Alcohol

Teenager Dies From Using Caffeine Powder

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Caffeine Powder

A straight-A teenager from Ohio died from ingesting pure caffeine. Currently it’s not closely regulated or banned, but many people want others to know how dangerous it can be.

Logan Steiner, 18 years old, died suddenly days before his graduation from a lethal dose of caffeine powder. His autopsy showed he had more than 70 micrograms of caffeine in his blood.

Superintendent Jay Arbaugh said, “he was just a terrific kid, he was a role model for the Special Olympic athletes, they loved having him there.”

State Senator Gayle Manning said she is looking into if taking steps to regulating caffeine powder would be advantageous.

Only 1 teaspoon of caffeine powder is equivalent to 30 cups of coffee.

Lorain County’s Coroner Stephen Evans, MD. said, “this is news to the coroner’s office; we had never seen this before. What it does is, it leads to cardiac arrhythmias, speeding heart, and it leads into seizures and those two things are what took his life.”

Evans believes caffeine powder should be taken more seriously and closely regulated. He said the powder can be abused just like any other drug.

Many young people, athletes, and students use the caffeine powder to give them more energy. Many do not even know it could be dangerous.

Companies say its powder elevates mood, endurance, and increases focus.

Any substance we put into our bodies should be closely monitored. Many people have no idea anyone could overdose and die from caffeine, but it is possible. It’s also possible to overdose and die from alcohol, or illegal drugs.

Most people who take drugs or drink do not intentionally overdose. Alcohol poisoning happens when there is so much alcohol in the bloodstream, the brain controlling basic life-supporting functions like breathing, temperature control, and heart rate start shutting down.

Symptoms of alcohol poisoning include seizures, difficulty breathing, slow heart rate, dulled responses, and no gag reflex, which prevents people from choking.

Blood alcohol content (BAC) can rise even when a person is unconscious. The alcohol in peoples stomach and intestines continues to travel through the bloodstream and circulate through the body.

Drug overdose can be similar to overdosing on alcohol. Symptoms include abnormalities in vital signs like blood pressure, temperature, heart rate. Skin can be dry and hot or cool and sweaty. They can have abdominal pain, vomiting, or nausea.

If you are abusing substances and want to stop, Harmony Foundation can help you. Our facility offers specialized programs for both men and women to help you break the chains of addiction.

HALT

Posted on by Christy Weeks

 

Photo Credit

HALT is something we hear in AA meetings, telling us to stop and take a look at what’s going on with our minds and bodies. HALT is an acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. These are all thing we need to be aware of because it can throw a wrench in our day, or program of recovery.

H is for hunger. When we’re hungry, we cannot think straight. We are irritable, quick to fight, and it negatively affects our mood. A spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, Marjorie Nola explains, “when [blood sugar] is low, the hypothalamus is triggered and levels of several hormones such as growth hormone, leptin, and ghrelin are affected. This imbalance then causes a shift in neurotransmitters and suppresses serotonin receptors.”

When we aren’t producing enough serotonin, mood swings will surely arise. Frustration and anger usually follow. Eat a healthy snack, and healthy meals. Try to stay away from fatty or sugary snacks, and you’ll feel better throughout the day.

A for anger comes next. Anger is also something important to look out for. When we’re angry, we certainly don’t think clearly. We may say or do things that are mean, or inappropriate. Words spoken in anger cause pain and hurt. When we are in a program of recovery, we all strive not to induce any pain on others.

If we can stop ourselves before acting out in anger, real personal growth and development will follow. We will feel proud of ourselves and see a different person than we were when we were using.

L for loneliness can be scary sometimes. When we feel lonely, we feel like no one is there to support or understand us. Many times we turned to drugs or alcohol to fill the void of loneliness. When we enter the program of recovery, we learn we are never alone.

Most AA meeting will have a phone list on the literature table with the names and numbers of people who will be glad to talk to you or meet up with you. Every person in those meetings has walked a similar path, so they have a deeper understanding of what you’re going through. If you’re feeling lonely, pick up the phone and make a call.

T for tired. When we’re tired, we feel overwhelmed, irritable, and exhausted. Even the smallest task can seem impossible. It’s important we take care of ourselves and look out for our health. Get a good nights sleep. Meditate on a regular basis. Take a nap if it’s possible. It’s not selfish to take a break for yourself, it’s necessary.

When you feel hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, it’s time to stop, and take care of yourself. Make sure you’re giving your mind and body what it needs. If you are self medicating through drugs and alcohol, checking into our Colorado based substance abuse treatment center is a great idea. Harmony Foundation is a safe place where you can find recovery and learn to live a healthy life free from addiction.

Alcohol and Regret: CO Woman Arrested 3 Times in 1 Week for DUI

Posted on by Christy Weeks
We all know that alcohol lowers inhibitions. Young adults and college students are often warned of this when they become of legal drinking age. They are urged to drink responsibly so they don’t engage in irresponsible behaviors. 

Despite warnings, many have experiences where their inhibitions were lowered and they are filled with regret and/or shame. A regrettable night of drinking doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem with alcohol. However several regrettable experiences may point to a problem.

This is often referred to as the “built in forgetter” – when someone is faced with the decision to drink or have another drink they forget their previous regrettable experiences that resulted from drinking, With the problem drinker, this happens over and over. This was certainly the case with a Colorado woman who was arrested three times last week for drunk driving.

The 40-year-old mother, Kimberly Micheloni, was arrested on May 13th, 14th and 20th for drunk driving and is currently being held at the Douglass County Detention Center on 225K bail. She remorsefully stated “I am so sorry and if I hurt anyone it was wrong, it was just wrong.”

However, she also blamed it on medication, saying her reckless decision making may have been because she was on prescription medication at the time of her arrests. In addition to the DUI charges, she is being charged for child abuse because a child was in her car at the time of her first arrest. Why she wasn’t put in jail during the first or second arrest is still in question.

For those that have negative experiences as a result of drinking, there is usually one major experience that pushes them to seek addiction treatment. This is often referred to as their “bottom.” Thankfully Micheloni didn’t hurt anyone while driving under the influence, and hopefully the three arrests will be her bottom.

Here is an interview with her at the Douglass County Detention Center ….

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Fox News Anchor Greg Jarrett’s Public Arrest

Posted on by Christy Weeks

When public figures get arrested in public, it becomes very, well, publicly known.

By now, most have heard that Greg Jarrett the Fox News anchor was arrested yesterday at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. He was reportedly intoxicated and disturbing the peace at the Northern Lights Grill – an airport bar inside the main terminal. Minneapolis police responded to a complaint that Jarrett was drunk, belligerent and refusing to follow orders. Police detained him at the Hennepin County Jail that night, charging him with obstructing the legal process and interfering with a peace officer. This occurred just a week after he took a leave of absence from Fox News, for “personal reasons.”

Jarrett has been the weekend co-anchor for Fox News since 2002, but this role may be on shaky ground, as a Fox News spokesperson released a statement saying “We were made aware late last night that Gregg Jarrett was arrested in Minneapolis yesterday and charged with a misdemeanor,” and that, “He is dealing with serious personal issues at this time. A date at which Gregg might return to air has yet to be determined.”

The shame and guilt from acting out of character while intoxicated impacts many, this is likely compounded when it is in the public eye and impacts one’s professional and public reputation.

At Harmony Foundation a component of our alcoholism and drug addiction treatment is helping people through the guilt and shame they have from regretful actions while under the influence. We also treat professionals who are able to return to work after working on themselves and the root causes of their addiction.

9 DUI Fatalities over Labor Day in Colorado

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Photo via CDOT

Back in January, Harmony Foundation wrote a blog about the number of impaired driving arrests over the New Year. We hoped that that news of arrests would’ve served as a deterrent throughout the state, but it seems numbers were even higher during the recent Labor Day enforcement period between August 16th and September 3rd.

During this time period, known to be a heavy party time as people say goodbye to summer, there were a total of 1,342 arrests and 9 impaired driving related deaths. This was reported by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado State Police who have joined together to create a campaign called The Heat is On to crackdown on drunk driving.

According to the Director of the Office of Transportation Safety at CDOT, Darrell Lingk, “The Labor Day crackdown is one of the annual enforcement periods where we see significant increases in impaired driving arrests.” The increase in arrests was possible through the collaboration of 100 law enforcement agengies and extra enforcement workers on the beat looking for impaired drivers.

The Heat is On campaign also turned the classic “don’t drink and drive” slogan on its head and created the tagline “Drink, and don’t drive” to grab the attention of Coloradans in August via mobile billboards that were poised in populated places like Colorado Rockies games and Tour de Fat in Forte Collins. In addition, they implemented the Interactive Urinal Communicator at select bars that encouraged men at the urinal (in a 15 second automated message) to take a taxi over driving impaired.

The campaign is set to continue with the same extra assertion of efforts and enforcement during 12 time periods throughout the year. The next vamp up is scheduled for the Holiday Season. Unfortunately the arrests and the innovative campaign strategies weren’t enough to prevent the tragic 9  DUI related fatalities. Harmony Foundation gives our condolences as our hearts go out to the victims and their friends and families.

As we stated in January, we support all statewide efforts to crackdown on driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs – including marijuana and prescription medications. In our addiction treatment practice we find that a large percentage of those arrested for DUI have underlying alcohol or drug dependency issues that we effectively treat here at Harmony Foundation. We encourage those who have been arrested or those likely to be arrested for DUI to seek treatment to help themselves, and the public writ large, stay safe.

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Men and Women Have Different Triggers

Posted on by Christy Weeks
What Triggers You? Photo Via

A recent study published in the Scientific American showed that alcoholic men and women relapse for different reasons.

It is common knowledge that relapse rates are high for those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. That is why addiction treatment programs work with clients on relapse prevention before they leave treatment.

John Kelly and Bettina Hoeppner with Massachusetts General Hospital collected and assessed data that revealed new insights for relapse prevention. For 15 months they looked at the social networks and drinking habits of 1,726 members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They presented them with hypotheticals and asked them how confident they were in their ability to stay sober if those situations happened.

They found that male alcoholics are at greatest risk of relapse when they are in social situations where others are drinking. AA helps them stay sober by being around non-drinking friends. After some time in recovery with fellow members of AA, they learn coping skills to handle situations where friends or colleagues are drinking around them socially. The classic depiction of men bonding in business or personal life over a glass of whiskey seems to be all too triggering for men.

Kelly and Hoeppner found that women alcoholics are at greatest risk for relapse when they feel strong emotions. When they are feeling depressed or anxious, fellow female AA members can help them recognize that they can have emotions, but they don’t have to react to them by picking up a drink.

While in alcoholism treatment, clients often identify their own relapse triggers – be it business dinners, breakups or celebrations. Those in early recovery are cautioned to avoid those situations because the integrity of their recovery should come first. Clients also have opportunities to play out the triggering situations in an individual or group therapeutic setting while in treatment. They can role-play how they would react to identified triggers by utilizing the new tools they learned in recovery. Over time when they are strong in their recovery they can handle triggering situations with grace.

What are your triggers? How do you handle them?

 

Incomprehensible Demoralization from Alcohol Abuse

Posted on by Christy Weeks

There is a common phrase thrown around by those in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse that describes a sentiment while they were using: incomprehensible demoralization. While this phrase is applied to thousands of diverse stories and situations, the feeling is the same. Most in recovery can attest to their moments of incomprehensible demoralization.

Recently this sentiment was in the public eye with news stories about people getting drunk, doing very regretful things and woefully apologizing afterwards. Some of the things they did while intoxicated disrupted their careers and reputations with a swift and lasting effect that only serves to reinforce the sentiment of incomprehensible demoralization.

The first popular story occurred about a month ago when Reese Witherspoon’s husband got pulled over for drunk driving in Atlanta. Reese was caught on camera on the side of the road talking back to the police. In an aggressive and boastful tone she asked and asserted, “you don’t need to know my name?!….Well, you are about to find out who I am!” She acted as if being famous exempted her from being treated normally – or in her case – handcuffed and arrested.

Overnight her reputation went from being the sweet girl next door to being egotistically irresponsible and rude. Days later she publically apologized and soberly knew that the police were “just doing their job.” The harsh reality is that what she did while drunk had no bearing on who she really is as a person. It is because of regretful drunk actions like this that people experience demoralization. Often what people do while drunk is far different what their normal selves would dictate – which consequently is also a telltale sign of a problem with alcohol.

In another incident last week, an Eco-Tourism Field Guide named Brian Masters, who had dedicated his education and life to garner that line of work, lost his job. This happened after a video went viral of him charging at an elephant while drunk as his friends recorded him. Now “the guide involved in the confrontation is no longer employed by Singita and further disciplinary procedures are in progress with regard to others involved,” according to a post on the group’s Facebook page. Singita describes the video as “disturbing,” and say the elephant was “extremely agitated by the confrontation and retreated into the bush.”

In response to the event, Masters said “I admit full responsibility for the actions and am deeply, deeply remorseful…There has been a lot of baying for blood and a campaign to name and shame so here I am. I am so sorry this happened and I wish I could undo the stupidity of the act but I can’t; all I can do is apologize and hope people can see the sincerity I am trying to convey.” As aforementioned, although others may not relate to the story specifically, the sentiment is exactly the same. In short, Witherspoon and Masters likely feel the same exact way about themselves although their stories bear no resemblance.

These incidents depicted in the videos below show the destruction that even one night of alcohol abuse can cause. They show how character-changing alcohol can be and how it can cause deep regret. Luckily the demoralization eventually fades, especially after a sound apology as they have made and self forgiveness kicks in.

College Students are now Using Alcohol Enemas

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Over the past few weeks “alcohol enemas” have received wide media attention following an incident at the University of Tennessee involving a fraternity student. The student was in critical condition (but has since been released) last weekend with a blood alcohol level of 0.40, which is five times the legal limit and can result in death by alcohol poisoning.

According to the Knoxville, TN Police Spokesman Darrell DeBusk, “Upon extensive questioning, it is believed that members of the fraternity were using rubber tubing inserted into their rectums as a conduit for alcohol as the abundance of capillaries and blood vessels present greatly heightens the level and speed of the alcohol entering the bloodstream as it bypasses the filtering by the liver.”

As often seen with substance abuse, the tolerance level  for the substance increases and abusers attempt to get their high through a faster mechanism. The slowest administration is through oral ingestion and the fastest is through intravenous transmission. The alcohol enema serves just like an IV, as it goes directly through to the blood stream. According to Aaron White from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) the use of enemas “makes it all the more dangerous, because your body can’t reject the toxin &hellipsis; When you do it rectally you may still throw up, but there’s nothing to throw up here. It’s kind of like a point of no return once you put it in there that way.”

Alcohol enemas were otherwise unknown to many, including the Chancellor of Student Life at UT who said, “Shock would be an overstatement … I myself have never heard of what has been alleged.” Although alcohol enemas may be unheard of, the general problem of underage drinking is well known across college campuses throughout the US. It is estimated that 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 experience alcohol related deaths, according to the NIAAA. These deaths can include alcohol poisoning or injuries such as car accidents or falls.

What can start out as casual drinking for your adults can soon turn into alcohol abuse and dependence with dangerous consequences. Harmony Foundation has seen this within its own admissions – with an increase in young adults from across the US, both in and out of college, who have suffered the negative and often unintended consequences of alcohol abuse.

If you or a loved one suffers from substance abuse, Harmony foundation can help through our addiction treatment programs and our specialized treatment tracks for men, women, and college age young adults.

Test Could Predict Future Alcoholism

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Colorado Alcoholism Treatment
Am I an Alcoholic?

Would a test that can predict alcoholism and relapse tendencies prevent youngsters from trying out drinking? There have been numerous studies conducted on the genetic predisposition toward alcoholism – most of which say that if one of your parents is an alcoholic, you may become one, if both parents and most of your lineage are alcoholics, you will probably become one. Despite this knowledge, people at risk still chose to try out drinking – walk into any 12 step meeting and you will hear variations on the same theme, “both of my parents were alcoholics” which suggests learned behavior and nurture vs. nature, but another common story is “both of my parents met in AA and were sober my whole life” which speaks to the natural genetic predispositon vs. nurture.


Despite the self-knowledge of a potential genetic predisposition, many still test the waters, but some think this may change if a test showed those at risk hard evidence. An article published this week in Nature Neuroscience showed that a behavioral test may be able to do just that – give hard evidence on who may have trouble with alcoholism and chronic relapse. Jane Taylor, a professor at Yale School of Medicine says, “What is encouraging about this study is that we have identified both a behavioral indicator and a molecule that explains that risk.”

The behavioral indicator showed that the same mice who reacted to a certain food cue also exhibited alcoholic tendencies. The Yale researchers also found that the mice that showed alcoholic tendencies had greater brain plasticity as measured by levels of the molecule PSA-NCAM. Mice with low levels of this molecule had less of an ability to control their alcohol seeking behavior whereas those with greater PSA-NCAM were more flexible in their behaviors around rewards. “This would make sense since alcoholism is associated with a lack of neurobiological and behavioral plasticity,” Taylor says. “The brains of alcoholics seem to get stuck in the same patterns of activity.”

If the testing of PSA-NCAM becomes available to the public, it would be interesting to see if it would serve as real prevention tool for those who know they have less ability to control their alcohol consumption and more of a likelihood of relapsing even if they did stop. So far, the self-knowledge that one may have a genetic pre-disposition prevents some from testing the assumption, but not all.

If you or a loved one suffers from alcoholism or relapse, our Colorado alcohol treatment program and relapse program can help.