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  • Parkland Students Find Ways to Cope with Trauma of School Shooting

    Parkland Students Find Ways to Cope with Trauma of School Shooting

    The survivors of last year’s horrific school shooting are creating their own channels of healing.

    In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, some survivors have created unique outlets to channel their pain.

    Many are still haunted by what happened on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

    The impact of the horrific event lives in each survivor, many of whom are struggling to cope with the trauma of what they witnessed. This year, two Parkland survivors died by suicide—16-year-old Calvin Desir and 19-year-old Sydney Aiello, who graduated last year. 

    To bring awareness to the mental health challenges of trauma survivors, People magazine recently caught up with six Parkland students. While they are each battling the trauma within, some have transformed their pain to help others.

    Carlos Rodriguez, 18, created Stories Untold, a Twitter-based platform for victims of gun violence to share their stories. The platform has created a community of support and activism for not only Parkland survivors, but anyone affected by gun violence.

    Eden Hebron, 16, is processing the trauma with a therapist. It has helped her, but unfortunately, she says, not everyone is open to therapy. “Some families still consider it, like, ‘Oh, it’s a shrink. Are you going to talk your feelings out?’”

    Hebron has created a mobile app to help people find ways to cope with stress, anxiety and depression. With her app, people can learn ways to address these symptoms.

    “So many kids have anxiety,” Hebron told People. “This shooting impacted people all over the country. This app is a way to give them the tools to help themselves.”

    Kai Koerber, 18, launched Societal Reform Corp, a non-profit organization working to establish mental health programs in schools. “We need to put mental health on equal standing with gun control,” said Koerber.

    Today, the need for mental, emotional, and trauma support is greater than ever. These young people are leading the charge and doing the work to provide themselves and others with effective coping strategies.

    “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget what I saw in that classroom,” said Hebron. “You can try to imagine, you can try to sympathize… but nobody understands how it feels to be in a room and literally feel, ‘These are the last moments of life.’”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Fewer Employers Screening For Marijuana Use

    Fewer Employers Screening For Marijuana Use

    Employers are less willing to limit their pool of qualified applicants by screening for personal marijuana use.

    As marijuana becomes legal in more places, fewer employers are screening potential applicants for cannabis use.

    “We’ve seen that companies have to adapt with what happens with legislation within the country,” Lauren Lewis, a recruiter in Buffalo, New York, told WKBW News.

    According to WKBW’s report, about 21 percent of the U.S. workforce uses cannabis regularly, defined as once or twice per month. That means that employers who disqualify people who use the drug can really reduce their pool of applicants.

    “You can limit yourself from a lot of potential employees by not allowing it,” Lewis said.

    While employers are more likely to disregard cannabis use outside of work hours, being intoxicated on the job is still unacceptable. However, certain industries take a harder line toward any cannabis use. Federal contractors and the federal government, for example, are required to maintain a cannabis-free workplace.

    Certain jobs, like those in which people are operating heavy machinery, may be more likely to care about cannabis use, Lewis said. “Because they have really need their cognitive function to perform the position,” she added.

    “Really a lot of companies are really walking a thin line. There is still a lot of gray area regarding marijuana use in the workplace and drug testing for it,” Lewis said.

    This is especially complicated when a person is using medical marijuana. People who use medical cannabis have argued that denying them for a job or firing them over use violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.

    In New Jersey a judge recently ruled that employers cannot fire people who test positive for medical marijuana. “The sweeping effect is you can no longer say, ‘You (tested) positive — you are outta here,’” Maxine Neuhauser, an employment expert, told NJ.com.

    The ruling shows that the issue of cannabis use is not black and white, even though marijuana remains entirely illegal at the federal level.

    “There had been a general belief that since marijuana is illegal under federal law, employers would not have to accommodate its use by employees, even if they had a prescription for it and using it legally under state law,” Neuhauser said. “This appellate case very strongly came down in the opposite direction following the lead of other states confronted with the same issue.”

    Lewis said that employers are realizing they need to have a more in-depth conversation about cannabis.

    “We have to make sure they are aware and start thinking about thinking a little more open mindedly,” she said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • In UK, Opioids Will Carry Addiction Warning

    In UK, Opioids Will Carry Addiction Warning

    “Things are not as bad here as in America, but we must act now to protect people from the darker side of painkillers.”

    Prescription opioids in the United Kingdom will carry a prominent warning about the risk of addiction following new recommendations from an opioid policy group.

    “I have been incredibly concerned by the recent increase in people addicted to opioid drugs,” health secretary Matt Hancock said in announcing the change, according to The Guardian.

    He continued, “Painkillers were a major breakthrough in modern medicine and are hugely important to help people manage pain alongside their busy lives – but they must be treated with caution. We know that too much of any painkiller can damage your health, and some opioids are highly addictive and can ruin lives like an illegal drug.”

    The policy decision is based on a recommendation from the United Kingdom’s Commission on Human Medicines, a group that makes recommendations in regards to opioids. The group recommended that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency require manufacturers to label opioids with the warning. 

    “This is an important first step to help minimize the risks of addiction associated with opioid medicines, while supporting patients to get the right information at the right time to support their care,” said Dr. June Rain, director of the agency.

    In the UK, the prescription rates for opioids have risen 60 percent in ten years. The labeling effort is a way to get ahead of opioid abuse, Hancock said.

    “Things are not as bad here as in America, but we must act now to protect people from the darker side of painkillers,” he said. “We need to place a greater focus on making sure that these medicines are used appropriately and for pain management alone, and make sure people are fully aware of the risks.”

    England’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, said the warnings are an important way for patients to learn about the dangers of opioid pills.

    “We know that long-term use of painkillers can lead to life-altering and sometimes fatal addictions – so I am delighted to see measures put in place to raise awareness of the risks of codeine and prescribed drugs,” she said. “It is vital that anyone who is prescribed strong painkillers takes them only as long as they are suffering from serious pain. As soon as the pain starts to alleviate, the drugs have done their job, and it is important to switch to over-the-counter medications which do not carry the same risk of addiction.”

    In the United States, U.S. senators introduced legislation last fall that would require opioids to be labelled with a warning about their addictive nature. 

    “The path from one bottle of pills for patients who have had their wisdom teeth removed or experienced lower back pain to addiction needs as many roadblocks as possible, and a warning label could help save lives,” said Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who sponsored the bill. “In the same way we put warning labels on cigarettes for being addictive and causing death, we need labels to caution patients about the dangers of prescription opioids. It is important that everyone who receives an opioid prescription understand the potential risks, and a sticker on an opioid pill bottle is a consistent reminder.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Florida College Allegedly Flagged Applicants Who Mentioned Mental Health Struggles

    Florida College Allegedly Flagged Applicants Who Mentioned Mental Health Struggles

    A Florida liberal arts college is under investigation over allegations of “weeding out” applicants with a mental health history.

    A Florida college allegedly discriminated against applicants who may have mental health issues, according to a complaint filed by two former students.

    The admissions department of the New College of Florida (NCF) adopted a new policy in 2017 that “instituted a ‘red flag’ system for application review,” the complaint alleges. Under the instruction of Dr. Joy Hamm, the new Dean of Admissions at the time who implemented the policy, applications containing “any unusual or concerning details” were flagged for a second review.

    “[Dr. Hamm] actively instructed people to red-flag essays where students disclosed mental health issues and disabilities. We believe this may be a violation of the [Americans with Disabilities Act],” reads the complaint, which is available online.

    The students who filed the complaint, Maria Simmerling and Eugenia Quintanilla of the class of 2018, worked in the admissions department from 2015-2018. They say they were made aware of the practice through fellow staff who “feared retaliation if they spoke up.”

    The document goes on in more disturbing detail: “Dr. Hamm explicitly stated that she was trying to ‘weed out’ people with disabilities and mental health problems in our prospective student pool.”

    There were allegedly “multiple cases” of students who qualified for automatic admission but were rejected “after their essays were red-flagged for merely mentioning mental health struggles,” reads the complaint.

    After failing to get a serious response from the school, the NCF alumni decided to go public with the allegations. “People should not have to go through a second review process if they disclose mental health or disabilities in their application essays,” they stated.

    The school’s chief compliance officer Barbara Stier confirmed the use of red-flagging to Inside Higher Ed. However, she says that the practice was not designed to discriminate but to mark applicants who also have low test scores or lack certain academic requirements to indicate that they did not meet the criteria for admission.

    NCF President Donal O’Shea released a statement last Friday acknowledging the complaint. “New College very much values cognitive diversity,” he said. “The allegations in the complaints are absolutely antithetical to our values.”

    According to his statement, there will be a second, external investigation in May.

    Simmerling and Quintanilla say that the school’s internal investigation—which found no wrongdoing—was a “joke” and was treated as a mere “formality.”

    Even as they reached out to administration officials including O’Shea, members of HR and the provost, the students say their complaint was not taken seriously. “They all denied any wrongdoing, often with contradictory stories,” according to the complaint.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How Student Abuse of ADHD Meds Affects Peers With a Diagnosis

    How Student Abuse of ADHD Meds Affects Peers With a Diagnosis

    A UNC survey found that a majority of students have misused Adderall or other prescription stimulants. This is hurting their peers who have a real need for the medications.

    Various research in recent years has pointed to a growing problem on college campuses: the misuse of stimulants such as Adderall to aid in academic success.

    And the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is no exception, the student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel reports.

    According to the student paper, a recent survey of 145 students on campus found that more than one-third had used Adderall or other prescription stimulants in the past month. Of those students, 60.7% admitted they had used such medications without a prescription.

    UNC psychology professor Beth Kurtz-Costes tells the Daily Tar Heel that one reason for use of such medications may be that students feel pressure to keep up and perform well academically in college.

    “An amount of anxiety that is serious enough that it requires someone to go to CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) or to seek outside help will definitely hamper performance,” Kurtz-Costes said. “A moderate amount of anxiety is considered good. You’ll perform better on an exam or in giving a speech if you’re moderately aroused or anxious, but going beyond a certain point, certainly, is a deterrent to performance.”

    For some students, such as UNC sophomore Paige Masten, stimulants like Adderall are necessary. Masten tells the Daily Tar Heel that she has been diagnosed with ADHD, and as such, the medication affects her differently than it may for her peers without such diagnoses.

    “When I take my Adderall, I don’t have the same effects,” she said. “I don’t feel super productive and I don’t feel like I’m going to stay up all night the same way they do. I just feel kind of normal and able to function, whereas without it I can’t focus whatsoever.”

    For people with diagnoses like ADHD, medications like Adderall aid in lowering stimulation levels and returning them to a normal level of function, the Texas A&M University Health Science Center reports. But for those without, it can be dangerous and can even result in stroke or death.

    “People who take it for exams or just when they’re stressed, it kind of can mess with their brain because they’ll stay up way longer than they need to, they’ll be really jittery and hyper-attentive,” Masten added. “I think, ultimately, it does the opposite of what it’s supposed to be doing for them, whereas for me it makes me into a more normal person.”

    For Masten, seeing other students abuse the medication is frustrating, as access to it is already limited.

    “Obviously I have the luxury and the privilege of being able to go to the doctor when I need to and being able to afford it,” Masten said. “But there’s also some people who struggle with ADHD who may not have that same luxury, and making it even harder would make it even more difficult for them to obtain the drugs they need to be as productive as people without ADHD. I think that that further disadvantages them in a way that would be really unfair.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Sackler Family Wants To Settle Opioid Lawsuits

    Sackler Family Wants To Settle Opioid Lawsuits

    While the Sacklers are interested in settling, a rep for the family insists that they are not at fault for the opioid epidemic.

    Members of the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, want to settle the onslaught of opioid lawsuits against them, according to recent statements from a family lawyer. 

    Speaking with Reuters, Mary Jo White of Debevoise & Plimpton, who represents four members of the family, said their clients are interested in settling the lawsuits, but also insisted that the company and the family are not at fault for the opioid epidemic. 

    “The objective is and remains to try to achieve a global resolution,” White said. “Purdue and the Sackler family members, given this litigation landscape, would like to resolve with the plaintiffs in a constructive way to get the monies to the communities that need them, to the people that are addicted… rather than to pay attorneys’ fees for years and years and years to come. You’re talking 2,000 cases. How long will they take to go through the court system?”

    White said that given the scope of the lawsuits against the Sackler family and Purdue, settling is going to be a long and complex process. 

    She said, “You have municipalities and counties as well as state AGs involved in these matters, and getting all of those plaintiffs in a global resolution is very difficult.”

    Despite the family’s willingness to settle, White said that they are not interested in accepting fault. White said that the lawsuits twist and misconstrue normal business documents to shine a negative light on the company. She added that the lawsuits are politically motivated. 

    “Let’s be clear: There is a major public health crisis that we’re all dealing with. But in terms of litigation, what you always want are all of the motivators to be merits-based so that politics are not playing a role, incentives are not playing a role that alters the outcome,” she said. “Let’s see what the real problem is and what the real solutions are rather than playing a litigation blame game with the fingers pointed in the wrong direction.”

    However, Paul Hanly, who is representing municipalities suing Purdue, said that the cases against the company are solid. 

    “Our cases assert strong legal, not political, claims against the Sacklers and all of the other defendants,” he told Reuters. “Ms. White’s comments are belied by the facts that Judge Polster [overseeing the federal cases in Ohio courts] has denied motions to dismiss brought by any number of defendants also claiming that the allegations are without a proper legal basis… and such motions have met the same fate in the New York state coordinated cases.” 

    Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who is leading a lawsuit against the company, was not impressed with White’s statements. 

    “For years, members of the Sackler family tried to shift the blame and hide their role in creating and profiting off the opioid epidemic,” she said. “Our lawsuit exposed their illegal deception, and we will aggressively pursue our case against them.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Britney Spears Leaves Treatment Facility

    Britney Spears Leaves Treatment Facility

    “Britney is back at home and is very happy about it,” said a source close to the Spears family.

    After spending a few weeks in an “all-encompassing wellness facility,” Britney Spears checked out on Thursday (April 25) and has returned home to spend time with her sons and boyfriend. 

    “Britney is back at home and is very happy about it,” someone close to the Spears family told People. 

    The pop icon checked into the facility early April, after having taken time off from work to care for her sick father, who suffered a colon rupture. 

    Despite living at the facility, People reported that Spears has continued to post on social media and even left the facility a few times, for Easter and to get her hair done. 

    Last Tuesday, Spears posted a video on Instagram, in which she spoke about the events taking place in her life. 

    “My family has been going through a lot of stress and anxiety lately, so I just needed time to deal,” she said. “Don’t worry I’ll be back very soon.”

    She elaborated in the caption, adding, “I wanted to say hi, because things that are being said have just gotten out of control!!! Wow!!! There’s rumors, death threats to my family and my team, and just so many things crazy things being said. I am trying to take a moment for myself, but everything that’s happening is just making it harder for me.” 

    The singer also took time to acknowledge her fans and ask for their support during this time.

    “You may not know this about me, but I am strong, and stand up for what I want,” she wrote. “Your love and dedication is amazing, but what I need right now is a little bit of privacy to deal with all the hard things that life is throwing my way. If you could do that, I would be forever grateful.” 

    Initially, when Spears checked into treatment, a source told People that she had made the decision to do so fully on her own. 

    Around the same time, another source added that her father’s health was the main factor in Spears seeking help. 

    “Her dad being sick has taken a toll on her,” the source told People. “He nearly died and actually had another surgery a few weeks ago. He’s not doing well. They’re so close and it has been a lot. There is nothing dramatic going on with her—she just realized she needs to make sure to take time to care for herself.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Pink Talks Mental Health, Anxiety With Carson Daly

    Pink Talks Mental Health, Anxiety With Carson Daly

    “I have anxiety. I overthink everything, but what I do is I keep the right people around me, and I go to therapy,” the singer revealed.

    Last Friday (April 26), Pink made a strong return with her new album Hurts 2B Human.

    For Pink, it’s a fitting album title. While promoting her new work, the singer discussed mental health and anxiety on The Today Show.

    At one point in the interview, Carson Daly, who has battled anxiety himself, brought up the subject of mental health of young people “who are really struggling, and they’ve been struggling silently.”

    “I’m hopeful that the taboo of it is all going away, because more and more people are talking about it,” Pink said. “I think talking about it is the most important thing. I know that anxiety is the number one thing that kids now are going through.”

    As the singer continued, “For my generation I feel like it was depression and suicide and suicide is super-prevalent still, but now it’s like it comes from a place of anxiety. And I get that, I fully understand that, and I’ve been depressed. I have anxiety. I overthink everything, but what I do is I keep the right people around me, and I go to therapy.” (Pink and her husband, Carey Hart, have been in counseling together for 17 years, and she credits this for keeping her marriage together.)

    In battling anxiety and depression, Pink also recommended keeping a journal. Through it, she’s “exorcised so many demons from just putting it to paper.”

    The title track of her album “Hurts 2B Human” is a collaboration between Pink and singer-songwriter Khalid. She told Entertainment Weekly, “When this song happened, it hit a string in me that just resonates. I feel like in 2019 if you’re present and not totally escaping your feelings and you’re looking around at what’s going on in the world, it hurts… I think it’s a really hopeful song.”

    The song “Happy” also deals with Pink’s views on body image and self-esteem. She found the song “a release. I’ve always been a person who likes to shake hands with the elephant in the room. I don’t feel like I’m any different than anybody else but maybe I’m just able to talk about it. I believe in therapy and I think music is therapy.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Apple Takes Down Smartphone Addiction Apps, Puts Up Their Own

    Apple Takes Down Smartphone Addiction Apps, Puts Up Their Own

    Apps meant to help users limit screen time for themselves or their kids are having permissions revoked, or removed entirely.

    Developers of screen addiction-fighting apps say that Apple has been squeezing them out. The company behind the iPhone has been revoking permissions from some of these apps and outright removing others.

    The crackdown comes after Apple released its own screen time-reducing feature, and some don’t think this is a coincidence.

    According to app developers, Apple has been forcing them to remove usage-tracking features, even those intended for parents to limit how much time or what kinds of apps their children can access on their own devices.

    Fred Stutzman, chief executive at Freedom, sees this as a conflict of interest considering Apple’s own usage-limiting features are not as aggressive or convenient as what apps like Freedom provided.

    “Their incentives aren’t really aligned for helping people solve their problem,” Stutzman said. “Can you really trust that Apple wants people to spend less time on their phones?”

    Freedom had 770,000 downloads from the App Store before it was removed in August. Whether users want or depend on the apps doesn’t seem to matter to Apple, considering they removed OurPact, the most popular parental control app with more than 3 million downloads.

    “They yanked us out of the blue with no warning,” said Amir Moussavian, OurPact’s chief executive. “They are systematically killing the industry.” 

    Apple CEO Tim Cook touted their suite of screen time-related features at a conference this month, saying they intend to fight smartphone addiction. “We don’t want people using their phones all the time,” Cook said. “This has never been an objective for us.”

    Representatives say that the timing is purely coincidence.

    “We treat all apps the same, including those that compete with our own services,” said Apple spokesperson Tammy Levine. “Our incentive is to have a vibrant app ecosystem that provides consumers access to as many quality apps as possible.”

    The app developers aren’t buying it. Popular parental control apps Kidslox and Qustodio are taking it up to the European Union’s competition office.

    Two of Apple’s big shareholders urged the company to personally take responsibility for the “toxic” effects of excessive smartphone use early last year—though they probably didn’t mean it like this. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Doctor-Turned-Sober Home Owner Describes Descent Into Addiction

    Doctor-Turned-Sober Home Owner Describes Descent Into Addiction

    The former small town West Virginia doctor described how his own addiction and poor prescribing habits changed his life forever.

    Dr. Lou Ortenzio popped his first opioid pain pills in 1988, long before most Americans knew what an opioid was. 

    Over the next 15 years, the small town doctor in West Virginia saw more and more patients asking for powerful painkillers, while he himself became more addicted.

    Whereas older generations in Appalachia had lived with ailments and pain, never wanting to seem “complainy,” in the 1990s Ortenzio began to see a shift in patient perspective. 

    “The new generation that came in the 1980s, those kids began to have the expectation that life should be pain-free,” he told The Atlantic. “If you went to your physician and you didn’t come away with a prescription, you did not have a successful visit.”

    Between 1995 and 2005 the number of pharmaceutical sales reps nearly tripled and Ortenzio began to have more and more sales reps knocking on his door pushing the latest painkillers. 

    “It went from a dozen [salesmen] a week to a dozen a day,” he said. “If you wrote a lot of scrips, you were high on their call list. You would be marketed to several times a day by the same company with different reps.”

    Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s Ortenzio found himself writing more and more prescriptions. As he became known as a doctor who would easily prescribe pills, more patients sought him out.

    At the same time he was taking more pills, even asking a friend to fill prescriptions for him. When he tried to quit he would experience symptoms of withdrawal, which gave him understanding for the predicament that many of his patients found themselves in. 

    He said, “I couldn’t be away from my supply.”

    In 2004, after his wife divorced him, Ortenzio got sober following a religious experience. Other doctors turned to The Physician Health Program, run by the West Virginia State Medical Association, which has helped more than 230 doctors in West Virginia get sober.

    Yet Ortenzio’s sobriety wasn’t the end of opioids ruining his life. Soon after he stopped using, federal agents raided his office, and in 2006 Ortenzio pleaded guilty to fraudulent prescribing. He paid $200,000 in restitution, lost his medical license, and had to complete 1,000 hours of community service while under supervised release for five years. 

    Once a promising physician, Ortenzio was 53 and delivering pizzas, but he was at peace. After years of volunteering with a recovery center, Ortenzio opened a sober living home, which now serves six men, with plans to expand by opening another center for women.

    Although he will never be able to practice medicine again, Ortenzio is happy where he is today, sustaining his own recovery and helping other people get sober. 

    “I made pizza deliveries where I used to make house calls,” he said. “I delivered pizzas to people who were former patients. They felt very uncomfortable, felt sorry for me. It didn’t bother me. I was in a much better place.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com