AMERICAN PIONEERS 12 step fundamentalists

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. See Also: Health & Medicine Pharmacology Birth Defects Mental Health Research Mind & Brain Depression Disorders and Syndromes Psychiatry Reference COX-2 inhibitor Psychoactive drug Seasonal affective disorder Anti-obesity drug "We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article, published recently in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology. "It's important because millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they're safe and effective." Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of anti-depressants and determined that the benefits of most anti-depressants, even taken at their best, compare poorly to the risks, which include premature death in elderly patients. Anti-depressants are designed to relieve the symptoms of depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, where it regulates mood. The vast majority of serotonin that the body produces, though, is used for other purposes, including digestion, forming blood clots at wound sites, reproduction and development. What the researchers found is that anti-depressants have negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin. The findings include these elevated risks: developmental problems in infants problems with sexual stimulation and function and sperm development in adults digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, indigestion and bloating abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly The authors reviewed three recent studies showing that elderly anti-depressant users are more likely to die than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. The higher death rates indicate that the overall effect of these drugs on the body is more harmful than beneficial. "Serotonin is an ancient chemical. It's intimately regulating many different processes, and when you interfere with these things you can expect, from an evolutionary perspective, that it's going to cause some harm," Andrews says. Millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants every year, and while the conclusions may seem surprising, Andrews says much of the evidence has long been apparent and available. "The thing that's been missing in the debates about anti-depressants is an overall assessment of all these negative effects relative to their potential beneficial effects," he says. "Most of this evidence has been out there for years and nobody has been looking at this basic issue." In previous research, Andrews and his colleagues had questioned the effectiveness of anti-depressants even for their prescribed function, finding that patients were more likely to suffer relapse after going off their medications as their brains worked to re-establish equilibrium. With even the intended function of anti-depressants in question, Andrews says it is important to look critically at their continuing use. "It could change the way we think about such major pharmaceutical drugs," he says. "You've got a minimal benefit, a laundry list of negative effects -- some small, some rare and some not so rare. The issue is: does the list of negative effects outweigh the minimal benefit?"

“Redemptive” Suffering v. Codependence  A colleague recently said to me, “You Christians are  all co-dependent.” He was referring to the premium Christianity places upon being willing to sacrifice oneself for the good of others. Like many people, he confused co-dependency with what is more properly called,  “redemptive suffering” and there’s a big difference. One way to think of redemptive suffering is to view it as the suffering you endure when you stand up for what is good and just.  Imagine that I do something wrong and you–charitably–tell me about it.  Even if you were kind about it, you might suffer because I might be upset with you, and I might suffer because I’m being challenged to change.  But that suffering is redemptive because you are strengthening your backbone and I’m getting a chance to be a better person. But co-dependence represents an unhealthy counterfeit of redemptive suffering.  Codependency is what happens when you suffer because you’re too afraid, tired, or worn down to stand up for what’s good and just.   Let’s use the same example.  Imagine I hurt you, but this time, you don’t say anything  because you just don’t want the trouble.  You’ll suffer, all right, but that’s not redemptive suffering.  If this tendency takes hold over the long haul in an unhealthy relationship, it becomes co-dependency,  and there is nothing virtuous about it. Whether you are a believer or not, there will be times when you are challenged to sacrifice your comfort, security, or peace, for some greater good.  Knowing the difference between co-dependence and redemptive suffering can spell the difference between a worthwhile sacrifice and one that’s wasted.

Monday Night Muckers Meeting Format Preamble and Opening Prayer Welcome to the Monday Night Muckers Group of Cocaine Anonymous. This is an open meeting. We meet every Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. Our primary purpose is to connect untreated addicts to recovered addicts who guide newcomers through a personalized one on one study of the Twelve Step program as described in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. We substitute terms and phrases related to alcoholism to include cocaine and all mind-altering substances. We open this meeting with a moment of silence followed by the Step Three Prayer...let us take that moment now... God...I offer myself to Thee--to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I might better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy will always. Check-in My name is........and I am a recovered member of Cocaine Anonymous and your chairperson. (qualify) Let us take a moment to 'check-in' by going around the room and introduce yourself. This a Big Book Sponsorship Meeting. We shall be interested to hear from those who are getting results from this book, particularly those who have commenced work with other addicts. We have no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured‹these are the conditions we have found most effective. We have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even cocaine and all mind-altering substances. Love and tolerance of others is our code. We don't talk down to an addict from any moral or spiritual hilltop; we simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for your inspection and show others how they worked for us. We offer friendship and fellowship. If you want to get well we will do anything to help. To show other addicts precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of the first 164 pages of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous. If you would like to share a step experience, ask a question about the 12 Step program, or seek a solution to a particular a problem, wait until you are acknowledged by the chairperson. Please keep your sharing to approximately two to three minutes. Cross talk is permitted, but only, as a response to cite experiences and answers as found in the text of the Big Book. Closing Comments and Prayer Our time is up! We have a 7th Tradition. There are no dues or fees for C.A. membership. We are fully self-supporting through our own voluntary contributions. Our needs are simple, a place to hold our meeting and literature to help carry the message. Remember, studying the steps is not the same as taking the Steps. The Big Book says, "Here are the steps we took" NOT "here are the steps we read and talked about." The AA pioneers proved that action, not knowledge, produced the spiritual awakening that resulted in recovery from alcoholism or addiction. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to recover‹then you are ready to take certain steps. To work with someone who has recovered, someone who can show you 'how it works'--'that is 'how to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body', see me after the meeting and we will get you started. Remember, we recover by the steps we take, not the meetings we make! We conclude our meeting with the Step Seven Prayer... My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.

SURF AIR, a Californian start-up, has a novel business model: for a monthly fee you can fly with the airline as much as you want. Is buffet-style air travel the wave of the future? JetBlue and Sun Country Airlines have both already tried offering all-you-can-fly passes, but so far no carrier has built its business model exclusively on a buffet plan. The idea isn't bad, but some scepticism is warranted. At $790 a month, Surf Air's flying plan will probably only appeal to business travellers who often go to the same places and rich Californians in long-distance relationships. Will that customer base allow Surf Air to make a profit? Maybe: 20m frequent flyers jetted between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2011, according to the company's numbers. The airline plans to launch with service between Palo Alto, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, but it still needs to secure regulatory approval, according to a company press release. Frequent flyers make up a huge portion of the business-traveller population, and almost every airline relies on business travellers to get (and stay) in the black. There is surely some group of private-jet-sharing business travellers who might be attracted to an all-you-can-jet airline as a cheaper alternative. A lot will depend on how many flights and how much convenience Surf Air can offer, and how quickly it can expand service. The company's promises certainly seem attractive: [Surf Air will offer] its members 30-second booking and cancellations, travel to and from uncongested regional airports, and an easy arrive-and-fly process with no hassle, no lines and no extra fees. It's easy to make promises, though. It's much harder to run a profitable airline. As Gulliver often notes, the American airline sector overall has never really made any money—in fact, total earnings over the entire history of the industry are minus $33 billion. That, of course, suggests that existing airlines might be doing it wrong. Maybe all-you-can-fly really is the way to go. It's at least worth a shot. I'll be eager to see what people think of the final product—assuming regulators give the go-ahead.

It evolved in humans along with intelligence to make them more adept at avoiding danger. A study of 42 people found the worst sufferers of a common anxiety disorder had a higher IQ than those whose symptoms were less severe. Scientists say their findings published in Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience, suggest worrying has developed as a beneficial trait. Psychiatrist Professor Jeremy Coplan, of SUNY Downstate Medical Centre in New York, and colleagues found high intelligence and worry are linked with brain activity measured by the depletion of the nutrient choline in the white matter of the brain. He said: "While excessive worry is generally seen as a negative trait and high intelligence as a positive one, worry may cause our species to avoid dangerous situations, regardless of how remote a possibility they may be. "In essence, worry may make people 'take no chances,' and such people may have higher survival rates. Thus, like intelligence, worry may confer a benefit upon the species." The researchers made the discovery by monitoring activity in the brains of twenty six patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and eighteen healthy volunteers to assess the relationship between IQ, worry and the metabolism of choline. In the control group high IQ was associated with a lower degree of worry, but in those diagnosed with GAD it was linked with more. The correlation between IQ and worry was significant in both the GAD group and the healthy control group. But in the former it was positive and in the latter negative. Previous studies have indicated excessive worry tends to exist both in people with higher and lower intelligence, and less so in people of moderate intelligence. It has been suggested people with lower intelligence suffer more anxiety because they achieve less success in life. Worrying has also been shown to lessen the effect of depression by countering brain activity that heightens the condition.

Dieters often dismiss them because of their high fat content, but research suggests that snacking on nuts can help keep you slim. A study found that those who consumed varieties such as almonds, cashews and pistachios demonstrated a lower body weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference compared to non-consumers. They were also at lower risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Experts are now recommending a daily intake of 1.5 ounces, or three tablespoons of nuts as part of a healthy diet. Lead researcher Carol O'Neil, from Louisiana State University, said: 'One of the more interesting findings was the fact that tree nut consumers had lower body weight, as well as lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference compared to non-consumers. 'The mean weight, BMI, and waist circumference were 4.19 pounds, 0.9kg/m2 and 0.83 inches lower in consumers than non-consumers, respectively.' In the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers compared risk factors for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome of nut consumers versus those who did not consume nuts.

... My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.

We shall be interested to hear from those who are getting results from this book, particularly those who have commenced work with other addicts. We have no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured‹these are the conditions we have found most effective. We have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even cocaine and all mind-altering substances. Love and tolerance of others is our code. We don't talk down to an addict from any moral or spiritual hilltop; we simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for your inspection and show others how they worked for us. We offer friendship and fellowship. If you want to get well we will do anything to help. To show other addicts precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of the first 164 pages of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous. If you would like to share a step experience, ask a question about the 12 Step program, or seek a solution to a particular a problem, wait until you are acknowledged by the chairperson. Please keep your sharing to approximately two to three minutes. Cross talk is permitted, but only, as a response to cite experiences and answers as found in the text of the Big Book.

We open this meeting with a moment of silence followed by the Step Three Prayer...let us take that moment now... God...I offer myself to Thee--to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I might better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy will always.

mental ill-health already costs the country around £77bn a year, and psychological and emotional health issues lie at the root of some of our most intractable social problems, from alcoholism and obesity to long-term unemployment, violent crime and consumer debt. So why are we not doing more to address this situation, or educating the public about what they can do to look after themselves? Perhaps the answer lies in how we think and talk about mental health. Even the term has become associated primarily with illness, something that happens to other people, and that we hope won't happen to us. We try not to think about it, and leave the experts to fix us if something goes wrong. We all have mental health, and actually, we can all do simple things to maintain it. Recent studies suggests that around 40% of our mental wellbeing is down to our outlook and activities: the choices we make, the actions we take. Just as in physical health, expert care can be complemented by individual action. We can brush our teeth, try to get our five-a-day, but what about our minds? I started Mindapples to encourage people to think positively about the health of their minds. I wanted to create a campaign that did for mental health what the five-a-day campaign has done for physical health: to make taking care of our minds a normal, natural thing for all of us. The idea came out of conversations with my best friend Jo. I've had periods of stress and "burn-out" in my life, and Jo herself was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years ago. We talked frequently about how we were managing our minds, and she taught me a lot about how to take better care of myself. Yet when we looked around the mental health sector, there didn't seem to be any conversation in which we could participate as equals. She was placed on one side of the diagnosis line, a patient in need of care, and I on the other, in need of "sorting myself out". So I started Mindapples, initially as an online campaign in 2008 to crowdsource the answer to the question: "what's the five-a-day for your mind?" Four years on, we're offering services to train business leaders to manage their minds and educate the public about how to take better care of their mental health. Borrowing the five-a-day concept has been incredibly useful for us in communicating the positive, practical side of mental health, but just as important has been that we don't tell people what to do. Few public health campaigns include a space for people to reflect and share their own knowledge, and public health has a bad reputation for telling people how to live. That doesn't work for mental health. It's too personal, and in any case the evidence suggests taking prescribed actions to boost our wellbeing doesn't really work. Part of our success comes from taking an educational approach, focusing less on trying to change behaviour and more on increasing awareness and understanding. We already teach people about germs, plaque, tar and cholesterol, but mental health is decades behind. We don't understand what's happening to us, so we're scared to talk about it, and we don't know what positive actions we can take to remedy it. As neuroscience and psychology reveal more about how our minds work, we think huge progress can be made through basic mental health literacy training. For me personally, Mindapples has been a process of learning how to manage my own mental health. The first 'mindapple' I discovered was playing the piano: I found the complexity and emotional depth incredibly helpful when I felt sad or depressed. I'm not much of a pianist, but it doesn't matter: when I play, I feel better. Four years on, I work my mindapples into my daily routine. I walk between meetings, listening to music; I try to make time to talk to close friends; I work hard doing something useful for others; and I also try not to be too hard on myself. For me the most important mindapple is to give in to temptation at least once a day. After all, mental health should be fun, right? We've gathered over 50,000 'mindapple' suggestions already, but we want everyone in the UK to take an interest in what they can do to take care of their minds. When we consider the wider economic and social benefits of everyone managing their mental health, taking care of our minds is actually a massive opportunity, for businesses and for society. That's why, at Mindapples, we aim to make looking after our minds as natural as brushing our teeth.

It was a case of deja vu last night for the long-suffering residents of Salou, the northern Spanish town where thousands of British students flock every spring for four nights of drunken debauchery.

For the twelfth time, the Costa Dorada resort has been overrun by Saloufest, the notorious annual sports tour returning for another round of hard drinking, half-naked partying - and the odd day of volleyball or hockey.

The first pictures released from this year's event paint a familiar picture: packs of fresh-faced revellers in proudly ridiculous fancy dress, their flesh largely bare and arms aloft as they stagger and bellow through the streets.

On the march: British students wrapped in flags as they head out for the first night of parties at SalouFest in Salou, Spain

Fireman's lift: A British student makes off with a fellow reveller as the drunken Saloufest parties spill out on to the streets

Culture clash: Two young women match geisha-style makeup with pink bum bags for a night out in the Costa Dorada resort

The first 5,000 of a total 8,200 people are said to have made the trip from Britain's universities yesterday, marking an increase of 1,000 on last year.

Police say the first night of the tour passed without any arrests being made - but past form suggests they won't be holding out much hope for an easy ride.

Last year's event saw officers launch a crackdown on any students caught drinking in public, putting an end to the days when the locals would turn a blind eye to those flouting Salou's alcohol bylaws.

The town also decided to uphold rules preventing the Saloufest partiers from roaming around town half-naked.

The 2011 tour saw two toga-wearing students hauled off to a police station and fined £265 for breaking the alcohol laws.

This year the local authorities have handed out leaflets warning British visitors not to drink on streets and beaches, while those found stumbling around shirtless can expect to face the consequences.

Riot of colour: There's no missing these Brits abroad as they pull on garish tones and leggings for a debauched night in the Catalan village

Rowdy: Four students holler from the terrace of a nightclub during the first night of booze-soaked parties

Sitting comfortably? A show of bravado sees one British student doing a press-up as another sits on his back

Spanish media reports that ILoveTour, the firm that organises the festival, has some 30 supervisors on hand to babysit the horde of 18-to-23-year-olds.

One account, from Spanish newspaper El Pais, talks of streets streaked with vomit and urine, disoriented youths, deafening noise and riot vans on standby.

Despite local opposition, hoteliers in the area support Saloufest because it extends the holiday season and is timed so as not to interfere with the influx of Easter tourists. 

In an effort to keep the peace, some of the seven hotels set aside for the event have opted to separate their British guests from other holidaymakers.

The basic festival package sees students shell out £189 for coach travel and four nights in two-star accommodation, with optional extras including day trips to nearby Barcelona and Port Aventura.

Shameless: A passerby cheers as two partygoers get up close and personal outside an Irish-themed bar

In the gutter: The week-long tour has barely begun, but Saloufest seems to have taken its toll as these two huddle on the pavement outside a nightclub

Sin city: Dog collars and a novelty cross pass for fancy dress on the streets of Salou

Tribes: Clusters of UK students stagger through the village in fancy dress. A vague cavewoman theme finds this pair draped in animal print

Bookish? A mob of Saloufest drinkers in 'geek' fancy dress, one of the go-to costume themes for student union club nights up and down the UK

Amy Winehouse had reportedly squandered £10 million during her lifetime, which included £1 million on drugs in three years, a £500,000-hotel bill and £1,000-a-month on her kittens. The tragic singer who was 27 when she died, left an estate worth £4,257,580, which was reduced to £2,944,554 after debts and taxes were paid. Since the Rehab hitmaker did not leave a will, that money will, by default, be divided between her divorced parents Mitch and Janis. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, she was worth £10 million but a friend of her manager claimed that the singer may have been worth closer to £15 million. A friend connected to her management company said that she spent it all on drugs, on men, and on “friends” who said they needed her. “Before Amy died, money was being leeched off her left, right and centre,” the Daily Mail quoted the friend as saying. “It was like taking money off a baby when it came to Amy — she couldn’t stop giving it away. Mitch knew that most of it had probably been spent already,” the friend added. If Winehouse wanted to give £2,000 to a friend who had a hernia, for example, as she once did, she’d just ask her father to turn up with an envelope of cash. When she wanted to keep kittens, she would simply ask Mitch to take out some money from her trust to pay the enormous bills she ran up: according to him, she managed to spend more than £1,000-a-month on them. She would blow £20,000 in an afternoon at Selfridges on dresses, for instance, but in Winehouse’s world this counted as fairly small change. And her lifestyle, with a permanent retinue of bodyguards, was very expensive. The bodyguards cost £250-a-day each and she had up to half a dozen of them. An extraordinary ‘working’ holiday in St Lucia three years ago — which stretched to about a year and a half — cost her £2,000 a night during the five months of it she stayed in the luxury resort of Le Sport. The bill for spa treatments alone was £6,000. A record company source said he thought that hotel stay cost her at least £500,000, and she didn’t just spend money on herself. Her former husband Blake Fielder-Civil was apparently adept at milking her for money, asking for £150 “for a cab” whenever she called and said she wanted to see him. It is widely assumed she funded both their drug habits for years, too. Within three weeks of their marriage in 2007 she had a near-fatal overdose. Her heroin and cocaine habit in the days when she was using drugs, which she stopped around 2008, was in the nature of £1,000-a-day. It is assumed she might have spent £1 million or more on drugs alone between 2006 and 2008. Fielder-Civil, meanwhile, was given a £250,000 pay-off in their 2009 divorce.

The British government wants to expand its powers to monitor email exchanges and website visits, The Sunday Times reported. Internet companies would be instructed to install hardware to allow the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to go through "on demand" every text message and email sent, websites accessed and phone calls made "in real time, the paper said. The plans are expected to be unveiled next month. The Home Office said ministers were preparing to legislate "as soon as parliamentary time allows" but said the data to be monitored would not include content. "It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public," a spokesman said. "We need to take action to maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes. "Communications data includes time, duration and dialling numbers of a phone call, or an email address. "It does not include the content of any phone call or email and it is not the intention of government to make changes to the existing legal basis for the interception of communications." An attempt to bring in similar measures was abandoned by the Labour government in 2006 amid strong opposition. However, ministers in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government believe it is essential that the police and security services have access to such communications data in order to tackle terrorism and protect the public. The plans would not allow GCHQ to access the content of communications without a warrant. However, they would enable the agency to trace whom a group or individual had contacted, how often and for how long, the report said.