When does it stop being a party and start becoming a problem? Is there a way to steer clear of addiction?
Every Wednesday, Mike McGowan explores substance use disorders with expert guests.
Episodes
Don’t Punish the Pain
Anyone who has experienced chronic pain or has had a serious injury or surgery knows there is a role for pain-killing drugs. We’ve also all heard that those drugs can be dangerous when taken recreationally or incorrectly. Claudia Merandi discusses the important role opioids play in treating patient pain and the campaign to limit or eliminate those necessary drugs. Claudia Merandi is a former court reporter/owner of Merandi Court Reporting and is the founder and Executive Director of The Doctor Patient Forum and Don’t Punish Pain Rally Organization. She is a patient advocate. Claudia and her organization can be reached at https://www.thedoctorpatientforum.com
Resilient, Primed and Purposeful
Alcohol is such an integral part of our culture that deciding to stop drinking carries its own stigma…and benefits! Gabriella Flax talks about her decision to stop drinking and the physical and mental health benefits that being alcohol-free brought. Gabriela is a graduate of the University of St. Andrews and the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a stress reduction coach whose goal, as she says, is to “help burnt out people become resilient people.” Her contact information can be accessed at https://therppmethod.lpages.
We See You!
Men, young men in particular, make up the largest substance using demographic. Jim Scarpace talks about the baggage that comes with the cultural expectation of excessive use and how to break through the isolation that comes with the disease of Substance Use Disorders. Jim Scarpace is the Chief Clinical Officer at Gateway Foundation, one of the nation’s largest providers of behavioral health services for clients diagnosed with co-occurring mental health disorders. Jim has over 25 years in administration, operations, and the treatment of mental health, substance use disorders, and criminal justice programs. He is also an assistant professor of Clinical Psychology at Benedictine University. Gateway Foundation offers a full continuum of care across a wide range of clinical settings and can be contacted at their 24-hour hotline 855-925-GATE (4283) or at www.gatewayfoundation.org.
Collateral Damage
Have you ever loved someone with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and felt completely alone? As a mother of a daughter with SUD, it’s a question Brandi Mac asks regularly. Brandi talks about what she has experienced and the changes she made in order to start meeting her daughter where she is while in active substance use. Brandi, her blog, her guide, Doing What You Can Live With, her social media, and her contact information can be accessed at https://bio.site/BrandiMac.
While You Were Out
What happens when mental illness intersects with substance abuse in a culture of silence? While You Were Out, a New York Times Editors Choice book by award-winning journalist Meg Kissinger, is a searing memoir of a family besieged by mental illness, as well as an incisive exploration of the systems that failed them and a testament to the love that sustained them. Meg is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and has won dozens of accolades, including two George Polk Awards, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and two National Journalism Awards. Ms. Kissinger teaches investigative reporting at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a visiting professor at DePauw University, her alma mater. Meg’s work and contact information can be accessed at https://www.megkissinger.com
No Choice At All
K.J. Aiello is a Canadian who describes herself as a mentally ill writer. It is, she says, who she is. Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law, which first came into effect in 2016, is scheduled to be expanded in March of 2024 to give access to people whose sole medical condition is mental illness, which can include substance use disorders. K.J. discusses the implications of the proposed change and the obstacles to getting assessment and treatment for mental illness. To make end of life decisions just based on how insufferable mental illness can be without taking into account all the pieces of a very large, complicated life puzzle, K.J. says, doesn’t seem like a choice at all. Not everyone is served by the mental health and substance abuse system equally. K.J. is a Toronto-based mentally ill writer whose work includes essays, op-eds, and a soon to be released non-fiction book titled The Monster and the Mirror which explores the intersection of speculative fiction and mental illness. K.J. and her work can be accessed at https://www.kjaiello.ca
#1 Isn’t Always A Good Thing
When a culture submerged in alcohol consumption and sales comes out as a leader in excessive use among women and adolescents, it should surprise no one. Guida Brown talks about the latest studies showing Wisconsin among the nation’s leaders in alcohol consumption and excessive drinking and the mental health issues that correspond to that usage. Guida is a Community Relations Consultant with United States Drug Testing Laboratories. She also is an Adjunct Faculty member with Concordia University-Wisconsin and an accomplished writer. Her blog article “#1 Isn’t Always A Good Thing” can be read here: https://4csofaddiction.com/ and Guida can be reached at [email protected].
Into The Desert?
Is weed addictive? That’s the question Walter Hendrickson asked himself as he began a thirty-day quest to stop smoking cannabis after nine years of daily use. Walter chronicled his journey daily on his TikTok account and first joined us on day six. We catch up with him here after 51 days to see how it all went. Walter talks about the discoveries, the temptations, the revelations, and the joy of the quest. Walter’s TikTok can be followed here, https://www.tiktok.com/@walterooski?_t=8gI2xTdG4vz&_r=1. His YouTube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=walterooski
Mental Health Support: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime
Mental health crisis doesn’t happen on a schedule or in a therapist’s office. Amber Heil talks about the work of the Milwaukee Mobile Crisis Team, a community-based intervention model that focuses less on psychiatric inpatient admissions and emergency room visits and more on bringing services to the individual in need. Amber is a Master-degreed Social Worker and a licensed Advanced Practice Social Worker. If you need help in the Milwaukee area, the Crisis number is (414) 257-7222. To learn more about the Milwaukee Mobile Crisis Team or to apply, go to, https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/DHHS/BHD/Mobile-Crisis-Recruitment
The Mommy Wine Culture
Mommy Wine Culture is the pervasive message that alcohol helps women survive motherhood. That message couldn’t be more flawed and destructive. Celeste Yvonne pulls back the veil on what’s really plaguing mothers and discusses her new book, It’s Not about the Wine. Celeste Yvonne is a writer and certified sober coach with over twenty years of experience as a communications professional in corporate America. Her essays on parenting, the mental load of motherhood, mommy wine culture, and sobriety resonate with mothers everywhere and have been featured in the Washington Post and on Good Morning America, Today Show, and Refinery 29, among others. She is also a contributing writer to the Wall Street Journal’s and Publishers Weekly bestseller, So God Made a Mother. As Celeste says in her book, “Alcohol is not the answer; it actually keeps us from being present during this precious time of motherhood.” Celeste’s book and her other works can be accessed at https://www.celesteyvonne.com
