The journalist, Sandra Lamb, a careful researcher who writes frequently about science and healthcare info, wrote for American Association of Retired People the following article. Before you, the younger generation, stop reading. Hold on and continue reading. The meds she talks about are for all ages. Click on this and don’t let the please joins us ads stop you. Here we go: https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2023/medications-to-stop- Remember this is for all ages.

With all the news about the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe versus Wade, no matter what your stand is on abortion, those women who are alcoholics have special needs. My book, The Drinking Woman Revisited, has a whole chapter devoted to alcoholism and pregnancy. If you are a member of a library you, as a member, have the right to ask them to get a copy for you. Otherwise you can as well buy it on line. What is important to know is that when you drink alcohol while pregnant it passes on to the fetus in the same concentration as nourishment is passed on to the fetus, and the drinking mother is placing her baby as much in danger of a withdrawal syndrome as she is. Obstetricians and gynecologists as well as primary physicians are all trained to help alcoholics. There are medicines that help you curtail drinking. If you don’t get the compassion and medical advice you need change doctors. If you are having a hard time stopping to drink take one step at a time, one day at time. Go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and get a sponsor who will understand your situation and be there for you.

It is not unusual for an alcoholic to get pregnant after having been to a party where she can’t remember what happened because she had so much to drink. It is important that you, if this is your story, not feel isolated. Another place to call is Women For Sobriety (215) 536-8026 or email to contact@womenforsobriety.org. They will provide you help. Anonymity is always respected.

Abortion is a private and very personal decision. You may want to discuss this with your priest, minister, rabbi or a family member before you decide how to handle your predicament.

Many women are managing abortion today with pills. Be aware what is involved, what to expect, and if there could be any serious side effects. Here are some online networks which will help you decide what might work for you. If you do decide to order a pill or pills on line find out how long delivery takes. You don’t want medicines to arrive at a time when you are too advanced in your pregnancy.

MYA NETWORK puts you in touch with physicians who answer questions about self-managed abortions.

ABORTION PILL INFO has advice how to keep your online research private.

AID ACCESS screens women on line and orders abortion pills from overseas.

PLAN C an organization that has a list available of pharmacies which sell the various abortion pills.

With all the news about the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe versus Wade, no matter what your stand is on abortion, those women who are alcoholics have special needs. My book, The Drinking Woman Revisited, has a whole chapter devoted to alcoholism and pregnancy. If you are a member of a library you, as a member, have the right to ask them to get a copy for you. Otherwise you can as well buy it on line. What is important to know is that when you drink alcohol while pregnant it passes on to the fetus in the same concentration as nourishment is passed on to the fetus, and the drinking mother is placing her baby as much in danger of a withdrawal syndrome as she is. Obstetricians and gynecologists as well as primary physicians are all trained to help alcoholics. There are medicines that help you curtail drinking. If you don’t get the compassion and medical advice you need change doctors. If you are having a hard time stopping to drink take one step at a time, one day at time. Go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and get a sponsor who will understand your situation and be there for you.

It is not unusual for an alcoholic to get pregnant after having been to a party where she can’t remember what happened because she had so much to drink. It is important that you, if this is your story, not feel isolated. Another place to call is Women For Sobriety (215) 536-8026 or email to contact@womenforsobriety.org. They will provide you help. Anonymity is always respected.

Abortion is a private and very personal decision. You may want to discuss this with your priest, minister, rabbi or a family member before you decide how to handle your predicament.

Many women are managing abortion today with pills. Be aware what is involved, what to expect, and if there could be any serious side effects. Here are some online networks which will help you decide what might work for you. If you do decide to order a pill or pills on line find out how long delivery takes. You don’t want medicines to arrive at a time when you are too advanced in your pregnancy.

MYA NETWORK puts you in touch with physicians who answer questions about self-managed abortions.

ABORTION PILL INFO has advice how to keep your online research private.

AID ACCESS screens women on line and orders abortion pills from overseas.

PLAN C an organization that has a list available of pharmacies which sell the various abortion pills.

We have all been trying to understand the latest school shootings. You may feel awful, confused about how to talk to the school children in your family. You yourself may need help. Just log in to: https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/addressing-trauma-mass-violence?utm_source=SAMHSA&utm_campaign=663f420fa3-SAMHSA_Blog_2022_06_22_1601271&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ee1c4b138c-663f420fa3-167818301.

You can also copy/paste the link on to google. Do it you are not alone.

On July 16, 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) will transition to an easy-to-remember, 3-digit number (988). This represents an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and expand the existing network of over 200 locally operated and funded crisis centers across the country.

In advance of the 988 transition in July, the Lifeline Suicide & Crisis Network is looking to bring on new volunteers and paid employees to answer calls, chats, and texts from people in crisis. All employees and volunteers receive training, so if you are a caring person who wants to help those in crisis, apply today.

Find YOUR opportunity: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988/jobs

Read more about 988 at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988

New Reports and Grant Program Address Health Needs of Pregnant Women and Children Affected by Substance Use

A new series of reports from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on substance-exposed pregnancies highlights how pregnant and postpartum women who use substances and their children can benefit from evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies. The reports are being released as SAMHSA begins accepting applications for the Services Grant Program for Residential Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women. This $10 million grant program will provide pregnant and postpartum women and their children with comprehensive substance use treatment and recovery support services across residential and outpatient settings. In addition, for the first time this year, the program will extend services to fathers, partners, and other family members. The application due date for the grant program is April 4, 2022. Need more info google SAMHSA or phone 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

(This is a copy of what SAMHSA just issued. If you are pregnant or nursing and are having issues with drinking reach out to SAMHSA. You are not the only one who has these problems. Give yourself a chance to go into remission. You want a healthy baby. Let the pediatrician know as well. The doctors today are trained to help with these situations. Go for it. Be good to yourself and your child)

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PODCAST REPLAY: Anne and Sam Lamott
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Partnership to End Addiction
Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite interviews from Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas, featuring Anne and Sam Lamott. Bestselling novelist and essayist Anne Lamott had more than her share of experience with substance use disorders: Growing up with family members with addiction, she also had distinct memories of drinking as a child. Decades later, she watched as her son Sam began struggling with methamphetamines. Today, both mother and son have been in recovery for many years.

Re-join Elizabeth as she speaks to Anne and Sam about addiction in the family, the influence of believing in a higher power, the importance of searching for inner grace rather than external accolades, and how it felt for Anne to witness her son’s struggle with addiction as a person in recovery herself.

Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and drugfree.

Partnership to End Addiction

711 Third Avenue, 5th Floor, Suite 500
New York, NY 10017
drugfree.org

Whether you are a man or a woman giving up drinking takes effort and mindfulness. Here is one man’s story who is willing to share in the hope that it helps you.

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This is a personal post. I have never shared this publicly until now. But while it’s personal, what I went through has had a profound professional impact on me in 2021. And my hope is someone reads this and it has an impact on them…

This is my first full calendar year of being sober.

My drinking during Covid got out of control. At first, it was having a drink a little earlier than usual. Then, it was having a few more drinks than I normally do. Next thing I knew, I was drinking every day.

I used to drink to have fun. To blow off steam. Last year, drinking became a coping mechanism. I was drinking to numb my emotions – to avoid dealing with my feelings. And with no end in sight to Covid, there was no end in sight to my drinking.

So, I got help and discovered a new life and a new Trey. A life based on meditation, yoga, mindfulness and breathwork. And this new lifestyle that I discovered created a kind, caring and compassionate CEO who comes to work everyday at 100% – fully focused on the happiness, wellness and success of his employees, clients and business.

So, while I’m celebrating the first full year of the new Trey (who I love), I want others to read this and know that 1) you are not alone if you are struggling, 2) there is hope for you if you feel hopeless and 3) it’s ok to share that you don’t drink either. No one has judged me based on my journey. (PS: Drinking in America has gotten out of hand. It’s ok not to drink.)

Happy New Year! See you in 2022!

By: CAPT Jeffrey A. Coady, Psy.D., ABPP, Acting Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and SAMHSA Region 5 Administrator

December. As individuals, we look forward to getting together with friends and family to celebrate the holidays. It’s also a time when prevention can play an especially important role. December is a deadly month for impaired driving.

The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) reported that in 2019 during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, 210 lives were lost due to alcohol-impaired driving crashes. That’s 210 people in one week who didn’t make it home because either they or someone with whom they came in contact chose to use alcohol and then get behind the wheel. That same year, more than 10,000 people died from drunk driving crashes alone.

These deaths were preventable. That’s why for more than 40 years, preventionists across the country have observed National Impaired Driving Prevention Month in December to raise awareness that impaired driving can be deadly and to put strategies in place for all of us to make it home safely.

As everyone takes precautions to be able to safely return to in-person events, more and more celebrations are being added to the calendar. It could be an intimate dinner at a friend’s house, perhaps a happy hour to celebrate a return to the office, or a gathering of high school friends home from college. In each instance, alcohol and other substances may not be necessarily at the center of the fun but are a common denominator.

Alcohol-impaired driving crashes—which range from being under the influence of substances to distracted driving to speeding—increase throughout December as more people travel. SAMHSA’s 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed over 26 million people ages 16 or older drove under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs during the past year. Approximately 17 percent of these people were 20 to 25 years old.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and nonfatal injury among U.S. adolescents, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths and 300,000 nonfatal injuries each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While NHTSA’s “Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving” campaign addresses driving under the influence of just alcohol, it’s important to note that many substances can impair driving, including marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines, or even prescribed or over-the-counter medications.

The good news is that prevention works. As we come together this holiday season, educate yourself and others on the risks of driving while impaired and take steps to stay safe. We can start with the science. There are no shortcuts to “sobering up” and preparing to drive; a person’s coordination and reaction time

are slowed long before they actually show signs of intoxication. Coffee is not a cure-all. And even slowing or stopping drinking an hour or more before planning to drive does not mean the alcohol has “worn off.”

( a word from this blogger: be proactive if you go out new year’s eve as well as every day and night throughout the year. Be good to yourself. Take care of yourself. You matter.)

Yes, the holidays are here. And so is stress. Here are some suggestions. Don’t go to parties or family gatherings where there is a lot of drinking. Think of what you have accomplished and what you must do for yourself. All alone? Is there an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting near you? A church service? Women for Sobriety gathering? Make a list of where you can meet women in a similar situation. Make a new year’s vow that you will meet women in your situation through various help organizations. Married? Then make sure that your family understands that you want to be in non-drinking situations. If your family is not helpful consider family therapy. Therapists have a way of wording needs and situations that raises peoples consciousness. Be good to yourself.