Recovery Michigan

New government research shows that female military veterans commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women, a startling finding that experts say poses disturbing questions about the backgrounds and experiences of women who serve in the armed forces.

The implication of these discoveries is monumental.  If lymphatic vessels do not have adequate drainage, due to a stenotic dural sinus,  jugular stenosis, mechanical impingement or venous problems, the brain's immune system and cleansing system will not function properly.

More than one in four U.S. children are exposed to weapon violence before their eighteenth birthday, either as victims or witnesses, a large study suggests.

About one in 33 kids are directly assaulted during incidents involving guns or knives, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

“Millions of children are being exposed to violence involving weapons, and many of them are victimized by guns and knives, with an elevated risk of trauma and serious injury,” said lead study author Kimberly Mitchell, a scientist at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

All told, more than 17.5 million children in the U.S. are witnesses to, or victims of, assaults with weapons – far exceeding the number of kids who have diabetes or cancer. The experiences put them at increased risk for depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders as well as difficulties with school, work and relationships.

The time has come to UNITE to Face Addiction and stand up for recovery. On October 4, 2015 a transformative event will take place in Washington, DC that will ignite and build a movement to address one of the most pressing health issues of our time.

Abuse criteria involve the social problems of drinking too much while the dependence criteria involve classic measures ofaddiction such as withdrawal and time spent consuming alcohol.

The main finding of the study was that, among Americans, there is a lifetime AUD prevalence of 29.1% - but only 19.8% of adults are ever treated.

The results mean that the proportion of American adults having AUD in the previous 12 months translates into about 32.6 million people, and for having AUD at some time in their life, about 68.5 million people.

"In order to measure the antidepressant effect, the pharmaceutical companies have unwisely assessed the reduction in the sum score for a large number of symptoms listed on a rating scale. However, the sensitivity of this instrument is markedly marred by the fact that many of these symptoms occur also in subjects without depression, while others are absent also in many depressed patients. For this and other reasons, the usefulness of this rating scale, which was constructed already during the 1950s, has since long been questioned."

"We investigated what happens if one instead analyzes the effect of the treatment on the key item of the scale - depressed mood."

Noteworthy results

According to Elias Eriksson, the results are noteworthy:

• With the conventional measure of efficacy, only 44 percent of the 32 comparisons reveal a significant superiority of the SSRIs over placebo.
• When the Gothenburg researchers instead examined the efficacy on depressed mood, 29 of the 32 comparisons (91 percent) showed a significant difference favoring the active drug.

Parachute NYC, a federally funded project more than two years in the making, has created respite centers where guests can check in and talk through their concerns and fears with staff members who have their own experiences with the mental health system.

The centers are a "soft landing," community-based alternative to emergency hospitalization, according to Steve Coe, CEO of Community Access, the organization that runs Parachute NYC.

"There are a lot of people stuck in hospitals who really don't need to be there," he told CNN. "Our centers give them temporary relief from whatever they may be going through."

The facilities, which opened in 2013, are located in four boroughs and have apartment-style common rooms and bedrooms. The idea is to create a free, comfortable and supportive space for adults anticipating or experiencing emotional crisis.

An investigation has found that dozens of staff members at Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital either abused a patient or witnessed the abuse that led up to the man's arm being broken as staff struggled to restrain him.

The Kalamazoo Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1F5DkWq ) a summary report on an investigation into the June 2014 incident showed that of the 43 staff members cited, 23 received 5-day suspensions, six were suspended for 10 days, nine were fired and five either resigned or were no longer employed at the time of the investigation.

Among the 43 staff members, one doctor received a 5-day suspension and another resigned.

Unique person-specific cues--such as the presence of a specific friend or hearing a specific song--appear to have a robust effect on craving addictive substances, a recent study shows. The study also found that person-specific cues may have a longer effect on craving than more general substance-specific cues, such as the presence of bottles, syringes, or lighters.

The study included 132 outpatients beginning treatment for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or opiate addiction. Using mobile technologies, participants were questioned 4 times per day relative to craving, substance use, and exposure to either substance-specific cues or personal cues unique to that individual.