuesday night gambling, or snacking at night that someone does without knowing it can get out of control. This is especially true about process addictions. Addictions such as gambling, compulsive overeating, excessive exercise, and Internet overuse are called process or behavior addictions. These activities often begin as a habit, but progress into an addiction. Instead of chemical dependency that people addicted to drugs and alcohol experience, individuals suffering from process addictions are addicted to repeating an action. The action is more than a habit, because the person cannot stop doing it.

What Causes A Behavioral Addiction

Process addictions often meet a need for the individual, such as managing stress, relieving emotional pain, or helping the person cope with negative thoughts. However, both process addictions and chemical addictions cause serious effects, such as health issues, mental health problems, strained relationships, loss of productivity, and financial issues. Even though addiction has such negative consequences, the person is powerless to end the addiction on their own.

How To Choose The Therapy You Need

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Addiction-Related Conditions And Their Treatment

From Thrive Global:

Drug addiction is a complex and chronic disease that calls for systematic and elaborate methods of treatment. Physically, it manifests in the body’s dependence on a drug, strong cravings for a chemical that stimulates the reward system and changes the way a person’s brain reacts to internal and external stimuli. With appropriate medication that eases the most severe withdrawal symptoms and helps the brain readjust to its normal state, patients can successfully quit using only to relapse in the following few months.

The short-term nature of physical withdrawal can be compared to fever during an infection: although lowering the temperature can sometimes save a patient’s life, this symptom will keep returning until the underlying problem is resolved. When it comes to drug abuse, these underlying issues tend to vary greatly. A commonality that nearly all addicted people share, however, is a psychological disturbance.

Various mental health conditions can lead a person to start using, while others arise from the troubles brought by addiction as such. In order to reach long-standing recovery, it’s crucial to identify them and provide guidance to help people work through the problems that prevent them from quitting drugs and moving towards a healthy lifestyle. Dealing with psychological issues while treating drug addiction is the main focus of dual diagnosis treatment facilities. Such centers rightfully treat their patients’ mental state as an essential part of their addiction and compose treatment plans with regard for it.

Mental State and Drug Addiction

Psychological problems that result in the development of drug addiction can be generally divided into two categories. Severe diseases like schizophrenia, PTSD and bipolar disorder may lead a person suffering from them to start using drugs in order to find relief. When it comes to a mental illness that significantly impacts the patient’s well-being, treating or managing it along the addiction is likely to bring more benefits than attacking drug abuse alone. Others, like mild depression, anxiety, and fear, might be emotional indicators of a larger problem. In this case, it’s important to discover what caused the person to feel distressed and find ways to resolve it.

Two of the most common mental conditions that accompany drug addiction are depression and anxiety. Severe depression can be crippling. A person can feel physically incapable of getting out of bed in the morning, eating, sleeping and attending to their basic needs. In cases when getting professional psychiatric help is not possible, or when a person doesn’t wish to disclose their depression to anyone, self-medication is a frequent occurrence. While some people begin abusing relatively innocent caffeine, others turn to stimulants like cocaine and prescription medications to stay awake and functional. When depression inflicts insomnia, sleeping pills might be abused in place of stimulants.

Anxiety, on the other hand, requires soothing effects of opioid drugs like heroin and prescription pain relievers, as well as benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax to escape reality, relax and finally find peace for a little while. Anxiety can be a symptom of other disorders, for instance, PTSD, or it can act as illness itself. In case of the former, the mission of dual diagnosis rehab is to help a person find and deal with the traumatic events, memories, and experiences that caused anxiety and subsequently led to the development of drug addiction.

Benefits of Dual Diagnosis Rehab

Rehab at dual diagnosis facilities begins with detoxification. No progress can be made until drugs are completely removed from a person’s system, and the body begins to heal from the harmful impact. Detox can be extremely hard and physically stressful. Withdrawal symptoms of many drugs include insomnia, deterioration of mental state, flu-like symptoms, nausea, and headaches. In some special cases, like certain stimulants abuse, the withdrawal must be handled carefully under medical supervision due to health risks associated with rapid quitting. Once detoxification is completed, various therapies are applied to help patients tackle the other part of the problem.

Treatment for persons with co-occurring mental disorders presents significant challenges. It’s often difficult to distinguish between conditions that triggered the addiction and troubles brought by it. Therefore, patients’ cooperation and honesty are essential to successful recovery. Clinicians realize that comfort, safety, support, and trust must be established in order to reach the level of understanding when people are able to start discussing their issues and become open to a therapist’s suggestions.

Dual diagnosis rehab centers combine cognitive behavioral therapy, group and individual therapy, addiction medications and pharmacological treatment for mental disorders when it’s applicable to account for every aspect of the problem. This complex approach is their main advantage over conventional drug addiction treatment facilities.

Holistic Methods in Addiction Treatment

Regaining social connections, a person’s own will to recover and interests in hobbies, aspirations, and life, in general, is incredibly important. Effective treatment attends to the needs that extend beyond an individual’s abuse. It ensures that a person will strive to improve even after leaving the rehab facility and reduces the risk of relapse. To achieve this, inpatient dual diagnosis treatment facilities sometimes incorporate holistic methods into their programs. While there isn’t any conclusive research about the benefits of holistic therapies, they are known to make a person more receptive to treatment in general.

Holistic rehab is complementary to traditional treatment and can be used to ease the symptoms of both drug addiction and mental illness. Its methods are derived from cultural practices and traditions that aim to bring a person a sense of peace and motivation. Basically, holistic methods are simply extensions of a healthy and active lifestyle, applied together to achieve greater results. They usually include nutritional therapy to help patients combat the effects of self-neglect and malnutrition, exercise, massage, and meditation. Meditation, in particular, is often used to achieve a calm state of mind, work through some mental issues, fight depression, reduce stress and improve attention.

This approach is certainly logical. Drug abuse, after all, is rarely about drugs; it’s about life hardships, traumas and overwhelming feelings of distress that drive people to seek relief where it’s so readily available. Tackling the psychological issues, both leading to and resulting from the addiction, is, therefore, a step that should never be overlooked.

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5 Ways Bosses Can Reduce The Stigma Of Mental Health At Work

From The Harvard Business Review:

Experts tell us that one in four adults will struggle with a mental health issue during his or her lifetime. At work, those suffering — from clinical conditions or more minor ones — often hide it for fear that they may face discrimination from peers or even bosses. These stigmas can and must be overcome. But it takes more than policies set at the top. It also requires empathetic action from managers on the ground.

We count ourselves among those who have wrestled with mental health challenges. One morning a few years ago, in the midst of a successful year, Jen couldn’t get out of bed. As a driven professional, she had ignored all the warning signs that she was experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But her mentor, Diana, could see something was wrong, and when Jen couldn’t come to work, the gravity of the situation became even clearer. In the ensuing weeks, we worked together to get Jen the help she needed.

Diana understood Jen’s struggles because she had been there, too — not with PTSD but with anxiety. As the mother of adult triplets with autism and a busy job, she’d often had difficulty managing things in her own life.

Throughout both of our careers, we have moved across the spectrum of mental health from thriving to barely hanging on, and somewhere in between. What we’ve learned through our own experiences is how much managerial support matters.

When bosses understand mental health issues — and how to respond to them — it can make all the difference for an employee professionally and personally. This involves taking notice, offering a helping hand, and saying “I’m here, I have your back, you are not alone.”

That’s exactly what Jen said when a coworker told her that he was grappling with anxiety; it had gotten to the point where it was starting to impact his work and his relationships at home. He came to her because she’d been open about her own struggles. She listened to him, worked to understand what accommodations he needed, and told him about available resources, such as Employee Assistance Programs. Then she continued to check in to see he was getting support he needed and make it clear that she and others were there to help.

How do you learn or teach the people on your team to address colleagues’ or direct reports’ mental health issues in the same way? Here are five ways managers can help drive a more empathetic culture:

Pay attention to language. We all need to be aware of the words we use that can contribute to stigmatizing mental health issues: “Mr. OCD is at it again — organizing everything.” “She’s totally schizo today!” “He is being so bi-polar this week — one minute he’s up, the next he’s down.” We’ve heard comments like these, maybe even made them ourselves. But through the ears of a colleague who has a mental health challenge, they can sound like indictments. Would you open up about a disorder or tell your team leader you needed time to see a therapist after hearing these words?

Rethink “sick days.” If you have cancer, no one says, “Let’s just push through” or “Can you learn to deal with it?” They recognize that it’s an illness and you’ll need to take time off to treat it. If you have the flu, your manager will tell you to go home and rest. But few people in business would react to emotional outbursts or other signs of stress, anxiety, or manic behavior in the same way. We need to get more comfortable with the idea of suggesting and requesting days to focus on improving mental as well as physical health.

Encourage open and honest conversations. It’s important to create safe spaces for people to  talk about their own challenges, past and present, without fear of being called “unstable” or passed up for the next big project or promotion. Employees shouldn’t fear that they will be judged or excluded if they open up in this way. Leaders can set the tone for this by sharing their own experiences, as we’ve done, or stories of other people who have struggled with mental health issues, gotten help and resumed successful careers.  They should also explicitly encourage everyone to speak up when feeling overwhelmed or in need.

Be proactive. Not all stress is bad, and people in high-pressure careers often grow accustomed to it or develop coping mechanisms.  However, prolonged unmanageable stress can contribute to worsening symptoms of mental illness. How can managers ensure their employees are finding the right balance? By offering access to programs, resources, and education on stress management and resilience-building. In our marketplace survey on employee burnout, nearly 70 percent of respondents said that their employers were not doing enough to prevent or alleviate burnout. Bosses need to do a better job of  helping their employees connect to resources before stress leads to more serious problems.

Train people to notice and respond. Most offices keep a medical kit around in case someone needs a bandage or an aspirin. We’ve also begun to train our people in Mental Health First Aid, a national program proven to increase people’s ability to recognize the signs of someone who may be struggling with a mental health challenge and connect them to support resources. Through role plays and other activities, they offer guidance in how to listen non-judgmentally, offer reassurance, and assess the risk of suicide or self-harm when, for example, a colleague is suffering a panic attack or reacting to a traumatic event. These can be difficult, emotionally charged conversations, and they can come at unexpected times, so it’s important to be ready for them.

When your people are struggling, you want them to be able to open up and ask for help. These five strategies can help any boss or organization create a culture that ceases to stigmatize mental illness.

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Taco Bell Employee’s Inspirational Notes Is Muy Kind

From Alexandra Deabler @ Fox News: This is nacho typical fast food story. Kelly Stewart, a 27-year-old Taco Bell employee in upstate New York, decided to use her platform to spread encouraging messages to her customers — and they appreciate it.

Stewart, who has been working at the Tex-Mex chain since last fall, began writing inspirational quotes and putting them in customers’ orders in an effort to help make a positive impact on their day.

“I enjoy people,” she told Syracuse.com. “I like helping them make each day better. And it’s important for me to set a good example for my six-year-old son. Sometimes life can be tough, and I like looking up quotes and writing them out for people.”

The notes have not gone unnoticed.

Heather O’Donnell, one of Stewart’s customers, told Syracuse.com that seeing the message in her order restored her faith in others.

“I got this message that said ‘when you reach the end of your rope tie a knot around it and hang on— Franklin D. Roosevelt,”’ O’Donnell told the publication. “It made me stop in my tracks and smile. Knowing someone took time out of their work or life to write this is another example that there are still good people out there.”

Stewart said she started writing the notes last month and is beginning to get noticed by Taco Bell customers, who she said thank her for the words.

Those on social media have also given Stewart shout-outs, and have asked corporate to acknowledge her kindness.

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Illinoisans Can Swap Opioids For Medical Marijuana

From Lilly Dancyger @ Rolling Stone: In August, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed the Alternative to Opioids Bill, making it possible for patients in the state who had been prescribed opioids to opt for medical marijuana instead. The Opioid Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP), which is the first of its kind in the U.S., officially began accepting patients at 8:30 on Thursday morning.

“Just half way through the first day of the launch and we’ve already seen a lot of interest and patients and physicians have successfully registered for the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program,” Illinois Department Public Health OAPP Director Conny Meuller-Moody told Rolling Stone in an email. “We’re optimistic the program will benefit many Illinois residents and offer them an alternative for managing their pain.”

Interested patients who are over the age of 21 can enroll in the program using their state ID and written certification from a physician saying that they’ve either been prescribed opioids or have a condition for which they could be. Dispensaries will validate patients’ enrollment using an online verification database, and can then provide them with medical marijuana.

The state has an existing medical marijuana program, which was established in 2014, but it’s one of the most restrictive in the country, with long wait times and a complicated, bureaucratic application process. The idea is for this new system to be a quicker and easier way for patients who need it to access medical marijuana. Enrollment in the program gives patients 90-day temporary access to the medical marijuana program, and during that time they can apply to join long-term. And for those who are uncertain about whether marijuana will be sufficient to ease their pain, enrollment will not invalidate their opioid prescription, so they will still have access to their usual medication and use marijuana to supplement — and then decide if they want to replace opioids altogether.

Opioid overdose deaths are on the rise, with Americans now more likely to die of accidental overdose than in a car accident, and the prevalence even lowering the overall average life expectancy in this country. Politicians and healthcare providers are scrambling to find ways to curb this deadly trend. In the past, marijuana was seen as a “gateway drug” that would lead to the use of more dangerous street drugs, but now it’s often used as a safer alternative to some of the most dangerous drugs out there — the ones that come from pharmacies — or an “exit drug,” as Sam Dorf, the Chief Growth Officer of Chicago-based cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and retail company Verano Holdings calls it.

“The implementation of Illinois’ Opioid Bill aptly illustrates how attitudes about cannabis are changing for the better,” Dorf told Rolling Stone in an email. “With the Opioid Bill, Illinois is at the forefront of recognizing the benefits of cannabis for health and wellness and combatting opioid abuse. It will serve as a great pilot program for other states to watch and as they develop their programs.”

“This has given a lot of patients access to an alternative, and that’s what people are looking for,” says Anthony Marsico, Verano Holdings’ Chief Retail Operating Officer. “Patients are excited. We’ve been getting tons and tons of phone calls with people asking how they can get enrolled.”

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3 Medicines Can Stop Alcohol Abuse

Over 17 million adults in the US suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and 88,000 deaths a year from alcohol abuse or excessive alcohol use. It is surprising that many people do not know there are medications available to help manage this disease. Like any chronic disease getting treatment helps.

“Research shows that about one-third of people who are treated for alcohol problems have no further symptoms 1 year later. Many others substantially reduce their drinking and report fewer alcohol-related problems.”

– National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

There are currently three medicines available to treat AUD. They are important to learn because they can give those suffering from AUD an advantage and help prevent a relapse.

Disulfiram (Antabuse)

Antabuse was first discovered in the 1920’s by Danish researchers. They tested the drug on themselves to see if it would be a possible anti-parasitic cure. They went out to the local pub after work and found that drinking just a small amount of alcohol caused them to be violently ill. Their cure for parasites was used to develop a cure for AUD. For the past 60 years, it has been sold under the name Antabuse. It inhibits the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase that is needed by the body to process alcohol. When this enzyme is absent and alcohol is present in any amount, the person will suffer all the effects of a hangover immediately including: extreme vomiting, sweating, thirst, weakness, blurred vision, and many other serious side effects. The idea is that the user will avoid any alcohol use to avoid the effects caused by using it while on Disulfiram. Total abstinence is necessary while using this medication.

Naltrexone (ReVia)

ReVia was approved in 1984 as a treatment for heroin and in 1995 for use in treating AUD. It is available in pill form or as an extended-release injectable. In pill form, it is sold as ReVia or Depade and is taken once per day. Naltrexone binds and blocks opioid receptors in the brain and makes the use of alcohol far less rewarding. A person may drink alcohol, but he or she will not get high when taking Naltrexone daily. Naltrexone is not addictive nor does it react adversely with alcohol. A person may relapse while using Naltrexene and can continue using it without any ill effects, unlike Antabuse. Long-term Naltrexone therapy extending beyond three months is considered most effective, but therapy may also be used indefinitely.

Acamprosate (Campral)

Sold under the trade name Campral® Delayed-Release Tablets, this drug was approved for use in 2004 by FDA. It’s one of the newest medications to be used to treat AUD. Acamprosate has been used for nearly 20 years in Europe, where it has been found to be safe and effective for treating alcohol dependence. It works by helping to balance out the neuro transmitter systems in the brain of someone who suffers from alcohol dependence. The neuro transmitter systems have become accustomed to alcohol being present and cannot function properly when it is absent. Acamprosate helps to normalize the brain’s activity and makes it easier to maintain abstinence. People who relapse may benefit from continued use. There are no ill effects from combining Acamprosate and alcohol.

All the above medications are non-addictive and pose no threat for abuse. These medicines are designed to help manage a chronic disease, just as someone might take drugs to keep their asthma or diabetes in check. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism “Research shows that about one-third of people who are treated for alcohol problems have no further symptoms 1 year later. Many others substantially reduce their drinking and report fewer alcohol-related problems.”

Historically, treatment for AUD was relegated to support groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous, but since it has been categorized as a chronic brain disease by the American Society of Addiction Medicine more doctors view AUD as a chronic illness and that should be treated as such.

These medicines and others being developed may help a large portion of the population with AUD to recover from a disease they never asked for.

Information sourced from:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

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Newark Has A New Dealer In Town

From Barry Carter @ NJ.com: Kathy Velazquez stood in front of the Family Dollar Store begging for money Monday morning on a business corridor in North Newark. She had her belongings in a suitcase, and a telephone number to call someone affiliated with a drug treatment program in New York.

Heroin and crack cocaine — drugs she and her mother share — had taken their toll. Velazquez was tired of her 24-year addiction. She has overdosed three times and contemplated suicide.

“I’ve been going through a lot,” she said.

The 40-year-old Newark woman, however, still had not made the call by 9 a.m. She had a better option: Damaris Febus, a Newark detective in plainclothes, was about to help her. They were in front of the dollar store and steps away from a large truck in which Febus works with other plainclothes officers to connect addicts like Velazquez to treatment and social services.

It’s called Hope One Newark. The name is written on the truck in purple letters next to a purple ribbon, the color signifying recovery. There’s no police logo, only words that say “care” and “stigma free.” The people don’t even know the officers are cops, and Febus wants it that way when the truck camps out once a week in Newark neighborhoods. On Monday, it was at Broadway near Crane Street.

“It’s time,” said Velazquez, who began to cry. “I’m tired.”

We all know somebody with the same struggle. Newark needed to do something, too, saying the city can’t arrest its way out of the opioid problem plaguing the country.

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose called on Morris County Sheriff James Gannon to help Newark launch a mobile truck.

Gannon said he was the first in the state in 2017 to use a police vehicle to help addicts battling addiction with treatment and social services. Newark converted an old fire department scuba rescue vehicle into the mobile unit.

Newark, in its effort to make a dent, modeled its truck after Gannon’s program. Same colors. Same name.

“There is a warrior side as far as policing goes, and there is the guardian side,” Ambrose said. “This is where the guardian side comes out.”

Since its inception in Morris County, Gannon said his idea to help people with addiction and those with mental health issues has spread to other counties, including Monmouth, Somerset, Atlantic, Cape May and Burlington.

“Who would have thought that, within a year and a half, we’d reach thousands throughout the state?” Gannon said. “I had a simple premise in mind, to bring our collective services to the at-risk population, wherever they are, and whenever they need us.”

His department has a list of agencies it can call to make referrals and find out if beds are available at drug treatment programs. The collaboration, Gannon said, has worked better than he expected. Drug related deaths have decreased one percent in the county. In that time, its Hope One truck has seen 6,100 people, referred hundreds to mental health services and trained 1,600 people on how to use Narcan, a narcotic that can bring someone back from a drug overdose.

Newark, which started its truck in September, has done the same work. Ambrose said officers and Emergency Medical Technicians have saved more than 100 people with Narcan, and training has been offered to 30 people who now know how to administer the narcotic. He said 21 people have gone for drug treatment; 64 received a mental health referral and 86 were screened on site. Everything takes place on the truck, which travels throughout the city. So far, 400 people have visited to get help or ask questions.

Some are willing to receive help, like Marilyn Irizarry, 49. She’s been clean six months and is among six people who have been placed in a treatment program. Forty-one were referred.

“They don’t look and judge you,” said Irizarry, thanking Newark for its concern.

Others, unfortunately, have not taken the same step. “I’m not ready for it,” said Don Nichols, 54, of Paterson. He’s been in treatment programs but relapsed after years of sobriety, thinking he could do it by himself.

Help was available Monday for those that wanted it. Several agencies were there, including Integrity House, a drug treatment program; the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris Inc., and the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, which was doing HIV testing.

Ronald Williams, 65, was glad to see them.

“I had unprotected sex last night,” said Williams, who is also an addict. Had he not stopped by the truck, Williams said he was on his way to get high.

“I surely was. I ain’t going to lie.”

When he’s ready, though, Febus and her partner, Detective Noemi Medina, will be waiting. Both are trained certified peer recovery specialists, officers who know the right questions to ask when talking to people about treatment.

“We just plant the seed,” Medina said. “We don’t try to convince them.”

Velazquez was ready.

Warren Thompson, director of operations at Integrity House, arranged for Velazquez to be taken to a treatment program in Paramus.

“This is a big step,” he said. “You survived the streets. You can do this.”

Velazquez gathered her things. She asked Medina to tell her mother where she had gone, and to offer her some help, too.

Together, they walked across the street. Velazquez hugged her before climbing into a white van.

She was the only one that day. That’s all Newark needed. Next week there could be more.

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Justin Bieber On Sobriety & Celibacy

From Brandi Neal @ Bustle: I will admit that until now I’ve only been peripherally aware of Justin Bieber. But after reading the new Vogue cover story about Justin and Hailey Baldwin Bieber, I’m impressed by the incredible amount of self awareness possessed by a couple who are only 25 and 22, respectively. Justin’s comments about celibacy and sobriety are particularly interesting, and not far off from what’s recommended in many recovery circles.

If you’re in recovery, or familiar with recovery, you might know about the “one-year rule,” which basically asks those new to recovery to abstain from sex and intimate relationships for one year, according to Recovery.org. However, how long an individual abstains from sex in recovery is a personal choice, and many people are in relationships when they enter recovery and must make the decision that’s best for them. “Some people I talked with only needed five months of celibacy to get clear about what they wanted, and others I talked with needed five years,” Jennifer Matesa, author of The Recovering Body, told Helaina Hovitz for Recovery.org. Justin told Rob Haskell for Vogue that for him, sex and drugs were deeply intertwined, which is why he was celibate for more than a year before marrying Hailey.

“I found myself doing things that I was so ashamed of, being super-promiscuous and stuff, and I think I used Xanax because I was so ashamed. My mom always said to treat women with respect. For me that was always in my head while I was doing it, so I could never enjoy it. Drugs put a screen between me and what I was doing. It got pretty dark,” Justin told Haskell.

Justin’s story is hardly new — a young talented musician becomes a pop star, is catapulted to incomparable fame, loses their identity, and all control over their life, and is promptly torn apart and spit out by the media. It’s a tale as old as celebrity itself. What is unique is the fact that Justin, who became famous when he was just 13 — a crucial point of adolescent development — stopped buying into his own hype and saw what was really happening.

Bieber explained that in order for him to work toward healing, he needed to remove all forms of escape from his life and instead focus on why he was engaging in certain behaviors. “I think sex can cause a lot of pain. Sometimes people have sex because they don’t feel good enough. Because they lack self-worth,” Justin said. “Women do that, and guys do that. I wanted to rededicate myself to God [he says he is spiritual versus religious] in that way because I really felt it was better for the condition of my soul.”

Justin also told Haskell that he stopped using drugs when he briefly moved in with Hillsong church (of which he and Hailey are members) pastor Carl Lentz in 2014 for an informal detox. While Justin said he still drinks alcohol in a social context, he has not used drugs since. Hailey praised her husband for his dedication without the help of a formal recovery program.

“I just wanted him to be happy and be good and be safe and feel joy. But I’m really proud of him. To do it without a program, and to stick with it without a sober coach or AA or classes — I think it’s extraordinary. He is, in ways, a walking miracle,” she told Haskell.

For some people, managing sobriety without the support of therapy or AA might seem problematic. That being said, there is no one path to sobriety. Personally, as someone who comes from a family of people who have dealt with substance use (some of whom are in recovery) and who, at times, has also excessively used drugs and alcohol but doesn’t identify as an addict, I think it can be dangerous to claim there’s only one path to healing. For example, some traditional programs frown on mental health medication that is crucial to recovery for some people. I know people who have failed in traditional 12-step programs and have maintained their sobriety in other ways, such as the Racing for Recovery program, meditation, church, therapy, and others.

Every person in recovery is taking it day by day, and what keeps each person on the path to healing is different.

According to the website Dual Diagnosis, the difference between drug use and drug addiction is outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as published by the American Psychiatric Association. People who use drugs but do not develop substance use disorder may be self-medicating for an underlying physical or emotional problem. When the root cause of the behavior is addressed, the excessive use may stop. However, Dual Diagnosis cautioned that prolonged use of drugs can lead to dependency, and people who use substances in this way can develop a use disorder.

From what Bieber told Vogue, it seems he is taking steps in therapy, both individual and with Hailey, to address the reasons he turned to sex and drugs in the first place. Every person in recovery is taking it day by day, and what keeps each person on the path to healing is different. If you are struggling with drugs or alcohol, what works to keep you healthy might not work for someone else, and that’s OK.

“I’ve been successful since I was 13, so I didn’t really have a chance to find who I was apart from what I did,” Bieber said. “I just needed some time to evaluate myself: who I am, what I want out of my life, my relationships, who I want to be — stuff that when you’re so immersed in the music business you kind of lose sight of.”

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3 Ways To Eat To Beat The Blues

From Psychology today:

While unhealthy diets are known to have a negative effect on both physical and mental health, the benefits of a healthy diet have only been clearly demonstrated in studies on physical health, until now. Scientists at the University of Manchester, and other European research institutes, performed a meta-analysis, or a complete overview, of all existing research on the topic of diet and mental health. Their goal: To confirm the effects of dietary interventions on mental health, specifically on symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The scientists narrowed their findings down to 16 credible, randomized controlled trials, studies that looked at the mental health outcomes of people who follow what is considered a healthy diet, such as a Mediterranean-style diet, compared to the mental health outcomes of those who don’t follow a healthy diet. Together, these 16 studies collected data from more than 45,000 participants, some with diagnosed depressive disorders but a majority who had symptoms of depression but were undiagnosed.

For the purpose of this analysis, a healthy diet is defined as one that aims to 1) reduce calorie intake for the purpose of losing weight; 2) reduce the amount of unhealthy foods consumed, or; 3) increase the amount of healthy foods consumed. The researchers did not look at studies of individual foods or nutrients, but rather at studies that reported the effects of an overall approach to following a healthy diet. They found that all types of dietary improvements seem to improve mental health and that depressive symptoms improved equally, regardless of whether a dietary intervention was designed to reduce weight, cut out junk food, or introduce more nutrient-rich and otherwise healthy foods into the diet, such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. 

Several studies included in this analysis found that dietary interventions were more beneficial for women than for men, not only for depressive symptoms but also for symptoms of anxiety. (Overall, however, the effects of dietary changes on anxiety appeared to be minimal.) For both men and women, exercise combined with a healthier diet has shown an even more profound positive affect on symptoms of depression than dietary interventions alone.

Future research will help pinpoint exactly how dietary changes improve mental health and protect against mental illness. Meanwhile, these researchers point out several possibilities, including the power of vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances (such as phytochemicals, fiber, and beneficial bacteria) found in abundance in a healthy diet, to reduce inflammation and cellular dysfunction, and prevent disturbances in the gut microbiome, all of which are associated with disturbances in mental health.

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Smart Love

From Psychology Today:

How wonderful it is to be in love!

It’s a state of elation, where everything is marvelous and where the colors of life are just that much brighter. It can be described as a state of madness, since we don’t behave “normally”. Extraordinarily, we are doing things in the name of love that we never would have thought possible. Love allows us to survive the challenges of life, the bitterness of defeat and the uncertainty of our destiny.

From the day we are born, love is necessary to survive; we depend on the care of a mother or her equivalent. As children, we yearn for the love and acceptance of our parents. As adolescents, we imagine what it’s like to be in love and we fall in love with the idea of love. As adults, we need love to move forward with whatever it is we choose to do. When we have children, love expands to another dimension and becomes totally and utterly unconditional. Love continues to project itself in our extended families and in our friends. Love allows us to explore, to dream and to create a better world.

But, after the first steps are taken in a relationship, love is not always followed by a happy ending. When passion becomes entangled with suffering, insecurity, egoism, and vanity, then love becomes toxic. Toxic love can kill in many ways, whether it be with words, gestures or violence. This is where love becomes a sickness.  Instead of being that lovely, initial encounter between two people, it becomes a conglomeration of emotions, where there’s abuse and a need to control the other, sometimes under the pretext of offering protection. Often, this mechanism is not permitted, but rather acted out unconsciously. It becomes like an emotional cancer that takes over the relationship and destroys what was once beautiful. When this occurs, the person oftentimes loses sight of what it really means to be in love. He/she gets confused in a current of emotions that they believe are love but are really masking sickening needs, protected by excuses that do not justify the chain of emotions. What was once love becomes a relationship enforced by fear, intimidation, accusations, lies, deceit and/or abuse.

But, since life is a learning process, we can grow to realize when a relationship is not for us. If we learn from even the most difficult moments, then, nothing has been in vain. On the other hand, staying in a miserable relationship waiting for things to change without doing anything about it will surely send you down a path of disappointment and heartache.

The other person may not necessarily harbor bad intentions, but sometimes, they are simply not appropriate for us. This also does not mean the relationship has to end. It’s important to keep in mind that a healthy relationship allows one to grow and not be stifled. It facilitates growth but does not criticize or condemn. When a relationship takes a wrong turn, it’s time to confront it and redirect it. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

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