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Eating Emotional

Book, Bust, & Drugs

Starting Young The First 8 Years

a “Reset” Giving Addicts

Generational Brain Damage

INSERT 2 StartingYoung Insight into adolescent addiction comes as new guidelines urge early prevention

Treatment providers have known for years that adolescents are more susceptible to drug use and consequently, addiction. But now they might know why. Researchers recently discovered a specific pathway in the brain that makes adolescents more prone to problematic substance use, which could lead to stronger prevention efforts. By studying how cocaine affected the behavior of young and adult mice differently, researchers found that a mechanism in the brain which regulates specific protein production also controls addictive behaviors. By manipulating that mechanism, researchers were able to mitigate cocaine’s addictive effects. “Now we have a bidirectional switch that can turn on and off the cocaine-induced changes in the brain,” says lead researcher Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli of the Baylor College of Medicine.

“ The excitement of this study is that now perhaps we have a signalling pathway that could be targeted for the treatment of addiction. ”

- Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Baylor College of Medicine

One size fits all What’s most exciting about the study is that the pathway does not appear to be specific to cocaine. A second study examining nicotine returned similar results, leading researchers to believe any treatments targeting the pathway would be effective for all substances. “In the case of nicotine, it’s exactly the same thing,” Dr. Costa-Mattioli says. “All the drugs of abuse, they reduce the activity, they hijack or change this mechanism.” Researchers say they’re still interested to see if the mechanism plays a role in the transition from social substance use to more problematic use. But they say simply identifying such a crucial link of the substance use chain could lead to significant prevention methods. “Of course, the excitement of this study is that now perhaps we have a signalling pathway that could be targeted for the treatment of addiction,” Dr. Costa-Mattioli says.

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Total improvement Experts say the benefits of implementing early intervention efforts far outweigh the cost. Although limited data exists, studies show investing just one dollar can produce anywhere from a few dollars to $26 in cost savings down the road. “Thus a well-designed, well- implemented early childhood intervention can dramatically benefit the community and society as well as improve children’s and families’ quality of life,” Dr. Volkow says. But the benefits of early intervention go beyond substance abuse. Experts say many of the risk factors for substance abuse are the same indicators for other social, behavioral and academic problems. They say creating a prevention program to address and reduce the risk of substance abuse will pay big dividends across the board. “Interventions designed to reduce early risk factors show benefits in a wide range of areas,” Dr. Volkow says. “Including improved personal and social functioning, better performance in school, and less involvement with the juvenile justice system or mental health services.” 

“ Early childhood intervention can dramatically benefit the community and society as well as improve children ’ s and families ’ quality of life. ” - Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA director

First eight years To address adolescent drug use, experts say prevention efforts have to start earlier than most would expect.The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the government’s top agency on substance use, recently released new guidelines suggesting prevention education should start in the first eight years of a child’s life. Officials acknowledge that early childhood is not a time period normally associated with drug use. But they say factors with family, school and community environments can shape development of certain emotional and behavioral issues that can manifest in substance abuse problems even decades later. “Central to intervening early is the idea of shifting the balance of risk and protective factors in a way that builds a foundation for optimal social development and resilience,” says NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow.

By Heather Hateld | WebMD Feature | Reviewed by Charlotte E. Grayson Mathis, MD EMOTIONAL EEAATTIINNGG EMOTIONAL AT

ere are several di erences between emotional hunger and physical hunger, according to the University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center web site: 1. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly; physical hunger occurs gradually. 2. When you are eating to ll a void that isn’t related to an empty stomach, you crave a specic food, such as pizza or ice cream, and only that food will meet your need. When you eat because you are actually hungry, you’re open to options. 3. Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satised instantly with the food you crave; physical hunger can wait. 4. Even when you are full, if you’re eating to satisfy an emotional need, you’re more likely to keep eating. When you’re eating because you’re hungry, you’re more likely to stop when you’re full. r e

Are You an Emotional Eater?

You are an emotional eaters if you answer yes to any of the following questions: Do you ever eat without realizing you’re even doing it? Do you often feel guilty or ashamed after eating? Do you often eat alone or at odd locations, such as parked in your car outside your own house? After an unpleasant experience, such as an argument, do you eat even if you aren’t feeling hungry? Do you crave specic foods when you’re upset, such as always desiring chocolate when you feel depressed? Do you feel the urge to eat in response to outside cues like seeing food advertised on television? Do you eat because you feel there’s nothing else to do? Does eating make you feel better when you’re down or less focused on problems when you’re worried about something? If you eat unusually large quantities of food or you regularly eat until you feel uncomfortable to the point of nausea, you have a problem with binge eating. Please speak to your health care professional.

5. Emotional eating can leave behind feelings of guilt; eating when you are physically hungry does not. COMFORT FOODS When emotional hunger rumbles, one of its distinguishing characteristics is that you’re focused on a particular food, which is likely a comfort food. “Comfort foods are foods a person eats to obtain or maintain a feeling,” says Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois. “Comfort foods are often wrongly associated with negative moods, and indeed, people often consume them when they’re down or depressed, but interestingly enough, comfort foods are also consumed to maintain good moods.” Ice cream is rst on the comfort food list. After ice cream, comfort foods break down by sex: For women it’s chocolate and cookies; for men it’s pizza, steak, and casserole, explains Wansink. And what you reach for when eating to satisfy an emotion depends on the emotion. According to an article by Wansink, published in the July 2000 American Demographics, “ e types of comfort foods a person is drawn toward varies depending on their mood. People in happy moods tended to prefer … foods such as pizza or steak (32%). Sad people reached for ice cream and cookies 39% of the time, and 36% of bored people opened up a bag of potato chips.”

By Jennifer R. Scott | Updated February 15, 2014 Emotional eating can be a di£cult challenge when you are trying to lose weight. It’s a di£cult habit to break once it’s a part of your life, but by understanding what causes it and nding ways to cope that don’t involve food, you can overcome it. Read on to learn how to prevent and Prevent and Cope with Emotional Eating Before you can learn to cope with emotional eating, you must rst understand what it is. As the name implies, emotional eating is characterized by repeatedly eating in response to feelings rather in response to hunger to gain physical nourishment. Emotional eaters often consume large amounts of food at one sitting, which is sometimes referred to as a binge. Understand the Emotional Cues Many emotional eaters eat in response to ve common cues, which include boredom, loss of control and anger. Only you can know if these cues prompt you to eat emotionally: Eating a snack a few times a week because you are bored may not be a problem; eating a container of ice cream each time you’re angry probably is. Understanding these cues and learning how to choose another response — such as exercising to release pent-up anger —will help you end the cycle of eating in response to these feelings. Identify Your Triggers While many emotional eaters share cues in common, there may be certain feelings or situations that trigger you to eat that do not a ect someone else. One of the best ways to understand your own personal emotional eating triggers is to keep a “food and feelings” food diary. In it, you simply record what you eat and how you were feeling before, during and after your binge. Stress A ects Your Eating Habits Stress is one of the most common reasons that women in particular overeat. Stress is alleviated by eating certain foods and many women get in the habit of reducing tension by enjoying these foods rather than dealing with the source of their tension. By creating self-care skills that allow you to identify non-food solutions to tension-causing situations, you will be much less likely to cope with emotional eating. What is Emotional Eating?

(Please note: Extreme feelings of hopelessness are typical of chronic depression. Please talk to a mental health professional if you nd yourself feeling perpetually hopeless.) Lack of Control You think: My life is out of control. ere is nothing in it that I am in charge of. Everyone and everything around me rules my life. Except for eating…I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want it. So I will. Feeling Unappreciated Perhaps you’ve accomplished something exceptional at work and no one has noticed. Or maybe you’ve made a personal achievement you’d dreamed of for years. But no one at home shares your pride. You nd yourself tempted to congratulate yourself by “treating” yourself to a binge. Boredom ere’s nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Perhaps you feel lonely, too. ere’s nothing at home to occupy your mind or your hours. But there is a pantry full of comfort food that will kill some of that empty time. If you t into any one of these ve proles, try sitting down with a piece of paper and brainstorming to nd alternative behaviors to eating. You may be surprised at the solutions you come up with…and at just how well they work once you try them. en, write your ideas on notecards and post them where you will see them in your moment of need — how about on the refrigerator door or next to the pantry? Accepting why you eat the way you do can be a big step towards breaking the cycle of emotional eating.

eat emotionally after a stressful day. Let Go of All or Nothing inking

All or nothing thinking means you feel like you must do something perfectly or you should not do it at all. We often are either “on” our diets or “o ” of them. e sense of failure this brings can cause negative emotions that in turn trigger a binge. By allowing yourself the freedom to face every day as a fresh start and see every decision as independent of the one before it, you may nd emotional eating is much easier to avoid.

5 Common Emotional Eating Cues

By Jennifer R. Scott | Updated February 15, 2014

Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food — usually “comfort” or junk foods — in response to feelings instead of hunger. Some of the common emotional eating cues are: Anger Whether you’re angry at yourself, another person or a situation, you stiªe your feelings using food rather than confronting them and releasing them. It’s easier to smother a problem than to

deal with it. Hopelessness

You think: Nothing really matters anyway. Nothings ever going to change or get better for me. So, why should I care about my health or weight? Besides, eating makes me feel better.

Slippery slope Despite some lingering questions, researchers were able to show the significance of the economy’s role in problematic substance use.The study showed that even a small change in the unemployment rate can have a tremendous impact on the risks for substance abuse disorders. “For each percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate, these estimates represent about a 6 percent increase in the likelihood of having a disorder involving analgesics and an 11 percent increase in the likelihood of having a disorder involving hallucinogens,” the authors write. Previous studies have focused on the economy’s link to marijuana and alcohol, with many looking at young people in particular.This study is one of the first to highlight illicit drugs, which given the current opioid epidemic, holds important lessons for those working to curb problematic drug use.

When it’s needed most The study bears significant weight for treatment facilities and public policy makers in particular. During economic downturns, government agencies typically look to cut spending on treatment programs as a way to save money, something researchers say may be more costly in the end. “Our results suggest that this is unwise,” Carpenter says. “Such spending would likely be particularly effective during downturns since rates of substance use disorders are increasing when unemployment rates rise, at least for disorders involving prescription painkillers and hallucinogens.”



“Spending would likely be particularly effective during downturns since rates of substance use disorders are increasing when unemployment rates rise.”

Contact Adams Recovery Center Today! adamsrecoverycenter.org 513.553.7300 1569 OH-28, Loveland, OH 45140

Giving addicts a “reset ” Developers working on first digital therapy app for addiction One reason the opioid addiction epidemic has taken hold in many rural areas is that many Americans with substance use disorder live long distances from the nearest treatment providers. But a new tool may provide hope.The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing a new tool that may help remedy that geographical problem: the first prescription digital therapy designed to treat SUD. Boston and San Francisco-based Pear Therapeutics developed reSET, a mobile app used as a treatment tool concurrently with outpatient therapy centered on SUDs.The project has demonstrated better abstinence and treatment retention when applied alongside face-to-face therapy focused on SUD-related treatments for alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and stimulants.The therapy also includes a web-based program for healthcare providers. An app to help opiate addicts Pear is also developing reSET-0, an app specifically designed to help opiate addicts. Both apps consist of a patient-facing smartphone application and a clinician-facing web interface. The company raised $20 million last year with the aid of various venture companies including Arboretum Ventures, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based venture capital firm. “(reSET) will give patients and clinicians a new tool to improve therapy specifically in an area right now that is a true health epidemic in the U.S,” Dr.Thomas Shehab, managing director at Arboretum Ventures, told DrugAddictionNow.com. “It’s an extremely novel approach to central nervous system and behavioral health diseases that we didn’t see anyone else addressing in that way.”

Pear submitted reSET for review by the FDA during the first half of 2016 and says it is expected to be approved this year. Dr. Shehab said his firm is “particularly intrigued by their approach because it’s a combination of a very well-studied digital therapy being used in conjunction with other therapies.” He says, “We thought the unique makeup of the Pear team and their unique approach to digital therapies really made us feel it had the highest likelihood of success in really helping address these issues.”

According to data provided by Pear Therapeutics, 507 people with SUD from 10 treatment centers nationally received either face-to-face therapy or reduced volume of face-to-face therapy with reSET.They were given 12 weeks of outpatient therapy with or without using the app; if without, a portion of the digital therapy was replaced with face-to-face therapy. Abstinence was calculated two times weekly through a breathalyzer, urine samples and self-reports. Of the participants dependent on alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and stimulants, 58.1 percent of them receiving treatment with reSET were abstinent during weeks nine through 12, versus 29.8 percent of participants receiving only face-to-face therapy. Of the participants who started the study with a positive drug test, 26.7 percent of them who received reSET were abstinent during weeks nine through 12 of the study; only 3.2 percent of those that received traditional face-to-face therapy reported abstinence during the same time period. Participants using reSET presented statistically significant advancement in retention rates compared to those not using the app. After 12 weeks, 59 percent of participants that received face-to-face therapy retained sobriety in comparison to the 67 percent of those that used reSET.The reSET-O app has shown promising results in

three independent and randomized clinical trials, the company says. A study of 465 participants that completed outpatient methadone or buprenorphine treatment for opioid addiction was conducted, in which the participants were given standardized face-to-face therapy or shortened standardized treatment with reSET-O.Their abstinence was determined by self-reporting and urine tests. The developers plan to submit reSET-O to the FDA for approval, pending approval of reSET. “With all that’s going on, this is a very exciting company that we’re very enthusiastic about because it benefits a group of patients in great need,” Dr. Shehab said. “We think that reSET has a lot of potential.”

Maker receives NIDA grant In July, Pear announced it

has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast-Track award funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). PEAR will collaborate with CleanSlate Research and Education Foundation and Columbia University Medical Center Department of Psychiatry’s Division on Substance Use Disorders on the project. The grant will support the application of “enhanced engagement and gamification mechanisms” to reSET and reSET-O, the company says.

“It benefits a group of patients in great need.” - Dr.Thomas Shehab, Arboretum Ventures

Contact Adams Recovery Center Today! adamsrecoverycenter.org 513.553.7300 1569 OH-28, Loveland, OH 45140

Drinking during pregnancy presents parents with challenges beyond their own sobriety

Since its first diagnosis in 1973, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) have shown how devastating drinking during pregnancy can be for an unborn child. Despite this fact, at least one in 10 pregnant women drink in the U.S. every year, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says children with FASD have physical issues like low birth weight and growth, problems with organ systems and damage to parts of the brain.These issues lead to behavioral and intellectual disabilities, hyperactivity, difficulty with attention, and poor communication, reasoning and judgment skills. The incurable situation can produce lifelong issues with school and social problems, mental health and substance abuse issues, difficulty keeping a job, living independently and having trouble with the law. In 2010, drinking while pregnant cost the U.S. $5.5 billion, says the CDC.

“ In 2010, drinking while pregnant cost the U.S. $5.5 billion. ” — Centers for Disease Control

“ I don’t know how I’m going to tell her. It was something I could have prevented. ” —mother of an FASD infant

Dysfunction in the family tree FASD can be multi-generational. Besides the common familial curse of addiction, the disability itself can contribute to bad impulse decisions, making it more likely for one to drink in the present moment and ignore the possible consequences. For that reason, a mother who has FASD herself may not recognize the symptoms of FASD in her child, because she views her own symptoms as normal. A mother in Tucson, Ariz., who was in recovery before realizing her drinking had caused FASD in her child, says the guilt was tremendous. Having to explain to her daughter why she had FASD was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell her. It was something I could have prevented,” she says. Early diagnosis is key Diagnosing fetal alcohol syndrome can be difficult. A simple blood test will not suffice. Doctors typically look for abnormal facial features, such as a smooth fulcrum (the ridge most of us have between our nose and lips), lower than average height and weight, a small head and the birthmother’s admission of alcohol use during pregnancy. There are many treatment options, including medication for certain symptoms, behavioral therapies, education and training for parents. It is most helpful for children to be diagnosed before the age of six, be in a nurturing family environment and have access to special education and social services. Having FASD is not a hopeless situation. Implementing treatment strategies at a young age can help a child thrive despite the disorder.

 Regardless, it is never too late to quit drinking. Since brain growth takes place throughout a woman’s pregnancy, the sooner a woman quits drinking, the better off her baby will be. Prevention is best To prevent FASD, the best scenario is for a woman to refrain from drinking any amount of alcohol during pregnancy. Ideally, women should quit drinking the moment they go off birth control. “About half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and even if planned, most women won’t know they are pregnant for the first month or so, when they might still be drinking,” says Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the CDC.

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