Proactively addressing addictions in the workplace…

Canadian Occupational Safety : http://www.cos-mag.com

What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think about an addict? The majority of individuals envision a person who is sitting in a back alley with a bottle in hand, or a needle protruding from their arm. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse(CCSA) discovered 77 per cent of drug addicts and 90 per cent of alcoholics are employed. The addicts of today include nurses, lawyers, surgeons, teenagers and soccer moms. Despite the fact the face of addictions has changed over the past 50 years, the challenges remain the same.

Substance abuse while on the job remains to be a serious issue for numerous companies, and the safety of many is at stake. CCSA reported that 40 per cent of workplace accidents that result in death involve drug or alcohol use. In an effort to target this problem, companies are starting to look into random drug and alcohol testing. Recently, the arbitration board rejected Suncor’s goal to do just that.

Proactively addressing addictions in the workplace.

The eightfold path to chemical addiction recovery …

| Counseling Today

The ancient and venerable perspective on spirituality called Buddhism presents a therapeutic prescription for the fundamental ailment of human beings — suffering. That is, living out of step with reality. It teaches that to our detriment, human beings tend to seek private fulfillment above all else.

This sounds very much like the case with an addictive lifestyle, which is characterized by narcissism. Because of this attitude, an addicted person lives as if he or she is the center and primacy of everything. Chemical addiction develops into a lifestyle that is self-absorbed, self-centered and self-indulgent. This is out of step with the reality of a healthy lifestyle.

Just as Buddhism prescribes eight steps to right living, I propose eight steps for transforming an addictive lifestyle into a healthy lifestyle. Together, I call them the “Eightfold Path to Chemical Addiction Recovery.” This “path” can be a useful guide for successful alcohol and other drug (AOD) counseling.

The eightfold path to chemical addiction recovery | Counseling Today.

Helping a client to become more positive

COUNSELLING CONNECTION

A client comes to you with a common problem… he cannot find anything positive in his life. “My friends and family complain that my glass is always half empty. My negativity is getting me down. How can I get out of this negative space that seems to occupy my thought, my language and my attitude to everything?”

As the coach, what can you suggest to this client?

We all have perceptual filters, which we use for interpreting our world. However, if in the first session, it is apparent that the negativity of the client is severe, long lasting, interrupting his daily life, and it appears that he may be depressed; it is the coach’s responsibility to inform the client that he may be best referred to a specialist in the field.

If this is not the case, and it may well not be, in light of the fact that the client has been empowered to make the move to seek help, the coach can begin to set a positive atmosphere in the communication process. She might initially affirm the client for not only acknowledging their negative thought habit, but also for recognising that they have the power to change it and have actually made the first step towards doing so by coming to a coaching session. This will immediately empower the client.
Read: http://www.counsellingconnection.com/index.php/2013/03/06/helping-a-client-to-become-more-positive/

Antipsychotic Agents Can Cause Diabetes Mellitus

by Anne Trueman on  February 23, 2013: Health Watch

Diabetes mellitus is widely becoming a serious health issue globally. Antipsychotics have been used for disrupting glucose metabolism and causing diabetes mellitus.Antipsychotic drugs are known to have metabolic repercussions such as weight gain, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia. Not all antipsychotic agents are associated with weight gain such as ziprasidone and aripiprazole.

It therefore, is a wise decision to select a low-risk antipsychotic in people predisposed to high risk of diabetes. In the United States, diabetes mellitus is the seventh common cause of death and is the chief cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic limb amputation and new onset blindness.

Read more: Antipsychotic Agents Can Cause Diabetes Mellitus | Medindia http://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/antipsychotic-agents-can-cause-diabetes-mellitus-114751-1.htm#.#ixzz2Ln3YmwSt

Mental health patients express themselves through art

Featuring video from CTVNews.ca

Click here for the video: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/life-video/video-mental-health-patients-express-themselves-through-art/article8330693/

Source: The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Feb. 07 2013,

Why is Recovery so Difficult for some Addicts

If you’ve never had a problem with drugs or alcohol, it’s probably quite hard for you to imagine what difficulties may lie ahead for a person during their recovery from substance abuse or addiction and this is understandable. It’s not easy to put into words just how challenging and hard recovery can be unless you’ve been there and unfortunately the more chronic the addiction, the harder it can be to overcome this debilitating illness.

Recovery from addiction can be achieved but it doesn’t happen overnight and setbacks often occur, but the bottom line is that a person can overcome their use of drugs or alcohol and find long-term sobriety. The sad fact is that many substance users and addicts fatally overdose before they’re able to successfully overcome their use of drugs or alcohol. Sadly families and friends endure the devastating loss of their loved one for the rest of their lives when this happens.

Read:http://www.addictionsearch.com/treatment_articles/article/why-is-recovery-so-difficult-for-some-addicts_211.html