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The Destiny of Lesser Animals

With winter soon approaching, I would like to take this moment to remind people of our most important social responsibility… Thank you for remembering the less fortunate.

By Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo, M.Ed., Ph.D.

Homeless in the winter

Homeless in America

“Get a job, is the comment most often hurled at homeless individuals as they panhandle their way through the streets of our cities. Some are addicts, some are mentally impaired, some are just temporarily down on their luck, some are veterans, and many are targeted. By far the most painful to see are the veterans some with missing limbs. So, the next time you see a homeless person and you start thinking, get a job, just stop and count your blessings that you have a roof over your head because it is only by the grace of god that you are not homeless.” National Homeless Organization (2009).

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A Monthly Shot for Opioid Addiction: An Option For Some

June 8, 2018 3:11 pm / Leave a comment

Home » Harvard Health Blog » A monthly shot for opioid addiction: An option for some – Harvard Health Blog, Wynne Armand, MD, Contributing Editor

On average, 44 people in the United States die every day from an overdose of opioid prescription painkillers. These drugs — such as Vicodin, Percocet, codeine, and morphine — reduce the brain’s recognition of pain by binding to certain receptors in the body. With continued use, a person can develop a physical dependence on these drugs, such that withdrawal symptoms occur if the drug is stopped. These drugs can also cause a “high.” Both of these effects contribute to addiction — that is, the loss of control around the use of a drug, even though it causes harm to the person. Addiction to opioid painkillers is the biggest risk factor for heroin addiction.

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Fentanyl: The Dangers Of This Potent “Man-Made” Opioid

May 16, 2018 3:18 pm / Leave a comment

As we watch the devastation of the opioid crisis escalate in a rising tide of deaths, a lesser known substance is frequently mentioned: fentanyl. Fentanyl’s relative obscurity was shattered with the well-publicized overdose death of pop star Prince. Previously used only as a pharmaceutical painkiller for crippling pain at the end of life or for surgical procedures, fentanyl is now making headlines as the drug responsible for a growing proportion of overdose deaths.

So what is fentanyl and why is it so dangerous?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, meaning it is made in a laboratory but acts on the same receptors in the brain that painkillers, like oxycodone or morphine, and heroin, do. Fentanyl, however, is far more powerful. It’s 50-100 times stronger than heroin or morphine, meaning even a small dosage can be deadly.
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Is Addiction a “Brain Disease?”

April 21, 2018 11:00 am / 1 Comment on Is Addiction a “Brain Disease?”

addiction-brain-disease

There are many good reasons to emphasize the biological underpinnings of substance use disorders. Perhaps most important, the biologic basis of this chronic disease is a strong argument for parity: that is, treating (and funding treatment for) addiction on par with other “biologic” diseases.

The stigma and shame of addiction has much to do with the perception that people with substance use disorders are weak, immoral, or simply out for a good time at society’s expense. Understanding that addiction impairs the brain in many important ways may reduce such stigma. What’s more, the specific type of brain dysfunction may help identify a range of effective interventions and preventions. For example, during adolescence, the brain is at its most plastic — and vulnerable. This is a time when caution and intervention may prove most valuable. The earlier the drug exposure or trauma to the brain, the greater the damage.
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BINGE DRINKING CONTINUES TO RISE — PARTICULARLY AMONG WOMEN AND SENIORS

Binge drinking continues to rise — particularly among women and seniors

Women usually welcome news that the gender gap in pay or leadership positions is closing. But lately we’ve been learning that women are also gaining parity in another respect: alcohol consumption. A new study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health indicates that the rate of drinking in general, and binge drinking in particular, is rising faster among women ages 60 or older than among their male contemporaries.

When the researchers analyzed data from National Health Interview Surveys from 1997 through 2014, they found that the proportion of older women drinkers increased at a rate of 1.6% a year, compared with 0.7% for older men. Binge drinking (defined as imbibing four or more drinks within two hours) increased by 3.7% annually among older women, but held steady among older men. The results were reported online March 24, 2017, by Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

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Breaking Free From Addiction

COVER STORYBreaking free from addiction

Researchers have developed effective behavioral and pharmaceutical therapies to treat addiction — but addiction treatment practice hasn’t caught up with the science. What can psychologists do to help?

For more than five years, David Sheff watched his son Nic battle methamphetamine addiction. By age 25, Nic had been in and out of rehab and tried half a dozen treatment programs. Some helped, temporarily. But always, he had relapsed, ending up back on the streets, terrifying himself and his parents.

By one of the later relapses, Sheff, a journalist, had already begun researching a book about addiction and had interviewed some of the world’s leading experts on the biology of addiction and treatment.

“I was frantic,” he says. “I called the guy who knows more about meth than anyone in the world, and I asked him ‘Where can I send my son?’ And he had no idea. He was stunned. He asked colleagues, other researchers, and they didn’t know either.”

Sheff did find a treatment program for his son, but not through his scientist contacts — he found it through a friend, another father with an addicted child.
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5 MYTHS ABOUT USING SUBOXONE TO TREAT OPIATE ADDICTION

What is Suboxone and how does it work?

big-bottle-suboxone-addiction-treatment-1140x640Suboxone, a combination medication containing buprenorphine and naloxone, is one of the main medications used for medication-assisted therapy (MAT) for opiate addiction. Use of MATs has been shown to lower the risk of fatal overdoses by approximately 50%. Suboxone works by tightly binding to the same receptors in the brain as other opiates, such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone. By doing so, it blunts intoxication with these other drugs, it prevents cravings, and it allows many people to transition back from a life of addiction to a life of relative normalcy and safety.

A key goal of many advocates is to make access to Suboxone much more widely available, so that people who are addicted to opiates can readily access it. Good places to start are in the emergency department and in the primary care doctor’s office. More doctors need to become “waivered” to prescribe this medication, which requires some training and a special license. The vast majority of physicians, addiction experts, and advocates agree: Suboxone saves lives.

Common myths about using Suboxone to treat addiction

Unfortunately, within the addiction community and among the public at large, certain myths about Suboxone persist, and these myths add a further barrier to treatment for people suffering from opiate addiction.

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INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER: A MISGUIDED RESPONSE TO THE OPIOID CRISIS

February 1, 2018 8:39 am / Leave a comment

Involuntary treatment for substance use disorder: A misguided response to the opioid crisis

Recently, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker introduced “An Act Relative to Combatting Addiction, Accessing Treatment, Reducing Prescriptions, and Enhancing Prevention” (CARE Act) as part of a larger legislative package to tackle the state’s opioid crisis. The proposal would expand on the state’s existing involuntary commitment law, building on an already deeply-troubled system. Baker’s proposal is part of a misguided national trend to use involuntary commitment or other coercive treatment mechanisms to address the country’s opioid crisis.

The CARE Act and involuntary hold

Right now, Section 35 of Massachusetts General Law chapter 123 authorizes the state to involuntarily commit someone with an alcohol or substance use disorder for up to 90 days. The legal standards and procedures for commitment are broad; a police officer, physician, or family member of an individual whose substance use presents the “likelihood of serious harm” can petition the court.
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Self-Defeat

July 13, 2016 12:35 pm / 1 Comment on Self-Defeat

By Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo, M.Ed., Ph.D.

Understanding The Self-Defeating Personality

Self-defeating personalities display consistent patterns of detrimental behavior resulting in problematic situations and failed relationships.

self destruct

Artist Unknown, saved from Google Images

These personalities create disappointing environments, become stagnant, and fail to accomplish important life goals. These individuals lack self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-acceptance. They are riddled with guilt and shame, and according to the definition of personality disorder, do have maladaptive processing methods that create problematic patterns of relating, perceiving and behaving. Their behavior does create problems in their daily lives, in their personal relationships, (preferring to stay and suffer in a bad relationship, rather than move forward in a healthy one, or to be alone,) and their off-putting behavior does diminish their ability to function in society. Social interaction is a significant component of any healthy relationship and is imperative when trying to establish relationships at a deeper level. The self-defeating personality, the consummate victim will be a people pleaser, will attempt to be optimistic, will attempt to lovingly commit, and then will wholeheartedly invest in sabotage.  Their inability to love or even like themselves often leads to inappropriate choices and related conditions such as substance abuse, eating disorders, and gambling addictions, making any healthy relationship impossible.

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Perfectly Imperfect

Self-Acceptance
By Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo, Ph.D.,CADCperfect

The humanistic perspective of psychology is the work of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow and focuses on the relationship of the individual to society (social), considers the ways in which people view themselves in relation to others (interpersonal), and considers how one see’s his or her place in the world (growth potential). (more…)

Propensity to Evil

By Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo,  Ph.D., CADC

good versus evilThe sixteenth century Puritan belief of original sin, the ideology that children are born evil and need to be civilized through harsh punishment and authoritative parental control,,

“Tabula Rasa” “blank slates,” Philosopher John Locke’s opposition to authoritarianism, the concept that human characteristics are attained through learning,,

Jean Jacques Rousseau, innate goodness, the rejection of Puritan belief, the rejection of Locke’s theories, the concept of inherent goodness. 

Innate goodness, the existence of evil, neither can be denied,, biblical concepts provide explanation for the existence of good and evil, but what secular concept can explain the existence of good and evil personalities. (more…)

Really,, Your Genes Made You Do It?

By Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo,  M.Ed., Ph.D.drunk

Genetic influences are those inherent traits that specific genes are credited for.  Behavioral genetics is the study of genetics that attempts to determine the connection between genes and patterns of behaviors and the environment (i).

I find most interesting the topic of alcoholism.  Scientific/biological research has suggested that there are specific genes that determine if one would be more prone to addiction than others.  For this particular issue the discussion suggests that if you possess the “addictive” gene and are exposed to environments that promote the use of alcohol then it is more than likely that this person will become an alcoholic.  This environmental factor coupled with the genetic makeup of the individual appears to be a combination of genetics and environment, influences, and learning choices. (more…)

My Apologies, I Am a Bit Under the Weather Today….

February 13, 2016 10:15 pm / 244 Comments on My Apologies, I Am a Bit Under the Weather Today….

mental-illness

Stigma
By Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo,  M.Ed., Ph.D.

I woke up this morning,, really just not feeling myself,, it was a struggle to get out of bed,, I physically hurt,  I forced myself up and out, because I had to, I have to go to work, I cannot afford to be out sick,,

I’m a bit ill, a little under the weather,,  I will be fine,,,  oh, how nice everyone in the office is,, so very concerned,, do you feel o.k., can I do anything for you,, would you like a nice hot cup of tea,, feel better soon,, oh aren’t you so kind,, I will be fine,, thank you,,, (more…)

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