Tag: News

Orchestra Aims To Help Musicians With Mental Health Struggles

“I cannot count the ways the orchestra helps me. It has allowed me to overcome the shame I felt about living with mental illness,” said one member.

When he is conducting an orchestra, there’s nothing that alludes to Ronald Braunstein’s struggle with bipolar disorder.

That’s because, according to The New York Times, Braunstein finds that music helps him cope with and manage his diagnosis. In fact, he believes this so much that he has founded the Me2/Orchestra for performers who are dealing with mental health struggles.

Braunstein graduated from the Juilliard School in his early 20s before traveling to Austria for a summer program at the Salzburg Mozarteum. In 1979, he won the Karajan International Conducting Competition and was the first American to do so. From there his career blossomed.

At the time, he did not know he had bipolar disorder. He was not diagnosed until age 35. But he says in looking back, he sees how it affected his career.

“The unbelievable mania I experienced helped me win the Karajan,” he told the Times. “I learned repertoire fast. I studied through the night and wouldn’t sleep. I didn’t eat because if I did, it would take away my edge.”

“My bipolar disorder was just under the line of being under control,” he said. “It wasn’t easily detected. Most people thought I was weird.”

In Vermont, after being dropped by his manager and terminated from a job, he met a woman named Caroline Whiddon, who he later married. Whiddon had been the chairwoman for the Youth Orchestra Division of the League of American Orchestras and had struggled with depression and anxiety.

Braunstein contacted her in hopes of founding an orchestra for those who struggled with mental health issues.

In 2011, the Me2/Orchestra was born. Then in 2014, Me2/Boston was created. Both orchestras have about 50 members, ages 13 to 80, and perform six to eight times per year.

The orchestras are nonprofits and all musicians volunteer their times. Each year, Whiddon takes part in a letter-writing campaign to raise the money for expenses.

“When we perform at a hospital, center for the homeless or correctional facility,” Whiddon said, “the cost of that performance is covered by corporate sponsorships, grants or donations from individuals, so the performance is free to those who attend.”

Each time they perform, according to the Times, members of the orchestra discuss their mental health struggles and answer questions from the audience.

Jessica Stuart, 34, tells the Times that she had stopped playing violin in her 20s after her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Now, as an orchestra member, she is back to playing.

“Joining the Me2/Orchestra in Boston in 2014 was the first time I had played in years,” she told the Times. “I cannot count the ways the orchestra helps me. It has allowed me to overcome the shame I felt about living with mental illness. I no longer feel I have to hide an important part of my life from the rest of the world.”

View the original article at thefix.com

1 February 2019
Doctor Loses License After Prescribing Pot Cookies To 4-Year-Old

The case was brought to light when the boy’s father asked a school nurse to give his son a marijuana edible.

A California doctor lost his medical license after recommending cannabis cookies for a four-year-old boy who the doctor diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder after a half-hour meeting.

However, the doctor continues to practice while awaiting an appeal.

William Eidelman, a natural medicine physician, met with the boy and his father in 2012, according to The Los Angeles Times. Eidelman, who estimates he had recommended more than 10,000 people for the medical marijuana program, had previously recommended that the father use cannabis to treat his son’s bipolar and ADHD.

The father brought his son in when the child was having trouble behaving at school. After a brief meeting, Eidelman made a similar diagnosis and recommendation for the preschooler.

In the decision to repeal Eidelman’s medical license, the California Medical Board said that his actions were “grossly negligent.”

“Tantrums alone… do not support either diagnosis,” the board members wrote in a decision. “‘Being agitated’ and ‘having trouble sitting still’ hint at ADHD, but could simply hint at a preschooler not happy to have driven many miles to a doctor’s appointment.”

The case came to light when the boy’s father asked a school nurse to give his son a marijuana edible. The nurse alerted child protective services, which ultimately led to an investigation into the doctor. The board found that he had acted irresponsibly.

“Although he did not outright suggest a diagnosis… he all but made one up out of whole cloth,” the board wrote. “Labeling a child with a significant mental condition can be harmful… if those labels are incorrect, pernicious results may follow.”

If the diagnoses were properly made, the recommendation of cannabis would have been acceptable, the board wrote, but because Eidelman did not consult with a psychiatrist the diagnosis was improper.

“It has not been established, by clear and convincing evidence, that the recommendation of medical marijuana to [the boy], with his father’s consent, violated the standard of care,” the board wrote.

The board suspended Eidelman’s license in early January, but he is appealing that ruling, and says that he is practicing medicine currently while he waits for the March court date for the appeal.

“The judge ruled that the revocation is stayed, so yes, I’m still practicing,” he said.

However, the board insists that Eidelman should not be practicing, according to spokeswoman Susan Wolbarst.

“The Medical Board of California has not received a court order, signed by a judge, indicating that the revocation was stayed. Accordingly, Eidelman’s license is currently revoked,” she said.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 February 2019
Trump Donates $100,000 To Alcoholism Research

The president committed to donating his annual $400,000 salary to worthy causes as part of his 2016 campaign.

President Donald Trump has donated $100,000 to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a federal agency and branch of the National Institutes of Health.

The $100,000 comes from his $400,000 yearly salary as president, which he promised to donate to worthy causes as part of his 2016 campaign. He has so far given away $100,00 each quarter to government departments including Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, and the National Park Service.

Alcoholism has touched the president personally. His brother, Fred Trump Jr., died from complications related to alcoholism in 1981 at the age of 43. According to Donald Trump, Fred advised him to never drink, and the president has repeatedly expressed his distaste for alcohol and drinking.

Following the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings to examine the sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump expressed that he did not share Kavanaugh’s passion for beer.

“I don’t drink beer,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve never had a beer. And I’m not saying good or bad, some people like it. I just choose not to do that for a lot of reasons.”

An individual “close to the White House” also told The Washington Post that the president “doesn’t like drinkers.” Tony Schwartz, co-author of Trump’s memoir The Art of the Deal, has said that the main reason the president avoids alcohol is a fear of losing control.

“One of the primary reasons I think Trump avoided alcohol was that he never wanted to be out of control,” said Schwartz. “It made him feel weak and vulnerable in any circumstance where he felt that was the risk.”

Alcohol is known to lower inhibitions when consumed to intoxication.

On the other hand, Tim O’Brien, author of TrumpNation, believed that Fred Trump’s alcoholism and early death had a significant effect on the president and his aversion to drinking.

“I think he’s scared of the effects alcohol can have on people because he witnessed firsthand how it destroyed his brother’s life, and I think he’s a teetotaler because he’s scared of it in himself,” said O’Brien.

“I think Freddy’s journey sparks fear in the president, and it’s a tragedy in their family’s history, and both of those things make him very uncomfortable around people with a drinking problem.”

According to the NIAAA, 15.1 million adults in the U.S. had alcohol use disorder in 2015, and there are 88,000 alcohol-related deaths yearly. Alcohol use and misuse is one of the leading causes of preventable death.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 February 2019
Calls About Pets Ingesting Cannabis Up 700%

As edibles become more popular, dogs in particular are likely to sniff them out as a tasty treat.

More pets than ever are accidentally overdosing on marijuana, with cannabis-related calls to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center increasing 765% over the past 10 years.

That’s no surprise to Tom Shell, a California-based filmmaker who came home one day to find his 13-year-old Australian Shepard, Stella, acting strange and “looking kind of hazy-eyed,” according to Mashable.

Shell realized that Stella had sniffed out a pot brownie in his backpack and devoured the whole thing—complete with chocolate and cannabis, neither of which are good for dogs. Shell rushed Stella to the vet feeling like “the worst father in the world.” The vet was able to induce vomiting to get the chocolate out of Stella’s system, but the effects of THC lasted all day.

Shell said, “I brought Stella back home, and she was stoned as can be for the rest of the afternoon.”

The incident made Shell realize that he needs to store his marijuana products—including edibles—more carefully. He was glad that Stella didn’t get into a stash of more potent cannabis gummy bears that he had in the house.

“If the dog got into those and ate the whole thing it would have been disastrous,” Shell said. “I’ve taken measures to make sure I’ve got triple protection [around weed] but it’s just one of those things where she’s got really good sniffers and I just wasn’t thinking about it.”

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s Medical Director, Dr. Tina Wismer, said this is a common mistake pet owners make. As edibles become more popular, dogs in particular are likely to sniff them out as a tasty treat.

“Dogs, oh my gosh, especially [with] the chocolate-based edibles, the number of those calls has skyrocketed,” Wismer said.

Last year, the center had 1,800 marijuana-related calls, compared to just 208 in 2008. Whereas dogs tend to ingest edibles, cats are equally interested in marijuana, Wismer said.

As cannabis becomes more widely accepted, people are less likely to carefully hide their stash, she said. This means that pets may have easier access to cannabis. In addition, some of the increase in the number of calls is likely because pot use is less stigmatized, so people are more willing to call the center to ask about marijuana-related issues.

While cannabis isn’t toxic to dogs, canines are more sensitive to pot than people are. The drug can cause strange side effects, like those Stella experienced. In rare cases, ingesting marijuana can cause a fatal drop in heart rate and blood pressure in a pet.

Wismer says that people also call the hotline after giving their pets edibles intended for animals, which can be dangerous because these items are unregulated, she said.

“No one’s regulating these products—is there actually some amount of THC in them? Or is it that dogs make different metabolites than people do? Is it just dose related? Unfortunately, no one really knows what the answer is.”

View the original article at thefix.com

1 February 2019
Dads' Post-Natal Depression May Affect Their Teenage Daughters

A new study found a connection between paternal depression and the later depression of their female offspring.

There’s been much more attention given to maternal mental health in recent years, but a new study suggests that paternal mental health is also important to the long-term health of children, particularly daughters.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, examined more than 3,000 pairs of parents and children to try to understand how depression in a parent can increase depression risk in their offspring. The authors found that when dads are depressed during the postnatal period (8 weeks after a baby’s birth), their daughters are more likely to have symptoms of depression when they turn 18.

Interestingly, the study found that when dad is depressed, the mother may be more likely to have depression as well. In turn, this can affect the child, even in the long-term.

“Depression in fathers in the postnatal period has potential implications for family and child functioning into late childhood and adolescence; it should be addressed in perinatal services, and both parents should be considered when 1 presents with depression,” study authors wrote.

The connection between paternal depression and the depression of offspring was seen in girls, but not in boys.

“The association between paternal depression in the postnatal period and depression in girls at age 18 years is partially explained by maternal depression,” study authors wrote.

More research has been delving into how fatherhood affect men’s mental health. Last year, research suggested that fathers can experience hormonal changes after the birth of a baby, which can lead to depression and affect the function of the whole family.

Darby Saxbe, an assistant professor of psychology at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and lead author of that study told Science Daily that we are still learning how fatherhood affects men.

“We often think of motherhood as biologically driven because many mothers have biological connections to their babies through breastfeeding and pregnancy. We don’t usually think of fatherhood in the same biological terms. We are still figuring out the biology of what makes dads tick,” Saxbe said.

Having a healthy father in the home can help improve outcomes for children.

“We know that fathers contribute a lot to child-rearing and that on the whole, kids do better if they are raised in households with a father present,” Saxbe said. “So, it is important to figure out how to support fathers and what factors explain why some fathers are very involved in raising their children while some are absent.”

View the original article at thefix.com

1 February 2019
Legal Risks Prevent New Moms From Getting Reliable Info About Cannabis Use

The possibility of legal repercussions stop women who are pregnant or breastfeeding from starting a dialogue about marijuana use with their health care providers.

Pregnant women are finding it hard to get reliable information about the safety of cannabis use during pregnancy, in part because of very limited research on the subject, and in part because bringing it up with health care providers could trigger legal interventions.

Speaking with Weedmaps, Dr. Thomas Hale, the acting executive director of the InfantRisk Center, said that he hears from thousands of women who want to better understand the risks of cannabis use while pregnant or breastfeeding.

“None of us will admit that it’s safe because we just don’t know,” said Hale.

Some studies have connected marijuana use with brain changes in infants, while others have indicated that some THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) passes to an infant through breast milk. However, the studies are not definitive, in part because it’s difficult to study marijuana due to its Schedule I status.

The same status makes it difficult for many women to discuss marijuana use candidly with their health care providers. That’s why many parents turn to InfantRisk, where they can call in anonymously to get information, Hale said.

“A pharmacist like myself or my colleague obstetrician, if we know a mom is using or encounter a mom that’s using a drug in pregnancy or during breastfeeding, in most states it is what we call a reportable offense. You’re supposed to report it.”

This could cause providers and patients to take a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to cannabis use. However, this is dangerous in and of itself. A new study published in Preventive Medicine found that many women interpret their providers’ silence about marijuana as an indication that the drug isn’t dangerous during pregnancy.

“Some stated not receiving adequate information about the risk of cannabis use or how to quit from the providers, even when they actively sought support,” the study authors wrote. “Some women perceived that not communicating and addressing cannabis health risk during pregnancy by the maternity care providers or social workers, or not having specific counseling provided, might indicate that cannabis does not represent a significant concern for the outcome of their pregnancy.”

This is particularly concerning because marijuana use during pregnancy is rising, and cannabis is the most frequently used drug among pregnant women.

Overall, it’s important for women to be able to safely discuss marijuana use with their doctors.

“A lack of communication with health care providers regarding the health aspects of cannabis was evident,” study authors wrote. “A discussion about health concerns surrounding cannabis use may influence women’s perceptions of risk and help them to make informed choices.”

View the original article at thefix.com

31 January 2019
Man's Emotional Support Alligator Raises Eyebrows

The man said that staying close with the alligator has helped him stay off of prescriptions for his depression.

For most people, being in close company with a five-foot-long alligator would be the opposite of comforting. But when Joie Henney feels symptoms of depression coming on, he snuggles up with Wally, his emotional support alligator.

“I had Wally, and when I came home and was around him, it was all OK,” Henney told Philly.com. “My doctor knew about Wally and figured it works, so why not?”

The doctor certified Wally as an emotional support alligator, likely the first of his kind.

Henney, who hosted a wildlife show on ESPN from 1989 to 2000, says he is familiar with dealing with wild animals and is aware that the alligator could hurt him. He rescued Wally when the alligator was 14 months old, and the alligator now spends time in an indoor pool, snacking on chicken wings and comforting Henney when he’s feeling down.

Henney said that staying close with Wally has helped him stay off of prescriptions for his depression. “He comforted me,” Henney said. “I got over my depression.”

Henney first realized that Wally could help him feel better when he went through a series of sudden losses of friends and family. “I lost three in a week, two in less than 24 hours. I was laying down one day, he literally crawled up on the cot with me and laid his head on top of my face.”

At just four years old, Wally is still growing. He’s could be 16-feet long one day, but Henney insists their relationship will endure.

“He likes to give hugs,” by resting his snout on Henney’s face, the owner explained.

Wally makes public appearances with Henney, and Henney insists that he’s not that unusual from more traditional pets. “He’s just like a dog,” Henney said at one event. “He wants to be loved and petted.”

Henney said he isn’t the only one who has benefitted from Wally’s attention. “He is registered as my emotional support animal, but he has done a lot for others.”

Henney has even used Wally to help raise money for a child with autism.

But despite the feel-good aspects of Henney and Wally’s connection, many people question whether the use of emotional support animals has gone overboard.

Getting an animal certified as an emotional support animals can allow the animal to come into public places, but some people say that the proliferation of emotional support animals is undermining the role of guide dogs and others trained to help people with medical conditions.

View the original article at thefix.com

31 January 2019
Benzo Death Rates Among Women Skyrocket

A new report also shows the number of benzodiazepine prescriptions has sharply risen over an 18-year timeframe.

New statistics suggest that the overdose death rates involving the prescription drugs known as benzodiazepines have risen dramatically over the past decade, and approach statistics for heroin – and synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that between 1999 and 2017, the number of women between the ages of 30 and 64 who died from an drug overdose involving benzodiazepines – a family of drugs used for anxiety – rose 830% during that time period.

The CDC also found that prescriptions for benzodiazepines rose by 67% during the approximate same time period.

Benzodiazepines, which include such medications as Xanax, Valium and Klonopin, can prove effective in treating conditions like anxiety or insomnia if taken on an intermittent basis over a period of a few weeks. But with long-term use, they also carry an increased risk for overdose if taken with opioids.

Their ability to calm or sedate the user through an increase in the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, which can be dangerous if taken with drugs that slow breathing like opioids or even alcohol. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in 2018 that 30% of opioid-related overdoses also involved benzodiazepines.

The overall impact of benzodiazepine on overdose mortality rates paints a more alarming picture when observed over the time period covered in the CDC’s report. According to their research, overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines among women in the aforementioned target age group rose from 0.54 per 100,000 in 1997 to 5.02 per 100,000 in 2017 – a jump of 830%.

The number of benzodiazepine prescriptions also saw a startling increase during the study time frame, rising from 8.1 million adults in the United States who filled a prescription for the medication in 1996 to 13.5 million in 2013.

Prescriptions began to drop or level off after 2013, but overdose deaths maintained their steady climb: in 2016 alone, there were 10,685 overdose deaths attributed to the drug, while in 1999, the US total as just 1,135.

Commentary in the February 2018 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that education about the dangers of the drug and alternatives should be paired with national efforts to fight the opioid crisis.

Informing doctors and patients alike about their dangers, and the effectiveness of alternative treatments for anxiety and insomnia, could help to bring the numbers reported by the CDC down.

View the original article at thefix.com

31 January 2019
Shia LaBeouf's New Movie Highlights Father's Heroin Addiction Struggle

LaBeouf wrote the screenplay for the semi-autobiographical film while in rehab.

Shia LaBeouf’s latest film, Honey Boy, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25 to tell the world the story of the actor’s odd and tumultuous childhood that led to his struggle with addiction and mental illness.

LaBeouf is known for his strange performance art as well as his acting and has been the subject of quite a bit of controversy during his long career.

The boy who began as the star of the children’s TV show Even Stevens grew into the man who was twice arrested for disorderly conduct and conducted a performance piece in which he sat with a paper bag over his head and cried for six days.

LaBeouf has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has sought treatment for alcoholism, plus was ordered to attend an anger management program after going on a drunken tirade against the police who were arresting him for his second time.

Honey Boy is a semi-autobiographical film that shows the verbal and emotional abuse which may have led to the actor’s PTSD. Fittingly, the actor wrote the script while he was in rehab in 2018, according to The Wrap.

LaBeouf himself plays James Lort, a clear representation of his real-life father, Jeffrey LaBeouf. James, like Jeffrey, is a Vietnam veteran and convicted sex offender with alcoholism who “pushed his son around while stumbling through a series of poor decisions,” according to film critic Eric Kohn of IndieWire.

Meanwhile, Lucas Hedges plays a 20-something version of LaBeouf as his life quickly spirals out of control, culminating in a drunken car crash that lands him in jail and then rehab. While in therapy, he flashes back to the representation of LaBeouf’s childhood.

Financial troubles result in a divorce between the representation of LaBeouf’s parents, ending in LaBeouf (“Otis”) living with his mother in a run-down motel and a world without warmth made worse by his “affection-averse” deadbeat dad.

LaBeouf himself has opened up about his troubled past and his family’s history of substance abuse before.

“When you’re 10 years old and watch your father going through heroin withdrawals, you grow up real fast,” he said in an interview with The Orange County Register. “You become the parent in the relationship. But I must give [Jeffrey LaBeouf] credit because he always told me that he didn’t want me to be like him.”

The film’s director, Alma Har’el, told The Wrap that LaBeouf has “done the bravest thing anyone could do” by depicting his own father and called Honey Boy an “artistic exorcism” for all involved.

“Obviously we all went through a lot of deep feelings while making the film, but nothing was too much. Everything was accepted. Whenever the demons came, we danced with them.”

View the original article at thefix.com

31 January 2019
Are Drug-Related Crime Rates Lower In Affluent Neighborhoods?

A new study suggests that the socioeconomic makeup of a neighborhood may not affect the rate of drug-related crimes or criminal offenses.

New research suggests that the socioeconomic makeup of a neighborhood does not appear to have any effect on the level of drug-related crime in that area.

An analysis of crime and census data of a suburban area with an average annual income of $74,000 found that residential stability did not reduce the level of narcotics trafficking or high-level criminal offenses that, according to the study authors, often accompany such activity.

The authors also suggested that focusing police activity on a single area might dispel crime in that location, but it would also displace dealers and related criminals to other regions, thus increasing crime rates regardless of income or ownership.

The study, written by Christopher Contreras, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California Irvine (UCI), and John R. Hipp, a professor in UCI’s Departments of Criminology, Law & Society and Urban Planning and Public Policy, was published in Justice Quarterly.

To conduct their research, the pair reviewed crime and census data culled from a heavily suburban area in Florida’s Miami-Dade County between 2010 and 2014. The neighborhood had an average annual income of $74,000 and a home ownership rate of 72.5%.

According to studies of drug dependency and abuse trends in the region during that time period, heroin-related deaths had increased sharply between 2011 and 2012 in Miami-Dade. Statistics also showed that laws designed to close “pill mills” and to limit the amount of controlled Schedule II medication that physicians could prescribe, caused a slight reduction in the number of prescription opioid-related deaths in Miami-Dade.

However, four opioids—oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone and methadone—were responsible for a slightly higher margin of deaths (32%) in 2013 than 2012.

Upon reviewing the crime and census data, the study authors determined that “residential stability and high socioeconomic status do not necessarily buffer neighborhood blocks against an increase in robberies and burglaries,” as Contreras noted. “Communities with narcotics trafficking bring in serious, high-rate offenders, whose activities spill over into other neighborhoods.”

According to the study authors, a contributing factor may also be due to changes in how drug trafficking takes place. Technology allows dealers to move more freely and conduct business in public places rather than isolated areas or street corners. When police pressure is applied to these scenarios, dealers can simply relocate and continue business. “Drug activity is displaced to somewhere else, along with higher crime,” noted Contreras.

Keeping drug-related crime out of residential neighborhoods will require stronger law enforcement, according to study co-author John Hipp. But policymakers also need to “address the growing demand for opioids,” he added.

View the original article at thefix.com

31 January 2019