Hey guys,
Just wanted to let everyone know a couple of PR things:
A very short version of my recovery journey is on the Equinox Fitness website as one of their featured "Life Stories," click here to see it!
And on Monday, July 27th, I'll be appearing on the Afflicted and Affected podcast, talking about my personal experience in recovery as well as my experience working in the field. Check it out here.
I'll be at the Santa Barbara Addiction Treatment Consortium this week, stay tuned for details as I'll be live blogging and Twittering from the event.
Here's a good video from the National Geographic Channel on heroin addicts:
As always, follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn and become a fan of the blog on Facebook. See you this week.
Showing posts with label addiction exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label addiction exercise. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
When eating disorders strike in mid-life
Eating disorders, especially anorexia and bulimia, are generally classified as a young woman's disease. Now, according to a recent New York Times article, more and more women in their 30s and 40s are developing eating disorders.
“I think the degree of despair we are seeing among adult women about their bodies is unrivaled,” said Margo Maine, co-author of “The Body Myth: Adult Women and the Pressure to Be Perfect” (Wiley, 2005). “Eating disorders creep up during periods of developmental transitions, so the peak had been 13 to 15 and 17 to 19 — moving into adolescence and moving into college. Now, we are seeing them again during or after pregnancy and as women hit other life phases, such as empty nesting.”
“A problem is that friends, and even doctors, get used to seeing someone in their overly skinny state and may not recognize their habits and physique as dangerously unhealthy,” said Dr. David Herzog, the director of the Harris Center for Education and Advocacy in Eating Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also the endowed professor in the field of eating disorders at Harvard Medical School.
WebMD even has a specific section of their website geared towards older women and eating disorders. This is an awareness that is growing among addictions- that these kind of things can strike anyone, anywhere, whether it's drug addiction, eating disorders or other compulsive behaviors. Money, success, fame (see Michael Jackson) or any other factor can't completely shield someone from these terrible diseases. The best we can ask for is awareness and the ability to get help.
What Dr. Herzog said above, about doctors not being able to recognize the behavior, is one of the biggest problems in America. Doctors receive little education around recognizing and treating eating disorders and addiction unless they really ask for it or specialize in it. This leaves an entire generation of doctors on their own, trying to help people in a general practice where these things may go unnoticed for long periods of time. Once again- educate, educate, educate and raise awareness! If you think there's a problem- if you're asking yourself if you drink too much, smoke too much pot, or aren't eating enough, ask for help! There is no shame in getting better. I think that's the biggest stigma in our culture- that somehow living with a huge problem and not getting help, attempting to pull oneself up by the bootstraps if you will, is a better option than asking for help with a major problem. This is something each individual can change for themselves. If you need help, you won't get it if you don't ask.
Miss America Kristen Haglund is involved in eating disorder awareness:
And here's a video on older women and eating disorders from CBS:
Watch CBS Videos Online
Here's something funny.
As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you later this week.
“I think the degree of despair we are seeing among adult women about their bodies is unrivaled,” said Margo Maine, co-author of “The Body Myth: Adult Women and the Pressure to Be Perfect” (Wiley, 2005). “Eating disorders creep up during periods of developmental transitions, so the peak had been 13 to 15 and 17 to 19 — moving into adolescence and moving into college. Now, we are seeing them again during or after pregnancy and as women hit other life phases, such as empty nesting.”
“A problem is that friends, and even doctors, get used to seeing someone in their overly skinny state and may not recognize their habits and physique as dangerously unhealthy,” said Dr. David Herzog, the director of the Harris Center for Education and Advocacy in Eating Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also the endowed professor in the field of eating disorders at Harvard Medical School.
WebMD even has a specific section of their website geared towards older women and eating disorders. This is an awareness that is growing among addictions- that these kind of things can strike anyone, anywhere, whether it's drug addiction, eating disorders or other compulsive behaviors. Money, success, fame (see Michael Jackson) or any other factor can't completely shield someone from these terrible diseases. The best we can ask for is awareness and the ability to get help.
What Dr. Herzog said above, about doctors not being able to recognize the behavior, is one of the biggest problems in America. Doctors receive little education around recognizing and treating eating disorders and addiction unless they really ask for it or specialize in it. This leaves an entire generation of doctors on their own, trying to help people in a general practice where these things may go unnoticed for long periods of time. Once again- educate, educate, educate and raise awareness! If you think there's a problem- if you're asking yourself if you drink too much, smoke too much pot, or aren't eating enough, ask for help! There is no shame in getting better. I think that's the biggest stigma in our culture- that somehow living with a huge problem and not getting help, attempting to pull oneself up by the bootstraps if you will, is a better option than asking for help with a major problem. This is something each individual can change for themselves. If you need help, you won't get it if you don't ask.
Miss America Kristen Haglund is involved in eating disorder awareness:
And here's a video on older women and eating disorders from CBS:
Watch CBS Videos Online
Here's something funny.
As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you later this week.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Exercise and Substance Abuse Prevention
Don't know how I missed this in my previous post about exercise and recovery, but there have been some articles published about the effectiveness of exercise and sports as actual deterrents to substance abuse. About a year ago, the Associated Press posted an article about exercise as a prevention tool. The National Institute on Drug Abuse received a $4 million grant to explore this further. "Exercise has been shown to be beneficial in so many areas of physical and mental health," said Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director. "This cross-disciplinary meeting is designed to get scientists thinking creatively about its potential role in substance abuse prevention."
There has been other research: Brown University took smokers to the gym three times a week and found adding the exercise to a smoking-cessation program doubled women's chances of successfully kicking the habit. The quitters who worked out got an extra benefit: They gained half as much weight as women who managed to quit without exercising, says lead researcher Dr. Bess Marcus.
''Exercise improves blood flow to the brain, it helps the body detoxify, it puts you on a better cycle of physical behavior, and it leads to decreased stress. It also improves thinking and mental function and decreases your tendency toward addiction,'' said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internist at New York University Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine in New York City.
For example, ''there's evidence that exercise is maybe the best non-pharmacological antidepressant we have - studies have shown that it works better than some drugs. It's also a great anti-anxiety intervention,'' said James Maddux, a professor of psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and an expert on the mind-body health connection.
I know when I was in treatment, I used exercise as a type of coping tool- gaining a "runner's high" and creating a challenge to complete. I still work out today as a way of keeping my cravings (especially around nicotine!) at bay. Not to mention the fact that working out creates chemical changes in our mind and body to make us feel better and happier. I know my mood has improved since I started working out more often. For now, let's list exercise as a tool in a toolkit for fighting addiction- it's not the end-all/be-all, but it's another way to encourage this next generation to avoid the pitfalls of addiction.
If you're looking for a great blog about exercise, staying in shape and diet advice, check out Move Ur Body- great content and advice here. Be sure to check out Phoenix Multisport, a group in Boulder, CO who uses exercise as a recovery tool. And Sober Living By The Sea, where I work, provides physical activity to their patients as an ongoing part of treatment.
Here's a great video about Todd Crandell of Racing For Recovery, an individual who used triathlons to help defeat his own addiction:
And Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care program for men who have been through multiple addiction treatments, does expeditions every year. Here's a video of their winter expedition:
As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you later.
There has been other research: Brown University took smokers to the gym three times a week and found adding the exercise to a smoking-cessation program doubled women's chances of successfully kicking the habit. The quitters who worked out got an extra benefit: They gained half as much weight as women who managed to quit without exercising, says lead researcher Dr. Bess Marcus.
''Exercise improves blood flow to the brain, it helps the body detoxify, it puts you on a better cycle of physical behavior, and it leads to decreased stress. It also improves thinking and mental function and decreases your tendency toward addiction,'' said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internist at New York University Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine in New York City.
For example, ''there's evidence that exercise is maybe the best non-pharmacological antidepressant we have - studies have shown that it works better than some drugs. It's also a great anti-anxiety intervention,'' said James Maddux, a professor of psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and an expert on the mind-body health connection.
I know when I was in treatment, I used exercise as a type of coping tool- gaining a "runner's high" and creating a challenge to complete. I still work out today as a way of keeping my cravings (especially around nicotine!) at bay. Not to mention the fact that working out creates chemical changes in our mind and body to make us feel better and happier. I know my mood has improved since I started working out more often. For now, let's list exercise as a tool in a toolkit for fighting addiction- it's not the end-all/be-all, but it's another way to encourage this next generation to avoid the pitfalls of addiction.
If you're looking for a great blog about exercise, staying in shape and diet advice, check out Move Ur Body- great content and advice here. Be sure to check out Phoenix Multisport, a group in Boulder, CO who uses exercise as a recovery tool. And Sober Living By The Sea, where I work, provides physical activity to their patients as an ongoing part of treatment.
Here's a great video about Todd Crandell of Racing For Recovery, an individual who used triathlons to help defeat his own addiction:
And Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care program for men who have been through multiple addiction treatments, does expeditions every year. Here's a video of their winter expedition:
As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you later.
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