Leslie Glass's Blog, page 403
January 24, 2018
Here the Reason 92% of New Years Resolutions Fail
Here we are rushing headlong into the second month of 2018, so it’s almost time to consider the New Year’s resolution fail rate. How is your resolve doing? Are the habit changes you have taken on starting to take hold? Or…not so much
According to Tripsavvy.com, the universal resolutions for 2018 are:
Spend more time with family and friends
Find more time for physical fitness
Lose weight
Quit smoking
Enjoy life more
Quit drinking
Get out of debt
Learn something new
Help others more
Get organized
Even though this is the 2018 list, I’m confident in saying that this list is probably something that has been recycled year after year. So, why is it that habit change needs to be resolved yearly?
How come 92% of New Year’s Resolutions Fail
There’s no lack of information available on any of the resolutions on the list – there are books, apps, seminars and workshops, support groups, organizations (YMCA, health clubs, MOGs, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Curves, Consumer Credit Counseling), OTC and prescription medication (Chantix, Nicorette, Nicoderm, Hydroxycut, Garcinia Cambogia extract, Meratrim, Orlistat, lorcaserin, Contrave, Saxenda, phentermine) – there’s quite a collection of knowledge out there!
Yet even with all this knowledge available, our resolutions spin endlessly on the merry-go-round every year. And sometimes with determination… as in “THIS year I’m gonna lose weight” or “THIS is my year to quit smoking.” How come?
Here’s The Answer To The Burning Question
The average time for the accountability of a resolution is 6 weeks. The average time for habit change to take hold is 12 weeks. Herein lies the disparity … we give up before our transformation can become a habit. Knowing something doesn’t mean anything more than knowing it. Knowledge is knowledge, it’s not habit change. Transformation happens when we get out of our thoughts and into the present. Change is affected in the present moment – a choice to eat a banana instead of a cookie happens when the foods are in front of you and not in your thinking and planning of what you’ll do or eat later.
Resolutions Will Stop Failing When We Keep The Goal In Mind Longer
Perhaps mindfulness should be the goal. We can only focus on one thing at a time, practicing being mindful crowds out being mindless. Mindless eating, spending, drinking, or smoking can be eliminated if we resolve to be mindful, present and focused in the moment. Try it!
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Philadelphia wants safe injection sites to help opioid fight
From ABC News Philadelphia wants to become the first U.S. city to allow supervised drug injection sites as a way to combat the opioid epidemic, officials announced Tuesday, saying they are seeking outside operators to establish one or more in the city.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said the sites could be “a life-saving strategy and a pathway to treatment,” and would be just one piece of the city’s overall plan to fight the epidemic.
“No one here condones or supports illegal drug use in any way,” Farley said. “We want people saddled with drug addiction to get help.”
Safe injection sites are locations where people can shoot up under the supervision of a doctor or nurse who can administer an overdose antidote if necessary. Critics have argued the sites may undermine prevention and treatment, and seem to fly in the face of laws aimed at stopping use of deadly illicit drugs.
Philadelphia has the highest opioid death rate of any large U.S. city. More than 1,200 people fatally overdosed in Philadelphia in 2017, one-third more than 2016.
The city hopes to hear from operators interested in setting up the injection sites — which they are calling comprehensive user engagement sites — where the city would provide outreach services.
Other cities have proposed similar safe havens. No U.S. city has established such a site, though Seattle has set aside $1.3 million to create a safe injection site there. Injection sites are operating in Canada and Europe.
Officials from Philadelphia visited Seattle and safe injection sites in Vancouver, where Farley said they have reduced overdose deaths, the spread of diseases like HIV and hepatitis C, and created safer neighborhoods that are free of used-needle litter.
It’s not clear how the federal government would respond if Philadelphia gets a safe-injection site. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the plan. Nearly three months ago, President Donald Trump declared the U.S. opioid crisis a public health emergency.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said he was initially dead-set against injection sites but now is keeping an open mind if they can truly save lives. He said he still has a lot of questions about how it all would work but added: “We cannot just throw our hands up and say, ‘That’s not my problem.'”
Mayor Jim Kenney wasn’t at the news conference but Farley said the Democrat supports the recommendation.
Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym called the plan “bold, brave, and lifesaving.”
“This crisis requires us to think differently and comprehensively about how to reach everybody impacted by the opioid crisis,” the Democrat said.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said sanctioning such sites presents public safety concerns and changes in state and federal law would have to be made in order for them to operate legally. The Democrat also expressed doubt that the sites are an effective path to treatment.
“There is no safe way to inject heroin, fentanyl and carfentanyl,” he said in a statement. “These are dangerous drugs with devastating consequences.”
House Speaker Mike Turzai, who is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, called Philadelphia’s safe injection plan misguided and a violation of federal law.
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Do e-cigarettes help or harm? Report says not clear yet
The report issued Tuesday wrestles with the potential benefits and harms of the vapor-emitting devices which have been sold in the U.S. for more than a decade. But those effects may not be known for decades, in part, because of how slowly illnesses caused by smoking emerge.
“In some circumstances, such as their use by non-smoking adolescents and young adults, their adverse effects clearly warrant concern,” said David Eaton, of the University of Washington, who headed the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee that studied the issue. “In other cases, such as when adult smokers use them to quit smoking, they offer an opportunity to reduce smoking-related illness.”
There are no long-term studies on the health consequences of e-cigarettes and little consensus on whether they are effective in helping smokers quit, according to the report requested by the Food and Drug Administration.
The experts found “substantial” evidence that young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to try cigarettes. On the other hand, experts found only “limited evidence” that cigarettes are effective tools to help adult smokers quit.
The committee’s review of more than 800 studies yielded many findings that were largely in line with prior assessments by other researchers. For instance, the panel found “conclusive evidence” that most e-cigarettes contain numerous chemicals that can be toxic. However, there was equally strong evidence that e-cigarettes contain fewer toxicants and at lower levels than regular cigarettes.
E-cigarettes have been sold in the U.S. since at least 2007. Most devices heat a liquid nicotine solution into vapor and have been promoted to smokers as a less dangerous alternative since they don’t have all the chemicals, tar or smoke of regular cigarettes. E-cigarettes and similar vaping devices have grown into a $4 billion-dollar U.S. industry with thousands of varieties of flavors and customizable products available in specialty shops and online.
The FDA gained authority to regulate the devices in 2016 after years of pushback from the industry. But last year the agency said it would delay the deadline for manufacturers to submit their devices for review until 2022. The decision was blasted by anti-smoking advocates who say some e-cigarette manufacturers target kids with candy and fruit flavors.
The FDA has signaled its intention to begin pushing U.S. consumers away from traditional cigarettes toward alternative products, such as e-cigarettes. The regulatory delay was intended, in part, to give companies more time to research their products.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called the link between e-cigarette use and trying smoking in young people “troubling.”
“We need to put novel products like e-cigarettes through an appropriate series of regulatory gates to fully evaluate their risks and maximize their potential benefits,” he said in a statement.
Some other key takeaways and questions from the report:
— Chemicals in e-cigarette vapor, such as formaldehyde, are capable of damaging DNA in humans. However, it’s unclear if the chemicals exist at levels high enough to cause cancer.
— Switching completely from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes significantly reduces exposure to numerous cancer-causing chemicals.
— E-cigarettes can sometimes explode causing burns and injuries. The risk of such accidents is higher with devices that are stored improperly or contain low-quality batteries.
— There is substantial evidence that e-cigarette vapor contains traces of metal, possibly due to the metallic coils used to heat liquid that the devices vaporize.
Vaping with e-cigarettes that contains nicotine can be addictive and teenagers may be more likely to get hooked on nicotine according to a new report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
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Energy drink use in teens has adverse effects
A Chapman University faculty member has published new research showing why many teenagers consume energy drinks, how often, the age they started and what influences their choice of brands. Results showed that 40 percent of teens aged 13 to19 reported an adverse effect while ingesting energy drinks.
Although several of these adverse effects go away on their own, others are potentially serious. The most common side effects included:
Insomnia
“Jittery”
Heart palpitations
Abdominal pain
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
Headache
Chest pain
Labored breathing
Seizures
Researchers also learned that 15 percent of teens mix alcohol in their energy drinks, while a smaller, yet concerning number used energy drinks with illegal drugs (nine percent) such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Additionally, the researchers were surprised to learn that energy drinks are perceived as healthy and are used for weight loss by some.
Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy Gavin Herbert Endowed Professor of Pharmacy and the lead author on this study, Sean Nordt, MD, PharmD, is an international expert in emergency medicine and toxicology. While acting as a physician, he said many patients questioned him about energy drink use and how much is too much.
“I started seeing a lot of it and learned this had not been studied before; there was no data on usage,” Nordt said. “I conducted one of the first studies evaluating effects of energy drink consumption in adults and realized there is very little data on adolescents using energy drinks.”
In 2017, the global energy drinks market topped $55 billion. With bright packaging and provocative names, teens say they drink these beverages for (in order of appearance) energy, as a study aide, to improve sports performance, “friends drink them,” it “feels cool,” to lose weight and taste, and while driving.
Nordt said that he and his colleagues demonstrated that both brand name and packaging, as well as friends’ influence played a role in teens’ choice of energy drinks. With hundreds of these beverages now on the market, their choices were influenced by flavor, brand name, ease of access, brand friends drink, amount of caffeine, perceived as “healthy,” packaging, available at home and cost.
Eighty-one percent of teens surveyed stated they drank the beverage zero to once a week, while nearly 30 percent reported trying energy drinks for the first time by age 12 or younger. There are currently no age limitations on the sale of energy drinks, although several US cities have considered restricting sales to minors under 18.
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January 23, 2018
9 Things to Do For Sleep When Your Mind Is Racing
We’ve all had nights when we lie awake in bed, unable to quiet our racing thoughts. There are plenty of reasons why sleep may be evading you—maybe you had caffeine too late in the afternoon, for example, or you’ve been staring at your laptop screen for hours and haven’t given yourself time to wind down before bed.
These are things to keep in mind for improving future nights of sleep, of course. But what if it’s too late to make those changes tonight, and you’re already paying the wide-awake consequences? Or what if you’ve done everything “right” leading up to bedtime, and you still find yourself tossing and turning?
“It’s very common for people to report being physically tired, but not being able to shut their mind off, especially if they’re very excited or worried about something,” says James Findley, clinical director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
It can be difficult to quiet those racing thoughts, says Findley, but there are some tricks that may help your brain override rumination so you can drift off to sleep. Here are a few to try next time insomniastrikes.
Make a to-do list
“Worries keep people awake, and they don’t have to be negative worries,” says Findley. “It could also be something positive you’re planning, like a trip or a big event with a lot of things you have to remember.” Spending time during the day or earlier in the evening to sit and address those concerns may help, he says—but if it’s too late for that, grab a notebook and try physically writing them down in a list for the next day.
A recent study found that writing out a to-do list of future tasks helped people fall asleep nine minutes faster than people who wrote about tasks they’d already accomplished that day. (The longer and more detailed the participants’ lists, the faster they fell asleep.) It may seem counterintuitive that focusing on tomorrow’s responsibilities would lead to faster sleep, but researchers think the act of getting them down on paper helps clear the mind and stop rumination, at least temporarily.
Get out of bed
Staying in bed and trying to make yourself fall asleep is a bad idea, says Dr. Cormac O’Donovan, associate professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, because it may train your brain to associate your bed and your bedroom with insomnia and worries—which will only make the problem worse over time. Instead, if you lie awake for more than 20 to 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something else.
“If you’re trying to sleep and your brain’s not letting you, it could just be that you’re going to bed too early,” says O’Donovan. Conventional wisdom may tell you that you need eight hours of sleep, “but everyone is different, and some people’s bodies only demand six or seven,” he says. Staying up until you’re truly tired can help you find a sleep pattern that works best for you, as long as you can still wake up in the morning without a problem.
Read a book—but nothing too exciting
“You can’t stop your brain from thinking, but you can distract it by focusing on something neutral,” says Findley. Since digital screens can further disrupt sleep, he recommends analog distractions whenever possible—like reading a physical book.
“It can help to read something that will get your mind off of whatever you’re worried about, but it should be something that’s not too stimulating and won’t get you worked up about something else,” he says. If getting to sleep isn’t usually a big problem for you, reading in bed for 20 to 30 minutes is fine, he adds. But if you’re still awake after that, get out of bed and read somewhere else until you feel ready to sleep.
Listen to a podcast
Podcasts or audiobooks can take your mind off your worries as well, and they can be good alternatives to reading if you don’t want to turn on a light or strain your tired eyes. You can use headphones to listen without disturbing your bed partner too.
The rules for podcasts and audiobooks remain the same as for books though. Find a topic that’s not too exciting or upsetting (lay off the heated political debates and murder mysteries, for example), and get out of bed and listen elsewhere—on a living-room couch, for example—if you don’t drift off in bed right away.
Or try soothing sounds
“There’s not a lot of good research on sound therapy, but it may be worth a try for some people,” says O’Donovan. “I’ve had some patients tell me they used to live on the beach, and now that they live in the big city they miss the sound of the ocean putting them to sleep.”
Download an app or consider buying a white noise machine to make those sounds you miss or love, he says. “They might help create an environment that’s more conducive to sleep.” They may even trigger memories of more relaxing times, and help take your mind off of whatever’s worrying you in the moment.
Focus on your breathing
Another way to quiet your thoughts can be through simple breathing exercises. “Your mind is surely going to wander back to other things, but the important thing is to keep bringing it back to your breathing, in and out,” says O’Donovan. Deep, slow breathing can also slow your heart rate, which can be helpful if you’re anxious or worked up about something specific.
You can do diaphragmatic breathing while lying in bed, without turning on a light or disturbing your partner. Try this technique from sleep specialist Michael Breus: Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Inhale through your nose for about two seconds, feeling your belly expand, then push gently on your belly as you slowly exhale. Repeat.
Try a guided meditation
Meditation and guided imagery can also help some people fall asleep. “The idea again is to focus your thoughts on something other than the things you’re worried about,” says Findley. You might zero in on your breathing, for example, or imagine yourself walking on the beach or floating on a cloud.
The more you practice meditation and guided imagery, the more effective it will become, says Findley. “You can use apps or YouTube videos to get started, but I would suggest first practicing them during the day,” he says. “If it becomes something you only do when you can’t sleep, it can be counterproductive.”
Eat a light carbohydrate snack
Having a large meal or a heavy snack before bed can slow down digestion and mess with your sleep, and having too much refined sugar too close to bedtime can definitely keep you awake. But getting up and having a light carbohydrate snack when you can’t sleep—a small serving of popcorn or whole-grain crackers, for example—may be helpful.
“Carbohydrates can promote the production of serotonin, which the brain needs to regulate sleep,” says Findley. If it’s been hours since you ate dinner, having a small snack may also keep your mind off of your empty stomach.
Download a science-based smartphone app
Turning to your smartphone may not be a sleep doctor’s first recommendation for dozing off faster, especially because the blue light the screen emits can make sleep problems even worse. But smartphones can offer useful tools for people who can’t quiet their racing thoughts on their own—including a slew of apps designed to play soothing sounds, guided meditations, or calming bedtime stories for that very purpose.
Most smartphone apps haven’t been vetted with scientific research. The mySleepButton app, available with a free trial on the App Store and Google Play, is one exception: It uses cognitive science to “shuffle” users’ thoughts (by suggesting random and unrelated words and images) so they fall asleep easier.
When to talk to your doctor about racing thoughts
Everyone has a sleepless night once in a while, but if you find that your thoughts are keeping you up on a regular basis, it’s time to talk to your doctor. A medical professional can help you evaluate whether any current medications or lifestyle habits are contributing to your insomnia and can also offer some solutions.
Your doctor may also recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions, in which a mental-health professional can help you identify and overcome issues that might be interfering with your shuteye. “We have people monitor their sleep with a sleep diary, and we use that to make recommendations,” Findley explains.
Sleep medications—either over-the-counter or prescription—are not recommended as a first-line treatment, and they’re not meant to be taken long-term. Doctors may suggest them to help patients get through particularly stressful times, says Findley, but lifestyle remedies and CBT for insomnia should always be tried first.
This article originally appeared on Health.com
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Blended recovery families take a lot of work
What makes a blended recovery family? It’s parents who started with other partners during their using years and now are in recovery with different partners and a variety of children with their own trauma.
Blended Recovery Families Have Different Issues
I grew grew up in very traditional family as well as having examples of traditional families all around me. I was unprepared for what unconventional relationships would look like after addiction. I met my ex-husband, Jimmie, and had a child in the midst of my illness. My current partner, Cesar, met his ex-girlfriend, Amy*, in the midst of his and had a child. Can we say recipe for disaster? And what does this tell us about the partners that chose us in the midst of our illness?
Our Difficulties Depend On Our Exes
I ask myself these questions often. Life has not been smoothest since my divorce; however this is not due to my ex-husband or his family. Jimmie and I, I believe, are the minority when it comes to couples separating. We communicate well, we get along, we co-parent and put our child first. Hell, Cesar and I even go to Jimmie’s family gatherings with him so that our daughter can see her whole family at once. We realize that while we both played extremely significant parts in each other’s life stories, that our romantic relationship, after I got sober, was completely toxic. Let me make this clear: This is not the norm. But shouldn’t it be?
It’s Not Normal When You Have To Deal With Court Orders
On the complete other end of the spectrum, Amy is full of rage. We have dealt with court orders, literal arrests for her stalking us and the trial that is ongoing due to this arrest, child protection court interventions due to her behavior and so much more. One time, she came to my 12-step meeting and tried to hit me with her car after getting a custody hearing subpoena. Another time she pushed her way into our home, screaming and throwing whatever she could get her hands on. The bottom line is, she is hurt, among other things. My heart does not like to see anyone hurt. It’s difficult and I have so much empathy. The behaviors of active addiction are not easy, she was hurt by them and probably some other life circumstances… and well, here we are. It can’t all be sunshine and rainbows, I guess.
Taking The Higher Road
So what are we to do? The answer, while simple, is not easy, as they say. We take the higher road, every time. This is no easy task. We still only have about 30% custody of Cesar’s biological daughter, even though, nearly two years later, Amy’s mental health has progressively declined despite intervention counseling. We have had our share of endless advocating, court visits and interventions on his daughter’s behalf. At one-point last weekend, after receiving upwards of 200 text messages within the hour that made little to no sense and were just filled with maniacal, rage-filled words, he looked at me and said, “We have to take the higher road. Time and time again, no matter what. Look at how tough Jesus had it.” I wanted to smack him in that moment for being so sugary right. It is exhausting dealing with these behaviors and it would be so easy to make a low-blow. But, how ugly were we in active addiction? Were we ever shown grace?
The bottom line is, no matter what, blended recovery families come with their difficulties. No one goes into a long-term partnership or marriage thinking that one day they won’t be with that partner. They surely don’t do so after having children with them. People grow and sadly, sometimes, for whatever reason, grow apart. Children get caught in the crossfire. And because we are responsible for our behaviors during active addiction, we have the aftermath of something that is hard to mend. Even if it is mended, it’s the broken kind. The kind where you piece something together the way it wasn’t before and make a whole new picture. A beautiful mess, if you will.
Redemption Is Awakening
Some partners are going to be hurt. We have to evaluate how healthy the relationships were in the first place, specifically because two sick people don’t make a whole person. Ultimately, it usually ends up with one person outgrowing the other partner when they have their growth period in life. I call this period my awakening. When I awoke, I took a look around and didn’t recognize my surroundings. I had some serious evaluating to do. We have to remember that this is a family illness, and we all suffer from something and no one is perfect, but two whole people are what form a healthy relationship.
So, the question remains, is it worth it? The answer is a resounding yes. Every time. Through all of this, we get to show our girls what a healthy relationship is. How couples can communicate and solve even the most difficult of problems, if they persist. We couldn’t do that in our previous relationships. I get to show my daughter that sometimes life isn’t perfect, but you can persist and not allow anything to own the rest of your life. You can get back up and fight like hell to take your life back. I get to show my step-daughter that she will always have a stable place to come in times of turmoil…
Most of all, I get to love. I get to love fiercely and unconditionally. Before recovery, I didn’t know what that meant. Today, I get to be my authentic self and love with my whole heart and soul. There are people who don’t understand or agree and that is okay today. No matter how imperfect it all is, there is love. There are times when I look around and am in awe at the love that our messy house encompasses. Through all the emotional moments, messy bedrooms and bad moods, I would choose this life. I would choose it over and over again.
Reach Out Recovery Exclusive by Kellie Walker
*Names changed for privacy
If you are having difficulties with a blended family, check out Recovery Guidance for a free and safe resource to find addiction and mental health professionals near you.
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Ten years of recovery marathon taught me who I really am
I made two lists about what my recovery looks like at age 40. Since I’ve been in the recovery marathon for a decade now and have been working on it for two decades I have had some time to think about recovery, and what I’ve learned about myself. Here’s what recovery work revealed about me that I didn’t know at 21, or even 30.
1. I’m tough as nails
Not in the fake, exterior, “no one can hurt me” way. I no longer get rattled by little things. I rarely get rattled by big things. I earned my thick skin by learning how not to take things too personally. I also experienced “the worst” and survived. More than once. Now I know I can survive sober and dignified no matter what comes my way. FYI, there’s no alternative to sober reference.
2. I had the grit to rebuild my self-esteem, and it’s something money can’t buy
I no longer care if you like me, or my work. If it makes me happy, that’s all that matters. That’s not to say I turn a blind eye to constructive criticism, or conduct myself in an unbecoming fashion. It only means, I won’t divert from my purpose just because someone doesn’t like it, or me.
3. I have peace of mind
Things are pretty clear at 40, and that clarity has given me peace of mind. When I felt insane because I didn’t know how to manage my emotions, I suffered. When I fought with loved ones because I didn’t know how to maintain healthy relationships, I suffered. When I struggled with romance, finance, and food, I suffered. Gaining the information, tools, and guidelines I needed to understand these vital areas of life changed everything. I don’t suffer anymore. That also means I don’t have to make other people suffer anymore.
4. Compare Equals Despair and it’s not for me
My life experience is my own. No one who hasn’t lived it will understand it, and to compare my life to other people’s would be an exercise in insanity. Instead of looking around and wondering why my life doesn’t look like other people’s, I’ve come to the safe practice of only monitoring my progress. If I continually move in the right direction, I’m all good.
5. Caring for another creature has been essential for my soul development
I’m not a parent, but I am a dog-mom. I had a mentor who used to tell me dogs open your heart chakra. I agree. I have a dog who’s needed a lot of medical care. Rushing a paralyzed puppy to the ER at 3 am, several times, created a new level of responsibility in me for which I’m grateful. Caring for him has also helped me see how to care for myself. He’s never missed a walk, meal, dog park trip, play date or vet appointment. If I can show up for him like that, I can show up for myself like that.
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. I’m proud of what I did. I’m proud of who I’ve become: reliable, responsible, accountable for my actions, hard-working, disciplined, healthy eater, fit, self-supporting… I guess it’s like any other major endeavor one takes on, like starting a family or training for a marathon. There are days you jump out of bed and want to take it all on, and there are days you just don’t feel like it. But, once you finish that marathon or see your child, or puppy, run around, would you ever consider changing your decision? I wouldn’t.
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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Military families bolster the case that obesity is indeed contagious
A family at home on the Ft. Bragg Army base in Fayetteville, N.C. By studying the body mass index of military families around the country, researchers have found evidence in support of the idea that obesity can be contag… (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) From the LA Times The idea that fatness can spread like chicken pox or the flu may sound downright crazy. But how else do you explain the fact that families assigned to Army bases in communities with higher rates of obesity were more likely to be overweight or obese compared with families sent to bases where excess pounds were less common?
That finding, published this week in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, offers the first quasi-experimental evidence to support the theory that obesity spreads through social contagion.
The theory is based on observations by Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Yale and James Fowler of UC San Diego, who found that various kinds of behaviors appear to propagate through social networks. They mapped out friend and family relationships among three generations of people who participated in the long-running Framingham Heart Study and found that things like smoking, happiness and divorce seemed to spread as if they were contagious.
Obesity was one of the very first social contagions they identified. In a 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, they reported that if a person’s friend, sibling or spouse became obese in a certain period of time, the chances that he or she would become obese as well increased by 37% to 57%.
A pattern like this could be explained in other ways, such as the fact that people tend to consort with others who are similar to them. It’s also possible that people who are in the same environment are being subjected to the same influences and reacting in similar ways.
An ideal experiment would address this by finding people who are not obese and randomly assigning them to social networks with varying degrees of obesity. If it were indeed contagious, you would expect that people in networks with more obesity would gain more weight than people in networks with less obesity.
A pair of economists realized that the military had done something quite similar by assigning servicemen and women to live on Army bases across the country. Those assignments weren’t random, of course, but since they weren’t based on weight, they provided the basis for a natural experiment.
Ashlesha Datar of USC and Nancy Nicosia of the Rand Corp. gathered data from the Military Teenagers Environments, Exercise, and Nutrition Study, also known as M-TEENS. The kids who were part of this study had a parent assigned to one of 12 bases. The obesity rates in those communities ranged from 21% in Colorado’s El Paso County (home of Ft. Carson) to 38% in Louisiana’s Vernon Parish (home of Ft. Polk).
Datar and Nicosia pulled data on 1,111 teens and 1,314 parents. About one-quarter of the teens and 75% of the adults (most of whom were active duty personnel) were either overweight or obese, based on their body mass index.
After adjusting for factors like age, sex, education, income and military rank, the researchers found that members of military families were more likely to be overweight or obese if they had been deployed to a county where obesity was more of a norm.
For every 1 percentage-point increase in the county obesity rate, the odds that a teen would be overweight or obese went up by 4% to 6%. In addition, for every 1 percentage-point increase in the county obesity rate, the odds that a parent would be obese went up by 5%.
Other aspects of the data extended the contagion metaphor.
The more that military families were “exposed” to their surrounding community, the more their weight status was tied to the people around them. For instance, the relationship between body mass index and the county obesity rate was stronger for teens who had lived on or near a particular Army base for more than two years compared with teens who were newer arrivals. Also, the link was stronger for families who lived off-base than for those who lived on-base.
“Social contagion may explain our findings,” the study authors concluded.
Although this natural experiment was much better than any study Datar and Nicosia could have pulled off in the real world, it was far from perfect, they acknowledged.
Living in geographic proximity to someone doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is part of your social network, they wrote. Most of the height and weight data used to compute BMIs were self-reported. And military families may not be representative of American families as a whole (although the prevalence of high BMIs was similar in both groups).
It also would have been nice to know the BMIs of teens and parents before they were relocated to a new place, as well as the county obesity rate for the base they left.
Despite these limitations, the findings should strengthen the case that obesity can be contagious, according to an editorial that accompanied the study.
“If social contagion is having an effect, you would expect the longer the exposure, the greater the risk, which is what [Datar and Nicosia] found,” the editorial authors wrote.
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How to best treat co-occurring disorders
Many people with substance use disorder (addiction) have other mental illnesses like anxiety and depression which are now called co-occurring disorders. For good treatment results substance use disorder and other mental illnesses have to be treated together. Today, we are savvier in understanding and treating persons with co-occurring disorders, but we still have a way to go in utilizing best practices. If you or a loved one believes you or they have a co-occurring disorder, then you know that it can be a difficult illness to overcome. However, you are not alone. With the right kind of long term treatment, ongoing support, and healthy coping skills, you can learn how to not only survive, thrive.
What Are Co-Occurring Disorders?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines co-occurring disorders as “co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. Clients said to have co-occurring disorders have one or more disorders relating to the use of alcohol and/or other drugs of abuse as well as one or more mental disorders.”
Studies by SAMHSA in the U.S. indicate there are approximately 8-9 million people with this disorder with other data suggesting that 43-44% of adults have some type of mental illness and that 20% have some type of substance use disorder.
Where To Go For Co-occurring Disorders Help
Seek help for yourself. Help for co-occurring disorders can be given through outpatient or inpatient treatment. Also, some individual counselors may specialize in co-occurring disorders. It’s best to get an assessment from a psychiatrist before choosing a treatment. If you have suicidal thoughts, then get immediate help by calling 911 or going to the nearest emergency room.
Take Care Of Your Physical Needs
Educate yourself through talking with others, reading books, or getting online information about your illness and ways to help you cope. There are also online blogs that can help.
Take good care of your physical health and have your doctor stay in contact with your treatment agency/counselor. This includes getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and exercising.
Medicine Can Help Co-Occurring Disorders
Understand that while you have 2 separate disorders (mental illness and substance use disorder), recovery works best if the disorders are treated at the same time; this is called integrated treatment. Also know that you may be in different stages of your recovery for each of your disorders, i.e., you may be doing well with taking your psychiatric medicine and going to mental health treatment but you continue to drink alcohol and smoke pot.
Most co-occurring disorders can be aided through psychiatric medications. Work with your psychiatrist regarding these meds and stay on them. Too often, when people start to feel better with the medications, they stop taking them which causes a relapse into the disorder.
Therapists Are Necessary
Attend counseling as recommended. A therapist or social worker will help you to deal with your thoughts and feelings and ways to cope in a healthy manner. They can also help you to deal with the grief of having a chronic illness. This may include individual, group, and/or family counseling.
Most centers offer psychoeducational groups which are very valuable as they help you to learn about your disorders, triggers and urges to use substances, ways to cope with your thoughts and feelings, and how to prevent relapse for the co-occurring disorders.
Follow Up If If You Have A Case Manager
Follow up with your case manager that you may have through the mental health system. The case manager helps you to keep on track with your recovery, aids in getting you hooked up with other services such as housing or Social Security, as well as all other needs you may have.
Find Or Recovery Things You Love To Do
Use your natural coping skills and develop more ways to heal. Enjoy activities such as reading, playing non-violent video games, going for a walk, listening to music, and all other leisure activities you enjoy. If you are spiritual or religious, focus on those types of activities and beliefs that help you.
Join A Group
Attend recovery groups that address both the substance use and the mental illness/es. These groups include Dual Recovery Anonymous, Double Trouble in Recovery, and/or groups such as AA and NA as well as specific groups for coping with mental illness such as Emotions Anonymous or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Ask your family and/or friends to be involved as people who have this support tend to do better in recovery.
Continue to follow up with all recommendations. Co-occurring disorders are typically life-long illnesses and you may need to have all these supports to help you. But always remember – do your part for your recovery and you can be successful in coping and thriving in life.
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January 22, 2018
Detachment From What Others Say About Us
Detachment has many meanings, and many applications. One definition of detachment is “a state of being lost in thought.” Detachment is synonymous with being pensive, reflective and self-aware. Here’s how being self-aware protects us from getting hurt.
A certain degree of detachment is necessary for self-preservation. Otherwise when people label us, the associated hot and painful emotions sear. Detachment protects us from attacks like you’re:
Fat
Thin
Ethnically or racially unpopular
Religiously unpopular
Liberal
Conservative
Smart
Dumb
Evil
Rabid
Hateful
In Children Its Bullying
Many of the negative statements that were projected on us as children were either absorbed and accepted. Those words caused us pain, or we mirrored the words right back.
If we were healthy, we could use negative statements as a mirror to others, knowing ourselves well enough not take on the negativity sent our way. In this manner, we took on detachment to mean that the negativity wasn’t about us and consequently, we shouldn’t take it personally. At least that is the ideal.
Others’ views of us is not the true reality of who or what we are.
What Has Happened To Us Now
The complexities of belonging to a group, a political party, a race or religion, in these perilous times have smudged the boundaries we had as children. Now, insecurity and low self-confidence can mean we take on the hurt of the labels that are casually (or cruelly) hurled in our direction.
Communication in the absence of self-awareness frequently results in our belief that we are what others say we are. In reality, however, it is merely a projection of what they are onto us; but without knowing who we are, we may readily take on the communication as if it were true. There is great pain in hearing and accepting the negative opinions of other even if we don’t believe them.
It is in self-awareness, that we can detach from a situation that is hurtful to us. When we know who we are, we also know who we are not.
Detachment when it comes to cruelty, bullying, and abuse in both political and personal relationships teaches us to separate ourselves (and who we know we are) from people with hurtful motives. Often, when a dialogue turns heated, accusations are thrown with the purpose of putting the other person in the wrong. People tell us who we are while they may know nothing either about who we are or who they really are. All they want is to control the conversation and diminish any rebuttal. Detachment creates space.
Once we know what is true for us, boundaries can be sketched and the process of emotional and physical detachment can begin. This brings peace and serenity.
Some hurts from childhood trauma or abusive relationships run deep. If you need help getting over the past, visit Recovery Guidance to find a therapist near you.
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