Leslie Glass's Blog, page 365
May 24, 2018
This Company Needs Workers So Badly It’s Putting Them Through Drug Rehab
From CNN Money:
This past winter, John Stroup had a problem.
Roughly one out of 10 applicants for jobs at his factory in Richmond, Indiana, had failed their drug tests, disqualifying them for employment at the safety-conscious company. A handful of the 450 people already working there had failed random drug tests as well. With opioids ravaging the region, the CEO of Belden Inc. was short-staffed while orders for the company’s computer networking equipment were pouring in.
“Now that we’re seeing a bit of a manufacturing renaissance, unfortunately we don’t have the qualified labor that we need, and we have this terrible epidemic,” says Stroup.
It’s a challenge confronting employers across America. Drugs are sapping a workforce already spread thin across a tight job market. Factories are particularly affected, with high overdose rates concentrated in counties that have a greater number of manufacturing jobs, according to an analysis by the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.
Some employers have dealt with the opioid crisis by altering their insurance contracts to discourage physicians from prescribing addictive painkillers, a survey by the National Business Group on Health found. Many also offer Employee Assistance Plans, which generally cover a few sessions of counseling.
Related: Walmart tightens its opioid prescription policies
Stroup decided to do much more than that. What he came up with could be a model for employers across the country — if they’re desperate enough for workers.
For Stroup, the decision was a simple cost-benefit analysis: How much would it cost to help people get sober in this Rust Belt town of 37,000, compared to what he was losing by not having them available to work?
After a few meetings with board members and addiction experts, he came up with a plan. If an applicant or a current employee failed a drug test, but they still wanted the job, Belden would pay for an evaluation at a local substance abuse treatment center.
People deemed to have a low risk of developing an addiction could spend two months in a non-dangerous job before they are allowed to operate heavy equipment again, as long as they passed periodic random drug tests for the rest of their time at the company.
People at high risk would spend two months in an intensive outpatient monitoring and treatment program, with the promise of a job at the end if they made sufficient progress. On average, Belden figured it would have to shell out about $5,000 for each person it gave a second chance to.
A powerful incentive
The program offered a powerful incentive for drug users to get clean and stay that way. It’s also especially important for people who don’t have jobs yet. Robb Backmeyer, chief operating officer of Centerstone Indiana, the treatment center working with Belden, says other employers haven’t been as proactive about helping their potential workers.
“Someone else needs need to fix them, and then when they’re ready, send them to us,” says Backmeyer, characterizing the prevailing attitude among businesses. Some rehab programs include job training, but graduates still face tremendous stigma when job hunting. That’s why he thinks Belden’s program holds so much promise.
“A lot of times there’s no carrot at the end of treatment other than the fact that you’re in recovery,” Backmeyer says. “But here there’s really the idea that there’s a job. Employment is really important to people, and it’s critical to their success.”
Belden started its experiment in March. Since then, they’ve had eight participants, five of whom were either first-time applicants or about ready to be hired through a temp staffing company before they hit the drug test. Half were evaluated as having low risk of developing addiction issues, and two of the current employees have made it through the monitoring period and are back at work.
Related: Opioid addiction treatments are costing employers billions
One employee, whom CNNMoney is keeping anonymous, had been at Belden for nearly two years before he had an accident. A drug test picked up traces of the opioid pain reliever hydrocodone, which he got from an expired prescription he’d had from an earlier injury. All of a sudden he was in more trouble than he bargained for.
But there was a way out: Two months of working in inventory, combined with counseling and more drug tests, before he was cleared to work again. “At any other place that didn’t have this program, I probably would’ve been just let go,” the worker said.
No one currently applying for work at Belden would agree to speak with CNN, and some are still being evaluated. So it will take a few months to see if the model works. But Belden’s management has high hopes — and so do its staff. whom the company informed in an all-hands meeting as the experiment was about to begin.
Louis Hubble, who has worked at Belden for 35 years, lost his sister to a drug overdose and has seen people fired for drug use. “When they first told us about it, I was about ready to jump up and cheer,” he said. “I think a lot of what will help is that sense of hope. As long as they have that as a motivation, that helps drive their wanting to get better.”
Will it work?
The program won’t help fix the people whose lives have already been totally destroyed by drugs, says Mitch Rosenthal, an addiction specialist who helped design Belden’s approach. But it could prevent casual users from getting to that point in the first place, he says.
“People have to get in a lot more trouble before they’re likely to be referred to treatment by the criminal justice system or even family,” Rosenthal says. “This is early detection.”
There are some government grants for job training within rehab programs, and legislation pending in the Senate would direct the federal Department of Labor to allocate some of its workforce development funds toward those recovering from addiction.
Without those kind of subsidies, Belden’s approach is probably only scalable while qualified workers are still hard to find. Research has linked the severity of the opioid crisis in part to economic conditions, and if unemployment were to spike again, employers will have plenty of less risky candidates to choose from.
“When you have a larger pool of potential labor,” says Michael Miller, director of programs for a nonprofit advocacy group called Young People in Recovery, “especially when someone has a substance abuse disorder or a criminal record as a result or a shoddy job history, their candidacy is going to be immediately disregarded.”
On the other hand, Miller says, people who make it through recovery are some of the most diligent and loyal employees he knows. That’s what Stroup is hoping, too: Even with the heavy investment up front, helping someone get well could pay dividends down the road.
“My instincts tell me that if someone goes through all the pain and difficulty to get themselves through a recovery program and then has the job at Belden, it’s unlikely that person is going to give me anything other than their full effort,” Stroup says.
The post This Company Needs Workers So Badly It’s Putting Them Through Drug Rehab appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.
Legalize Pot, But Don’t Normalize It
From Bloomberg:
Cities should restrict marijuana businesses to the same areas as junkyards and strip clubs.
New York City is reportedly starting a task force to prepare for the full legalization of recreational marijuana, with the mayor now saying that it’s likely to occur “in the near future.” But has the American experiment with pot legalization gone too far? For all my libertarian upbringing, I am starting to take umbrage at a situation where marijuana is sold openly on some streets, “medical” prescriptions in California are ridiculously easy to get, and too many city sidewalks are full of that unmistakable smell. (Hello, San Francisco and Venice Beach!)
To be clear, my fundamental moral view is that no one should ever go to prison for ingesting marijuana or for selling it to others, minors aside. Individuals have a right to do what they wish with their own bodies, provided they are not aggressing on the comparable rights of others. That logic holds for marijuana, and I have been greatly heartened that American opinion has shifted against sending people to prison for marijuana use. It’s discriminatory, and a poor use of scarce prison resources.
That said, I think it is the proper province of government to regulate the use of public spaces in ways that encourage order and utility. Private shopping malls won’t let you walk through the halls snorting heroin or smoking marijuana, and there is nothing outrageous about that decision. The property owners have decided that they want a particular kind of experience and image for their venue, and they regulate its use and access accordingly. Municipal governments should make and enforce comparable decisions.
Cities and towns already face these trade-offs when it comes to zoning. Even if you believe, as I do, that most zoning regulations are far too restrictive, it’s legitimate for a local government to decide that a waste dump, an auto junkyard or a strip club cannot simply set up shop anywhere in a city, hang out a sign and attract attention. We ought to treat marijuana the same way.
I propose that cities and suburbs restrict the sale and usage of marijuana to the same areas we use for garbage disposal and other “zoned out of sight” enterprises. We needn’t throw anyone in jail: If people or businesses violate these strictures, keep hitting them with the equivalent of parking tickets or injunctions, much as you would for an out-of-place repair shop.
It should be possible to visit Colorado without knowing that marijuana is legal there. If someone is determined to ingest it, they can either drive to an industrial zone or order it online, and smoke it at home or up away in the mountains.
You might wonder why we should be so worried about public marijuana use. To put it bluntly, I see intelligence as one of the ultimate scarcities when it comes to making the world a better place, and smoking marijuana does not make people smarter. Even if you think there is no long-term damage, right after smoking a person is less able to perform most IQ-intensive tasks (with improvisational jazz as a possible exception). By having city streets filled with pot, pot stores and the odor of pot, we are sending a signal that our society isn’t so oriented toward the intellect or bourgeois values. Even if that signal is reflecting a good bit of truth, it would be better not to acknowledge it too openly, just as most advocates of legalized prostitution don’t want to allow brothels on Main Street.
Keeping marijuana out of sight will also limit the risk of backlash against its basic legality.
Marijuana advocates commonly counter that the drug is no worse or more dangerous than alcohol. I agree, but you nonetheless might still believe that alcohol has acquired too prominent a place in the American public sphere, even if that state of affairs is no longer reversible. There is no reason we should compound that mistake with marijuana.
Given that we’ve had decades of a (mostly failed) “War on Drugs,” it seems odd to call drug issues neglected or underaddressed. Yet I think they are. The opioid epidemic took this nation by surprise, and solutions are coming slowly. Alcohol is hardly debated as a political issue, unlike in the early 20th century.
One of the biggest dangers we face today is that new technology will bring innovations to harmful and addictive drugs more quickly than to beneficial pharmaceuticals. The chemical laboratory is a lot more potent than in times past, and much of the stuff doesn’t have to be carried across any border. Social attitudes will have to do a lot of the work of the law.
As drug problems spread, I like to think we will be humane enough to keep offenders out of prison, but also prudent enough to have laid down some rules.
The post Legalize Pot, But Don’t Normalize It appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.
Will Adderall Be The New Opioid Crisis?
From PsychologyToday.com:
Tom desperately wanted to succeed in law school, but he didn’t think he could outperform his classmates in his competitive program. Hoping for pharmaceutical help, he saw his doctor, then a neurologist, and lied about feeling unfocused and easily distracted to paint a picture of someone dealing with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He left the office with a prescription for Adderall. Adderall is the brand name for a mixed amphetaminepill that contains amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, two central stimulant drugs that are prescribed for ADHD.
At first he thought the drug gave him an upper hand. He was energized, needed less sleep and could hold on to arcane details of legal cases. Over time, things whipsawed. He became restless and agitated, which frequently interrupted his study time. Focused attention gave way to obsessive thoughts. In his classes and work groups, he became confrontational and argumentative over minor issues. And as insomnia caused by the drugs took over, fatigue replaced the exuberance he felt when he started.
A Lesser-Known but Growing Concern
Adderall is a prescription amphetamine that helps people with ADHD improve their focus and manage other symptoms. While the disorder is best understood in children, in 2006 the American Journal of Psychiatry reported that 4.4% of U.S. adults also had ADHD. Adderall has also become popular among non-ADHD sufferers, who try to improve their performance at school or work.
Although mixed amphetamines can be a helpful medicine for people with ADHD, they carry a risk of misuse and abuse. Research shows Adderall abuse has increased on college campuses over the past 15 years, with some students diagnosing themselves with ADHD and seeking the “study drug” through doctors, friends and other means in order to study longer and harder.
The prescription amphetamine crisis is growing and could catch up to the opioid epidemic in scope and damage. Opioids are taking center stage as the worst drug epidemic in history, but without intervention, prescribed psychostimulants like Adderall may be waiting in the wings.
This Has Happened Before
This is not the first nationwide amphetamine problem. The mid-1960s witnessed the first amphetamine addiction epidemic. The seeds were planted in 1929 when amphetamines were first developed, and in the ‘60s pills were widely prescribed for weight control and fatigue. Patients tended to be middle-aged, middle-class people who needed more energy or help coping with daily life. It was viewed as an innocuous medication. Like smoking in that era, there was no recognition that this medicine was potentially addictive.
People who grew up in that era remember the “Dr. Feelgoods” who sprouted up in quasi-medical practices and clinics around the country, reaping profits by freely dispensing amphetamines as weight loss aids, study aids and energy pills. Celebrities of the era were known to have received amphetamine-based treatments, including Cecil B. De-Mille, Alan Jay Lerner, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and The Rolling Stones. It’s been documented that President John F. Kennedy’s physician gave him regular injections that included methamphetamine along with vitamins and hormones. One of the most famous amphetamine addicts of the era was Johnny Cash who started using when his career took off and led a drug-fueled life for many years.
It was an era in which doctors medicated everything and easily dispensed “uppers” to keep patients alert. It was not until 1971 that the FDA set forth regulations that made it more difficult for doctors to justify medical usage and made it more burdensome for pharmacists to fill prescriptions. Sales eventually plummeted as people realized easy access was over.
It Can Happen Again
Similar to the opioid epidemic, the first amphetamine epidemic was iatrogenic ― created by the pharmaceutical industry and physicians, who were usually well-meaning yet naïve about the dangers. The current crisis was reborn in the ‘80s out of a combination of recreational drugs such as illicitly manufactured methamphetamine and an increased supply of illegal drugs. But the amphetamine resurgence in modern times has shifted back to the pharmaceutical industry and prescribing doctors, many of whom may be as well-meaning as the prescribers of the ‘60s.
The most recent surge in amphetamine use in the U.S. is related to the increasing legal supply of attention deficit medications such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) and amphetamine (Adderall). Just as doctors who prescribe opioids want to help patients live pain-free, doctors who prescribe ADHD drugs for adults are trying to help them improve focus and performance. But they may not be looking far back enough into history ― or the current opioid crisis ― to recognize the addictive potential of these medications.
Smithsonian Magazine reported on the original amphetamine epidemic, noting, “By 1970, 5 percent of Americans — at least 9.7 million — used prescription amphetamines, and another 3.2 million were addicted.” It died down only make a comeback in the ‘80s. Government surveys show that by the year 2004, three million Americans consumed amphetamine-type stimulants for non-medical reasons. This doubled from the decade earlier.
The current epidemic has surpassed the severity of the original epidemic at its peak. It has been reported that about 16 million prescriptions for stimulants like Adderall were written in 2012, which is about three times the number written in 2008. Intervention is needed so that it does not reach the same levels as the opioid epidemic. Just as physicians and hospitals are now establishing stricter policies on opioid prescriptions and public awareness has grown, we also need to take pause before writing (or accepting) a stimulant prescription.
The post Will Adderall Be The New Opioid Crisis? appeared first on Reach Out Recovery.
May 23, 2018
Warning Signs Of Teen Suicide
Along with teen gun violence, teen suicide is also the news. The numbers of teen deaths are rising, particularly for African Americans and Latinos. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reveals it is the second leading cause of death for teens aged 15 to 24, and the third leading cause of death from young teens (aged 10-14). For GLBTQ teens, it is estimated that suicide is anywhere from 2 -7 times higher than for their heterosexual peers, with the Trevor Project (crisis intervention for LGBTQ teens) noting that suicide attempts are 5 times as prevalent. The Trevor Project also reveals that 1 of 6 students in grades 9-12 have seriously considered suicide within the past year.
Signs Of Teen Suicide To Take Seriously
There are many potential warning signs and factors that can reveal more than a teen’s unhappiness. Most teens do feel uncomfortable and and anxious at times, and it’s important to see the difference between someone who exhibits the normal distress of growing up, and the kind of depression and hopelessness that leads to self-harm and even suicide. A teen’s likelihood of attempting suicide include these red flags.
Talking about suicide to friends and family or online
Having a specific suicide plan
Previous history of suicide attempts
Feeling depressed, hopeless and helpless, or grieving
Severe anger/irritability
Impulsive/reckless behaviors or odd/new behaviors
Loss of enjoyment with previously loved activities
Poor sleep and/or eating habits or not grooming
Use of drugs and alcohol (may make the suicide easier as with “liquid courage”)
Demonstrating other mental illness symptoms such as cutting and burning self, having hallucinations and delusions especially related to voices telling them to kill themselves
Saying goodbye to loved ones
Giving away cherished possessions
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to function at the level they feel they should function including school work
Isolation from others/loners
Glamorizing death and suicide. i.e., “It’s a beautiful way to die” or “I’ll find peace after death”
Getting online to relate with others who are suicidal and/or having suicide pacts
Writing, drawing, poetry, and using other creative mediums to relate about suicide
Suicide of a friend or family member
History of family depression and/or suicide (genetic predisposition)
running away
Saying comments such as “I’d be better off dead” or “”You’ll regret it when I’m gone”
Joking about suicide
Meing male
Being LGBTQ
Being bullied/having no friends
A history of being abused (physical/emotional/sexual)
Other family problems such as divorce, parent substance use
Death of a close friend, teacher, coach, or another beloved adult
Poor school work or job problems
Steps To Take To Prevent Teen Suicide
Talk to your teen. In previous generations parents didn’t open up to their children about feelings. Without the habit of checking in with children to see how they are faring, many parents these days may not have learned the techniques of talking to children about difficult subjects, or even simple ones. Parents are busy at work and want their children to be all right. And they may not know what to do if their teens are in trouble. Parents with teens who have committed violent acts against others or who have committed suicide often say they knew something was wrong but were either afraid or didn’t know what to do. There are many reasons parents may discount some of the warning signs above, as just been a teen. For mental health at any age, however, people need to feel they are valued and their feelings matter. Learning how to ask and listen are extremely important skills for parents to learn. Being prepared crucial to the safety of everyone.
Step 1: Ask directly about depression and suicidal thoughts and plans
While the teenage years are stressful with ups and downs, sometimes within the same day. A teen with a history of these warning signs is acting out his feelings of despair and may be asking for help. Do not be shy about asking what’s really going on. Ask your child directly about depression or suicide; it is a myth that asking them this will cause them to attempt suicide. Being out in the open about your concerns is the first step. Ask about sexual assault and drinking, bullying, and substance use in the family. Any of these could be a contributor to a teen’s feeling of despair.
Step 2: Reassure Your Teen
Tell your teen you love him/her no matter what and will do whatever it takes to help him and then, stick to your word. Listen, don’t judge, and recognize the seriousness of the situation. You don’t know when passionate teen feelings will turn to actions, either self harm, or rage against others, or suicide. Teen feelings are powerful, and teens are likely to be impulsive. Know the teen suicide prevention hotline.
Step 3: Take Immediate Action
Just talking to your teen is not enough. You need to take immediate action by getting help from a counselor, psychiatrist, or psychologist. Your reassurance is important, but professional help is needed especially if your teen has an action plan to act out his suicidal feeling. Call a hotline You should take your teen to therapy appointments, and watch him closely both in and out of school. If there are weapons, like guns in the home, remove them or lock them up.
If your teen is in immediate danger, take him to a community mental health center, a hospital or psychiatric clinic, whatever is closest. Be involved in whatever form of treatment that is needed such as outpatient or inpatient treatment, family counseling, and psychiatric medication.
Step 3: Learn about depression and Suicidality
You need to learn as much as you can about teen depression and suicide in order to best help your child and the rest of the family. Let go of any negative stigma you may have about mental illness and focus instead on how to help.
Step 4: Be open with others and stay involved in their lives
Now is not the time to keep family secrets. You need to let family know what is going on. Also, you need to reassure your other children about how to handle their own concerns and fears. Likewise, let other family and friends know so that you can get support for not only the child, but for you as well. Keep participating in the usual family/friend activities.
Step 5: Take care of yourself
Busy parents who are shuffling the needs of many family members, household tasks and work can feel overwhelmed at the best of times. If there is a suicidal or angry teen in the mix, fear can cause a feeling of helplessness that can add to your stress. Fear might also lead to a kind of emotional paralysis that can prevent you from taking the steps necessary to keep everyone safe. Having a teen in crisis means extra worry and extra tasks. Be sure to set aside some quiet and restorative time for yourself. Don’t stop your usual routine and activities. You must take care of your own needs in order to help take care of family needs.
In summary, be involved, be open, be available, and listen to what your teens are doing and saying for this may help save a life – the life of your child.
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High Cost Of Opioid Painkillers’ Side Effects
OxyContin pills in a pharmacy. In a new study, more than 10% of hospitalized patients who took one or more opioid painkillers experienced a side effect tied to the drug, and 93% of these patients suffered at least one episode that was deemed moderate or severe. (Toby Talbot / Associated Press)
More than 10% of hospitalized patients who took one or more opioid painkillers experienced a side effect tied to the drug, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery. Fully 93% of these patients suffered at least one episode that was deemed moderate or severe.
These findings are based on medical records of patients who were treated at 21 acute care hospitals that are part of the Baylor Scott & White Health in Texas. All of the patients had some kind of surgery (such as cardiac or orthopedic) or an endoscopic procedure between 2013 and 2016, and all of them had their pain treated with opioids.
What the study authors were looking for were instances of opioid-related adverse drug events, or ORADEs for short. And they found them.
Among the 135,379 patients included in the study, 14,386 — or 10.6% — had at least one ORADE.
The most common type of adverse events involved a respiratory problem, including the need to be put on a ventilator. Other problems included a painful intestinal obstruction called an ileus; an abnormally slow heart rate (bradycardia); nausea and vomiting; confusion and delirium; and skin problems like severe itching or a rash.
Most of these patients had only one such side effect. But 27% of them experienced two or more ORADES, according to the study. A little more than half (56%) of these problems were considered “moderate,” and more than one-third (37%) were classified as “severe.”
These episodes were more than a nuisance. Compared with patients who took opioids without incident, those who experienced an ORADE were nearly 29 times more likely to die before leaving the hospital, the researchers reported. They were also about 3 times more likely to have a longer hospital stay and to be discharged to another “care facility” instead of being sent home.
The researchers calculated that ORADEs were associated with an extra 1.6 days of hospitalization and $8,225 in additional hospital bills.
These calculations accounted for the fact that patients who had ORADEs were more likely to be older, to be men, to be non-Latino whites, and to have health coverage through Medicare. They also had more health problems, which the researchers said was understandable considering their age.
The patients with adverse effects were also different from their counterparts in the way they used opioids. They took the painkillers for about one day longer (a median of 3 days, compared with a median of 2) and received higher doses too (a median of 47 morphine milligrams equivalents, compared with a median of 30 mg).
Importantly, the study doesn’t claim that the side effects of opioids caused any of these observed differences — only that they are linked. It could be that some third factor is responsible for both the side effects and the need to extend a hospital stay.
The researchers also warned that these results might not apply patient populations from other parts of the country who are treated by other health systems.
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May 21, 2018
Tips For Fitness Success
It’s National Physical Fitness Month! Or, something like that, so let’s talk exercise and health and wellness!
I’ve had plenty of situations over the years that have required me to make a physical fitness comeback. I was quite athletic when I was young – I even played one sport at a competitive level for a while. But, substance abuse, degenerative disc disease and occasionally professional circumstances have prevented me from being physically fit, sometimes for months or years at a time. In some cases, I gained weight, in others, I lost weight. Having to gain weight is indeed easier.
However, with my physical trials and tribulations, I learned a few things over the years about how best get back into shape. Here are my biggest takeaways:
Patience.
Set realistic goals for yourself. I was in a job for a while that required long hours in the office, and I found myself soothing with food in a way I hadn’t in years. 15 pounds later I felt so bad about myself I was willing to start a boot camp that just happened to have opened up down the street from me making it impossible to ignore. I’m a petite woman so trying to lose 15 pounds wasn’t going to happen in a couple of months, and I knew that from experience. I started three times a week, and I was so weak at the beginning, the gorgeous instructors would clap and smile along with me just to make sure I didn’t get discouraged. I love them for that. Love goes further than yelling in my book. It took a full nine months for me to lose all the weight but I never got disappointed in myself because I knew I was doing everything I could and I gave myself a full year to get it done. Much better to exceed your expectations then constantly be pushing that date back because everything takes longer than you expect.
Food matters.
It doesn’t matter how much I work out if I put really bad food in my body. That doesn’t mean I don’t eat sweets and carbs and every other delicious thing, but I try not to eat processed foods, and that makes a difference. I also had to learn to love vegetables and cuisines that favor healthier ingredients, like a Mediterranean diet. The big surprise here was a healthy diet also made me feel better in every way. My digestion improved, my mood improved and my self-care improved. This took years for me to sort out, but this is one of my major takeaways regarding being healthy and maintaining a healthy weight.
Get professional guidance.
I’m not saying hire an expensive trainer but talk to someone who is educated on fitness about what your physical issues are, what your goals are, and what are the best exercises for you based on those parameters. For years, I was doing one kind of exercise religiously, almost compulsively, only to find out it was hurting my back and not strengthening the correct parts of my body. All of that exercise was making me worse, not better!!! After my spinal surgery four years ago, I worked with several trainers and PT specialists who helped me devise an exercise program where I knew what was safe, what was unsafe and what to look out for in terms of improvement or red flags. That guidance built a foundation for me to feel good about working out again.
Whether you’re considering exercise for mood stability, want to get back into shape as part of a recovery, or just enjoy it – take the time to set goals, get informed on how to reach those goals, and figure out a diet that will help as well. It’s so worth it.
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Exercise Scientifically Proven To Improve Mental Health Too
From Cosmopolitan:
Exercise isn’t just beneficial for the health of your body, but for the health of your mind, too. And new scientific research points towards one type of workout in particular that’s proven to improve mental health.
Weight training is ideal for strengthening and toning the body, but according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Limerick, it can significantly improve a person’s mental wellbeing, too.
The study, which was published in the JAMA Psychiatry journal, analysed the results of 33 existing clinical studies – involving a total of 1,877 people – to assess whether weight training (referred to as resistance exercise training, or RET, in the published notes) resulted in any improvement of the symptoms of depression.
The conclusion drawn by the researchers was that “resistance exercise training significantly reduced depressive symptoms among adults”, no matter how much or how little they did.
The study’s co-author Brett Gordon also told TIME that “larger improvements were found among adults with depressive symptoms indicative of mild-to-moderate depression compared to adults without such scores, suggesting RET may be particularly effective for those with greater depressive symptoms”.
In other words, the more a person experiences depressive feelings of worthlessness, disinterest and low mood, the more they are likely to benefit from weight training.
The study did note that “better-quality randomised clinical trials… are needed” – likely to explore exactly why weight training in particular can yield such positive results for those experiencing depression.
But in the meantime, if you do have depression and you feel up to it, why not give the weights section of the gym a whirl. It’s not going to wave a magic wand and make your depression go away, but it might go some way to help you feel a little brighter in the immediate, and that’s got to be better than nothing.
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5 Ways Fitness Helped Me Recover From Addiction
From Self.com:
On June 30, 2000, I was 29 years old and found myself mentally, physically, and spiritually bankrupt; devoid of all emotion, lost, and terrified of myself.
I had stuffed every feeling I had down into the depths of my core while trying to look like I had it all together. Those around me knew that I didn’t, but I was in a state of denial until one day I hit my ultimate rock bottom.
That was almost 18 years ago and the last day I drank alcohol.
When I made the decision to get sober, I sought the help of a recovery program. It helped me to find a sober community of people who were living the life I wanted. The program was a springboard that helped me launch a new life, but when I really think about the success of my long-term sobriety, I credit it to fitness.
A year into my sobriety, I started running. I found a positive, healthy community where I began to feel accepted and confident. With every run, I left behind pieces of shame and believed in myself just a little bit more. I had found my new high.
It started with 5K races, then 10K, then half-marathons, and then I eventually left my full-time career to become a personal trainer because I had become so captivated by this new way of living. After being lost for so many years, I felt like I had finally found myself.
Fitness became my life, and it helped me bridge the gap from early recovery to long-term sobriety. Here’s how.
1. Fitness gave me a much-needed community of health-oriented people.
When I got sober, I didn’t have any friends who were healthy. Most of my friends were in the place I just left, and it was dangerous for me to be around them. Other than the new relationships I was building in recovery, I had no healthy friendships, and that was a really lonely and difficult place.
When I started running, I discovered a whole new community of people who were health-orientated. Finding this community solidified the types of friendships I wanted in my life, which left little room for turning back to old behaviors.
2. It helped me feel accomplished and begin to rebuild my self-esteem.
My rock bottom included rock bottom self-esteem. I had none. Zero. Zilch. I had to rebuild everything. Running really fast-tracked that process because with every run I was able to accomplish something challenging, and realizing what I could do made me feel better and better about myself. I started to build a new identity, no longer someone who was at rock bottom but someone who was rising up. Running allowed me to climb my way out of unsound, early recovery and onto more stable ground, with confidence.
3. Fitness also let me form a new identity and discover a sense of purpose.
As I floundered through early sobriety, I also struggled to find a new identity and purpose. Being a part of a running community allowed me to fill that gap by identifying myself as a runner with goals and purpose. Before, in my drinking days, I really didn’t have any direction—so this was new and exciting. I started to take on an identity of someone who had ambition, which was all new to me. Running gave me something constructive to focus on.
4. It gave me a healthy outlet to cope with new challenges and difficult emotions.
For a very long time, I had been coping with the challenges of life in a very unhealthy way. Running and going to the gym gave me a tool that would help me cope with hardships. In exercise, I found a new strategy for dealing with stress, anxiety, and anger—and for once it was productive and satisfying on many levels.
5. And it taught me how to be accountable for my actions.
Through my drinking, I had become quite unreliable. I basically lived life on my terms and when I was hungover or “not into it” I would cancel on friends or appointments.
As part of a community of runners (and especially when I started leading others in that community), I needed to be accountable and do what I said I would do. This new way of living required me to not only show up for others but to learn why I needed to also show up for myself. Bailing on myself all the time weakened my confidence and trust in myself, but my new community encouraged me to show up and rise to each occasion. And my new responsibilities showed me exactly why and how to strive for accountability.
My experience was not unique—there’s a growing movement that champions the power of exercise for long-term recovery.
Eighteen years ago, I hadn’t heard of fitness being a tool to complement recovery, but today I am seeing it pop up on websites, in gyms, and at recovery centers. When people start the process of recovery, they’re often left dealing with the wreckage of their past, loss of friends and family, and the shame and societal stigma surrounding addiction. Fitness communities can be the places where people finally feel accepted, build confidence, and find hope.
One great example is the nonprofit organization The Phoenix, a sober active community that helps individuals recover and take back their lives through fitness. Scott Strode founded The Phoenix after experiencing firsthand the positive impact physical activity can have on recovery. While recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, Strode found self-confidence and a new identity in sports. “Every time I stood on top of a mountain or crossed a finish line, I was a little more a climber, and a little less an addict,” he says. Since 2006, The Phoenix has served over 24,000 individuals. The program, open to anyone with at least 48 hours of sobriety, offers activities that include CrossFit, yoga, boxing, rock climbing, cycling, hiking, and more—at no cost.
Kimberly Ready is the administrative director at Oaks Recovery Center in Greenwood, South Carolina, where in conjunction with their recovery program they offer a “Recover Strong” initiative in partnership with CrossFit Greenwood. Three times a week, residents have the option to attend the local CrossFit gym for a workout. Ready has observed that the residents who participate in the “Recover Strong” program often show increased confidence, a sense of community, and many demonstrate long-term recovery while continuing with their athletic pursuits post-treatment. One former resident at Oaks Recovery Center and a participant of the CrossFit program tells me that it made a big impact on her recovery. “I was looking for something and I couldn’t quite figure it out, so I started the CrossFit program. It was very hard at first, but the more I continued doing it, the better I started to feel both physically and mentally. On March 2, I celebrated two years clean and sober,” she says.
While endorphins alone are hardly enough to keep someone clean and sober for the long-term, fitness, and the community it provides, are proving to change the lives of many people struggling with addiction. It changed mine. Just know that you don’t have to go at this alone—there are people waiting to extend a hand at a meeting or in a gym where you can sweat, and thrive, together.
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A Personal Trainer Shares 4 Things To Get Stronger
From PopSugar:
Getting stronger doesn’t happen overnight, although that would save us a lot of time and soreness. If your goal is to improve your overall strength, you’re going to need to make sure the way you’re training is helping you get there. Instead of having you do a billion Google searches, we spoke with personal trainer and WNBA strength-and-conditioning coach Sarah Walls to learn what we need to be doing in the gym to get stronger.
1. Choose the Right Weight
When it comes to selecting weights, it can be tempting to choose the same weight over and over because you know you can lift it without a doubt. If you’re looking to get stronger, Sarah says the structure of your training program should be designed for strength building. This involves “a specifically planned mix of load, volume, and intensity to optimally move the trainee forward,” Sarah said. She recommends using a weight that will challenge you during a particular repetition load. For example, if you’re doing a set of 15 reps, Sarah says to use “light” weights that will still challenge you by the last few repetitions. It may take some time to find the perfect weight for you, but it’s worth it in the long run. Bonus tip: be sure to log the weights you use for various exercises. This is a great way to quickly reference the weight you should be lifting and you’ll be able to see your progress over time.
2. Be Consistent
Like the famous saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and neither is strength. Sarah told POPSUGAR that in order to increase your overall strength, you should be doing regular strength-training sessions anywhere from three to five days a week.
3. Your Reps and Rest Are Important
For building strength, Sarah says you should do five to eight repetitions per set as heavy as you can go without jeopardizing your form. Sarah says to take 90 seconds to two minutes of rest in between each set.
4. The Bigger the Movement, the Better
It wouldn’t be right if we gave you all this information without any way to implement what you’ve just learned. Sarah said that “big, total-body movements like squats, deadlifts, and push-ups” are great exercises that will help you become stronger. She also said that using free weights will allow you to “gain a more purposeful strength that will translate to improve in your day-to-day life.”
So there you have it. Think bigger movements, use weights that will challenge you, and don’t be afraid of the free weights!
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Consumers Need Access To Substance Use Treatment
Ninety percent of people who need substance use treatment do not receive it. That is a fact that translates to more than 40,000 deaths a year in the US. There are many reasons for the lack of treatment for millions of people. Stigma of the disease does prevent families from seeking help. Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is the only disease that tells people they don’t have a disease. There is also tremendous denial among family members who want to protect their family members and are fearful about what will happen to them if the drug use is revealed. And they delay.
But even more damaging than stigma and fear is the myth that only rehab in a pleasant facility far away from home translates to successful recovery. This is both untrue and damaging because most people can’t afford rehab in a facility. Moreover, there aren’t enough beds to accommodate everyone who needs treatment.
The Surgeon General’s Report on Addiction November 2016 shows that there are many paths to recovery, and every person who seeks help is different.
The rehab myth also a damaging because people don’t know what other kinds of treatment are available to them. There is a lack of public education about what kinds of treatment do work. But even when people are aware that other kinds of treatment may help them, they don’t know how to access the treatment providers who offer the help they need. Alternate treatments (to rehabs) are not advertised on the Internet the way the well-financed referral sites for rehabs can.
Substance abuse costs our Nation over $600 billion annually and treatment can help reduce these costs.
Drug addiction treatment has been shown to reduce associated health and social costs by far more than the cost of the treatment itself. Treatment is also much less expensive than its alternatives, such as incarcerating addicted persons. For example, the average cost for 1 full year of methadone maintenance treatment is approximately $4,700 per patient, whereas 1 full year of imprisonment costs approximately $24,000 per person.
Drug addiction treatment reduces drug use and its associated health and social costs
According to several conservative estimates, every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yields a return of between $4 and $7 in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft. When savings related to healthcare are included, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to 1. Major savings to the individual and to society also stem from fewer interpersonal conflicts; greater workplace productivity; and fewer drug-related accidents, including overdoses and deaths. National Institute of Drug Abuse
Armed with the information that treatment is worth the cost, funding for public information to access quality alternative treatment providers is desperately needed.
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