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The opioid crisis is taking over, with approximately 90 Americans dying each day from opioid overdose. This number is staggering; many are abusing their prescription medications, but many are also abusing medications they found/retrieved from a family member, friend, etc. The cost is too high for us and our loved ones to abuse and overdose on these medications, which is why it’s incredibly important for us to dispose of them properly. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has noted several effective ways to do this:

This is an excerpt from a person’s story with depression while traveling, as posted on Sheswanderful.com: “…And believe me, I thought about how lucky I was to be there every minute. But I had plenty of down moments, too. I felt guilty about not enjoying the ‘landmark’ experiences like the Top of the Rock observation deck and absolutely loving the quirky, non-iconic ones. I worried frequently that I wasn’t enjoying myself enough in proportion to the amount of money that I was spending on the trip. And I felt ashamed to share these feelings with my family and my boyfriend back home…” More than 15 million Americans have major depressive disorder each year, all of whom are likely experiencing feelings of hopelessness, emptiness, apathy, loss of interest, lack of concentration, weight gain, and much more. Many people with depression try to self-medicate through drinking and drugs. However, there is a common belief that travel can help cure symptoms of depression – the beautiful scenery and sense of adventure is thought to help the person appreciate what is around them and recognize the beauty that is life. As romantic as this sounds, it’s not always the case. Your reasons for traveling should be very clear. If you’re wanting to travel so that you can run away from your problems, they will still be there when you come back. If you’re going because you believe it will cure your depression, you will be disappointed to find that it’s still there. Depression is something that you must work on every day – it’s not something that you can run away from. When traveling is done impulsively and for the wrong reasons, it can have devastating effects. If you’re considering traveling, ask yourself what your true motivations are. Why do you want to leave? Understand all the preparation and uncertainties that can arrive with traveling. Will you be able to effectively handle these instances on your own? If your reasons are to run away from your depression, perhaps you should make a trip to a treatment center instead – it could help you develop the tools you need to live happier and healthier.

As someone stated on The Guardian when sharing their story of addiction and sobriety, “Ten years ago I wrote, ‘I can’t believe I’m writing this but being controlled by alcohol is so awful that even giving up drinking forever still feels better.’ Still is, still does.” For many people all over the world, and especially in the UK, “Dry January” was a month to kick off the New Year with sobriety and healthy habits. Some people considered it a way to drink less, while others consider it a way to begin detoxing from NYE celebrations. Fox News claims that taking a month of sobriety won’t necessary “undo” damage from excessive alcohol drinking in the past, nor should it be an excuse to drink excessively any other time of the year. Whether you participated in “Dry January” or not, why not make a commitment to sobriety each day? There are many benefits that sobriety can provide you with:

Marijuana has become legal in several states for medical purposes, and states like California have taken the side of recreational use as well. This change in policy surrounding the topic of marijuana has many implications, both socially and economically. There is much debate over when and where recreational use of marijuana should take place – is it responsible for someone to be smoking while in their car, or driving? Questions of intoxication come into effect as the government tries to determine the most effective way of ensuring safety on the road. Popular societal opinion is that alcohol is much more dangerous than marijuana when it comes to driving. However, the effects of being high don’t go unnoticed – currently police in various states can only test for marijuana by taking them to the police station and administering a blood test, because there is currently no breathalyzer tool that can be used. The Washington Post states that policemen are gauging the intensity of marijuana in a person’s system by judging a legal standard – 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. This can still present issues, however. Unlike alcohol, marijuana can be consumed in a variety of ways, each effecting the body differently. Users can consume marijuana through drinks, candies, cookies, or by smoking it, and each affects a person’s body differently. New research is showing that if a person consumes marijuana in edible form, they may not show up as intoxicated by legal standards. Researcher Ryan Vandrey from John Hopkins University conducted a study where participants consumed marijuana brownies of varying strength that matched the THC levels that would classify someone as intoxicated. Over several days, blood tests were conducted and although the brownies caused a decrease in attentiveness, physical coordination and ability to concentrate, only 11% of participants had blood levels above the level of intoxication. This means that 89% of them would have been classified by law enforcement as unimpaired. Does this mean that eating forms of marijuana is safer than smoking it? When it comes to driving, possibly, but the results aren’t conclusive yet. More research is being conducted regarding the amount of marijuana and type of consumption that could impair someone’s driving. However, it is always safer to drive sober.

There are many different forms of treatment available, and both patients and therapists can work together to determine the best method, depending on the individual’s needs and learning style. Motivational enhancement therapy (MET) has proven to be very effective for individuals who are resistant to the idea of engaging in treatment and stopping substance use. The stages of change are directly related to MET due to the very nature of why it is needed; individuals who need someone to help them develop their own realizations and personal motivations for seeking help are encouraged to utilize this form of treatment, along with others such as cognitive behavioral therapy. There are 5 stages of change:

As young woman explained her story on The Guardian: “Not every sad story has a tragic ending. Looking at the statistics, you might think I should be dead. My sad story includes a beginning that was riddled with family dysfunction including domestic violence, neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation. This traumatic upbringing was followed by drug abuse and forced prostitution. And yet here I am today, a sober, emancipated, successful and happy woman.” Whether you’ve gone through traumatic events, a mental illness, or substance abuse, recovery can be challenging. We may feel sorry for ourselves – if we could go back in time, maybe we could do something different. We may ponder the reality of our current situation and feel upset by how we got here. However, moving past those feelings and entering a state of strength, hope, growth, endurance, and determination is what can propel us to the place we really want to be. The Florida Council Against Sexual Violence explains the stages of healing that we experience after traumatic events have occurred:

With McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC and more, fast food is becoming easier to obtain than ever before. Dollar menus capture our attention by pleasing to the more frugal aspect of ourselves, and tasty sandwiches and French fries lend themselves to our stomachs freely on a long drive home from work or after a stressful day. Eating these processed foods may seem harmless on occasion or even a few times a week, but the damage may be bigger than you realize. The American Psychological Association has highlighted several studies that have shown that eating fast food, sugar, and soft drinks can contribute to depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and a host of other psychological problems. The documentary “Supersize Me” provides an extreme depiction of how fast food can affect someone’s mental and physical health; Morgan Spurlock consumes McDonald’s 3 times per day for 30 days and experiences weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, massive headaches, low energy and severe depression. What makes these foods so damaging to our holistic health? Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep and appetite, mediates our moods, and inhibits pain, is produced in our gastrointestinal tract. Our gastrointestinal tract is lined with a hundred million nerve cells, which explains why the food we place in our bodies impacts our sleep, eating, mood, and pain. Processed foods are high in unhealthy fats that are often hydrogenated, turning them into trans fats. When you typically consume food from fast food restaurants, the high fructose corn syrup and sugar serve as “empty calories” that have devastating effects on metabolism. Studies have shown that individuals who take probiotics, the bacteria that is good for your health, experience improved anxiety, perceptions of stress, and overall mental outlook. Speak with your doctor regarding the best diet for your health and what vitamins you can take to increase your chances of mood, sleep, and eating stabilization. Become more mindful of what you are eating and how it makes you feel. Doing this may help you to lead a healthier, more balanced lifestyle.

With the uprising of the opioid crisis, pain medication is landing front in center as a concern of many Americans. Too many overdoses have occurred due to opioids, and the government is working to enact a plan to educate the communicate on the dangers of misusing these drugs, as well as the importance of either staying away from or highly monitoring prescription medications that are highly addictive. No matter your reason for taking pain relievers, these are the medications you should be most concerned of due to their addictive properties:

It is common knowledge that substances affect men and women differently; while both men and women are just as likely to become addicted, women require less alcohol to become intoxicated than men do. This is caused by the absorption of alcohol and the rate at which the body metabolizes it. However, can certain types of alcohol affect a person differently? Understanding the ways in which various forms of alcohol can affect your body may give you an upper hand on preventing serious side effects, excessive consumption, and development of addiction. Dark liquors such as whiskey, tequila, and dark rum can give you the most intense hangovers. This is because these types of liquor contain more congeners, which are by-products of alcohol fermentation – also responsible for giving these drinks their dark color. Damaris Rohsenow, a professor at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University, stated, “While the alcohol alone is enough to make people feel sick the next day, these natural toxic substances can add to the ill effects as our body reacts to them.” Lighter liquors such as vodka, gin, and light rum can cause just as intense hangovers as darker liquors, but the symptoms will not be as harsh. Many people feel that wine is a safe option, but it can easily take you to intoxication if not approached with caution. For example, red wine – just like dark liquors – has a high number of congeners which can give you the worst hangover. Drinking 1 small glass of wine a day can help lower the rate of heart disease, but drinking a lot of wine can increase the risk of heart disease drastically. Champagne can cause you to become intoxicated quicker due to the elevated levels of carbon dioxide absorbing the alcohol into your bloodstream more efficiently.  What about beer? Beer can make you extra bloated and gassy, as beer is highly carbonated and builds up gas in your intestines, giving you that uncomfortable, bloated feeling. Beer can also give you the common phrase “beer belly”, as when you drink beer, your body’s liver burns the alcohol instead of burning any fat from eating, so you are left with a few extra pounds gained. Always be cautious to the amount of alcohol you consume, as you can see, each type can host different effects on your body.

Whether you have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or you know of a loved one who has recently been diagnosed, understanding BPD and the symptoms associated with it can help you make more sense of yourself and others. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, BPD is characterized by difficulty regulating emotion. If a person with BPD experiences an emotionally triggering event, it is likely very difficult for them to immediately come back from this event. BPD can lead to individuals feeling impulsive, low regarding self-esteem, difficulty maintaining stable relationships, and feeling intense emotions to triggering situations. The following are common symptoms of BPD:

With many different methods of treatment available, you are sure to find something that will best suit your needs. For some, holistic massage therapy provides a non-intrusive way of healing that is derived from the direct needs of their body. Holistic massage therapy is “an individual treatment that is specifically tailored to each client” and considers their mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing, according to the Massage Training Institute in the UK. The National Holistic Institute claims that holistic modalities of massage can include shiatsu, traditional Chinese medicine, hand and foot reflexology, acupressure, energy work, rocking and shaking, and Thai massage. As you can see, these forms of massage take a more Eastern approach as compared to Western approaches, which include hot stone massage, aromatherapy, prenatal massage, deep tissue massage, and more. Massage therapy has been known to alleviate pain, such as lower back pain, neck and joint pain, headaches, and more. Sore muscles, increased circulation, increased nerve flow, lower blood pressure, improved immune system, ease of depression and anxiety, increased flexibility and mobility, and reduced inflammation are a few other benefits that holistic massage therapy can provide. The following go into more detail about each type of holistic massage therapy:

The over-prescription of opioid painkillers in the United States has pushed us over the edge in nearly every aspect; with so much drug overdose deaths occurring, our life expectancy is lowering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 63,000 people died in 2016 from a drug overdose – a nearly 21% increase from 2015 and three times the amount of deaths related in 1999. Individuals in the 25-54 age group are most at-risk, as many have been prescribed the medication for injuries or post-surgeries, and many others abusing medication that isn’t theirs. The unfortunate circumstance of America is that our population is dying not just due health reasons such as cancer or old age, but also due to reasons that could have involved more preventative measure. Unintentional injuries such as both vehicle accidents and drug overdoses are becoming the leading cause of death in the United States. Previous declines in life expectancy in the United States were due to health epidemics such as the AIDS virus and fatal influenza rates. Barnett, assistant professor at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School for Public Health, stated in an interview, “If just as bad as anybody could have feared. As a country, we have not reached the peak of this problem.” While several steps from the government has been taken – such as expanded healthcare education to communities and referring medication that is said to be less addictive than others – there is still more work that needs to be done. As a nation, we need to come together and support one another more. We need to broaden our knowledge on ourselves, others, and how various circumstances can impact one another. Many people feel that if someone becomes addicted, it’s not their problem so they shouldn’t worry about it. Essentially, each person contributes to the larger sense of home that we call America and because of this, we need to look further into what we can do as individuals to help our communities thrive more.