According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, as of 2017, more than a quarter billion people around the world live with depression.[1] To be clear, the mental health issue known as depression is not simply when one feels “down” or experiences having a particularly “bad day.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
When I first came into recovery, I recall someone who I respected a lot (either a treatment counselor or my 12 Steps sponsor) telling me, “Man, you’ve gotta’ lighten up your grip on the steering wheel!” At that moment, I didn’t really know what he was referring to… but I sure have learned a lot…
According to a recent American Medical Association (AMA) announcement titled, “2021 Overdose Epidemic Report,” while physicians, policymakers and those working in the field of professional healthcare across the country have followed the recommendations of two task forces set in motion by the AMA (operative between 2014 – 2019), the results have been mixed. The number…
Once you’ve stopped taking any addictive substance you’ve been dependent on, regardless of the amount of time, the body naturally goes through-… how shall we say it, an “adjustment period” while getting used to not having that substance flowing through its systems. Certainly, withdrawing from amphetamines is no exception. In fact, that initial period of…
In February 2020, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) made a public policy statement addressing medical doctors and other healthcare workers with substance use disorders (SUDs, a.k.a. chemical dependency or addiction). By pointing out both a) physicians and healthcare professionals are as prone to becoming addicted to alcohol and/or drugs as anyone, and b)…
When I first found my way into recovery, I had a shudder go through me every time I heard someone say (or holler in a 12 Steps meeting), “Keep coming back!” You see, while I had hit bottom after abusing alcohol and drugs for over 30 years, I nonetheless had a very difficult time “staying…
Based on factors a person encounters in the course of doing their job—such as stress level, how hazardous or labor-intensive it is, the amount of pressure is involved or the ease of access to alcohol or drugs—one profession may have greater risk factors for substance abuse than another. Construction workers and miners, as well as…
If our nation’s frontline healthcare workers continue to be driven by the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic to the point of high levels of mental health and substance use/abuse issues, who will the general public turn to for healthcare support? Unfortunately, this is already a valid question our country’s leaders need to be asking themselves,…
As reported in articles published in Pediatrics Review (“Common Substances of Abuse,”) and NCBI’s StatPearls (“Marijuana Toxicity”),[1] adults, youth and children alike are increasingly susceptible to acute cannabinoid intoxication: “overdosing” on cannabis (marijuana) or cannabis-based products (edibles, gummies, etc.). And lest you think, “How can something like smoking weed or eating a pot brownie be…
The current COVID-19 pandemic, having increased the overall stress (and in many cases, trauma) of countless healthcare workers in the U.S., can be counted as one of a significant number of challenges facing nurses today. Given these present demands have wide-ranging effects on the physical, mental and emotional dimensions of nurses’ lives, it makes sense…