Answer Addiction

Tag: opioid addiction

  • Prince’s Family Sues Doctor Who Reportedly Prescribed Him Pain Pills

    Prince’s Family Sues Doctor Who Reportedly Prescribed Him Pain Pills

    The lawsuit alleges that the doctor had to treat Prince’s opioid addiction prior to do his death but “failed to do so.”

    The family of Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson) is suing a doctor accused of playing a “substantial part” in the music icon’s death.

    According to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, the official cause of Prince’s April 15, 2016 death was an accidental overdose of fentanyl.

    The family is suing Dr. Michael Schulenberg in Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota, to replace the lawsuit filed in April in Illinois, according to the family’s attorney.

    The lawsuit alleges that Schulenberg and others—including the hospital where Schulenberg was working at the time)—had “an opportunity and duty during the weeks before Prince’s death to diagnose and treat Prince’s opioid addiction, and to prevent his death.” However, the family states, “They failed to do so.”

    The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000, ABC News reports.

    Authorities say the doctor admitted to prescribing oxycodone a week before his death, under his bodyguard’s name to protect his privacy.

    However, Schulenberg’s lawyer, Amy S. Conners, said in a statement that the doctor “never directly prescribed opioids to Prince, nor did he ever prescribe opioids to any other person with the intent that they would be given to Prince,” the New York Times reported in April 2017.

    Investigators later stated that it was possible that Prince was not aware that the medication he was taking contained fentanyl.

    “In all likelihood, Prince had no idea he was taking a counterfeit pill that could kill him,” said Carver County Attorney Mark Metz this past April, while announcing that no criminal charges would be filed in the musician’s death. “Others around Prince also likely did not know that the pills were counterfeit containing fentanyl.”

    Many of the medications found in the musician’s home were not in the original container provided by the pharmacy. “The evidence demonstrates that Prince thought he was taking Vicodin and not fentanyl,” Metz stated. “The evidence suggest that Prince had long suffered significant pain, became addicted to pain medications but took efforts to protect his privacy.”

    Walgreens Co., where some of the prescriptions were filled, is also named in the family’s lawsuit.

    Schulenberg’s attorney Paul Peterson maintained that the doctor did everything he could for the musician. “We understand this situation has been difficult on everyone close to Mr. Nelson and his fans across the globe,” said Peterson. “Be that as it may, Dr. Schulenberg stands behind the care that Mr. Nelson received. We intend to defend this case.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Construction Workers Hit Hardest By Opioid Addiction?

    Are Construction Workers Hit Hardest By Opioid Addiction?

    A new survey examined the occupations of those who died from opioid-related causes. 

    It’s been considered a problem for years, and a new study in Massachusetts has proven that the construction industry is the worst affected from opioid-related overdose deaths. Architecture and engineering are the only careers with higher death rates among women than men.

    “The primary workforce in construction is male, and they’re twice as common to abuse prescription drugs than females,” Eric Goplerud told Forbes. Goplerud is senior vice president of the Department of Substance Abuse Mental Health and Criminal Justice Studies at NORC at the University of Chicago.

    Dezeen magazine reported that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health published a report on the opioid epidemic in a state that had opioid overdose deaths more than double between 2011 and 2015. The Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts by Industry and Occupation survey reviewed death certificates from those years to compile data about industry and occupation, gender, race, and age among the deaths.

    Between 2011 and 2015, 5,580 Massachusetts residents died from opioid-related overdoses. Some of these deaths were excluded from the study.

    Construction and extraction workers were found to make up over 24% of the total, the highest amount of any particular profession. The analysis of the study authors believe this is due to the high amount of injuries people in this field endure. The report quotes a statistic that four out of every 100 construction workers are injured on site.

    “Pain is a common feature among injured workers and previous research indicates that opioids are frequently prescribed for pain management following work-related injuries, which has the potential to lead to opioid use disorders,” according to Dezeen. The study was first reported by the Architect’s Newspaper.

    According to experts interviewed in the Forbes piece, changing the construction company owners’ approach to opioid abuse is not going to be easy. Many (if not most) construction companies have a zero tolerance policy regarding positive drug tests of workers. If a worker tests positive, it often means he or she loses the job.

    “You go on construction sites, and you see those signs saying ‘you’re out of there if you test positive,’” Boston Properties Life Safety and Security Assistant Director John Tello told Forbes. “It seems like there is a divide in what’s going on and what needs to be done to help these people.”

    “Helping wean workers off opioids as they prepare to return to work should be part of any rehabilitation treatment,” Goplerud told Forbes.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Nurse Pleads Guilty To Stealing Fentanyl from Hospital

    Nurse Pleads Guilty To Stealing Fentanyl from Hospital

    According to police, the nurse admitted that she had initially stolen the fentanyl for her husband before she started using it herself.

    A North Carolina nurse has admitted that she stole fentanyl from the hospital where she worked, first for her husband and later for personal use. 

    Hayley Lammon Brown, 29, was working at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina when the theft occurred, according to The Winston-Salem Journal.

    This week, Brown entered a guilty plea in Forsyth Superior Court to one count of embezzlement of a controlled substance by an employee, and was given a suspended sentence of eight to 19 months and placed on three years of supervised probation. She was also charged with assault of a police officer after an officer was exposed to the drug, and she is appealing her guilty plea in that case. 

    During sentencing, Judge Ed Wilson said that Brown needs to get treatment, although it was not court-ordered. “You’re either going to spend the rest of your life in prison or you’re going to die if you don’t do something about this,” he said.

    Authorities first came into contact with Brown in April 2017 when they responded to an overdose at Brown’s home. At the time she told police that her husband had bought the medication online.

    However, officers found two vials of hospital-grade fentanyl at the home. At that point, the local police department asked for assistance from the FBI. 

    John Keane, special agent in charge with the State Bureau of Investigation, interviewed Brown, and she admitted that she had been stealing fentanyl from the hospital beginning in 2016. She said that she first took the drugs for her husband, before she started using them herself. 

    When the hospital learned of Brown’s alleged theft, it did a three-month audit of her use of medications and found discrepancies in how she handled fentanyl. The hospital fired her and the North Carolina Board of Nursing suspended her nursing license. Brown later voluntarily gave up her license for a year, but after that she will be eligible to have her license reinstated. 

    Although fentanyl is at the center of the opioid epidemic and has become a popular street drug, it does have legitimate medical use.

    However, because of its potential for abuse it is carefully regulated in hospitals. Novant Health, which owns the hospital where Brown worked, has policies in place to avoid abuse, the company said. 

    “Novant Health has detailed policies that demand strict adherence to all federal, state and local regulatory requirements as well as the organization’s ethical standards and policies,” the health care network said in a written statement.

    “We take very seriously any allegation that the organization or any individual team member has not fully complied with or in some way violated regulatory requirements, including the mishandling of controlled substances.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Americans Not As Aware Of Opioid Crisis In Their Own Backyards, Study Finds

    Americans Not As Aware Of Opioid Crisis In Their Own Backyards, Study Finds

    Americans are three times more likely to be informed about the opioid epidemic as a national problem rather than one in their own area.

    Despite the opioid epidemic dominating headlines, a new study has found that most Americans are not aware of the extent of the epidemic in their own areas of residence.

    The study, conducted by Laguna Treatment Hospital in Aliso Viejo, California, found that Americans are three times more likely to be informed about the opioid epidemic as a national problem rather than one in their own areas, The Guardian states. 

    The study found that a mere 13% of participants in the southern part of the country and 10% of those in the northeastern region felt that “drugs posed a crisis in their own communities.” But based on past data, states like West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Vermont have been among the states most affected by the crisis.

    Dr. Lawrence Tucker, medical director of Laguna, tells the Guardian that the results of the study were surprising due to the prevalence of the epidemic “despite regional differences.”

    “You can see those differences in not just the prescriptions of opioids but the amount of heroin that is available—China White, for example, is prevalent along the east coast as is fentanyl,” he stated. “There is oxycodone in the midwest and Black Tar heroin on the west coast.”

    Tucker played a large role in the recent study, called “Perceptions of Addiction.” The study surveyed 999 participants, 45% of which were male and 55% of which were female, from all parts of the country. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 76, and about 33% stated that they had dealt with substance use disorder at some point. 

    In 2014, a Pew Research study found that very few Americans had knowledge of the growing opioid epidemic. Tucker and others involved in the study wanted to find out if four years later, in light of the growing spotlight on the epidemic, the perceptions had changed. 

    “The survey’s verbiage attempted to achieve admittance of, versus just awareness of, addiction across the United States,” Taylor Bloom, the survey’s project manager, told the Guardian. “We would ask questions using the word ‘perceive’ instead of ‘aware.’ For example: ‘Do you perceive an addiction crisis in your community?’”

    According to the Guardian, Bloom and other researchers did discover some improvements when compared to the 2014 study.

    “We saw increased awareness among Hispanic and African American demographics,” said Bloom. “But then we saw that Americans are 79% less likely to perceive an addiction crisis in their communities today as they were four years ago… which is kind of crazy.”

    According to Tucker, race plays a large part in awareness.

    “Some races, particularly white young adults, are being hit harder than others,” he told the Guardian. “Which is why the neighborhoods that are affected the most are certainly aware of the epidemic, because they have lost loved ones and friends. But the communities that aren’t really aware of the opioid epidemic is because it’s just not affecting them as much due to the racial makeup of their neighborhoods.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Man Sets Out On Legal Mission After Seeing Opioids Destroy His Hometown

    Man Sets Out On Legal Mission After Seeing Opioids Destroy His Hometown

    A West Virginia lawyer is working to hold major opioid manufacturers legally responsible for their role in the epidemic that has ravaged his home state.

    With record-high rates of overdose deaths and babies born with opioid dependence, Huntington, West Virginia is at the heart of the nation’s overdose crisis.

    It’s also home to Paul Farrell, a lawyer working to sue major opioid manufacturers, who doesn’t want his town to be grouped into the usual picture of downtrodden rural America. 

    “People have been underestimating me for a very long time,” Farrell told MSN. “I’m accustomed to being stereotyped as the Appalachia, redneck hillbilly.”  

    Farrell is leading the lawsuits for many West Virginia towns, who are suing big names like Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva, and drug distributors.

    He says that he has personally seen the toll that opioids have taken on the region. “I have people my age that I know that are addicted to opioids,” Farrell said. “I know people that have children in their early 20s that they have lost.”

    And yet Farrell isn’t overly sentimental about the crisis—he’s out for revenge. “We eat what we kill,” Farrell said. “I’m stalking. I’m stalking the herd.”

    Many of Farrell’s lawsuits hang on public nuisance laws, with his argument essentially being that drug manufacturers and distributors created a massive and costly public nuisance throughout the state. 

    “If you drop a nuclear bomb right there—boom!—this is the fallout,” Farrell said of the region. 

    Paul Hanly, a lawyer who has sued Big Tobacco and is working with Farrell on his suits, said that Farrell is tenacious in defending his region. 

    “He’s a gladiator,” Hanly said. “He feels he’s on a mission to correct some wrongs that have adversely affected his state worse than any other state in the nation.”

    Farrell is also unapologetic about the potential money that he could make from the lawsuits. The firms filing the suits stand to make up to 25% of their client’s portions of any settlement. With settlements that could reach $50 billion, the payout for lawyers could be significant. 

    “Sometimes it’s a feast. Sometimes it’s a famine,” Farrell said.

    Farrell started his career in family law, before moving on to the more lucrative role of a plaintiff’s attorney, representing people who had been harmed. “I was writing very large checks to dumbass lawyers, and I thought to myself, ‘I’d like to be one of those dumbasses that gets one of these checks,’” Farrell said.

    This time, he’s aiming for a significant payout for the communities that have been impacted. Farrell believes that past settlements between West Virginia and opioid manufacturers have been too small.

    “It pissed me off that we got handled like that,” he said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Opioid Crisis In The 1800s Shares Similar Roots With Today's Epidemic

    Opioid Crisis In The 1800s Shares Similar Roots With Today's Epidemic

    Just as modern doctors began using opioids to treat a variety of pain, doctors more than 100 years ago used morphine in the same way, exposing more people to the drug. 

    Aggressive advertising touting the benefits of medications, quick fixes offered by new-found wonder drugs and doctors who didn’t realize the dangers of the medications they were prescribing sound a lot like all the pieces that led to today’s opioid epidemic. However, these are a few of the causes of opioid addiction that spiked in the United States in the late 1800s, according to a report in Smithsonian.

    At the time morphine was a new medication and doctors and patients were equally enamored with it. The drug became an ingredient in everything from teething serums to constipation cures, and by 1889, Boston physician James Adams estimated that about 150,000 Americans were “medical addicts,” addicted to prescription drugs rather than opium that could be smoked. 

    Just as modern doctors began using opioids to treat all types of pain, doctors more than 100 years ago used morphine to treat a variety of ailments, exposing more people to the drug. 

    Morphine became “a magic wand [doctors] could wave to make painful symptoms temporarily go away,” said David Courtwright, a historian of drug use and policy at the University of North Florida and author of the book Dark Paradise: A History of Opiate Addiction in America. “It’s clear that that was the primary driver of the epidemic.”

    One reason for the popularity of morphine among doctors and patients was aggressive advertising. An ad for Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup for Teething Children, which contained morphine, declared the product was “The mother’s friend.”

    Most Victorians didn’t realize that the medications, which were not regulated at the time, contained potentially dangerous ingredients. When these medications were found to be effective treatment, they became increasingly popular. 

    “If buyers took a spoonful because they had, say, a case of the runs, the medicine probably worked,” Courtwright said. 

    Eventually, doctors began to realize that the heavy use of medications containing opioids was unhealthy and leading to addiction. 

    “By 1900, doctors had been thoroughly warned and younger, more recently trained doctors were creating fewer addicts than those trained in the mid-nineteenth century,” Courtwright wrote in a 2015 paper for The New England Journal of Medicine.

    Government regulation also played a part and regulating the crisis, Courtwright wrote. Medical experts, led by Adams, began pressuring their colleagues to move away from opioids, and states began to regulate narcotic use. This led to a sharp reduction in opioid prescriptions.

    For example, in 1888, 14.5% of prescriptions filled in Boston drugstores contained opiates, but by 1908, only 3.6% of prescriptions filled in California contained the drugs. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Massive Drug Spoon Sculpture Dropped At Purdue Pharma HQ

    Massive Drug Spoon Sculpture Dropped At Purdue Pharma HQ

    The message behind the guerrilla art exhibit is to call attention to the potential danger of prescription opioids.

    A gallery owner was arrested Friday morning (June 22) after placing a sculpture of a massive steel spoon at the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.

    Fernando Louis Alvarez was arrested and charged with obstruction of free passage, a criminal misdemeanor. The sculpture was displayed in front of the Stamford, Connecticut office for about two hours until it was hauled away by city workers.

    The 800-pound, 10.5-foot-long work of “guerrilla art” appears burnt and bent at the handle, a sight familiar to people who heat up and inject heroin. The artist, Domenic Esposito, of Westwood, Massachusetts, described how his family was affected by his brother Danny’s nearly 14-year addiction to heroin, which began with OxyContin and Percocet.

    “My mom would call me in a panic… screaming she found another burnt spoon. This is a story thousands of families go through. He’s lucky to be alive,” he said, according to the Hartford Courant.

    “The spoon has always been an albatross for my family. It’s kind of an emotional symbol, a dark symbol for me,” he added.

    The message behind the art exhibit is to call attention to the potential danger of prescription opioids, and to call on the federal government to “step in and do something,” Esposito said. Danny has been sober for the last four months.

    Purdue Pharma is among several pharmaceutical companies being targeted by lawsuits across cities, counties, and states that believe these entities had a hand in worsening the opioid crisis. Purdue, specifically, is accused of using deceptive marketing and downplaying the risk of addiction to promote OxyContin.

    The company has since announced that it will no longer market OxyContin to doctors, and just last week, laid off its entire sales team.

    Purdue released a statement on Friday regarding Esposito’s sculpture: “We share the protestors’ concern about the opioid crisis, and respect their right to peacefully express themselves. Purdue is committed to working collaboratively with those affected by this public health crisis on meaningful solutions to help stem the tide of opioid-related overdose deaths.”

    The night of the guerrilla art display, Alvarez hosted the opening of a full exhibit on the opioid crisis at his art gallery in Stamford.

    The spoon has reportedly been submitted as evidence.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Serious Bacterial Infection Linked To Injection Drug Use

    Serious Bacterial Infection Linked To Injection Drug Use

    According to a new study, the number of MRSA cases in those who use injection drugs more than doubled from 2011 to 2016.

    Those who use inject illicit drugs may be at risk of more than an overdose, as new government data claims that such individuals are more susceptible to a potentially fatal infection.

    Individuals who use heroin or other injection drugs are 16 times more susceptible to develop infections or illnesses from MRSA, a dangerous bacteria. 

    MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria, the Mayo Clinic reports. However, unlike other forms of staph, it does not respond well to antibiotics, making it more dangerous.

    “Drug use has crept up and now accounts for a substantial proportion of these very serious infections,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, according to CBS News. 

    While other studies have shown that HIV and hepatitis C have spread among injection drug users, this is the first study to focus on this type of bacteria, referred to as a “superbug,” according to CBS.

    Although MRSA can be found on people’s skin, it does not tend to become dangerous until it enters the bloodstream, CBS notes. Health officials estimate that about 11,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are due to MRSA and that while the rate of infection in hospitals and nursing homes has decreased, the rate in those using illicit drugs continues to rise.

    Dr. Isaac See of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also a study author, states that MRSA “is on the skin, and as the needle goes into the skin it brings the bacteria with it,” according to CBS.

    According to the study’s findings, the number of MRSA cases that involved those who use injection drugs more than doubled from 2011 to 2016, from 4% to 9%. 

    According to the news outlet, this study took into account MRSA infections at hospitals in Connecticut and in parts of California, Georgia, Minnesota, New York and Tennessee. Of the approximately 39,000 cases, about 2,100 were from individuals who had used injection drugs. 

    Study authors note that if the amount of people using injection drugs continues to rise as will the number of MRSA cases, this could be detrimental to efforts being made to curb the crisis.

    “Increases in nonsterile injection drug use are likely to result in increases in the occurrence of invasive MRSA infections among persons who inject drugs, underscoring the importance of public health measures to curb the opioid epidemic,” study authors wrote.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Wearable Device to Treat Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms Approved By FDA

    Wearable Device to Treat Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms Approved By FDA

    The device can curb anxiety, irritability, depression and opiate cravings without narcotics, according to its manufacturer.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a wearable device (simply named “Drug Relief”) that reduces common opioid withdrawal symptoms, according to Markets Insider.

    DyAnsys, the device’s manufacturer, claims the device will curb anxiety, irritability, depression and opiate cravings (among other such symptoms) without narcotics.

    Available with a prescription, Drug Relief is an “auricular neurostimulation device,” which sends electrical pulses through ear-fitted needles to help ease detoxification. The device is intended to stabilize people during the earliest stages of withdrawal, according to the company’s 501(k) application.

    Drug Relief can be used continuously for up to five days, the manufacturer said in its press release, with relief reportedly starting 30 to 60 minutes after someone starts using the device.

    DyAnsys added that the device was specifically designed to bring patients both mobility and comfort during detox.

    In terms of opioid detoxification, Drug Relief is something of a game-changer since it’s a uniquely non-addictive treatment method.

    “This device offers hope to those who are suffering from opioid addiction,” DyAnsys CEO Srini Nageshwar noted. “We are in a full-blown crisis and we need non-narcotic options and alternatives like this that can make a significant difference for individual patients and their families.”

    Just last month, the FDA also approved the first non-opioid medication to help manage opioid symptoms. And while Lofexidine (marketed under the brand name Lucemyra) alleviates the same things that Drug Relief does, it’s not intended to be a primary solution for opioid use disorder. Instead, the drug is intended to be part of a broader, more comprehensive treatment plan.

    The successive FDA approvals of Drug Relief and Lucemyra, though, indicate that drug companies and the federal government alike are aggressively seeking creative solutions to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

    “We’re dedicated to encouraging innovative approaches to help mitigate the physiological challenges presented when patients discontinue opioids,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. “We’re developing new guidance to help accelerate the development of better treatments, including those that help manage opioid withdrawal symptoms. We know that the physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction.” 

    And while Drug Relief is the first wearable device to manage opioid withdrawals, it’s not the first piece of wearable tech to help combat addiction.

    SmartStop is a device that aims to help smokers kick their habit, delivering specific doses of nicotine before a craving kicks in, not to mention offering real-time support through an app.

    Biochemical sensors that can detect alcohol in human sweat have also been developed, with some of them able to wirelessly alert people like probation officers if someone has been drinking.

    Empatica’s E4 wristband can reportedly help predict a wearer’s risk of relapse, too, detecting symptoms like drops in skin temperature, increased motion, and heartbeat. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Surfer Andy Irons' Life, Death & Addiction Struggle Examined In New Doc

    Surfer Andy Irons' Life, Death & Addiction Struggle Examined In New Doc

    “Andy Irons: Kissed by God” sheds light on the champion surfer’s battle with drug addiction and bipolar disorder.

    The surfing world knew Andy Irons as a three-time world champion and Surfing Walk Hall of Famer whose pursuit of excellence in his sport reaped four Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and the Billabong Pro Teahupoo in 2010.

    Those closest to him remember Irons as a fierce competitor—especially against fellow professional surfer Kelly Slater—whose strength and determination was challenged by mental illness and a dependency on drugs and alcohol that contributed to his untimely death at the age of 32 in 2010.

    One of those people, filmmaker Enich Harris, has released a new documentary, Andy Irons: Kissed by God which looks at both his iconic career and personal struggles.

    Harris became close with Irons as a member of the film and marketing department for the surf company Billabong, which was Irons’ primary sponsor for the majority of his professional career. Harris would eventually travel the world with Irons, documenting his stratospheric rise in the surfing world and his rivalry with Slater, which was marked equally by admiration and intense drive to be the best.

    That aspect of Irons’ life is well known to the surf and sporting world, but the extent of his struggles on dry land are the primary focus of Kissed by God.

    Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 18, Irons relied on alcohol and drugs to ward off the powerful shifts in mood and personality that accompany the condition.

    Eventually, he turned to opioids, which had a deleterious effect on his life and career: he withdrew from surfing in 2009 to seek treatment for his dependency, and returned the following year for what appeared to be a dramatic return to form with the 2010 win at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo.

    But that same year, he reported fell ill, and took himself out of the Rip Curl Pro Search to head home to Hawaii for recuperation. He never made it— authorities found his body in a hotel room in Grapevine, Texas, where he had stopped for a connecting flight.

    The medical examiner’s report listed heart attack as the primary cause of death, with “acute mixed drug ingestion” credited as a secondary cause. An autopsy found alprazolam, methadone, traces of methamphetamine and benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, in his system.

    Irons’ death was not only a loss to the surfing world; he left behind a wife, Lyndie, who gave birth to their son, Axel, four weeks after his death, as well as his brother, Bruce.

    Both appear in the film, and as Harris told the OC Register, their participation provided them with an outlet to touch upon and bring some relief their loss.

    “It was such an open wound,” he said. “There was healing that went on in the process, for them talking about him again. It’s very healing for them to know that Andy didn’t just die—his message can go on to help the next generation of kids growing up.”

    Harris hopes that younger viewers, especially those that may be enduring similar issues, may find hope in Irons’ story. “Mental illness and drug abuse, that’s the message I want people to take away,” he noted. “It’s not the right road to down.

    “If you’re struggling with the same things, talk to people, get help,” said Harris. “He was an amazing, all-powerful human, but those struggles were bigger than him.”

    View the original article at thefix.com