We Restore Hope -

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn. ~David Russell

Traffic was unbearable, work was stressful, and the boss was unreasonable. But the minute you arrive home, your dog wags his tail and licks your face, and your spirits change for the better.

It is not a coincidence that psychologists, veterinarians and researchers agree that pets are good for our mental and physical health. A pet can’t cure symptoms of depression, nor is a dog or cat a substitute for medication or therapy. But a pet can help to improve mild or moderate depression in many people. It can also help improve sleep and overall health.

Pets offer psychological and physical comfort. They give unconditional love and relieves loneliness. Depression and loneliness are often concurrent problems as people withdraw from everyday life. “For many people, pets are the only relatives they have,” said Alan Entin, PhD., a psychologist in Richmond, Virginia. “People with animals tend to relate to them and they feel better,” Entin said.

Having a pet takes the focus off the owner’s problems, Entin says, since having a dog or cat is a commitment you need to feed and care for the pet. “When people have a pet in the house, it forces them to take care of another life,” Entin said. With the focus outward, the pet owner may not dwell on their depressed mood as much as someone without a furry friend in their home.

Don’t be yourself – be someone a little nicer. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966
Traffic was unbearable, work was stressful, and the boss was unreasonable. But the minute you arrive home, your dog wags his tail and licks your face, and your spirits change for the better.

It is not a coincidence that psychologists, veterinarians and researchers agree that pets are good for our mental and physical health. A pet can’t cure symptoms of depression, nor is a dog or cat a substitute for medication or therapy. But a pet can help to improve mild or moderate depression in many people. It can also help improve sleep and overall health.

Pets offer psychological and physical comfort. They give unconditional love and relieves loneliness. Depression and loneliness are often concurrent problems as people withdraw from everyday life. “For many people, pets are the only relatives they have,” said Alan Entin, PhD., a psychologist in Richmond, Virginia. “People with animals tend to relate to them and they feel better,” Entin said.

Having a pet takes the focus off the owner’s problems, Entin says, since having a dog or cat is a commitment you need to feed and care for the pet. “When people have a pet in the house, it forces them to take care of another life,” Entin said. With the focus outward, the pet owner may not dwell on their depressed mood as much as someone without a furry friend in their home.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t. ~Erica Jong, How to Save Your Own Life, 1977

The power of music is strong. The effects of happiness – or things that make us happy – on our hearts has been the focus of Dr. Mike Miller, a research cardiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. After discovering that laughter opened up blood vessels, allowing improved circulation, Miller turned his research to music and its beneficial effects on health.

“Turns out music may be one of the best de-stressors – either by playing or even listening to music,” said Miller.

The results were not a surprise to Miller. “The inner lining of the blood vessel relaxed, opened up and produced chemicals that are protective to the heart,” he said. Long-term stress can be hazardous to the cardiovascular system. Over time, stress can cause blood vessels to stiffen and become rigid, constricting blood flow to the heart and lungs. Stress can also suppress the immune system, contribute to infertility and impotence, speed the aging process and rewire the brain, leaving more people vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Music can counter the effects of stress. “It gives us an overall feeling of good, well-being – a sense of euphoria in some cases,” Miller said.

There is a caveat to the benefit of music. Vary your tunes. Miller found that repeatedly listening to the same song diminished the positive effects. “You just don’t get that boost if you listen to the same song over and over again. You need to vary your songs so when you hear the song fresh, it brings back the sense of joy and opens up the system.”

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to. ~John Ed Pearce

Alcohol poisoning is a serious and often deadly consequence of consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Drinking too much too quickly – binge drinking – can affect your breathing, heart rate and gag reflex and potentially lead to coma and death.

Binge drinking – rapidly downing 5 of more drinks in a row – is the main cause of alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning can also occur when you accidentally ingest household products that contain alcohol. A person with alcohol poisoning needs immediate medical attention.

Treatment for alcohol poisoning is providing breathing support and intravenous fluids and vitamins until the alcohol is completely eliminated from the body.

Believe it and you’ll see it. Know it and you’ll be it!

Wayne Dyer

A drug commonly used to treat alcohol and drug addiction may help curb the urge to steal, according to a research study.

The researchers found that the drug naltrexone helped take away the “thrill” that drives some people to steal. “It gets rid of that rush and desire,” said Dr. Jon Grant, of the University of Minnesota, who led the study.

“The difference in their behavior was significant, and these people were really troubled by their behavior,” he said.

In the Journal of Biological Psychiatry, Grant and his colleagues said they tested 25 patients for two months who said they spent at least one hour a week stealing. Those who took naltrexone responded significantly less stealing behavior compared to those given a placebo pill.

Naltrexone is sold under the brand names Revia and Depade and is approved for use against alcohol and opiate abuse.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland

Drug addiction, which can lead to health and social problems, is a brain disease at its core.

Nerve cells in the brain send and receive messages in the form of electrical impulses through neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitter attaches to a special area on the receiving brain cell called the receptor. The drugs people abuse affects the pleasure center of the brain, increasing dopamine levels, a neurotransmitter that controls movement, emotion, perception, motivation and pleasure.

When drugs stimulate this system – which produces pleasure for natural activities like food and sex – it creates a euphoric state for the drug user, thus continuing the cycle of addiction.

What matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it. ~Ezra Pound

A recent clinical trial by neuropharmacologists discovered that a drug called topiramate is an effective therapeutic medication for reducing heavy drinking and lessening the physical, psychological and social harm caused by alcohol dependence.

The drug works by blocking the right amount of dopamine, making drinking less enjoyable and reducing alcohol cravings. It can ultimately stop heavy, binge drinking. Topiramate has other health benefits. The clinical trial found it lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Alcoholism affects more than 17 million people in the United States.

Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well. ~Marcus Valerius Martial

If more doctors starting asking questions, would more people confess to get help?

This is the question many physicians are asking. Although half of emergency room visits involve illegal drugs or alcohol, doctors usually don’t ask about drug or alcohol use.

“It makes no sense whatsoever,” says Dr. Gail D’Onofrio, emergency medicine chief at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. Dr. D’Onofrio is teaching new doctors to break that chain of silence.

A new program from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) hopes to help workers past the social stigma and see that more patients are asked for simple clues to addiction at every visit – not just in the ER, but every time they see a doctor.

The goal is to get substance abuse treatment for more of the estimated 23 million Americans that are struggling with addiction. Only about 2 million Americans currently get treatment, according to NIDA.

It would be better to identify abuse early when the program is beginning and medical intervention may help before the problem gets worse.

Studies show that people with growing abuse problems see the doctor more often with injuries and health problems like high blood pressure and liver disease.

The key is to earn a patient’s trust and not be judgemental. That is crucial to getting patients to open up to a doctor about their addiction. All medical information disclosed to a doctor is confidential.

“We’re not the police,” says D’Onofrio.

Life shouldn’t be printed on dollar bills. ~Clifford Odets

A new study suggests that cocaine harms or even kills the brain cells that trigger the “high” that cocaine users feel.

The first-ever direct discovery of cocaine-induced damage to key cells in the human brain’s dopamine “pleasure center” may help explain many aspects of cocaine addiction, and perhaps aid the development of anti-addiction drugs. It also could help scientists understand other disorders involving the same brain cells, including depression and Parkinson’s disease.

The results are from research of cadaver brain tissue samples from cocaine abusers and control subjects. The study was performed at the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. The study appeared in the January issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The study gives the most conclusive evidence yet that dopamine neurons are damaged by cocaine use, because it measures three molecular factors that assess dopamine neuron health.

Passion makes the world go round. Love just makes it a safer place. ~Ice T, The Ice Opinion

It usually begins with wanting to get a good night’s sleep. You try warm milk or tea before bed. Nothing works. You are left with a choice – continue not getting sleep, which can affect daily life, or take a pill that will guarantee a restful night’s sleep.

Ambien is a drug that can be easily obtained without a prescription. It is to be used, at most, for two weeks, though doctors recommend use for a few days. The effects of the drug are immediate, putting one to sleep in approximately 15 minutes.

What is considered abuse? Taking more than the recommended dose (over 10 milligrams) for a few weeks builds the body’s tolerance, causing a need to take more to get the same result. Like most drugs, when combined with other substances, like alcohol, there is an intensified effect. When Ambien abuse happens, people take it orally, crush and snort it, or cook it and inject it intravenously.

Ambien has become popular among recreational drug users. Users often say that they get high by fighting the effects of the drug – by not allowing the body to sleep which create unusual effects and an overall high. For some people, resisting the sedative effects helps them to feel the euphoria more than sedation. Some have lessened anxiety and perceptual changes, auditory and visual distortions and even hallucinations.