Leslie Glass's Blog, page 376

What Ten Years Of Recovery Looks Like

I just celebrated my 40th birthday. I am alive and thriving because no matter what happened, I was determined to stay the course of my recovery journey and do more than just survive.

It wasn’t easy. I have now been in and out of recovery for half my life. If you want to get technical, I’ve been working on recovery my entire adult life. I entered an addiction recovery treatment program at the tender age of 21, but it didn’t stick the first time. Or the second. Or the third. I’m not a one-chip wonder, meaning I didn’t get sober once and stay clean the entire time. I did, however, make a serious decision to change my life ten years ago, and while it hasn’t been all smooth seas since, I have not strayed from that mindset.

The Recovery Journey Is More Challenging When Other Factors Are Involved
Recovery from addiction is a complicated process when there are no bumps in the road. When you’re dealing with more than one behavioral issue, or have trauma in your story, or a “generalized anxiety” diagnosis, or have ANY family dysfunction whatsoever, it becomes even more complex. In my experience, I pull back one layer of the onion only to discover there are more underneath! I have a cellar in my basement where a vault lives, and locked in there hidden away were most of my feelings. This phenomenon has made my recovery journey a long process where sometimes I’ve taken a step forward only to take two steps back. The path to success is no straight line, especially when it comes to mental health and health and wellness.
Recovery Is Rewarding At Any Age


Life is bright and shiny at 40. It doesn’t look the way I expected it to, but it feels better than I ever imagined. Since we’re all still learning about what modern recovery looks like, and I’ve been writing about mine since I started, I compiled two lists that help consolidate the way I feel about all this. Here’s the first list of what I learned on this exciting and lasting recovery journey.

1. There Will Be Good Years And Bad Years On The Recovery Journey

That’s just life. I had this sense that if I made it five years, my life would be merry. It doesn’t work that way. Business is up and down, relationships come and go, and then as you get older, you start to lose people. However, if you’re prepared and armed with a toolbox full of tools, nothing takes you out.

2. Getting Sober Was Only Step One

I needed enlightenment in many areas. Learning healthy boundaries was an unexpected adventure, as was sober dating. Both caused me as much discomfort as getting sober did. Seriously, detaching from enmeshed relationships felt physically painful to me at times. Learning to use food as fuel, not comfort, and becoming financially responsible was also difficult and stressful. There were years it felt like I was training for a recovery Olympics that I wanted no part in. But, somewhere along the way, I built a well-rounded recovery lifestyle. I’m almost to the point where I have every aspect of my life organized. Almost.

3. Relationships Are Still Hard

I thought I’d master and get relationships sorted out by now. Insert laughter here. While I find they are far less dramatic than they once were, I’m certainly no professional in this matter. I do believe I’ve become aware and considerate of other people’s feelings. It’s no longer all about me. I don’t believe I can change anyone and I would no longer dare to try. I also now know no one can change me. There is no magic pill, and there is no magic person. It’s all hard work. However, with age, I’ve come to enjoy the work and derive great satisfaction from my improvement.

4. Self Care Is Not All Baths and Mani-Pedis

I recently read an article about self-care being really hard. It said self-care is not all baths and mani-pedis. The article is correct. Real self-care is financial responsibility, emotional accountability, impulse control. Basically, adulting is really hard. It took a lot of practice for me to intuitively practice self-care and do things like grocery shop and plan out my whole week of meals, pay ALL my bills EVERY month, and try to stay gainfully employed. Making sure all areas of your life are organized and well cared for is almost impossible for anyone coming out of addiction. I didn’t open my mail for years. I didn’t understand financial “stuff,” and I had the emotional capacity of a 12-year-old. Caring about those things did not come naturally to me. I had to learn how to do them years into my recovery; then I had to be disciplined in practicing them until they became habit. Trust me, it’s easier to get addicted to drugs than paying your taxes.

5. Patience and Gratitude Are Everything
What I was writing about above – The learning self-care? Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I stopped trying years ago because it all seemed too hard and progress was slow. Trudging from program to program, painfully learning how to manage my emotions and relationships wasn’t fun. But, it was rewarding, and it worked. I can find gratitude daily. I try to live in gratitude most of the time, and it’s a beautiful thing. I’m also patient with myself, and other people. Man, do things go better when you can just calm down and wait.

The moral of the story is, while this may sound like it’s too much work, like it’ll take too long, and the pain along the way will make it impossible to get through—it wasn’t.  The markers along the way become too important, the progress becomes too gratifying, and then when you realize you’re no longer in pain or anxious anymore, it’s all worth it, and you never look back.

What a gift to go into the second half of my life organized, healthy and happy. Who’s really ahead of the game now?




If you need help on your recovery journey, visit Recovery Guidance for a free and safe resource to find addiction and mental health professionals near you.

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Indonesia’s New Anti-Drug Czar Opts For Counseling Instead Of Crocodiles

From The NY Post:

Indonesia’s new anti-narcotics chief Heru Winarko called for an expansion of rehabilitation centers across the country on Wednesday, flagging a new approach in contrast to the blood-soaked war on drugs underway in its neighbor, the Philippines.

More users, addicts and even minor dealers would be diverted into centers run by medical professionals and counselors rather than heading straight into an over-crowded prison system, Winarko told Reuters in an interview.

“With the rehabilitation approach, we cut the demand,” he said. “If there is no demand, the supply will not come or reduce.”

 Winarko took over as head of Indonesia’s anti-narcotics agency in March, replacing Budi Waseso, a former top police officer who advocated surrounding prisons with moats filled with crocodiles and piranhas to stop drug convicts escaping.

Rather than wildlife, Winarko said he planned to set up rehabilitation facilities near prisons.

“It is better if there is a rehabilitation center located close to a prison,” he said, noting that a former mental hospital near a correctional facility in Bali was being converted into a center for offenders to tackle addiction.

“When we do it like this, it will be amazing. The prison becomes a place for guiding people.”

Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has long warned that the country was gripped by a “drugs emergency” amid assertions by officials – challenged by some experts – that there were more than 6 million users.

Widodo has said drugs posed a bigger danger than Islamist militancy and he intensified a drugs war that has included the execution of drug traffickers, including some foreigners.

Winarko said there needed to be rapid growth in assessment centers which determine if drug convicts would benefit from therapy rather than incarceration.

The country’s 127 rehabilitation centers were inadequate for a population of 250 million, and more should be built and existing facilities better integrated, he said.

David McRea, a researcher from the University of Melbourne, said Winarko’s enthusiasm for rehabilitation needed to be treated cautiously.

Indonesia’s criminal justice system already allowed for some offenders to be rehabilitated but the option was rarely used.

“For years, there’s been talk in Indonesia of a shift to rehabilitate people but people are still being sentenced to prison for petty drug crimes,” he said.

Killings rise

Methamphetamine, known as shabu, is the most popular drug, according to Winarko. More than two tonnes of methamphetamine was seized off the coast of Sumatra island in February in two separate, record busts.

Law enforcement officials would maintain their “stern”” approach to traffickers and their “shoot to kill” policy if suspects were armed and resisted arrest, said Winarko.

But he added Indonesia would not mimic the violent policies of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who was praised by his predecessor, Waseso.

“We have our own standard operating procedures,” he said.

More than 4,100 people have died during police anti-narcotics operations in the Philippines since July 2016. Another 2,300 have been killed by unidentified gunmen.

Philippines authorities say their actions are lawful and the deaths occur when suspects threaten police.

However, human rights groups and U.N. officials have accused Philippine anti-drugs agents of extrajudicial killings. Police deny that.

According to Amnesty International, Indonesian police killed 98 drug suspects in 2017, up from 18 the previous year. It said the deaths were rarely investigated.

McRea said the trend of rising drug-related slayings continued in Indonesia this year and was “disturbing”.

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Avicii Dead At 28



From CNN:

In August 2016, Avicii said goodbye to his fans in what he described as his last live show. The decision to retire from touring was tough, he said, but he needed to step away and pursue other interests.
“Creating music is what makes me happy and I have gotten to know so many great people in my days of touring, seen so many amazing places and created endless of good memories,” he posted on social media at the time. “The decision I made might seem odd to some but everyone is different and for me this was the right one.”

Avicii struggled with fame and had stepped away from the limelight





Avicii said his more than 800 shows had taken a toll on him, added to his anxiety and drawn him to a life of partying. He also had several health scares, including acute pancreatitis, “Yeah I was drinking way too much, partying in general way too much,” he said. “Then I got a pancreatitis attack [at 21], which is very rare. So that forced me to do a 180 and stop drinking.”



Fans left him supportive messages on Facebook after he stopped touring, with some expressing regret that they did not get a chance to see him live. He reassured them that he’ll continue making music — in the studio.
And in August 2017, a year after his last tour date, he announced that he was releasing a new album.

“Really excited to be back with music once again, it has been a long time since I released anything,” he posted on social media. “My focus on this first EP of the album was to get a mix of new and old songs, some that fans have been asking about/waiting for mixed with brand new songs that they haven’t heard before.”

‘Avicii: True Stories’

The DJ had been open about his struggles. A documentary about his life, “Avicii: True Stories,” highlighted some of his struggles with fame after his 2011 hit song, “Levels,” followed by “Wake Me Up” two years later.
“The year of 2015 should have been a peak for the producer, but behind the scenes, it was too much. Stress, anxiety and illness were eating him away,” a synopsis of the documentary posted on his site says.
Filmmaker Levan Tsikurishvili describes the documentary as a “cautionary tale that explores the taxing nature and intensity of fame” from the artist’s perspective.

“Everybody knows Avicii but very few people know Tim,” Tsikurishvili said. ” I think this documentary really shows Tim’s struggle and strength of character. Being a worldwide superstar artist is not as easy as it looks on Instagram.” Avicii, 28, was found dead Friday in Muscat, Oman. The cause of death has not been released.

Fans and musicians mourn

Heartfelt tributes poured in from fellow musicians and fans alike.
“Devastating news about Avicii, a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do,” fellow superstar DJ Calvin Harris tweeted. “My heart goes out to his family. God bless you Tim.”
Singer Wyclef Jean described him as “a little brother.”
“In my darkest hour, I went to Sweden and he was there for me and we found light in great conversation and in music,” Jean tweeted. ” He will be forever be missed. This pain I cannot describe.”

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Co Dependent’s Pec-Almond Butter Recipe

Co-Dependency often puts me between a rock and a crazy place because I want to please everyone all the time. In the end, no one’s happy, especially me. Here’s my strategy for doing what I please first and not caving into others. (It’s a work in progress.)

A Mom’s War On Sugar

This week, I’m waging a war on sugar consumption. The American Heart Association (AHA) wants kids to eat less than six teaspoons of sugar a day. My son wants sugar laced cupcakes for every meal. I want to cut my son’s sugar without any meltdowns from him or me. (I might have enabled a monster.)

The old me, would have tried to make them both happy, but my recovery teaches me that what I want matters most. And I want my whole family to be free of sugar cravings. To make that happen, sugar is now making limited appearances in my grocery cart, the kitchen cupboards, and in my son’s lunchbox.

Covert Operation: Sneak Veggies Into Son’s Diet

My son loves peanut butter and will scoop it up on celery, carrots, apples, and bananas. A few weeks ago, I bought two 80’s style Tupperware relish trays. On Sunday, I spent almost an hour cleaning, cutting, cutting and filling one with our favorite fruits and one with veggies. This simple hour was a great way to practice self-care:

Fresh cut fruits and veggies makes packing lunches a breeze, which means more serenity for me every morning.
I have access to ready-made snacks, so I can when I’m either Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.
When I’m in the kitchen focusing on this task, my family an hour of free time to do what they enjoy. Live and let live.
I can practice mindfulness while I prep the food. Being “mindful” to me means I stay in the present by smelling the fruits, listening to the cadence of my knife, and paying attention to where all of my fingers are. This gives my brain a time out from my racing thoughts.

My Secret Weapon – Pec-Almond Butter

Even the “Natural” peanut butter I buy has almost one teaspoon of added sugar serving. My new favorite almond butter recipe tastes great and is sweetened with AHA approved honey.

Honey has a lower glycemic index than sugar and it doesn’t cause the same “high” as sugar. Honey doesn’t trick my body into craving more.

The nuts and coconut oil are high in healthy fats and Omega 3s. Healthy fats like coconut oil supports brain health. Pecans and almonds are high in Omega 3s, which have tremendous anti-inflammatory benefits.

Ingredients:

¾ cup raw almonds
¾ cup pecans
1 Tablespoon coconut oil (optional)
1 Tablespoon honey
Dash of sea salt

Almonds have a natural sweetness, and the pecans have more natural oils. Put the nuts into food processor and chop. After 1 – 3 minutes, the nuts will be dry and mealy. Scrape the sides of your processor then keep chopping. Stop often to scrape the mixture back down.

After about 10 minutes, the nuts will release their natural oils and look more like a spread. Add the coconut oil, honey, and salt. Chop to blend ingredients then enjoy!

The pec-almond butter has thick consistency. It’s shape-able and not super sticky.  I make my own Reese’s cups by rolling the pec-almond butter into balls and dipping them in dark chocolate. Viola – a candy that’s lighter on mom-guilt and fully of healthy fats.

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The Role Of Medicine In Addiction Treatment

Imagine seeking assistance from a health care facility and being told that you have a progressively debilitating and potentially fatal medical disorder (one widely recognized in the research community as a brain disease), but then discovering that no physician or other medical personnel will be involved in the assessment, diagnosis, acute treatment, or continued monitoring of your condition. Imagine that the vast majority of organizations specializing in treatment of your condition have no affiliation with a hospital or other primary healthcare facility. Imagine the existence of FDA-approved medications specifically for treatment of your condition, but that you will not be informed about nor have access to these medications as part of your prescribed treatment. These are precisely the circumstances encountered today by the majority of people entering addiction treatment in the U.S.

There are more than 18,000 facilities in the United States that specialize in the assessment and treatment of substance use disorders. Surveys of these facilities reveal a low complement of physicians on staff, with nearly half having no physician availability. Publicly funded programs that constitute the bulk of addiction treatment services in the U.S. are particularly lacking in physician services and access to pharmacotherapy as a treatment adjunct.

Physicians are critically needed as part of the multidisciplinary teams involved in addiction treatment. Some of the more important functions they perform include:

*Diagnosing the presence, severity, and complexity of substance use disorders, particularly in distinguishing these disorders from other medical and psychiatric conditions which may manifest as, be masked by, or be self-medicated by excessive alcohol and other drug use.

*Diagnosing and treating acute medical and psychiatric conditions that result from or co-occur with substance use disorders—conditions that if left untreated pose a significant burden within the recovery process.

* Assessing and addressing the physical and emotional toll addiction has exacted on family members.

* Participating in, if not leading, development of a personalized plan for acute stabilization and a more comprehensive plan of sustained recovery management for the patient and family.

* Evaluating the role medications could potentially play in detoxification, acute stabilization, and long-term recovery management.

* Providing guidance on the management of chronic primary health care problems and promoting recovery-enhancing wellness activities, e.g., smoking cessation, diet, and exercise.

* Educating patients and families on the addiction and recovery processes.

* Supervising other members of the treatment team.

* Providing regularly scheduled post-treatment recovery check-ups as part of the long-term recovery management plan.

If you or a family member must enter treatment for a substance use disorder in a program that does not have physician services, I recommend the following two steps.

1) Involve your primary care physician (PCP) in the treatment process. Inform your PCP of the following: you are entering addiction treatment, you would like your PCP to be available for consultation regarding that treatment, you will provide your PCP copies of all records related to your treatment, and you would like your recovery status regularly evaluated through all future check-ups. If you do not have a primary care physician, make obtaining a PCP a priority as part of your treatment /recovery plan.

2) Consider engaging a physician trained in addiction medicine to consult in your overall treatment and to provide ongoing guidance following treatment discharge. It is recommended that such a physician be affiliated with the American Society of Addiction Medicine or the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. Addiction medicine specialists in your area can be identified by contacting these organizations.

Beyond these two suggestions, it is critical that anyone seeking addiction treatment become an informed consumer. This requires seeking both experiential knowledge and empirical knowledge about addiction and recovery. The former can be obtained by talking to individuals and families who have successfully resolved alcohol and other drug problems. The latter can be obtained by reading the latest research findings about the critical ingredients of addiction treatment and recovery—research findings that have recently been translated for public consumption by the Recovery Research Institute, a nonprofit arm of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Each person in recovery must own his or her own recovery process. A wide variety of professional and peer support services may be helpful along this journey, but it is the person in recovery who must direct this process, assembling diverse consultants who can inform and assist this effort. Physicians and psychiatrists knowledgeable about addiction recovery and experienced in offering guidance through the recovery process can be important and even crucial resources within the recovery process. The challenge for America is to expand the number of physicians and psychiatrists who possess such knowledge and expertise. The challenge for organizations that make up the addiction treatment industry is to assure their staffing patterns match their rhetoric of addiction as a treatable medical disorder.

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Beware Of These 7 Treatment Scams

Addiction treatment is now a massive $35 billion dollar a year industry. Patients now have more treatment choices than ever, yet one glaring problem exists – treatment scams.

Substance use disorders affect millions each year. In the US, overdosing is now the leading cause of accidental death. Even worse, overdosing is the overall leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50.

Now more than ever, Americans need treatment and recovery services. As a result, the demand for services has led to rapid growth in detox and treatment service providers. Many of these programs and service providers are working hard to provide honest, quality-care. Their goal is to save lives and help people achieve long-term remission.

One Bad Egg Spoils The Batch

While most of the programs and providers provide excellent care, there are instances of unethical and illegal conduct. Compared to other medical fields, this field is largely unmonitored.

Unfortunately, a few providers have taken advantage of the lose monitoring. They exploited vulnerable, addicted individuals for profit. Their deceits and deceptions exploited vulnerable addicted individuals for profit and tarnished the entire industry.

When looking for treatment, patients need be on guard against the most common treatment scams.

1. Patient Brokering

Lead Selling: Brokers are paid a per-head finders-fee or kick-back for referring patients to their treatment facility. Some get financial compensation of up to $500-$1000 per patient. Patient brokers are paid to get new patients into treatment and to get recovered patients into sober living or a different treatment program.
Lead Buying: Some treatment centers bid for patient referrals and leads. Call centers agents pose as caregivers. Patients are auctioned off the highest biding treatment center. These “caregivers” are often paid a commission based for their part in the exchange. Treatment facilities may appear as independent facilities but may actually route all calls to the same call center.
Addiction Tourism: In conjunction with lead buying and selling, -patients are sent to treatment facilities in a different state.

2. Patient Enticement

Patients are swayed to enter, stay, or switch addiction treatment facilities through money, gifts, free rent, flights, food, or other amenities.

3. Listing Theft

Unsecured listing sites are a playground for hijackers. They take over a competing organization’s profile and change listed phone numbers. They reroute calls and online correspondences to other treatment programs or call centers. Some even change listed addresses to deceive patients of actual location.

4. Misrepresentation Of Services

Some unethical facilities deny their affiliations to other facilities or organizations. Others falsify information including:

The services they provide
Their status of accreditation
The types of conditions they treat
The credentials of their clinical staff
Which insurance providers they accept
Their facilities, locations and amenities in any way

5. Patient Privacy Violations

Patient’s health information in confidential. Yet, marketing and sales staff use this confidential information, such as treatment plans or diagnoses, to gain more revenue. At times, staff members share this confidential information is with individuals outside the patient’s care team, without medical necessity or the patient’s consent. This is a violation of HIPAA and other patient privacy protection laws that work to protect sensitive health information of the individual.

6. Insurance Over-Billing

Some providers excessively over-bill insurance companies for unnecessary treatment or services. The most glaring example involves urine drug screens. Staff test the patients every 2 days with a $10 drug test. Then, they charge the insurance provider $1000 or more per test.

7. Insurance Fraud

Under the guise of free insurance or care, patients, sometimes multiple at a time, are enrolled in insurance plans utilizing false addresses. This takes advantage of the “change in address” exception, which allows for year-round insurance enrollment. Without their consent, providers register patients for premium plans with generous coverage. Many of these plans cover out of network providers have low out of pocket costs. available in states that the patient does not live in, nor has ever lived in, but serve to reimburse the ultimate treatment center at a higher rate than other plans or providers.

Unethical addiction marketing practices take advantage of vulnerable patients and families in desperate need of medical treatment and care.

How Does The Industry Overcome Treatment Scams?

Awareness is the first step in combating these treatment scams. Greater awareness of these practices has led to new legislation. Additionally, law enforcement and for-profit corporations, such as Google, have joined the fight in policing or eliminating these practices.

In response to these corrupt practices, the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) officially instated a  code of ethics for recovery residences (e.g. sober homes) in 2016.

More recently, however, Google has temporarily ceased sale of pay-per-click (AdWords) advertisements on thousands of rehab-related search terms (e.g. rehab near me, alcohol treatment). These searches previously garnered sums of over $100 per click for Google.   Google has been criticized for their role in perpetuating treatment fraud.

In addition, beginning in 2018, the Joint Commission (JACHCO) will begin rolling out new outcome measures. The new standards require evidence based practices (through the use of standardized measurement tools) for treatment facility accreditation.

Protecting patients from corrupt addiction marketing practices is the first step in creating honest and effective treatment. Often, patients choose which their treatment facility in a state of distress. Individuals and families can protect themselves by learning about:

What constitutes quality addiction treatment
Where to find trusted local providers
How to ultimately decide which option is best

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Starting Therapy 20 Questions To Ask

Starting therapy, especially if this is new to you, may seem overwhelming. A way to make it more comfortable is to ask questions about the counseling process. Some clinics and counselors may be willing to talk to you over the phone before the first session or meet with you for a short intake. However, most therapists will just meet with you at the first appointment and answer any questions at that time. But the following questions that can easily be asked when you call to make an appointment include:

What does the therapist specialize in? You need to ask this in order to make sure your therapist specializes in the issues you are having.
What degree does my therapist have? There are numerous types of therapists from psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family counselors, psychiatrists (medical doctors who can prescribe medications), and others.
How long is the session? Typical individual sessions last 50 minutes but this will vary by the therapist and type of therapy utilized. Group therapy usually lasts 1 ½ hours. Specific types of therapies such as DBT may include group and an individual therapist.
Do you take my insurance and if not, how much is the fee for counseling? Most counselors take some insurances but you may need to check your insurance company for a listing or you can call the specific counselor/clinic to check this. Some therapists will use a sliding-fee scale based on your income but most do not. However, don’t be hesitant to ask as some counselors may carry a few clients with minimal income as a way to give back.

Still other questions when starting therapy can be addressed to the therapist. Because different professions have varying codes of ethics and state guidelines which may vary in some ways, you need to be sure to ask some of these following questions. These may include:

Can you tell me more about your education and training? How long have you been a therapist?
Are you available 24/7 and if not, where do I get help in an emergency?
What type of treatment do you use?
Have you treated a lot of people with my condition and have you been able to help them?
What is your style of work? Are you laid-back, do you make me do homework, will you confront me, and will you stick by me when things get rough?
Do you give advice? Must I take your advice?
Can you tell me about an average session?
What will you do if I need to be hospitalized for my psychiatric issues?
What information is confidential? Is everything I tell you confidential?
What happens if we disagree or I have a grievance?
What happens if we have different values and beliefs?
What happens if I decide we don’t fit or if I decide to quit therapy?
Can we be friends? How about after I quit seeing you?
How will I know when I’m done needing therapy?
Will you be willing to see me after I decide to quit therapy and need to come at a later time?
Do you talk to anyone else about my case?

While you will not need to ask all of these questions as many of them may be answered upon your first session, this list is a helpful guideline for concerns you may have when starting therapy or counseling, or even if you’ve been in therapy in the past. Therapy can provide lifelong learning and healing.

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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Battle With Depression

From Mike Parker @ Express: Hollywood’s highest-paid star has told of his secret battle with depression and his agony over witnessing his mother’s attempted suicide. Former world wrestling champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson declared: “Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed. I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.”

Johnson, 45, whose new sci-fi monster film Rampage hits UK cinemas this month, is said to be worth £156million after two successive years as America’s best-paid actor.

But the 6 ft. 5 in. muscle man was just 15 when his mother Ata tried to kill herself in front of him, months after they were evicted from their apartment.

“She got out of the car on Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic,” he said. Big rigs and cars were swerving out of the way. I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road.”

The star of last year’s Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle movie added: “What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is that to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn’t.”

Years later, Johnson’s dream of being a professional football player was shattered after numerous injuries. He signed with the Canadian Football League but was let go within a year.

Shortly afterwards, Johnson’s girlfriend broke up with him. “That was my absolute worst time,” he said.

But he went on to rule the wrestling ring before turning to acting in 2000.

Johnson says had he not found the inner strength to carry on, he could easily have become suicidal like his mother.

“We both healed but we’ve always got to do our best to pay attention when other people are in pain,” he said. “We have to help them through it and remind them they are not alone.”

When a fan recently told him he was suffering depression, Johnson wrote back:

“I hear you. I’ve battled that beast more than once.”

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9 Reasons Why Baby Boomers Are Drinking More

Bad news for the Baby Boomers. As they cross the 65+ milestone, more and more Boomers are bringing a high rate of alcohol problems with them. Here are nine reasons why drinking is a growing problem for the Boomers.

How Alcohol Affects Boomers Differently

Due to metabolic changes and other physical changes, boomers don’t process alcohol as efficiently as they did in their 20s -50s. Additionally, adults in this particular phase in life face many unique stressors and pressures. A study conducted by Cornell University found the nine most common are:

Forced Retirement. Many seniors are being forced out of work due to health issues, the company disbanding, or struggling to keep up with the work load and/or technological advances. Because this isn’t the retiree’s choice, they are stressed emotionally and financially. This is a leading contributor of problem drinking.
Lack Of Life Purpose. For many, their life purpose revolved around  work and careers. It’s hard to replace that drive and fulfillment in retirement. Instead of turning to alcohol for comfort, seniors can helping with the grandkids,volunteer, or find a new hobby.
Boredom. Many retirees struggle with boredom, and those who suffer physically are at a higher risk of drinking to help while away the time.
Health Issues. Health problems may cause more stress and inactivity.
Depression, Anxiety, and Other Mental Health Issues. Past mental health issues may become more problematic due to less structure in their lives. Unfortunately, many psychiatric medicines have dangerous interactions with alcohol. The alcohol may either render the medication useless or cause overdosing.
Family and Marital Stress. Often retirement exacerbates family problems as both partners are home all day.  If one is single, then lack of companionship may be a struggle.
Financial Struggles. Retirement often brings less income and unexpected bills such as a catastrophic, long-term illness.
Fewer Healthy Social Activities. Because of various issues such as health, the retiree may not be as involved socially as much as needed. Likewise, their adult children have their own activities and may not be as involved with their retired parents.
Greater Problematic Social Activities. Retirement may be a time of leisurely drinking with friends. In fact, many retirement communities revolve around social activities that include drinking.

The Problem Grows Worse

Approximately 2.5 million older adults struggle with alcohol abuse, and another 3 million mid-lifers (55 and older) have a problem with alcohol use. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that America’s 65+ population will be the fastest growing age group over the next 25 years. Coupled with a increased life-span of 80+, this age group could soon be our most affected generation.

While all of these conditions may lead to drinking, no one condition or even all conditions ‘cause’ alcoholism. However, Baby Boomers need to monitor these factors and reach out to their spouse, family, friends or others for accountability if necessary.

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Kids Bombarded by Junk Food Advertising

How many junk food ads do children seen every year? The Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health 
 says ads for junk food are shown more frequently on TV at times when many children are watching.

The research, led by the University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor Lisa Smithers and published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health today, also showed that children were exposed to twice as much unhealthy food advertising as healthy food advertising.

The research found that children would view more than 800 junk food ads each year, if they watched 80 minutes of television per day.

By building a bespoke TV monitoring system, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, A/Prof Smithers’ team was able to capture an entire year’s worth of television and ads from one free-to-air commercial TV network in South Australia.

“This is the most robust data we’ve seen anywhere. It is the largest dataset ever used by health researchers for examining food advertising in Australia, and probably the world. Most research in this area is based on only a few days of data, and there are no Australian studies taking seasonality into account,” A/Prof Smithers said.

Thirty thousand hours of television containing more than 500 hours of food advertisements (almost 100,000 food ads) were logged during 2016. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating was used to group food and beverages into healthy, discretionary (i.e. unhealthy) and other categories.

Snack foods, crumbed/battered meats, takeaway/fast food and sugary drinks were among the most frequently advertised foods.

During children’s peak viewing times, the frequency and duration of “discretionary” (ie, junk) food advertising was 2.3 times higher each hour than for healthy foods.

Across the year, discretionary food advertising peaked at 71 per cent of all food advertising in January, dropping to a low of 41 per cent in August.

“Diet-related problems are the leading cause of disease in Australia, and the World Health Organization has concluded that food marketing influences the types of foods that children prefer to eat, ask their parents for, and ultimately consume,” A/Prof Smithers said.

Some countries and regions have implemented children’s television advertising bans (Quebec, Canada), junk food advertising bans (Norway), and requirements to publish healthy eating messages when unhealthy foods are advertised (France). In Australia, all advertising during children’s TV programs is covered by the Children’s Television Standards. There are other codes developed by industry groups that aim to limit Australian children’s exposure to unhealthy food advertising, however these codes are voluntary.

There is also no process for routine, independent monitoring of children’s exposure to food advertising.

“Australian health, nutrition and policy experts agree that reducing children’s exposure to junk food ads is an important part of tackling obesity and there is broad public support for stronger regulation of advertising to protect children,” A/Prof Smithers said.

“I would love to see the results of our research play a role in protecting children from the effects of junk food advertising.”

A/Prof Smithers said the specially designed system, using a digital television tuner attached to a computer, had the potential for use across all Australian markets, as well as internationally.

“This is the kind of thing that would be fairly easy to set up to monitor change over time and to evaluate the impact of different policies,” she said.

For example, researchers are now using the system to look at food advertising during sport.

“The advertising data collected for this project could have many users and collection is ongoing,” said A/Prof Smithers, who is open to enquiries from researchers about use of the data.

National Heart Foundation CEO Adjunct Professor John G Kelly said the research findings were disturbing. He said the Heart Foundation was very proud to be supporting emerging leaders such as A/Prof Lisa Smithers, whose research was funded through a 2015 Vanguard grant.

“As a charity and the largest non-government funder of heart disease research in Australia, the Heart Foundation is proud to invest in research to help all Australians have better heart health.

“Thanks to our generous donors, the Heart Foundation is able to make important research such as this happen.”

Content originally published @ Science Daily

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Materials provided by University of Adelaide. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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