Leslie Glass's Blog, page 388

How Will Legalized Betting Affect Gambling Addiction

From Nick Schwartz @ USA Today: An anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling following a six-year-long legal battle between the state of New Jersey and major sports leagues could pave the way for states to legalize betting. The NBA is already preparing, and wants 1% of bets should gambling become legal nationwide.

Dan Patrick discussed the prospect of legalized sports betting on his show Tuesday, and said that there’s too much money to be made for gambling to remain illegal in most states.

“It’s going to happen, there’s so much money here. You’re going to have advertising on jerseys in all of these sports – we talked about this years ago – and you’re going to have legalized gambling. To what degree? I don’t know.

The NFL can’t act like they’re not all in on this. Everybody wants to know what they’re getting. All of these leagues want to know ‘how big a piece do I get?’ Because I’ve never met a billionaire who goes ‘I’ve got way too much money, the last thing I need is some more money.’”

Patrick also opened up on his own gambling addiction, and said that at one point in his life he was “hook, line and sinker.”

“Oh I don’t like it. I don’t like the fact that it could be that easy to do it because I know that I got… I mean I was in hook, line and sinker. I was in deep.

I was in deep but I ended up winning, but I was in a bad position there for a little while. And I didn’t know how I’d pay it, and I never told my family. You can get into that because everybody thinks they’re smarter than these guys, the sharks, and I did too. And all of a sudden you double up. You lose two games, I’d lose the 1:00 and the 4:00 and I’d double up on the Monday night game.

That’s not a good philosophy. And I even had my bookie who would say ‘you know, you might not want to bet this week.’ No, no, no, I got it.

That would be the only thing that would concern me, is once you get in and you win that first time. You win at the buzzer, the final seconds, man it’s a high. But when you start to lose, then you get really stupid.”

Recovery Guidance can also help you find treatment for a gambling addiction. Visit www.recoveryguidance.com today to see treatment providers in your area.

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Top 5 Areas For Recovery Healing

Recovery healing is an exciting concept that is just now gaining momentum. For those new to recovery, it may seem that not using means you’re in recovery. And further, that life and relationships can be restored just by the absence of doing whatever substance or behavior was out of control. Those in long term recovery, however, know that recovery healing is a balanced lifestyle with these five components all in place and working together.

Top 5 Areas For Recovery Healing

Where substance use disorder or behavioral addictions are present, all other aspects of life are abandoned. Addiction is actually the very opposite of taking care of your needs. Self care both for people struggling with addictions, and for their loved ones simply doesn’t exist. There is a kind of destructive conditioning that takes place that has to be replaced with loving self care in every area. Here’s what recovery healing looks like.

Physical Recovery Healing

We list physical health at the top of the list because it sets the basis for all healing. Following the basics of physical health is an essential foundation for the other four areas of recovery healing. Physical health entails seven basics. If you didn’t learn them as children, now’s the time.

Eat healthy means not living on junk food, snack bars, Starbucks sugary/caffeine drinks, chips,  and candy alone. This means having real food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It doesn’t mean eating a lot. It means giving the brain and body the nourishment it needs to heal from neglect. Good protein, fruits, vegetables, healthy fat and carbs.
Get enough rest means not overdoing as you have done in the past. Either too much caring for others or too much partying makes you sleep deprived. Stop. Rest more. Take some time to just relax and let go. But most of all, sleep, sleep, sleep.
Exercise 5 times per week. All right, this may seem excessive, but exercise can be a half an hour walk. It can mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It can mean yoga, or dance or any number of activities that get you moving. Just move is the operative exercise word.
Seek medical help as needed means don’t wait when you have symptoms.
Take medications as prescribed. This is critical if you need meds for your addiction recovery or other mental illness.
Maintain basic hygiene this is easy. Take showers, wash your hair, hands and face, brush your teeth. Keep your clothes clean. Change your clothes. Do all the self care necessary to look and feel good.
Stay clean and sober means whatever your program requires. You may be taking meds to stay off your drug of choice or a medication for depression. For our purposes, you are clean and sober if you’re doing what your doctor or addiction plan tells you to do.

Emotional Recovery Healing

Our emotional lives are also often neglected when dealing with addiction. Neglected emotions can cause problems such as denial, anger outbursts, unresolved grief, and depression. There are many ways to focus on feelings. It means allowing yourself to feel but not allow your feelings to rule your life.

Feel you feelings but don’t get stuck in them. Feelings aren’t good or bad, they just are. You can feel mad as long as you don’t act out your anger on others, or have anger rule your emotional state.
Journal about you thoughts and feelings. Writing helps to get it out. When you write about it, you are letting it go.
Talk to family and friends, or a therapist. Talking is another way to loosen your feelings and help overcome the negative ones.
Be Creative means personal expression of some kind. Personal expression includes: color in a coloring book, bake, paint pictures, learn to cook, sing in a choir, or plant a garden.
Get out in nature. Just look at what’s around you, get your feet planted on the ground. Experience the seasons.
Play with children means enjoy play and show the children in your life you have time and emotional space for them.
Cry over a sad or happy movie. Some people are so hurt by their experiences, it’s hard to cry or laugh. Movies can help access those feelings, and the tears from relating to stories on the screen can bring some relief.
Attend support groups such as AA, NA, Al-Anon, Codependency Anonymous, or Emotions Anonymous, or a grief support group or a spiritual group.
Find a therapist or do family therapy. It helps. It really helps to have a professional in your life to guide you through the healing process.

Intellectual Recovery Healing

This doesn’t have to be a scary word. Throughout our lives, we have to keep our brains active for many reasons. Whatever schooling we had, it’s not enough to help our coping skills now. We need to keep learning new things, or we’ll be stuck in old destructive habits.  We have to continue to engage with new ideas and activities.

Think without brooding on positive things in your life and community but also keep up with the news.
Stay connected and interested in others around you. What are they doing and thinking? What tools do they use to keep positive?
Learn something new a language or a recipe, or take up a sport you haven’t tried.
Listen to books on tape, or read.
Attend classes or return to school.
Write about your life, also called journaling.
Do puzzles and Sudoku. We also love Scrabble.
Explore ideas about your job, how can you do it better, or enjoy it more.

Relational Recovery Healing

While many focus on this aspect as being in relationship with others, we believe that it is a 2-part-process. Step one is relationships with others and step two is a relationship with ourselves.

Engage in activities with friends and family such as going to movies, out to dinner, and spending time talking about thoughts and feelings.
Attend support groups. These can be religious/spiritual groups/book groups.
Exercise with others. This includes playing sports, walking with a friend, doing yoga, or anything that involves movement.
Volunteer to help others. Service is an important component of healing. Anything you do for others counts to help you heal from whatever trauma you have experienced.
Get love and give love and support. Giving is important, getting love and support is important, too.
Nurture non family relationships with neighbors, your kids’ teachers, co-workers and others. This is part of staying connected.
Enjoy alone time means a time out from everything and everybody else. It’s good to take a nap, read a book, watch your favorite show alone, soak in the tub if you enjoy baths.

Spiritual Recovery Healing

Spirituality is that which makes our spirits soar. Here we connect to life and the living. Here we also connect to a sense of well-being, of peace, compassion, and acceptance. We may connect to a Higher Power – or not. But we feel a connection that is beyond our self. Everything that we do that is about healing is about the spiritual, for spirituality encompasses us in our entirety.

Breathe in for five counts, hold for five counts and breathe out for five counts. Yoga breathing slows your heart and helps to calm your spirit. When you are counting your breath, you’re not focused on what makes you mad, sad, or afraid.
Play with your pet. Enough said. This activity is known to lift your spirits.
Meditate. This is a catch word everyone is using these days. Meditation works for those who can still still and concentrate long enough to do it. Not everyone can. Listen to a meditation tape and see it if can work for you.
Pray means reaching above the everyday for positive energy. You don’t have to pray to any particular God for prayer to ease your spirit.
Attend religious and/or spiritual services. Research shows that people who attends services live longer. But organized religion is not for everyone.
Teach compassion and tolerance to your children. This is for everyone.
Feel joy and sorrow, and accept all. This is not as touchy feely as it sounds. There are many parts of life. Rarely does a human experience only the good, warm and supportive. Acceptance of what is and can’t be controlled is a very important part of recovery healing.

When we break down each of these 5 areas of recovery healing, we can see things we already do and perhaps, new things to do. We understand that these 5 areas weave in and out of one another.  For example, going jogging helps us physically, increases our endorphins which make us feel good emotionally, gives us time to be alone or with others, and may help us to get into a sense of connection to life as we take in the beauty that surrounds us. These are the ways to live a fulfilling, healthy life.

If you need help with addiction or mental health, check out Recovery Guidance for a free resource to locate professionals near you.

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ER Visits For Opioid Overdoses Up 30%, Up 70% In Midwest

From Melanie Dadourian @ Fox News: Emergency visits for suspected opioid overdoses shot up 30 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to third quarter 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During a briefing of the latest Vital Signs report, CDC’s Acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat said overall the most dramatic increases were in the Midwest, where emergency visits went up 70 percent in all ages over 25. ER visits for opioid-related emergencies more than doubled in two states. Wisconsin saw the biggest increase, 109 percent, and Delaware saw a 105 percent increase. In Pennsylvania, ER visits were up 81 percent.

“We’re seeing the highest ever death rates in the U.S.,” Schuchat  said. She pointed to national statistics that out of 63,000 overdose deaths in 2016, 42,000 of them involved opioids.

“[This] means 115 people die each day from opioid overdose,” she said.

There were some decreases reported in the East, with the largest being a 15 percent reduction in Kentucky, which could reflect fluctuation in drug supplies or interventions. However, hospital visits in cities of all types increased steadily in each quarter by 51 percent. Dr. Schuchat emphasized, “Bottom line — no area of the U.S. is exempt from this epidemic.”

U.S. Surgeon General James Adams was also present during the briefing, and mentioned how he witnessed first-hand his own young brother’s struggle with opioid addiction.

“Science is clear: Addiction is a chronic disease and not a moral failing,” the doctor said.

Dr. Adams outlined that a coordinated effort is necessary to prevent opioid addiction. “To successfully combat this epidemic, everyone must play a role,” he noted.  The Surgeon General explained how health departments, along with public safety and law enforcement officials, have to work together to deal with local opioid-related emergencies.

He stressed the need to make naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose, more accessible in emergency situations.

Need help with an opioid addiction? Recovery Guidance is literally here for you. Our listing site shows treatment and addiction physician choices right where you are.

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Kevin Love On Panic Attacks: ‘We’re All Carrying Around Things That Hurt’

From By Jamie Ducharme @ Time: Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is speaking out about mental health and his first panic attack, after years of silence dictated by what he calls the “playbook” of manhood.

In an essay for the Players’ Tribune, the 29-year-old NBA All-Star details what it felt like to have his first panic attack — and what it felt like to seek help and address his mental health.

“It came out of nowhere,” Love writes of his panic attack, which he suffered during a November game against the Atlanta Hawks. “I’d never had one before. I didn’t even know if they were real. But it was real — as real as a broken hand or a sprained ankle. Since that day, almost everything about the way I think about my mental health has changed.”

 The experience convinced Love to see a therapist and to go public about his internal struggle, in hopes of inspiring others to do the same. “No matter what our circumstances, we’re all carrying around things that hurt — and they can hurt us if we keep them buried inside,” Love writes. “Not talking about our inner lives robs us of really getting to know ourselves and robs us of the chance to reach out to others in need.”

Here’s what to know about panic attacks, the condition that prompted Love to speak out.

What is a panic attack?

A panic attack, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), is “the abrupt onset of intense fear or discomfort,” accompanied by physical symptoms that peak within just a few minutes. Episodes can come out of nowhere, but stress, genetics, other mental health conditions and certain personality traits can all predispose people to getting more frequent panic attacks, according to the Mayo Clinic. Panic attacks can be so unpleasant and scary that many sufferers develop an intense fear of the next one striking, according to the ADAA.

What are panic attack symptoms?

Physical experiences can vary quite a bit, but panic attack symptoms typically include shortness of breath, chest pain, sweating, trembling, accelerated heart rate, nausea, dizziness, chills, heat, numbness and fear of dying or losing control, according to the ADAA. Love wrote that he experienced a racing heart, difficulty breathing and a spinning head, among other symptoms.

How can you stop a panic attack?

Therapy is often used to help people understand their panic attacks and work through any underlying causes, the Mayo Clinic says. People who have frequent panic attacks, and who persistently worry about when they’ll have their next episode, may be diagnosed with panic disorder, a chronic condition that can be managed with a combination of medication, therapy and healthy lifestyle habits, according to the Mayo Clinic.

What’s the difference between an anxiety attack vs panic attack?

While anxiety can be accompanied by many of the same physical symptoms as a panic attack, the ADAA says the physical manifestation of a panic attack tends to be more severe and faster both to begin and to escalate — to the point that many people end up at the emergency room, believing they’ve had a heart attack or other life-threatening issue.

Physical health and mental health are often connected. Recovery Guidance also lists addiction physicians and counselors so patients can recover mind, body, and soul.

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St. Louis Family’s Real Life Recovery Reunion

From Kelley Hoskins @ Fox News: A St. Louis mother is reunited with her two daughters after putting them up for adoption at birth more than 20 years ago. The reunion comes after her recovery, as she fought drug addiction.

Now, her prayers have been answered.

Writing a letter to God asking him would this day ever come again and if it’s in his will, let it be,” said Lashaun Jenkins.

More than 26 years later 53-year-old Lashaun Jenkins prayers were answered.

“At that time, I had an addiction. I would not want to have another child go through that with me.”

It’s a picture worth a thousand words as the family gathered for photos at Portrait Innovation in Richmond Heights Sunday morning. The family of five was reunited but it was a journey for Jenkins to see this day become a reality.

Jenkins was in her twenties when she already had two children Brandon and Brandy. Within three years she had two more kids, Dominique and Elizabeth.

Jenkins says it was a struggle as she battled her drug addiction. She had to made tough decision to put Elizabeth and Dominique up for adoption. “I chose the adoption, I did not want to abort her. I did not use drugs at times with my children. I carried them fully, nine months. Both were healthy not addicted to anything. The reason I chose adoption and not abortion cause I wanted to give them a chance at life, that would have been so selfish of me to get rid of them.”

Jenkins says she’s been clean for the last 10 years and it was painful to give up her kids for adoption. But it was the best thing to do.

26 years later she received a letter in the mail from the adoption agency notifying her that both of her daughters were looking for her. “Growing up I knew I was different. My parents were white. I’m the youngest of 9, so I always knew I was adopted,” said Elizabeth Schlereth.

I was ready to fill that hole and move on with my life and I have filled that hole. My heart is filled now so I feel better,” said Dominique Miller.

Jenkins’ other two kids Brandy and Brandon never knew they had two younger sisters. “We don’t have new found sisters, we have new found lifelong best friends and we will keep in contact every day and pick up where we left off,” said Brandy Jenkins.

Jenkins says she never gave up that one day they would be reunited again.

Recovery offers hope and can heal families. Start your own recovery journey today at Recovery Guidance.

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From Dysfunctional to Functional: Shifting the Family Balance

Family balance is out of whack where there is substance or alcohol use. Dysfunction accompanies addiction. Secrets have to be kept. Crises need covering up. Abuse is ignored. Family members, especially children, feel unsafe, unsupported, and shut down. Denial is king. Imagine a seesaw with one side all the way down.

Can The Family Balance Be Shifted?

Changing a family system that’s been in place for a long time, even generations, happens all the time. People do get healthy, either with or without the addict’s participation. Remember that a user maintains an addiction by manipulation and control of the people around him or her. Changing that dynamic means disruption of those who count on the status quo.

Why The Silence

Silence may have been established to protect family members suffering from an addiction, and to protect the reputation of the family. But the cost of silence and denial is dysfunction that hurts everyone, even the family member(s) with a substance or alcohol problem. When a family member is protected, he or she doesn’t have to take responsibility for his actions. She or he sinks deeper into destruction.

Abuse and dysfunction can only thrive in silence and denial. Silence feeds dysfunction, and awareness is the first step to shifting that balance.

11 Steps To Shift The Family Balance From Dysfunctional To Functional

End the silence by acknowledging the dysfunction brought on by addiction. Get out of the denial by looking at the reality of your situation. Until you acknowledge this, no changes can occur.
Read articles and books about dysfunctional families. Our favorites include work by Sharon Wegsheider-Cruse, Melody Bettie, John Bradshaw, Friel and Friel, and Claudia Black.* Some of this work dates back to the 1980s but is still on the cutting edge of recovery; some of these experts also have newer work as well.
Tell the children Children already know there are problems and that these problems have to do with alcohol or substances. Acknowledging the problems validates their realities.
Tell extended family members such as grandparents if they can be supportive. Breaking the stigma is key to getting help. And the only way to break the stigma is to normalize the problem by talking about it
Tell friends. You are safer when other people know what you’re going through. This helps you to get support for yourself and the family
If you are a parent, listen and acknowledge what your children are going through. Offer them support and compassion and do activities with them and get them help to cope with the problems associated with addiction of a loved one.
If you’re a child, ask the non-addicted parent to listen to you and to do fun things with you and help you with your problems associated with the addicted family member
Attend 12-step-meetings such as Al-Anon, Al-Ateen, Families Anonymous, and Codependent’s Anonymous. This helps you to not only acknowledge the problems, but to gain support and insight from others
Find other support groups in your community that may help with other issues such as grief support groups and religious and/or spirituality groups
Seek counseling for yourself and the family. Individual and family therapy can be very valuable in helping you to develop and utilize healthy coping skills.
Set Boundaries Don’t buy alcohol even if you have been doing it for years. Don’t allow substance users into the house when they are using drugs. This is difficult, we know, and you may feel a substance user is safer at home, but that is not the case.  Stay clear of the addict’s dysfunction.

Detach When Necessary

If you have been using all of these techniques and the family is still struggling, it’s time to explore how detachment from the addicted family member can help the family heal. This family member  may be continuing to use or he/she/them may have stopped using, but are still trying to control the family or acting out in other ways such as being verbally abusive. Also, when the family gets healthy, the troubled family member(s) usually does not like this reality and will attempt to sabotage the progress.

When Abuse Is Present

For some, it is difficult to leave is the primary worker and financial issues are, but there are governmental housing options, women’s shelters, homeless shelters, and free food pantries and community meals. If you are concerned that you are breaking up the family, be assured that you are doing the healthy things for your children and seek support.

Finally, while this is not an easy process, it is a healthy process for all involved. Once you begin to get your life back, options will open up for you and your family to continue to heal. There are many others going through the same process; remember that you are not alone and you can live a life of joy and compassion.

On A Positive Note Enjoy Your Life

Often people in crisis shut down and lose all the things about life they had enjoyed before. To break old patterns of silence, denial and enabling, finding ways to enjoy your life is key.

Physically get exercise, eat healthy, sleep enough
Intellectually read, write, chat with others
Emotionally talk about your thoughts and feelings
Relationships nurture both alone time and time with friends
Spiritually do those things that free your soul such as mediating, spending time in nature, church/temple/synagogue, being creative

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Friendships Help Heal Adult Victims Of Childhood Abuse

From Science Daily: Research has linked childhood abuse to many adverse health outcomes in adulthood, including premature mortality, but according to new research, supportive relationships in midlife can partly compensate for the mortality risks linked to childhood abuse.

“This is one of the first studies to provide evidence suggesting that experiences long after exposure to abuse can mitigate the mortality risks associated with early abuse,” said Jessica Chiang, lead author of the study.

Given the serious health consequences of childhood abuse later in life, such as heart disease, stroke and some cancers, Chiang and her co-authors wanted to examine whether there’s anything that can be done to compensate or reverse these effects.

“Many of the diseases associated with childhood abuse typically emerge in middle and later stages of adulthood — decades after the abuse actually occurred,” said Chiang, a postdoctoral fellow with Northwestern’s Foundations of Health Research Center and its Institute for Policy Research. “We were curious as to whether social support during this ‘incubation’ period or interim could offset health risks associated with much earlier experiences of abuse.”

Using a sample of more than 6,000 adults from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, the researchers examined whether adult self-reported social support decreased mortality risk associated with self-reported exposure to three types of childhood abuse: severe physical abuse, modest physical abuse and emotional abuse.

Social support was associated with a lower mortality risk, which the researchers expected given prior research.

“Importantly, however, the magnitude of the reduction in mortality risk associated with midlife social support differed between the individuals who reported childhood abuse and those who reported minimal or no childhood abuse,” Chiang said.

“Specifically, more social support was associated with a 19 to 26 percent lower mortality risk depending on abuse type — severe physical abuse, moderate physical abuse or emotional abuse — in those who reported childhood abuse. It was associated with a more modest 7 to 8 percent lower mortality risk in those who reported minimal or no exposure to abuse,” she said.

Chiang said the findings are hopeful, adding that it will be important for future work to replicate and build on their findings.

“For example, we’ll also need to develop a better understanding of how support later in life can actually counteract the health effects of early abuse,” Chiang said. “Do they act on certain biological processes that increase risk for poor health — for instance, delaying age-related increases in systemic inflammation? Or perhaps they help victims of childhood abuse overcome other negative sequelae related to abuse, such as lower educational attainment, lower earnings and poorer mental health.”

“Midlife self-reported social support as a buffer against premature mortality risks associated with childhood abuse” was published today (March 5) in Nature Human Behaviour. Additional co-authors include Edith Chen and Gregory E. Miller, professors at Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research. The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Therapy can help you get back on a healthy path. Find counselors near you at Recovery Guidance.

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How Is A Marijuana Addiction Different Than Other Addictions?

From Science Daily: “Very little has been known about recovery from cannabis use problems, and this is the first study to examine that on a national basis,” says John Kelly, PhD, director of the Recovery Research Institute, who led the study published in the March issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy. “Compared with alcohol and other drugs, cannabis holds a unique place in federal and state policies — continuing to be illegal federally but with medical and recreational use legalized at the state level. Due to this increased availability and the proliferation of a for-profit cannabis industry, understanding the needs of individuals with cannabis problems will be increasingly important.”

The current study analyzes data from the National Recovery Survey, conducted by Kelly’s team. A nationally representative sample of nearly 40,000 U.S. adults who participate in the Knowledge Panel of the market research company GfK were asked “Did you used to have a problem with drugs or alcohol, but no longer do?” Of more than 25,000 respondents, a little over 2,000 indicated they had resolved such a problem and were sent a link to the full study survey, which asked a variety of questions such as the specific problem substances and details regarding how and when they had resolved their problem. As reported in a paper published last year in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, more than half of all respondents reported resolving their problem with no assistance.

The current study focused on participants who indicated having resolved a cannabis problem, who made up around 11 percent of respondents, reflecting around 2.4 million U.S. adults. Compared with those resolving problems with alcohol or other drugs, those resolving cannabis problems reported starting regular use — once a week or more — at younger ages but also resolving the problem at younger ages, an average of 29 compared with 38 for alcohol and 33 for other drugs.

Cannabis-primary respondents were even less likely to have used formal treatment or support services than were those resolving problems with illicit drugs — 18 percent versus 42 percent — but were more likely to have participated in drug courts than those who had resolved alcohol problems — 24 percent versus 8 percent. Cannabis users also reported “addiction careers” — the years between their first use and problem resolution — that were significantly shorter than those of the alcohol group — 12 years versus 18 years, which may reflect the greater physical and mental health impairment associated with alcohol and the continuing illegality of cannabis.

“We did expect that the cannabis-primary individuals would be less likely than the illicit drug group to use formal treatment; but very little is known about the magnitude or nature of such differences, ” says Kelly. “That may be due to fewer physiological and other life consequences compared with the impairments caused by drugs like alcohol or opioids. For example, while there is a documented withdrawal syndrome related to cannabis dependence, withdrawal from opioids or alcohol is notoriously more severe and often requires medically-managed detoxification.”

Given the increased levels of THC — the psychoactive component of cannabis — in products available today, the team investigated whether the use of formal support services had changed over time. Indeed, they found that utilization of outpatient services was more common in those resolving their problems within the past 5.5 years, while use of inpatient services was actually more common in those who resolved their problem around 20 years previously.

The Spallin Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Kelly explains that brain changes caused by the higher THC content in marijuana today — 15 to 20 percent, versus 1 to 5 percent 10 or 20 years ago — could make it harder for individuals using this more potent cannabis to stop on their own. While inpatient treatment was considered first-line treatment for addiction two decades ago, it is much less common today, and insurance companies often require attendance at outpatient treatment first.

“In the current landscape of higher potency cannabis and the greater availability and variety of cannabis products, it is more likely that individuals will need to seek help in resolving problems with cannabis,” he says. “Now it will be important to determine whether the recovery timeline from high-potency cannabis will be different and more challenging. And since so many of the cannabis-primary group resolved their problem without either formal treatment or mutual help organizations like Marijuana Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, it will be critical to understand the changes in their lives that helped make recovery possible.”

Recovery Guidance can help with a wide range of addictions wherever you are. You choose the recovery path that works best for you.

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The Co-Dependent’s Recipe For Resentment

A simple glitch in my breakfast order reminded me how expectations, whether large or small, can quickly de-rail an otherwise lovely day poisoning it with resentment.

Last Tuesday was tough, so to deal with my stress, I spent 30 minutes promising myself a Starbuck’s a blueberry muffin. When I got to Starbucks, they were out, and I was angry. I expected Starbucks to have everything on their menu. Instead, I ordered their new and flashy Sous Vide Egg bites.

Expectations In My Kitchen

It was love at first egg bite for me, but they are a little pricey. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to make these delicious eggs at home.

Sous Vide refers to a French technique of cooking where items are slow cooked in a warm water bath which results in a rich velvety texture. I don’t have, nor do I want to purchase, any of the required equipment to do this technique at home. The eggs have to be vacuum-sealed. It sounds messy and unappetizing.

At first, I tried cooking the eggs in my steamer. That didn’t work. Next, I tried baking the eggs in a warm water bath. That didn’t work either.

The problem is simple: I had another expectation. I expect to be able to repeat Starbuck’s success without using their recipe or their technique. In recovery, I’ve learned expectations are predetermined resentments. Expecting is the opposite of accepting.

Accepting brings serenity. Expecting brings anger. I brought all of this anger upon myself.

Recipe For Resentments

I have a choice to make about these eggs. The recipe I created was good. In fact, if I just sat down to eat those eggs, I might have really loved them. Instead, I was expecting something different. Now I must decide:

Will I accept the eggs I know how to make?

OR

Do I want to learn something new and try this French technique in my home?

Stay tuned dear readers. Whether it’s fabulous or a fail, next week, I’ll be sharing the egg recipe I choose.

Have a long-term relationship with resentment? Maybe counseling can help. Recovery Guidance lists counselors in your area who understand how addiction can affect a relationship.

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2 Out Of 3 Depressed Heart Attack Patients Face Mortality

From Science Daily: Heart attack patients prescribed antidepressants have lower one-year survival rates, according to research presented today at Acute Cardiovascular Care 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress.

The observational study of nearly 9,000 patients found that those prescribed antidepressants at discharge from hospital after a heart attack had a 66% greater risk of mortality one year later than patients not prescribed the drugs, although they noted the cause is not necessarily related directly to the antidepressants.

Lead author Ms Nadia Fehr, a medical student at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, said: “Previous studies have suggested that cardiovascular disease may increase the likelihood of being depressed. On the other hand, depression appears to increase the probability of developing cardiovascular risk factors. However, little is known about the impact of depression on outcome after a heart attack.”

This study assessed the association of antidepressant prescription at hospital discharge with the one-year outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Data from AMIS Plus, the Swiss nationwide registry for acute myocardial infarction, were used to analyse 8,911 heart attack patients admitted to hospitals in Switzerland between March 2005 and August 2016. Patients were followed up by telephone 12 months after discharge.

The researchers compared patients who received antidepressant medication at discharge with those who did not with regard to baseline characteristics and one-year outcomes including mortality, a subsequent heart attack, and stroke.

A total of 565 (6.3%) patients received antidepressants at discharge from hospital. Compared to those who did not receive the drugs, patients prescribed antidepressants were predominantly female, older, and more likely to have hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, obesity and comorbidities. They were less likely to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention or receive P2Y12 blockers or statins, and stayed in hospital longer.

After adjusting for baseline characteristics the researchers found that the rates of stroke and subsequent heart attacks were similar between the two groups, but patients prescribed antidepressants had significantly worse survival. The rate of all-cause mortality at one-year after discharge was 7.4% in patients prescribed antidepressants compared to 3.4% for those not prescribed antidepressants (p

Antidepressant prescription was an independent predictor for mortality, and increased the odds by 66% (odds ratio: 1.66; 95% confidence interval: 1.16 to 2.39).

“This was an observational study so we cannot conclude that antidepressants caused the higher death rate,” noted Ms Fehr.

She concluded: “Our study showed that many patients are treated with antidepressants after a heart attack. More research is needed to pinpoint the causes and underlying pathological mechanisms for the higher mortality we observed in this patient group.”

Physical health and mental health are often connected. Recovery Guidance also lists addiction physicians and counselors so patients can recover mind, body, and soul.

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