Avoiding the Addiction Affliction

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...

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...

When the goal is to transform the current system of how substance use disorder is viewed and treated and break the mold of the endless merry-go-round of this disease, you assemble a stellar group of scientists in the field to work as a team. And that's what Nancy Davis did. Nancy is the Founder and President of Cure Addiction Now (CAN), an organization dedicated to start funding important, well-th...

When people decide to stop using alcohol or other drugs, one of the first things they are often advised to do is "go to a meeting." Soon after they are advised to "get a sponsor." Kris and Nanci, Alcoholics Anonymous sponsors, discuss the role of the sponsor and the unique relationship between sponsor and sponsee. Finding support among a community of like-minded people is one of the cornerstones o...

Carmen Skarlupka lost her daughter to an overdose. Like many parents who go through a similar devastating tragedy, she wanted to help make sure it never happens to another family. Carmen is the Co-founder and President of Never Use Alone. Never Use Alone is a toll-free national overdose prevention, detection, life-saving crisis response and reversal service for people who use drugs while alone. Ne...

When young people leave home for college, they leave behind much that is familiar. Jeanne Williamson, David Israels-Swenson, and Matt Johnson talk about how the University of Minnesota Morris creates a community that sustains and supports students well-being and success. Jeanne Williamson is Associate Director for Student Counseling, Health, and Wellbeing; David Israels-Swenson is Senior Director...

The freedom young people experience when they leave home for college provides opportunities and obstacles. Sandy Olson-Loy and Adrienne Conley discuss some of those obstacles and how the University of Minnesota Morris works to create a community that cares. Success often depends upon making good decisions and connecting with a caring community. Sandy Olson-Loy is Vice Chancellor for Student Affair...

How do those who take care of the rest of us take care of themselves? Chaplain Teresa Durbak Sipos discusses how, when surrounded by trauma, those caregivers can take care of their moral and spiritual selves. Teresa serves as a behavioral healthcare chaplain and has taught mental health and addictions nursing for many years at three state universities in Ohio. Teresa is the author of "Integrating...

Is weed addictive? That's the question Walter Hendrickson asked himself as he began a thirty-day journey to stop smoking marijuana after nine years of daily use. Walter is chronicling his journey daily on his TikTok account and discusses with us what he has learned so far. Six days of not using at the time of this conversation, Walter's goal is to make it to one month and see what happens from the...

When everything you have done is associated with substance use, how do you have a good time when no longer using? That's the question Alex Peacock and Nolan Wright asked and why they formed Recess Games USA. The goal, their mission, is "To pair those in the community with people in recovery who are seeking healthy avenues to have good, clean fun while building a meaningful and purposeful life." It...

As more and more states legalize marijuana and others have a variety of cannabinoid products available, it seems sensible to ask what they are, what they aren't, and how they might affect young people. Annie von Neupert is Project Coordinator for REACH. REACH, a federal Drug Free Communities coalition, focuses on reducing misuse of alcohol, nicotine, and other substances by youth in Calumet County...

A returning panel of women, now entering their senior year in college, discuss navigating their journey through college while also navigating academics, a pandemic, excessive alcohol and other drug use, relationships, and mental health issues. Grace, Aiden, Jackie, and Austyn talk about discovering who they are and where they want to go, made more challenging and complicated by issues around menta...

We've all seen the slogans, signs, and bumper stickers. "One Day at a Time," "K.I.S.S.," "I'm a Friend of Bill W.," and dozens more. What do they mean to folks in recovery? Kathy Reiley, a retired attorney and a person with an alcohol use disorder, talks about the meaning of the recovery slogans so frequently seen. One of the keys to recovery is finding a community of like-minded people to connect...

Providing world-class, empowering, and transformative interdisciplinary care to women and their children affected by substance use disorders is the mission of the Horizons Program at the University of North Carolina Medical School. Dr. Hendrée Jones, Dr. Elisabeth Johnson, and Chrissy Jones, an alumni of the UNC Horizons Program, discuss the importance of providing substance abuse resources and pr...

Michael Rebellino is a civil engineer. And a writer. Michael's stream of consciousness novel, Clean is the fictional story, inspired by true events, of Cameron, an independent, accomplished, and strong-willed young adult caught in the grips of alcoholism and drug addiction. Whoever you are and whatever you're going through, you're not alone. And there is hope. There is always hope. Michael's infor...

This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Or is it? Can drugs long labeled as problematic be used as therapeutic aids? Kevin Franciotti is a Denver-based writer and licensed addiction counselor trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy. He discusses an increasing amount of research indicating that some substances can be beneficial in the treatment of depression, opioid addiction, PTSD, and ot...

Where is the line between caring about someone else's pain and caring so much that it affects your own well being? Lynn McLaughlin and Karen Iverson Riggers talk about how to manage empathy in our relationships, especially for those who work in the helping professions. Lynn and Karen are consultants, co-owners, and members of Ebb & Flow Connections Cooperative in Northeast Wisconsin. They can be r...

How can parents help their children navigate the minefield of growing up without making poor choices around substance use? Jessica Lahey is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed and The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. Jessica discusses substance use disorder...

We know where the drugs come from. We know how the drugs get here. We know how they are made and distributed world wide. Michael Brown explains how current and advancing technologies can aid in the disruption of the flow of fentanyl. Brown is the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices . He has a distinguished career spanning more than 32 years as a Special Age...

When it comes to substance use disorders, women have traditionally been misunderstood, understudied, and underserved. In her newest feature film, Attention Must Be Paid: Women Lost in the Opioid Crisis, Debra Gonsher Vinik shines a light on the women experiencing opioid abuse. Dr. Gonsher Vinik is a film producer, writer, director, and founder of Diva Communications. She has produced and written t...

Most people spend most of their time at work, and what happens at work is often a leading cause of their stress and anxiety. Michelle Correia-Templin talks about the importance of asking for what you need and forming healthy relationships in the workplace. Michelle is the author of Selling It Right! Getting Result with Integrity and Five Star Teamwork. Michelle is also the President of Get Smart T...

William Stoehr's artwork focuses on victims, witnesses, and survivors of opioid/substance use disorders and the stigma that inhibits prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Stigma suffocates discussion, blocks action, causes pain. William Stoehr wants to use his art to normalize the discussion and to help erase the stigma. William discusses his art, his sister's substance use disorder, whi...

In the 1980s when drugs were seemingly everywhere and parents couldn't take their children to parks for fear their children would step on heroin needles, Switzerland decided to try a different approach to their drug problem. Now, forty years later, Simone Schär talks about the country's collaborative effort and Switzerland's Four-Pillar Policy. Simone Schär is a studied psychologist and head of de...

Mark Murphy lost his twenty-one-year-old daughter Lizzie to fentanyl poisoning. He has worked tirelessly to try to make sure other families don't experience a similar loss. An Ohio native, Mark has traveled the country to share his experiences and learn from those who are trying to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. Mark shares his observations about the dangers of fentanyl and what is being d...

A recent study has shown that mental health has worsened for thirty-four percent of American workers. Dr. Uma Kedharnath talks about how workplaces are addressing the mental health concerns of their workers. Dr. Kedharnath received her doctorate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University and is currently an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Wisc...