Mindful Monkey.

The damage caused by drugs, or the damage caused by drug policy?

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This looks like it might be an interesting lecture. It is free and open to all. Click Here for the poster. If you fancy going then have a look at the message from the person below:

The Department of Criminology presents the third public lecture as part of the re-launched Scarman lecture series. The lecture will be held on Wednesday 13 June at 4:30pm at the Frank and Katherine May lecture theatre in the Henry Wellcome building.

As with the other lectures in the Scarman series, this lecture is free, open to all and a wine reception will be held after the lecture to give you an opportunity to talk to the guest speaker Julian Buchanan

Please see the attached poster for more information regarding the lecture and the guest speaker.

All bookings have to be made by contacting me at rk191@le.ac.uk

If you would like to attend please reply with your name and the name of anyone else that you would like to bring with you.

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone that you think may be interested in attending.

Any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me

Regards

Russell Knifton
Marketing and Admissions Administrator
University of Leicester
Department of Criminology

 

Maybe see you there.

Buy Ambien Canada Online – Sleeping Pills

In the US, about 750,000 people take sleeping pills every night to fight insomnia. About 300,000 people do this more than three months and are chronic users of sleeping pills. This is an insomnia underestimated public health problem.
Most used sleep drugs
The most commonly prescribed sleep drugs are oxazepam (brand name Seresta), temazepam (brand name Normisom) and generic Ambien (Zolpidem). These drugs are covered by the so-called benzodiazepines, a collective term for drugs with sedative ingredients. Most sedatives and hypnotics belong to this group.
Benzodiazepines have a positive effect in the short term, but work after prolonged use highly addictive. Women and old people are relative users of many sleeping pills and sedatives. The benzodiazepines group is also the largest.
Using these pills should be gradual and performed under proper guidance. Still succeeds in only half of the people who addicted to sleeping pills to really stop that treatment.
Side effects
The negative side effects of Ambien 20mg (benzodiazepines) are large and downright dangerous. Sleeping pills make you drowsy and slow, causing muscle weakness.
Also, you have no coordination and concentration that occurs more memory, habituation and addiction. Your function is deteriorating day, like your driving skills. Of the elderly who take hypnotics, it is known that they frequently fall and break a hip.
Of oxazepam and temazepam we also know that the disable your ability to have a strong dream using Ambien from Canada. The funds help to quell fears that would prevent else to sleep well at night.
It is not known what the consequences are if you do not dream a long time, but it is certain that dreams play a crucial role in processing emotions.
Withdrawal symptoms
The withdrawal symptoms after stopping sleep medications are big. A summary: palpitations, anxiety, irritability, agitation, muscle twitching, tremors, hard tense muscles, diarrhea, dizziness, sensitivity to light, sound or touch, burning skin, loss of interest, concentration disturbance, decreased appetite, nausea, headache, blurred vision and – how ironic! – Fatigue and insomnia.
The conventional sleep medications we rely on when we want a good night’s sleep, so do end often do more harm than good.

Hallucinogenic Mushrooms may help with depression, say leading scientists

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An article in the Guardian (23.1.12) reported some studies using Hallucinogenic Mushrooms it said:

A drug derived from magic mushrooms could help people with depression by enabling them to relive positive and happy moments of their lives, according to scientists including the former government drug adviser, Professor David Nutt.

Two studies, for which scientists struggled to find funding because of public suspicion and political sensitivity around psychedelic drugs, have shed light on how magic mushrooms affect the brain.

Nutt, from Imperial College London, was sacked as a government drug adviser after claiming tobacco and alcohol were more dangerous than cannabis and psychedelic drugs such as ecstasy and LSD.

He believes prejudice and fear have prevented important scientific work on psychedelic drugs. Research began in the 1950s and 60s but was stopped by the criminalisation of drugs and stringent regulations which made the work costly.

“Everybody who has taken psychedelics makes the point that these can produce the most profound changes in the state of awareness and being that any of them have experienced,” said Nutt.

Magic mushrooms may help with depression, say leading scientists | Society | The Guardian.

If you are interested in these ideas then you might like to take a look at the work of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies – http://maps.org/.

Addiction Services in 2012 – where are we headed?

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The magazine ‘Addiction Today’ has produced a preview of the challenges faced by addiction services in 2012. The contributors come from a variety of different perspectives. Worth a read I think.

Leading personalities in the field of addiction treatment and recovery use their insights and inside information to predict what they consider will be the major opportunities and threats of the

Addiction Today: PREPARE FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF 2012.

Mindfulness and the Brain

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BBC News – Scans ‘show mindfulness meditation brain boost’. There is more to Mindfulness than meets the eye. While Mindfulness has long been seen as a tool for personal growth and well-being; research into neuroscience can now demonstrate a range of health benefits. This can include overcoming difficulties with sleep, pain, blood pressure and become calmer and centred. Becoming calmer and more centred enables us to deal better with situations. Watch the short clip from the link above to see how modern science is showing evidence that something quite tangible is happening in the mind when we can learn to be mindful.

Who can we lean on when times are hard?

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Based on figures released by the NHS Information Centre some newspapers reported ‘A rising tide of Depression’. The detailed figures are alarming to read.

Prescriptions for drugs such as antidepressants and sleeping pills have jumped 20% in just three years, according to new figures.  The Press Association: Use of antidepressants ‘is soaring’.

In 1999 the World Health Organisation, the global monitor of health in the world, stated that, Depression was the world’s fourth most debilitating human condition, behind heart disease, cancer, and traffic accidents. It also predicted by 2020 depression will have risen to become the second most common cause of human suffering worldwide. In 2006 the WHO predicted that in high-income countries, depression would become the number one cause of disease burden by 2030.

I guess whatever we are doing in our society isn’t making us happy! And the evidence for help from antidepressants is questionable. So what works? Well it seems that mindfulness skills can help. The evidence for its effectiveness in helping with depression is growing and NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) guidelines on the treatment of Depression now include Mindfulness based approaches.

The Mental Health Foundation produced the Mindfulness Report in 2010, and ran the ‘Be Mindful‘ campaign. Their summary of the evidence for Mindfulness goes well beyond depression to many other areas of well being.

We will be running Mindfulness Courses in 2011, watch this space. In the meantime feel free to try out my short guided mindfulness download called the Breathing Space which is described in an earlier post

Foundation Degree in Drug & Alcohol Counselling – at the University of Leicester

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I am the course tutor on the Foundation Degree. If you are working with substance users or would like to move into the field then the Foundation Degree might be the course for you. It is part time and designed to fit alongside work. It runs as a one evening a week class or as a Distance Learning Course, if you live further afield or need the flexible study option.

“The course will provide the skills, knowledge base and expertise needed to use counselling skills within the drug and alcohol counselling field. The Degree provides an opportunity for people to train as drug and alcohol counselling workers and build a career in this profession… and will enable students to develop sufficient competence and confidence to access employment in the drug and alcohol counselling field.”

More information about the Face to Face Course or the Distance Learning Course. Alternatively you can download the information here:

Course Information – Distance Learning

Course Information – Evening Classes in Leicester

Application Form

Intake for 2012 will start in January.

 

Post Graduate Courses in Drug & Alcohol Treatment

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I am involved in running a Post Graduate course at the University of Leicester, Department of Medical & Social Care Education. If you work with Substance Users, have a degree and want to to go further then:

The Postgraduate Courses in Drug and Alcohol Treatment are specifically designed for people working with those who have drug or alcohol problems.  The curriculum is based on the skills and knowledge required for effective treatment and course tutors are all practitioners from a variety of professions with many years experience.

The course starts of with the Post Graduate Certificate and students can take this further to a Masters if they wish.

  • Year 1 – Post Graduate Certificate
  • Year 2 – Post Graduate Diploma
  • Year 3 – Masters (by Dissertation)

Click Here for further information.

Alternatively you can download the Information for Applicants and Application Form here.

The rise of Ecstasy in Brazil

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An article in the guardian on 18.12.11 reports on the rise of Ecstasy use in Brazil; it says:

“The annual incineration of police hauls of marijuana and cocaine is nothing new to South America, home to some of the biggest coca fields and marijuana plantations on Earth… Brazil remains one of the largest cocaine consumers in the world and a major transit point for the drug. But a recent report by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime suggested consumption of synthetic drugs, stable or falling in much of Europe, is on the rise in Brazil and other South American countries… In 2001 Brazil’s federal police reported seizing 1,909 ecstasy pills at the country’s borders and airports. Ten years on, that figure has mutiplied by 100.

After a July operation that dismantled an ecstasy trafficking ring which had been importing 30,000 pills each month from Holland, drug squad chief João Luiz Caetano de Araújo said: “Synthetic drugs are slowly replacing cocaine consumption.”

Next year the changing habits of Brazilian drug users will make their big screen debut, with the release of Artificial Paradises, a feature film focusing on “Brazil’s ecstasy generation”

Looks like they are starting to go through what happened in the UK from the late 80s with the ‘Rave Generation’. At the moment they seem to be importing from Europe. I wonder what will happen when the supply lines shift to China. There are reports that MDMA production is starting up in china using the infrastructure and supply lines established with Mephedrone and the other ‘Legal Highs’.

via Brazil ecstasy haul points to new generation of drug mules | World news | guardian.co.uk.

Why We Created This Space

Over the years we came across lots of people who resonated with some of our ideas. So we decided to find a way to continue our dialogue.

A growing community of people have been coming to the same conclusions: That having more ‘things’ does not correlate well with fulfilment. Instead mindful living, positive relationships and being involved in activities that contribute to the well-being of others seem to help us feel better about ourselves and the world.

This seems to be pointing to something essential. Wellbeing stems from our connection with ourselves, other people and the natural world. We want to be one small voice that adds to this discussion. Mindful-monkey is a space to find ideas and resources, so stay in touch by subscribing to our newsletter or by 'liking' our Facebook page below. Read more about us.

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