With Spring fully underway and summer fast approaching, we think about the ways in which we may bring new warmth and light into our lives. This theme is especially prominent in the work we do at CARTER. Whether someone is seeking help for the very first time, or seeking Information to maintain their progress in addiction recovery, we are dedicated daily transforming addiction into lifelong health and service to others.
We are always very keen to share important articles particularly relevant to addiction so that we can raise our collective addiction IQ! So, Read through this newsletter, and share it with others. There’s something for everyone and together we can enhance our awareness of addiction knowledge and skills “We may not have come over on the same ship, but we’re all in the same boat.” (Author Unknown) Don’t forget to follow us on social media!
Dr Rick Barnett
The effects of sexually explicit material use on romantic relationship dynamics
We are living in a world where we have never been more connected. Nonetheless there are real challenges that have arisen in the way we live thanks to the internet. As detailed by Mary Aiken in the Cyber Effect such changes are not just trivial concern, as “less eye contact could change the face of human civilization”. This is not just an issue confined to the US, but a global problem as we address the challenges that come with the rise of the online era, just as we celebrate its benefits. Within this work by Minarcik, Wetterneck and Short we see this phenomenon evidenced in the sphere of pornography. Older readers of this newsletter may remember a time where a Playboy was the exclusive piece of adult content an adult may come across. Now, with the internet it is a billion dollar industry with instant access. Utilizing a sample from a study of 96 participants based upon their use of sexually explicit material use in relationships, some revelatory findings have been revealed. A essential do-read here.
A society that places a high premium on being healthy is no bad thing. A society that places a premium on looking healthy can be. The relationship between cigarettes and pop culture is not new – for numerous icons in fashion, theatre, and elsewhere have made headlines as smokers – but the perceived correlation in the minds of many that smoking equals weight loss is diabolical. True, smoking can indeed engender weight loss given a cigarette can serve as an appetite suppressor – but just like reducing a car’s weight by removing its engine – the wider effects on the body’s capacity to function can be immensely damaged. This is why this article is so worthwhile. Seeking to explore the relationship between cigarettes and weight loss in-depth within the community, it offers a fantastic insight into how we may better pursue economic and social policies that encourage health and affirm the disparate link between smoking and healthy weight loss.
Food Addiction Affects Men Too: The Hidden Truth
Speaking of diets, one of the contemporary challenges we face is properly identifying avenues for men to further expand their own sense of identity. While we rightfully seek to champion today the progression of women across all society into roles previous denied them by the gender divide, so too does their remain good work to be done in seeking to build out the modern male identity. Chief among these efforts is fostering an understanding that a man who identifies he is struggling, and then seeks help, is not weak but instead strong. While food addiction has achieved widespread publicity as it relates to its impact upon women, less attention has been given to its impact on men. This article makes for compelling reading on how we may yet make greater inroads in battling a notable if often undiscussed addiction in men.
With smartphones and tablets ubiquitous in our daily lives there’s the opportunity to easily do many things quickly. From sending an email to paying a bill to ordering a pizza, apps have cut down time and made more seamless daily tasks in our routine. By and large this can be a great thing, but it also poses some unique dangers. In a bygone era someone who has a gambling addiction would have been able to form a plan built upon staying away from places like casinos, not reading a newspaper that has gambling advertisements, and so on. Today this is not possible, with social media, native advertising, and the wider ease-of-access to gambling services owed to the rise of user friendly tech. This article serves as an important assessment of this new dynamic, and how we may better understand the new challenges people recovering from gambling addiction face in their daily online life.
Physician Capacity to Treat Opioid Use Disorder With Buprenorphine-Assisted Treatment
It is not news there can be a discord between medical professionals and policy makers. While some good faith should exist both sides – practitioners need recognise politicians may not fully appreciate the nuance of a treatment just as politicians should fairly give weight to expertise opinion – whenever a communication breakdown does occur, patients always lose out in the end. This article illustrates this reality well, surrounding the current rollout of Buprenorphine, a drug to assist in the treatment of opioid use disorders, but currently beset by red tape surrounding prescriptions beyond the first year of treatment. This piece a must-read not only for an insight into the challenge surrounding the effective utilisation of Buprenorphine, but also the wider challenge that exists navigating the gulf between best medical practice, and the communication of it within the public sphere.