Category: Addiction News

Walmart Canada Considers Selling Marijuana Products

The mega chain is reportedly investigating the viability of carrying CBD products in their stores.

As a growing list of major companies either embrace or consider the option to include cannabidiol (CBD)-based products in their retail offerings, a representative from Walmart Inc. in Canada told the Vancouver Sun that the mega-chain has conducted research into the viability of carrying CBD products on store shelves.

Diane Medeiros, a spokesperson for Walmart Canada, said that while the company does not have plans to carry CBD products at this time, it “has done some preliminary fact-finding on this issue.”

The timing of their investigation coincides with the legalization of marijuana at the federal level throughout Canada on October 17, 2018.

In an email exchange with the Sun, Medeiros said that the review of CBD-based products—goods that contain the active but non-psychoactive compound cannabidiol—is standard operating procedure, something they carry out for “any new industry.”

As High Times noted, the investigation is also good business practice, as Canadians are expected to drop $1 billion on marijuana in the first three months after legalization. Response to the company’s announcement also proved positive for Walmart, whose shares rose nearly 3% in afternoon trading that day.

And while Walmart is apparently not ready to offer CBD-based product to its customers, other brands, both global and regional, have already announced their intent to cater to the new market.

In Canada, the drugstore chain Shoppers Drug Mart was approved as a licensed medical marijuana producer, which will allow them to dispense cannabis to their customers, while the Montreal-based Molson Coors Canada has entered into a joint venture with The Hydropothecary Corporation to produce non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beverages.

The Coca-Cola Company, too, has reported making inroads towards CBD-based products with a beverage produced in conjunction with Aurora Cannabis, while Estee Lauder has added Hello, Calm—a face mask infused with sativa—to its line of cosmetic products.

Several U.S. breweries like Lagunitas and Coalition Brewing have already begun selling CBD-infused beer products, and the vegan chain By Chloe offers CBD-based products in its nationwide locations.

And, as the Vancouver Sun noted, companies that have refused to expand its offerings to CBD product may experience a setback: PepsiCo’s declaration to not sell CBD-infused goods resulted in a decline in its market share.

Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer underscored the retail industry’s growing focus on CBD-based products in a research note that stated, “Health and wellness consumers are beginning to find value and use cases from CBD-based oil extracts, tinctures, topicals and capsules to improve everyday life. We expect to see CBD used as a functional ingredient in non-alcoholic beverages.”

View the original article at thefix.com

19 October 2018
Church Of Safe Injection Sings The Praises Of Harm Reduction

The harm reduction initiative is applying for an exemption from federal drug statutes to operate legally.

Jesus supported safe injection—that’s the message behind the Church of Safe Injection.

The “church” is a harm reduction initiative in Portland, Maine—with plans for offshoots in other cities—spearheaded by local activist Jesse Harvey.

“[Jesus] would have supported safe injection,” Harvey argues in a new essay published in the Portland Press Herald. “All too often today, people who use drugs are offered only two choices: Get sober or die. Jesus would have rejected this shameful and lethal binary.”

Harvey said there was a need for a church to apply harm reduction to the drug using community because “overwhelmingly, the churches I’ve reached out to aren’t interested in helping people who use drugs.”

They may act like they want to help, Harvey said, “but they won’t really embrace them as Jesus would have done.”

He adds, “They won’t provide them with what they often need most: sterile syringes, naloxone and nonjudgmental support.”

The “church” already has three sister churches in Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta, with plans for more in New Hampshire, Philadelphia, Rhode Island and Nepal.

“It is our sincere religious belief that people who use drugs (PWUD) don’t deserve to die when there are decades of proven health intervention solutions that can be implemented to save their lives and reduce the harms they face,” Harvey writes on his official website.

The Church of Safe Injection is applying for an exemption from federal drug statutes under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, that will allow them to operate legally. Under this law, “other churches in this country have secured the right under the First Amendment to consume otherwise illegal drugs,” Harvey writes.

One example is a federal court’s decision to allow the ceremonial use of peyote by members of the Native American Church.

“We’re not even arguing that it is our right to use drugs or get high… We do not encourage drug use,” writes Harvey, who himself is in recovery and is the founder of Journey House Sober Living and Portland OPS (an advocacy group). “However, it is our sincere religious belief that people who use drugs do not deserve to die, not when there is a proven, cost-efficient, feasible, compassionate solute that can be so easily implemented.”

Mayor Ethan Strimling is among those in support of safe injection in Portland. “I’m always looking for new ways of trying to confront the opioid crisis, and what I’m intrigued about with this idea is it creates yet another opportunity for somebody who is using to have an interaction with a medical professional,” he said according to WGME.

Seattle and San Francisco officials are considering safe injection in their cities as well.

View the original article at thefix.com

19 October 2018
Wendy Williams Promotes Addiction Treatment With New Billboard

Williams, who has battled cocaine addiction in the past, recently launched a campaign geared toward addiction-recovery through her nonprofit.

Talk show host and actress Wendy Williams has launched a Times Square billboard promoting her talk show and her non-profit organization that provides grants for drug education, prevention and rehabilitation programs.

Williams has previously talked openly about her substance use disorder, and aims to “bring light” to the fact that addiction “doesn’t have to be your demise,” she told Page Six.

Williams has a history of cocaine addiction. She says that her substance abuse affected her life, even while she was successful.

“I lost a little over 10 years of my life regarding substance abuse, but I’m now going into Season 10 [of The Wendy Williams Show],” she said. “I’m married, I have a great career and a flourishing business … it’s not that you fall down, it’s how you rise. And if you rise, then you reach back. This is a reach back.”

Williams has said in the past that she was able to abuse drugs while in the spotlight because she was so good at her job.

“I was a functioning addict though,” she said. “I would report to work on time and I walked in and all of my coworkers, and including my bosses, would know but instead of firing me, you see, I would grab my headphones and arrogantly walk into the studio and dare them to fire me because I was making ratings.”

After her own experience with addiction and seeing her son take K2, or synthetic marijuana, Williams launched The Hunter Foundation to provide education and prevention programs. Earlier this year the foundation launched the Be Here campaign, which is focused on increasing access to treatment.

“We want to be here for the people who need us, and we want them to be here for the graduations, the first steps, the recitals, the laughs, the journeys and more,” the campaign’s website says. “Our goal is to support the treatment and recovery of those facing drug addiction, work towards creating lasting solutions through legislation and support innovative treatment.”

Using statistics about the prevalence of addiction and overdose death rates, Williams’ organization insists “This is everyone’s problem.”

Williams hopes that by sharing her family’s experiences she can help others.

“I have seen addiction up-close,” she said. “As a mother, wife, daughter, and friend, I cannot stand by and do nothing while there are people struggling to overcome substance abuse. Life is too short and we need to come together to help others.”

View the original article at thefix.com

19 October 2018
Married to a Normie: Relationship Rules

Even though it’s a positive change, adjusting to marriage with a newly sober spouse is a challenge. Some situations are a little tricky to navigate.

After being with my husband for 15 years, it might seem like there would be few suprises left. We have the kind of relationship that includes conversations like, “Hey, Harmony, will you cut off this skin tag on my back?” followed by, “Um, no; I’ll make you a doctor’s appointment.” And later, “Does this look infected to you?”

Robbie is what people in recovery like to call a “normie.” When it comes to alcohol, he can take it or leave it. He can just have one beer, and he doesn’t obsess over when he’ll have the next one. He likes to have fun, and he doesn’t really care if that fun involves alcohol. By the time I entered recovery, he rarely drank anymore; I was always the one drinking, and one of us had to stay sober enough to drive.

The suprise here is that I am the alcoholic and he is the normie, because everyone who knows us assumed it was the other way around.

My husband and I built the foundation of our relationship on having as much fun as possible. (Read: we partied a lot.) We’ve been to New Orleans, our closest major city, many times over the years, visiting for Mardi Gras, romantic getaways, concerts, plays, art events, and stuff with our kids. In true alcoholic form, I remember very little of any of it.

Since I entered recovery, our relationship has shifted considerably. He is exactly the same as he’s always been, but everything about me is changing — how I react to things, what I do and say, how I view and enjoy my life, and how I relate to my husband. All these changes bring up a lot of questions and discussions, obviously, like if we go to New Orleans, will my husband drink? How much? Will I be able to handle it?

Recently, he scored amazing tickets to an NFL game in the New Orleans Superdome. When he asked me to go, I panicked: I’ve got under two years of sobriety under my belt, and we’ve never been to any major city without alcohol. In fact, the last time we went down there, I started with a hand grenade on Bourbon Street and ended with what I believe to be absinthe. None of this was my husband’s fault — we were just there having fun — but his version of “fun” is a lot less dangerous than mine. When I start drinking, I drink to forget.

Neither of us knew how severe my issues were when we met and fell in love. We got married, had a bunch of kids, and BAM! I was in so deep I almost didn’t find my way out. But that’s the beauty of true partnership; Robbie supports me fully in everything I do, and he wants nothing more than to see me happy and healthy. Even so, adjusting to the evolution is a challenge, and even though it is a very positive change for our family, there are still times when it can be a little tricky to navigate.

So, what does my sobriety mean for us as a couple? What are the rules of marriage when one person is an addict and the other is not?

What to do with the alcohol. The issue of what is and is not allowed in the house is a big one. I’m a stay-at-home mom, which means I’m the one staring at the liquor cabinet at 5 p.m. while our children complain about dinner. For us, getting the alcohol out of the house and keeping it out was vital to maintaining my sobriety. I can’t even have Oreos in the house, lest I eat them all, so for now, it’s better this way.

However, I do know many couples who still have alcohol at home and the alcoholic partner isn’t bothered by it. It really boils down to triggers. I, for example, am triggered every damn day when I’m home alone with the kids. If I have alcohol around me and no other adults as backup, I would have a very hard time resisting. Robbie understands that and it’s not a problem for us. Also, we didn’t have to throw any of it out because I drank every last drop of it myself before sobering up.

Prescription medication. Because I’m the mom, I’ve always been in charge of the meds. Uh, I wasn’t exactly responsible — and it was very hard to admit that, both to myself and to my husband. So for a while, and at different points since then, he’s had to take over administering the medication so I don’t eat the entire bottle like candy. He’s been willing to do that because he knows it’s an easy way to help me on my journey to wellness.

What about the chocolate? One of the biggest problems I’ve had in recovery is my insane sweet tooth. Every time my husband or the kids bring home candy, cupcakes, Lucky Charms, or cake, I generally eat it all before they have a chance to even taste it. Robbie started hiding his stash of cookies from me, which naturally I found, and to be honest we’ve had more spats over the junk food than anything else.

Am I always going to be the designated driver? GOD NO. I’m not stable enough to drive around a bunch of drunks. This is why there is Uber.

Football season is huge in our house, and as I mentioned above, we went to an NFL game where everyone was drinking. And it was tough — but as long as I’m honest with him about my struggles, he is happy to help. It’s the honesty part that gets me: being willing to admit that I am powerless over alcohol.

On the morning of the game, I got up early to attend a meeting, and prepared before we left to avoid getting too hungry, tired, or thirsty. It was literally the most fun I’ve ever had at a football game, ever — and that includes when I was drinking.

Parties! We go to them. We might have to leave earlier than we’d like. I hope that gets better, but I’m proud of myself for going.

Meetings. We have three children under the age of 10, and my husband is rarely home before 8 p.m. Finagling our schedules to allow for me to make it to meetings is probably one of the biggest issues we face, and sometimes I get resentful when I really need to go but have to wait until another time. He learned pretty quickly that when I go, I’m much easier to live with, so he does everything he can to accommodate me. Smart man.

Sex. That’s a topic for a whole other essay. Suffice it to say, it’s been an adjustment.

I can honestly say, for the first time in a very long while, that I’m truly the person that Robbie fell in love with all those years ago, and his patience with me as I fumble my way through recovery has completely renewed the love I have for him. Marriage in recovery is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

View the original article at thefix.com

19 October 2018
Lack Of Mental Health Resources A Global Issue

“All countries can be thought of as developing countries in the context of mental health,” says a new global mental health report.

A lack of resources for those dealing with mental health issues is a major problem around the world, a new report has found.

The report by the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health, which took three years to compile, was released last week at a London summit.

The report, which is 45 pages long, details the state of mental health treatment around the world. According to the authors—28 mental health researchers, clinicians and advocates from five continents—there are “pitifully small” levels of financial support from governments and assistance groups when it comes to mental health research and care.

Low-income communities, according to NPR, are being hit particularly hard. The report states that in developing countries, only one in 27 people with depression receive the necessary treatment. And in countries with more money, the care isn’t necessarily better. In fact, the report states that “all countries can be thought of as developing countries in the context of mental health.”

The financial aspect, according to the report, is the main problem. The Lancet Commission states that funding availability is “alarmingly low” when compared to what was spent on other diseases in 2013 in comparison to mental illness.

For example, for every year of healthy life lost to mental illness, the report found that global health donors had provided $0.85. But for HIV/AIDS, they had provided $144 for every year, and $48 for TB and malaria.

According to psychiatrist Julian Eaton, part of the reason for the lack of funding has to do with cultural differences.

“In the academic world there has been an ongoing sometimes quite angry debate about whether it’s appropriate to export Western ideas about mental ill health to other countries,” Eaton told NPR.

The stigma surrounding mental health issues also plays a role. Janice Cooper, who runs the Carter Center’s mental health center in Liberia, tells NPR that stigma is a problem in developing and developed countries.

“There’s ignorance, there’s the perception of contagion, there’s the notion that in some quarters this is not important,” she said.

According to NPR, the Commission recruited 15 youth leaders from around the world to spread messages about mental health on social media and get younger generations discussing it.

Twenty-five-year-old Grace Gatera of Rwanda is one of the 15. She says the conflict in the country resulted in PTSD for her, as well as two suicide attempts. She tells NPR that the government doesn’t make mental health a priority.

“It’ll be like let’s deal with this crisis and deal with the crisis that comes after that and maybe when we get time we’ll talk about mental health,” she said.

Eaton says that despite the report’s findings, she and other commissioners were excited to receive the support for the summit from some international and British government organizations in addition to some private ones. They were also encouraged when royals Prince William and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, attended the summit.

“But people are yet to sign the checks,” Eaton said.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Marijuana Is Now Legal In Canada

While cannabis enthusiasts rejoiced, policymakers cautioned that the legalization effort would have unpredictable, wide-ranging effects.

While the United States has dabbled in legalizing marijuana in piecemeal legislation passed through the states, our neighbors to the north have fully ended the prohibition on cannabis, becoming just the second country in the world to legalize marijuana.

The new law took effect Wednesday at midnight, with Canadians from coast to coast hosting parties to smoke in freedom, according to The New York Times. The legalization fulfilled a campaign promise by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“The fact that we are moving away from a Prohibition model is a victory for human rights and social justice, an economic windfall for the Canadian economy and a sign of social progress,” said Adam Greenblatt, a director at Canopy Growth, a producer that has been valued at more than $10 billion, told the Times.

While cannabis enthusiasts rejoiced, policymakers cautioned that the legalization effort would have wide-ranging effects, some of which would be hard to predict.

“Legalization of cannabis is the largest public policy shift this country has experienced in the past five decades,” said Mike Farnworth, British Columbia’s minister of public safety. “It’s an octopus with many tentacles, and there are many unknowns. I don’t think that when the federal government decided to legalize marijuana, it thought through all of the implications.”

The Canadian Medical Association Journal took a strong stance against the move, calling the legalization plan an “uncontrolled experiment in which the profits of cannabis producers and tax revenues are squarely pitched against the health of Canadians.”

Under the new law, Canadian adults can possess up to 30 grams of marijuana and have up to four plants growing at home. The logistics of the legislation—like setting up marketplaces—was left up to municipalities, meaning that it will vary across the country. The federal government will also be examining how to adjust the criminal records of people with marijuana-related offenses.

To deal with intoxicated driving, the number of police certified in sobriety tests will double over the next few years. However, other than keeping risky drivers off the road, the police did not seem too concerned with the change in the law.

“Fentanyl kills 11 Canadians a day,” Adam Palmer, Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Department and the president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said. “Marijuana does not.”

While many people celebrated legalization, some cannabis consumers said that it was just a way for the government and big business to get their hands into the pot industry, which was estimated to be worth $5.6 billion in Canada last year.

“People don’t want to buy government-approved joints,” said Jodie Emery, a leading cannabis activist in Vancouver. “Legalization is little more than the whitewashing of cannabis culture.”

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Sister Dies From Overdose

Emma Louis-Dreyfus was 44.

The half-sister of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of the HBO series Veep who is best known for her role as Elaine in Seinfeld, died of a cocaine and alcohol overdose while camping in California in August.

According to the DailyMail, Emma Louis-Dreyfus, 44, died on August 13 at a campsite in South Yuba River State Park in California. Responders were called to the campsite around 9:30 a.m. for reports of a woman who was having a seizure and unresponsive. It’s not clear whether Louis-Dreyfus died in the campsite or was pronounced dead at the hospital.

After her death, the Nevada County Coroner’s Office ruled that the cause was an accident caused by cocaine and ethanol intoxication.

“Emma loved the city life and she also loved the countryside, particularly the Sierra Nevada and Teton mountains,” her obituary read. “One of her favorite weekend getaways was the Yuba River. It was along that river where Emma died of an apparent seizure while camping with friends near Purdon Crossing.”

Emma and Julie Louis-Dreyfus are both the daughters of deceased billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus, who had an estimated wealth of $3.4 billion when he died in 2016. Control of Emma Louis-Dreyfus’ estate, estimated to be worth $23 million, was awarded to her mother.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was mentioned in Emma’s obituary as a surviving family member, but the star did not publicly comment on her sister’s death.

The DailyMail reported that Julia was promoting Veep on social media just two days after Emma’s death, suggesting that the sisters were not close.

However, Emma’s obituary read “Emma adored children, especially her niece and nephews,” which presumably includes Julia’s two sons.

Emma seems to have had plans to use her wealth to invest in California’s legal marijuana industry. In July, she set up a company called Etta Duane Industries in order to develop property for marijuana production. She reportedly invested $4.5 million in the venture, with a business partner investing $5,000.

Outside of that business venture, Emma worked as a social worker. She was born and raised in New York, and graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology before completing a Masters in Social Welfare degree in 2002 from the University of California, Berkeley. She was a bilingual therapist who was fluent in Spanish, and recently completed a certificate in healing childhood trauma

“In her career, Emma was a clinical social worker and family therapist, a calling that included child advocacy, community activism, training and supervision,” her obituary read.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Moving Obituary For Mom With Opioid Addiction Goes Viral

The obituary recounts Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir’s ensuing addiction to opioids and her family’s determination to help her overcome it.

The heartbreaking and loving obituary written for Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir after her overdose death has gone viral. Her family shared Madelyn’s long struggle with addiction while reaching out to those still struggling, asking them to hold on to hope and keep trying.

Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir died on October 7, 2018, leaving behind her family and a small son, Ayden. Madelyn’s family recounted how after a move from Vermont to Florida, she took her first OxyContin pill at a party.

The obituary, which was originally published in the Burlington Free Press, recounts Madelyn’s ensuing addiction to opioids and her family’s determination to help her overcome it.

Madelyn’s family also emphasized that she was, first and foremost, a human being who was loved.

“It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, and especially someone whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction. To some, Maddie was just a junkie—when they saw her addiction they stopped seeing her. And what a loss for them. Because Maddie was hilarious, and warm, and fearless, and resilient. She could and would talk to anyone, and when you were in her company you wanted to stay. In a system that seems to have hardened itself against addicts and is failing them every day, she befriended and delighted cops, social workers, public defenders, and doctors, who advocated for and believed in her till the end.”

Madelyn’s family wrote about her determination to stay sober after the birth of her son. “After having Ayden Maddie tried harder and more relentlessly to stay sober than we have ever seen anyone try at anything. But she relapsed and ultimately lost custody of her son, a loss that was unbearable.”

The family continued with unusual honesty to recount the reality of what an ongoing drug addiction does to a person. “During the past two years especially, her disease brought her to places of incredible darkness, and this darkness compounded on itself, as each unspeakable thing that happened to her and each horrible thing she did in the name of her disease exponentially increased her pain and shame.”

Yet they cherished every moment with her, writing, “For 12 days this summer she was home, and for most of that time she was sober. For those 12 wonderful days, full of swimming and Disney movies and family dinners, we believed as we always did that she would overcome her disease and make the life for herself we knew she deserved. We believed this until the moment she took her last breath.”

In 2016, 63,600 Americans fatally overdosed with nearly two-thirds of deaths involving a prescription or illegal opioid. Since 2016 the problem has only increased.

Linsenmeir’s family is just one of many that have written searingly honest obituaries illustrating the ultimate cost of addiction. When Gwen Knox lost her son Kurt to an overdose at 49 years old, she also wrote an honest and loving obituary on the reality of Kurt’s addiction that went viral.

The family asked for donations in Madelyn’s name be made to the Turning Point Center. They asked those who judge addiction issues to “educate yourself about this disease, because that is what it is. It is not a choice or a weakness.”

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
Thousands More Cases Up For Dismissal Due To Corrupt Drug Lab Chemist

The ACLU estimates that at least 12,000 cases will be dismissed as a result of Sonja Farak’s actions.

A disgraced state chemist who admitted to tampering with, stealing and using drug evidence, completed her 18-month prison sentence in 2015. But we’re still seeing the impact of Sonja Farak’s misconduct while testing drug evidence for the state of Massachusetts for over a decade.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled last Thursday (Oct. 11) that more drug-related cases should be dismissed as a result of Farak’s actions. While the exact number of affected cases is to be determined, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts estimated that it could be at least 12,000 or more, according to WBUR.

“We conclude that Farak’s widespread evidence tampering has compromised the integrity of thousands of drug convictions apart from those that the Commonwealth has agreed should be vacated and dismissed,” said Associate Justice Frank Gaziano. “Her misconduct, compounded by prosecutorial misconduct, requires that this court exercise its superintendence authority and vacate and dismiss all criminal convictions tainted by governmental wrongdoing.”

Farak was at the Amherst lab for 11 years. Not only was she stealing drug samples and tampering with evidence, she was under the influence while working.

The SJC already ruled in April that more than 7,500 cases should be dismissed, because Farak had signed off on them. However, the court has now agreed to invalidate every drug sample tested at the Amherst lab where Farak worked—even if she did not sign off on them—as well as the cases related to the drug sample.

In 2013, Sonja Farak was arrested for stealing cocaine from the Amherst lab, which has since closed. She eventually admitted to tampering with drug evidence and making a “daily habit of treating the drug lab’s evidence supply as a personal narcotics buffet” for nearly a decade before her arrest, according to Courthouse News.

New “Farak defendants” whose cases will be affected include “those convicted of methamphetamine offenses while Farak worked at the Amherst lab, and any defendants who had drugs in their cases tested between January 2009 and January 2013—the last four years that Farak was at the lab.

For now, the ACLU and Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) have been tasked with identifying the new Farak defendants and determining how many new cases should be dismissed.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re incredibly pleased to have all this work to do to get people the justice they deserve and be able to move on from this disaster,” said Rebecca Jacobstein, staff attorney for the CPCS.

This is not the first time that thousands of drug-related cases have been dismissed as a result of a state chemist being found guilty of misconduct.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018
How "This Is Us" Encourages Men To Speak About Mental Health

The critically-acclaimed series showcased a candid conversation about mental health in a recent episode.

Warning: This article may contain spoilers.

The NBC drama series This Is Us doesn’t shy from addressing tough issues like the stress of in-vitro fertilization and the trauma of war. In the most recent episode, the show depicts two men talking about mental health. This simple exchange, broadcast on a major TV network, is more impactful than we know.

A conversation between brothers-in-law Randall (played by Sterling K. Brown) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) turns to their personal demons.

“I can’t picture you with anxiety. You know, the way you present,” says Toby. “That’s what we do, right? Men,” Randall replies.

Toby, who we know has struggled with depression in the past, said that without his medication for his condition, “life gets pretty scary.” Randall is surprised to learn that his brother is medicating for depression. “Never would have known.”

Toby’s depression diagnosis surfaced after separating with his first wife. And as he and wife Kate Pearson (played by Chrissy Metz) struggle to conceive, he is informed by a doctor that his depression medication may be affecting his sperm.

As for Randall, his anxiety surfaced near the end of Season 1, when he had a panic attack, and it was addressed further, rather accurately, in Season 2. We learn that he has dealt with anxiety since he was a child and suffers panic attacks from time to time.

Writer and co-executive producer KJ Steinberg, described the making of the normally taboo conversation between Randall and Toby. “[It’s] actually a really sensitive conversation,” he said. “The fear is to treat it too glibly. You never want anything to appear too simple. But you also are writing for characters who share an intimacy and a need to connect with one another.”

Overall, the show is not afraid to depict the vulnerabilities of the men on the show. We learn that Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) had a drinking problem, as did his father. “We’re a family of addicts. Our father was an addict. We don’t talk about his drinking problem,” said Jack’s son Kevin (Justin Hartley), who faced his own addiction to opioid painkillers.

Public health campaigns like Heads Together in the UK encourage people to speak up, not hide away, mental health issues they may be struggling with—particularly men. Retired Olympic medalist Michael Phelps is also on a mission to shed the stigma of mental health issues. He has publicly discussed his own struggles with depression and alcohol on many occasions.

View the original article at thefix.com

18 October 2018