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Stress and Social Isolation: Accused Murderer, George Zimmerman, Demonstrated Erratic Behaviors and Social Isolation
Chronic stress can lead to overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system. A cascade of effects impact various domains of functioning. Sleep, appetite, and sexual functioning can be disrupted. Stress is a general reaction, but typically emotional labels are associated with high levels of stress. People may report feeling anxious and worried, or run down and exhausted when chronic stress has persisted. Impaired judgement and other cognitive deficits may be associated with prolonged stress levels, which may create a positive feedback loop, as one poor decision leads to another. If significant changes in weight, appetite, sleep, social isolation, or impulsivity occur, professional help may be warranted.
Posted in BLOG, Sleep, Sleep, Stress, Stress | 
Tags: Isolation, Social Isolation, stress, Stress Management, Zimmerman | 
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Stress Management for Dealing with Family & Holiday Eating
Download the Predict, Plan, and Prepare worksheet. This simple stress management technique is called the 3 P’s. It is simple, but easy to forget, so having this worksheet as a concrete reminder may help you to reduce your stress levels around family, holiday stress, or any circumstance. Using it regularly may really help prevent your stress from becoming overwhelming.
Stress Management Technique-Predict, Plan, & Prepare for Stress
Stalkers in Cyberspace Can Cause Irreparable Damage
Modern Day Stalking
The technology age has a dramatic impact on all aspects of our lives. Being a victim of harassment is no exception. In a previous era, it took a great deal of effort on the part of a stalker who generally followed his target around from place to place by various modes of transportation, whether or not there was any face-to-face interaction. Today, however, you can stalk or bully someone “from the comfort of your own bedroom.” Have you ever been the subject of cyberstalking?
Psychological Impact of Online Harassment
According to data presented by psychologists at this year’s APA convention, the effect of e-harassment (in any of its various forms) is more devastating to victims than being harassed in real time and place. It might be due to the round-the-clock access a stalker has to the victim, or the fact that you cannot get away from her without cutting off access to meaningful things in your life—friends, family, job, etc. Besides, access for cyber-harassment is through multiple platforms, e.g., email, blogs, online message boards, voicemail and text messages on cellphones, Facebook and other social networking sites, and Twitter. Victims report fear, anxiety, shock, depression, nightmares, sleeplessness, weight loss or gain, withdrawal, and feelings of helplessness, as well as various physical symptoms. You have likely seen news reports of tragic consequences of young people bullying or being harassed via electronic devices, e.g., assaults, fights, and suicides.
Demographics and Other Statistics
As was true in old fashioned offline stalking, most targets of e-stalkers are female. However, what has changed since the widespread use of personal technology devices is that females are becoming online stalkers and/or bullies themselves in increasing numbers, whereas—before the Internet age—it was almost exclusively males who engaged in stalking behavior (unless you count those obsessed women in “Play Misty for Me” and “Fatal Attraction”). What do you think the reason is for this shift?
Most e-harassment is carried out by teens, college-age individuals, and young adults. It is sometimes the result of vengeance or just simple meanness on the part of a person who is one half of a romantic couple that has broken up; or it can even be merely the result of a “date gone bad.” U.S. Department of Justice reports that 34% of female and 14% of male college students have broken into the email account of their romantic partner.
Being a Victim
Response to cyber-bullying is individual in both mode and intensity. People who are prone to depression or to obsessing (e.g., OCD) appear to be affected the most. Research shows (just as it happens with other forms of abuse) that a victim of e-harassment is likely to subsequently harass or bully other people through cyberspace. Have you been a victim of virtual bullying or harassment? If so, were you later tempted to take out any frustration you might have experienced on someone else via electronic means? What can you do to ensure you will react to e-bullying in ways that promote psychological health and safety for you and others?
To read more:
Virtual harassment worse than face-to-face
Facebook bullies: With 6 arrests in 2 incidents, nothing virtual about cyberstalking
Posted in Adolescents, BLOG, Bullying, Couples, Cyber-bullying, Harassment, Internet, Mental Health, Relationships, Teens, Twitter | Tags: Anxiety, Blogs, Bullying, Cyber-Bullying, Depression, E-Stalking, Facebook, Fear, Harassment, Internet, Mental Health, Social Networking, Stalking, Technology, Texting, Twitter, Virtual Harassment 
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Educating America about Pain and its Management
Do you suffer from frequent headaches or chronic leg, knee, or back pain? Know someone who does? If so, what do you use to manage the pain?
Prevalence of Chronic Pain
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine states that 116 million people in America are afflicted with chronic pain. This number is larger than that for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined. It is estimated that it costs the United States approximately 635 billion dollars for treatment and lost productivity.
Hazards of Strong Pain Relievers
The dilemma that physicians face is that pain can usually (although not always) be ameliorated by prescription opioids (narcotics), which include OxyContin (oxycodone), morphine, and heroin. The downside—or, rather, the danger—is that these pain medications can be addictive and often lead to drug abuse. Unintentional drug overdose, most of which involve pain “killers,” has become the second leading cause of accidental death in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Need for Education and Training
Fortunately, there are some interventions that may help with this problem. The state of Washington, for example, is going to require opioid prescribers to use a monitoring program with uniform pain management guidelines. As is turns out, there is very little formal training required in medical schools regarding the prescribing of controlled substances. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, in fact, estimates that 80-90% of physicians fall into this category (minimal training in this area). Society members believe that physicians and patients alike should be better educated on this critical issue.
US Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia wants to require physicians to undergo specialized training in pain management in order to be licensed to prescribe these types of drugs. Could his interest stem from the fact that his state is known for a high rate of OxyContin abuse?
The pain medication crisis is so pervasive, there’s a good chance you’ve had a relative, friend, or at least a friend-of-a-friend who has experienced difficulties of one kind or another with pain management. If a pain-med problem has touched you even more personally, how did you try to deal with it? What strategies were or might be helpful? Have you tried any alternative treatments that helped relieve the pain?
Posted in Addiction, BLOG, Health, Pain, Pain Management | Tags: Accidental Death, Addiction, Analgesics, Controlled Substances, Doctors, Heroin, Morphine, Narcotics, Opiates, Opioids, Overdose, Oxycodone, OxyContin, pain, pain management, Pain Relievers, Painkillers, Patients, Physicians, Prescription Drugs | No Comments »
Combining Scholarship and Recovery
Danger in the Land of Booze, Dope, and Pills
There is a growing trend on our nation’s college campuses: programs to support students who’ve completed treatment for substance-abuse and are committed to a healthy recovery. Can they do both? Succeed at an academic program and, at the same time, have a real but alcohol/drug-free college experience? If you’re at all familiar with university life, you are well aware of the pervasive substance-abuse problems on most campuses and of the expectation on the part of nearly all their peers that students drink alcohol. So what is a recovering alcoholic or addict to do?
College-Bound and In Recovery
The truth is that many prospective college students (or dropouts/stopouts) with a substance-use disorder and a desire to maintain a life of sobriety are opting not to return to campus—or not to begin a college program. In the past, this decision has probably been a wise one, as the traditional college culture would be a serious threat to their recovery. But that’s where the collegiate recovery programs come in.
Program Components
Naturally, there are very different features among the recovery programs at post-secondary institutions, but, in general, they offer a supportive environment allowing members to live together in one wing of a dormitory or in a house on campus, a community of peers working together toward similar goals, and a plan of positive activities, meetings, and social events that do not include alcohol and drugs. Some programs include counseling services, courses in relapse prevention, and/or community service. There are also scholarships available, at some schools, for students who maintain sobriety and a high grade point average.
Program Evaluation
Since it’s a relatively new concept (the first programs emerging approximately ten years ago), there are no long-term studies yet on the effectiveness of these communities in terms of graduation rate, relapse rate, etc. However, short-term examinations of how students at the various recovery programs are doing have indicated that the outlook is good. And the oldest running program in recovery (Texas Tech) boasts the following 10-year results for member students: an average cumulative GPA of 3.34, an 80% annual graduation rate, and a relapse rate of just 6%.
It is believed by professionals in the fields of health, psychology, education, and sociology that helping these students who are committed to recovery to continue their education in a safe environment will benefit society at least as much as it does the individuals.
If you needed to enroll in a college program but were trying to recover from substance-abuse, could you manage both? If you had a child in that predicament, would the knowledge that a campus recovery program and supportive community exist provide you some relief?
To find out more:
University of Michigan Collegiate Recovery Program
Alcohol Recovery Program on Campus: The Time is Now
Innovative College Recovery Programs
As Campus Addiction-Recovery Programs Grow, So Do Calls for Data on Effectiveness
On Campus, In Recovery, But Without Support
Campus Life 101: Staying Sober
Posted in Addiction, BLOG, Health, Mental Health, Recovery | Tags: Addict, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholic, Alcoholism, Campus, College, Collegiate Recovery Program, Drugs, Education, Health, Mental Health, Post-Secondary Institution, Recovery, Second Chance, Sobriety, Substance Abuse, Substance-Use Disorder, University | No Comments »