Treating Substance Abuse in People with Severe Mental Illness Can Reduce Violent Acts

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 8th, 2014/

Treating substance abuse issues in a person with severe mental illness will reduce the risk they will commit violent acts, a new study suggests. Health professionals have disagreed about whether to treat substance abuse or mental illness first in people who are dealing with both.

While most people with mental illness are not violent, those who have severe mental illness are more likely than those in the general population to commit violent acts, HealthDayreports.

“We were surprised to find that the severity of the patient’s psychiatric symptoms was not the primary factor in predicting later aggression. Rather, the patient’s substance abuse was the factor most closely associated with future aggression,” study co-author Clara Bradizza of the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions said in a university news release.

The study included 278 patients, who were followed for six months after enrolling in an outpatient treatment program for substance abuse and mental illness.

“Our findings suggest that treatment attendance is very important for these individuals and treatment programs should include interventions that are likely to decrease substance abuse, as this may provide the additional benefit of reducing the risk of later aggression among dual-diagnosis patients,” Bradizza said.

The findings appear in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.

FDA Officials: Zohydro Approval Warranted

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 8th, 2014/

After a group of activists called on the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to quit over the approval of the painkiller Zohydro, three FDA officials say the drug’s approval was warranted.

The officials say it is misguided to advocate for restricting the use of one opioid, instead of addressing the underlying issue of widespread abuse and inappropriate prescribing, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Last month, a coalition called FedUp! called on FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg to quit. The coalition, comprised of doctors, addiction specialists and family members who have lost loved ones to prescription drug overdoses, criticized Hamburg’s defense of the FDA’s decision to approve Zohydro ER, a pure hydrocodone drug. Zohydro was approved for patients with pain that requires daily, around-the-clock, long-term treatment that cannot be treated with other drugs. In December 2012, a panel of experts assembled by the FDA voted against recommending approval of Zohydro ER. The panel cited concerns over the potential for addiction.

The FDA officials wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “The problem of opioid overdose demands well-informed policies. The actions taken by FDA may help to reverse the epidemic…Policies that focus on a single drug can divert focus from broader, further-reaching interventions… The concerns over Zohydro ER should be seen in the greater context of the opioid epidemic. Singling out one drug for restrictions is not likely to be successful.”

In the opinion piece, the FDA officials say the agency has taken steps to address the need for painkillers with tamper-resistant features. They note that “although this is an appealing policy solution, the science of abuse deterrence is uncertain and evolving… No marketed opioid with purported abuse-deterrence technologies has been shown to deter oral abuse – the most common route – or to reduce addiction or death.”

CALL OUR ADDICTION & COUNSELING HELPLINE: 1-844-543-3242 (1-844-LIFE-CHANGE) Share Tweet Forward   Do you 'Run Away' from Home...Work...Relationships? Tune-In Thursday to Hear Dr. Karl Benzio on Air!   Karl Benzio, M.D. Discusses "Avoidance Behavior" with Dr. Gloria Gay on WEHA 88.7 FM   STATION: WEHA 88.7 FM (Pleasantville, NJ) DATE: Thursday, October 9, 2014 TIME: 9:30 a.m. ET PROGRAM: Hearing Hearts TOPIC: "Avoidance Behavior: Running Away from Home, Work, and Relationships" ONLINE: wehagospel887.com   Check out other media interviews including TV appearances, radio programs, print features and articles here... Lighthouse Network representatives and counselors help those in need navigate the complex health care system and complicated insurance processes, offering expertise to clients to maximize their insurance in order to obtain the best treatment option with minimal out-of-pocket cost. Lighthouse can also help those without insurance find treatment options. Lighthouse Network is a Christian-based, non-profit organization that offers an addiction and mental health counseling helpline providing treatment options and resources to equip people and organizations with the skills necessary to shine God's glory to the world, stand strong on a solid foundation in the storms of their own lives, and provide guidance and safety to others experiencing stormy times, thus impacting their lives, their families and the world. Lighthouse Network offers help through two main service choices: Lighthouse Life Change Helpline (1-844-LIFE-CHANGE, 1-844-543-3242), a 24-hour free, national crisis call center, where specialists (Care Guides) help callers understand and access customized treatment options. Life Growth and self-help training resources for daily life, including online and DVD series and training events to help individuals achieve their potential.     unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences Facebook Twitter Website

October 8 Chp 10 v 17 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

Lord , you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.(Gods Big Book NLT)

STEP 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Are you there yet ? Do you still think in your own perspective ? Are you still denying God ?

If you answered no , yes , and yes then you gotta a problem with pride ! If that's the case then you will remain addicted l;lost and helpless. Good news though , God knows what you hope for and dream about . Once you believe you have to trust and that is gonna be tough especially if your still struggling with active addiction. If you cant give trust then have blind faith and believe God can and will help you get sober. Faith comes by hearing Gods word found in His Big book . Purchase a Tyndale Life Recovery Bible and read a Psalm a day then talk to God and meditate . Like a boxer you have to go into training physical , spiritual , and mental if you want lifetime sobriety . God is in your corner ,Its time to get to work.

1 Timothy 4 :8 For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (Gods Big Book NLV)

By Joseph Dickerson

Heroin Deaths Rise Sharply in Many States: Study

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 7th, 2014/

The death rate from heroin overdoses doubled from 2010 to 2012, according to a new studyfrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Years of over-prescribing of painkillers led to the increase in heroin deaths, the CDC said.

Deaths from heroin rose from 1 to 2.1 deaths per 100,000 people during that period. Deaths from prescription opioid painkillers declined, from 6 to 5.6 deaths per 100,000, Reutersreports. “The rapid rise in heroin overdose deaths follows nearly two decades of increasing drug overdose deaths in the United States, primarily driven by (prescription painkiller) drug overdoses,” the CDC researchers wrote.

They found 75 percent of heroin users in treatment programs who started using heroin after 2000 said they first abused prescription opioids. They switched to heroin because it was easier to get, less expensive and more potent than painkillers. In contrast, more than 80 percent of people who began using heroin in the 1960s said they didn’t start abusing another drug first.

The largest increase in heroin overdose deaths occurred in the Northeast, followed by the South.

“Reducing inappropriate opioid prescribing remains a crucial public health strategy to address both prescription opioid and heroin overdoses,” CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a news release. “Addressing prescription opioid abuse by changing prescribing is likely to prevent heroin use in the long term.”

The CDC is calling for improving access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction and increased use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone.

Many Who Abuse Prescription Opioids Don’t Know How to Respond to Overdose

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 7th, 2014/

Many young adults who abuse prescription opioids are not prepared to deal with an overdose, a new study finds. They tend to think prescription medications are less dangerous than heroin, the researchers say.

“What we found is that when it comes to how to handle an overdose, prescription opioid users who weren’t using drugs for official medical reasons were less savvy than, say, more traditional heroin-using populations,” study author David Frank of the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City told HealthDay. “In fact, they tend to have a pretty severe lack of knowledge and a lot of confusion about it, despite the fact that most have experienced overdoses within their drug-using network.”

Young people who abuse opioids think of themselves as being very different from people who use heroin, Frank said. He conducted in-depth interviews with 46 young adult New Yorkers, ages 18 to 32, who abused prescription painkillers. Almost three-quarters of the participants were white, and half had at least some college education.

The participants tended to see prescription painkillers as relatively harmless medication that was less addictive than heroin, and less likely to cause an overdose. Yet almost all the study participants said they knew someone who had overdosed on painkillers, or had overdosed themselves. The majority did not know about overdose prevention or response options, including the opioid overdose antidote naloxone.

In most cases, participants said when faced with an overdose, they used potentially ineffective methods such as slapping the person or placing them in a cold shower to revive them. Among those who had heard of naloxone, many thought it was expensive or difficult to obtain. In New York state, naloxone is distributed freely, along with training, at most official harm reduction or needle-exchange programs, the researchers noted. Many participants said these programs place too much emphasis on heroin use.

The study appears in the International Journal of Drug Policy.