Category: Substance Abuse

As suicides rise in Wisconsin and across the U.S., our ‘wounded healers’ are more important than ever

THEY ARE THE COUNSELORS AND SOCIAL WORKERS OFTEN BEST ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE RECOVER BECAUSE THEY’VE BEEN THERE THEMSELVES.

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or text “Hopeline” to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

From China to Europe, from India to South America, average suicide rates around the world have fallen 33 percent since 1990.

Not in the United States. American suicide rates are at their highest levels since World War II, making suicide the second leading cause of death between ages 10-34, government data show.

The increase in suicides, combined with record levels of drug overdoses and alcohol-related fatalities, are so extreme that they’re lowering the life expectancy of the average American. Mental health problems disable more American workers than any other affliction — suburban, rural or urban — and caregiver burnout and compassion fatigue are epidemic.  more

World Bipolar Day: “Awareness needs to be raised in society about our disorder”

Marked each year on March 30, World Bipolar Day (WBD) is a world-wide awareness initiative that aims to encourage global education, open discussion, as well as improving sensitivity surrounding bipolar disorder.

As many as 1% to 2% of the British population experience bipolar through their lives and recent research suggested as many as 5% are on the bipolar spectrum.

A severe mental health illness characterised by significant mood swings including manic highs and depressive lows, the majority of individuals with bipolar experience alternating episodes of mania and depression.  more

In 1969 the fifth Beatle was heroin: John Lennon’s addiction took its toll on the band

In early 1969, the faces of heroin addiction for Paul, George and Ringo were John and Yoko

Fifty years ago, the Beatles entered their final year as a working rock ’n’ roll band. And in the ensuing decades, the reasons for their eventual disbandment have been debated ad nauseam. Was it Yoko Ono’s constant presence in the studio? Paul McCartney’s increasingly controlling nature? John Lennon’s rage to break free of the partnership that he had brokered with McCartney after their meeting in a Liverpool churchyard in July 1957? Or simply Ringo Starr’s apathy or George Harrison’s need to strike out on his own and fulfill his promise as a songwriter in his own right?

In truth, although each of the above was a contributing factor, by January 1969 a much darker force had made its presence known in their world. During that fateful year, the Beatles suffered, as so many families do today, from the daily pain and bewilderment of an opioid addiction.  more

Cybersecurity Mental Health Warning — 1 In 6 CISOs Now Medicate Or Use Alcohol

A new global study of cybersecurity professionals has revealed the true extent to which the stresses and pressures facing the average CISO impact upon both professional and personal life. It should come as no surprise that stress is part of the job description for the CISO, and every one of the 408 questioned for the Life Inside the Perimeter: Understanding the Modern CISO report, commissioned by Nominet, said they were indeed experiencing stress. However, that 17% said that they had turned to medication or alcohol to help deal with that stress should be a statistic that shocks us all.

Stress is undoubtedly playing a part as far as the decline in the mental health of the modern CISO is concerned; 91% of the CISOs surveyed said the levels of stress they were suffering was moderate or high and 60% rarely disconnected from their work role. That 88% worked more than 40 hours per week isn’t a shocker, nor the 27% that work up to 60 hours, but with 1 in 5 being available 24/7 and 89% of U.S. based CISOs never having had a two week break from their job, the true extent of this disconnect problem becomes clear.  more