Testing It Up

Every person is different and, therefore, every person’s addiction is different and needs to be treated in a unique way. It’s this philosophy that guides Cali Estes when she helps recovering addicts as The Addictions Coach.

The Addictions Coach company combines yoga, nutrition and fitness, along with traditional talk therapy, all done at a location of their clients’ choosing. Cali has accompanied clients to high risk situations like weddings, worked ‘on set’ of movies and film productions, worked directly with pro athletes, sat in on business meetings, been ‘on tour’ with musicians and has worked directly in the home of clients for a more intensive ‘rehab’ setting.

Unlike traditional rehabilitation centers that convince the addict that they have a disease that is incurable and they must attend meetings, recite prayers and follow steps, Cali tailors her program to fit each client and says every addict needs not just therapy sessions but also a coach.

“People in addiction need to be held accountable for their actions. That is why you will see clients relapse after treatment settings and rehab stays,” Cali says. “They do not have anyone to answer to anymore and go back to their own ways. Rehabs allow people to be ‘in the bubble of safety’ and then dump the client right back in the same environment with minimal therapy. Imagine having a coach to call, text and be present as you go through life. I offer intensive 24/7 services, daily, hourly and then also hourly with unlimited text and email. I instill in the client a sense of being accountable and having help immediately available.”

To read the full text of the interview, visit Interview With Cali Estes on Addiction.

At first look the sentence might seem odd perhaps even a little unbelievable but yes the pop star is reaching out and helping the troubled rapper as he faces the very serious issue of substance abuse. John, a friend to Eminem in more recent years has said that he’s been helping the singer get through his substance abuse in the last year and a half. The idea seems quite natural when you consider that once Elton John was facing his own substance abuse issues. According to the songwriter Eminem’s efforts are turning out for the better and his battle to overcome drug use looks as if it will be a successful one.

“I’ve been helping Eminem over the last 18 months and he’s doing brilliantly.” John is also quite clear that he’s always been there for those suffering from such problems. “I’m there if people want my help. If people ask for help you tell them where to go but there’s no point advising people if they don’t want to do it.”

John has always been clear about his own troubles with substance abuse and likely makes for a good source in battling them Eminem had previously admitted his use had gotten so bad that he’d been abusing prescription drugs like Ambien, Vicodin and Valium. Eminem had made a previous bid in 2005 to stop using and made a major comeback this year working with other rapers like Kanye West and Drake.

Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove never faced any serious problems as a player for the Rams but in his personal life the urge to party overtook much of his life. He dabbled in drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol liberally until the problem reached its breaking point in 2006. When Hargrove became the personification of the crash and burn draft pick.

“I guess there’s always been something brewing in me,” said Hargrove” And I guess as I got the fame and the fortune or whatever, it kind of came to a head. It blew up. And when you’re in the NFL that kind of stuff gets publicized every day.”

“When it’s happening, you don’t really know how to deal with it. And you’re only coping mechanism is to use a substance. After a while, the substances aren’t working anymore. So now you’re just stuck and you’re miserable. You get on this downward spiral and you really don’t know how to get off. Unfortunately it took me some places where I wasn’t ready to go. You’re in denial and you think you can handle it. My life was spinning, I just couldn’t get it back under control.”

Getting traded to Buffalo was supposed to be a fresh start for the player but it didn’t turn out that way even after several attempts at sobriety. He was suspended for the entire 2008 season, again for violating the substance abuse policy. Having earned a reputation for substance abuse the player wasn’t getting called to join any teams.

But in May the Saints signed him to a one year minimum contract and he’s off to a great start thus far. As a defensive tackle, Hargrove started the past two games in place of the injured Sedrick Ellis and recently he recovered two fumbles (one of which was a touchdown) and earned the NFC defensive player of the week. The future looks bright for a man whose substance abuse nearly destroyed him.

According to a new study at least 25% of kids aren’t receiving the full amount of pain medication prescribed by their doctors after common surgeries like tonsillectomy. While these numbers have been found the reasons for this parental limitation and the corresponding ramifications are less clear. What is known is that this practice could be slowing the healing process and putting these kids at risk. Many of these kids come back to be treated for unresolved pain issues and face trouble swallowing fluids which could lead to dehydration and eventually a return stay at the hospital.

Medication is handled more and more in the home due to the shorter stays all patients experience post-op. By no means should parents consider lessening or stopping meds simply because their children are home under the mistaken assumption that they no longer need them. These medications are part of the ongoing healing process and are vital for some time after returning home. Stopping their use or going against the prescription in any other way could have some serious consequences for the children involved.

It’s thought that these changes could be occurring out of a misplaced fear that children could become addicted to the pain meds they’re being given by their parents. If this is the case parents should know that they’re unnecessarily causing their kids pain that their children may not have the ability to express to them in words. As a result the emotional and physiological damage made by these changes along with the physical ones could put these kids in a pretty bad spot that could have been avoided by following the doctor’s instructions.

If you deal with both depression and heart problems you may want to keep an eye on your health. According to research your risk of dying in the next 7 years is as much as double that of a patient with heart problems not facing depression. Patients who are most affected by this are typically diagnosed with severe depression within a few weeks of a cardiac event that required hospitalization. The condition is worse in those whose depression doesn’t improve within 6 months.

361 people were studied by researchers to find these results. Medication didn’t improve or lessen the risk of this occurring in those involved in the study. In the study only 15.6% of those whose depression improved died, while 28.4% of those who had no improvement passed away. Depression is one of several health conditions that can worsen the outlook and wellbeing of a patient suffering from heart problems. Maintaining the health of the mind and body is best when recovering from a major cardiac event.

The appendix is among a small collection of organs and veins long seen as worthless or expendable by the scientific and medical community. As it turns out however, the appendix could prove just as important as any other major organ.

In reality the appendix is a major storehouse of important digestion aiding bacteria. While most of the developed world no longer deals with the same level of parasites and bacteria that the organ was likely developed for long ago, it’s been found that in less developed areas of the world the organ is still vastly important. This is because it helps repopulate the intestines with beneficial bacteria after illness has depleted these bacteria in the body.

In reality it’s not organs like the appendix are actually vestigial as much as that we don’t always have a clear understanding of their function in the body. Recent experiences with health conditions and research into the body’s function have made some of the purpose of these “extra” organs more clear. We may someday soon find that there are no extraneous parts after all.

For years organs like the appendix, spleen, tonsils and some veins in the body have been considered redundant. But as time has passed and technology has advanced these beliefs have started to change. The reality, as many researchers have begun to realize, is that this once “expendable” organs actually do have a purpose in the body. What are these organs doing? The spleen, as it turns out helps by being another source of monocytes, white blood cells that are crucial to the immune system and tissue repair. Previously, it was though that these cells were only found in bone marrow and accumulated in the blood stream.  In reality the spleen is a much more major source for these cells, holding as much as 10 times as many monocytes as the blood stream. The organ most affected by these monocytes when damaged is the heart, meaning that the spleen is integral to a healthy heart after heart attack. In fact for many the extra monocytes produced and stored by the spleen could be the difference between recovery and laboring health.

Last month, 1.1 billion gallons of sludge which contained 5.4 cubic yards of coal ash breached an earthen holding facility at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant. The mishap caused damage to nearby lakeside homes and is now considered as an environmental threat to the community.

Just last Wednesday, Duke University scientists working with the United Mountain Defense reported high levels of arsenic and radioactive radium in the ash spill. These results raise concerns about the need to store ash and emphasize the need to be careful during cleanup to make sure that these toxins do not escape the confines of the site.

The observations were from samples taken last January 9, about 3 weeks after the accident. These were taken from two areas: an ash-filled inlet of the Emory River and about two miles downstream.

Arsenic and radium are both considered as potential carcinogens, and exposure to these substances may have adverse effects on the health of the people in the vicinity of the plant.

To date, the Tennessee Valley Authority is shelling out about a million dollars a day for the recovery effort. This includes the vacuuming of ash particles from the river and scooping sludge out of inlets. They also built temporary dams and distributed more than 80 tons of grass seed through a helicopter to ensure that the rest of the spill is held in place. The effort is supervised by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, with assistance from the Tennessee Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The good news, though, is that contamination seems to be confined in the accident site. Drinking water was safe and the air quality was still clean. Only trace amounts of arsenic was found in areas away from the site, as opposed to the heavier concentration of the toxin found in the site.

In life, it doesn’t matter as much how low you fall for as long as you go ahead and pick yourself up. This is especially true in the world of show business, where we normally see people come and go, experiencing incredible highs and unbelievable lows.

No two names are being talked about more nowadays than Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke, who have been earning accolades in the recent gamut of awards shows. Both have also been nominated for much sought after Academy Awards.

If we flash back to 1999, we will see an entirely different Downey. The actor was out of sorts as he struggled with heroin and cocaine addiction, eventually spending almost a year in jail. It was a complete turnaround from where he was only seven years earlier, when he earned an Oscar nomination for playing Charlie Chaplin in the movie “Chaplin” in 1992.

Now clean and sober, Downey is definitely getting back on track. His two movies hit the big time in Hollywood in 2008. Iron Man was a box-office success, and his performance as a white actor playing a black army sergeant in Tropic Thunder earned him an Oscar nomination.

Iron Man is now in the negotiation stage for a sequel, and another comeback King, Mickey Rourke, is being tapped to play a villain in the new movie. Rourke led a rather troubled life the past few years, battling, among others, substance abuse and other excesses. He has since cleaned up his act and now handles his work with professionalism, consistency and a sense of responsibility – things that were glaringly absent during his darker days.

2008 proved to be a magical year for the actor as aside from getting an Oscar nomination for his role in “The Wrestler”, he also earned a SAG Awards nomination. He also won the Golden Globe for the same role last week.

There had been numerous accounts from both past and present, highlighting the drug habits and worse, death by drug overdose, of well-known celebrities.

In the past, among the notorious ones were Elvis Presley (the legendary singer-actor who died of a heart attack brought about by long-term drug abuse), Marilyn Monroe (model, actress and sex symbol who died in her sleep caused by overdose of sleeping pills) and Jimi Hendrix (guitarist, singer and songwriter who died as a result of mixing sleeping pills and alcohol).

As seen by the celebrity news, gossip and stories circulating today, it’s clear that times have not changed. It may have gotten worse. There is no clear-cut explanation as to why celebrities are most often found to be abusing drugs. Factors may include hidden insecurities, inability to cope with the demands of fame, peer pressure or pride. But then, who knows? The only obvious thing that you can discern from this is that they are struggling.

At present, icon Britney Spears and singer-actress Lindsay Lohan makes it to the list. They have both been in and out of rehabilitation, manifested destructive behavior and severed several social relationships.

Both women have started their careers at an early age, and throughout the years they have been placed keenly under a microscope, and the whole world watched as they produced one spectacle after another. However, as of now, both women have been shown to have picked up the pieces of their lives and are straightening out their priorities.

Another presently famous celebrity who joins the ranks of drug abusers is actor Robert Downey Jr. A perennial presence in court houses, prisons and drug rehabilitation centers, Robert Downey Jr. was trapped in an unceasing cycle of drug abuse, arrest, rehabilitation and relapse. However, he was finally capable to start his recovery from his drug addiction and was able to make a big comeback as the lead role in the blockbuster hit ‘Iron Man’ in 2008.

Some celebrities never learned – either from the legends who came before them or from their own past mistakes. As millions of young fans look up to celebrities as role models, we can only hope that these stars are able to shed better light for our youth.