Month: September 2014

Economic emotional recovery: How to be sensitive when talking to friends who don’t have much

Posted on by kathleenmc1953@sbcglobal.net

have and have nots

There is an aristocracy of the sensitive. They represent the true human tradition of permanent victory over cruelty and chaos.

E. M. Forster

Since the great recession you may be among the people who have bounced back financially and emotionally. Let’s face it though, even if you have recovered, we all were pretty scared for at least a couple of years. Imagine how this might feel for those who haven’t rebounded. Pretty bad, huh?

Well, it’s one thing to have had a fairly middle class life and to have lost it in the past few years. It’s another thing to have those who were in your social circle go on about their business without nary an acknowledgement of your situation. They may talk about buying and selling houses, their cash out, their retirement, their bonuses and their promotions. Meanwhile you sit across from them at a table in a restaurant barely able to pay your half of the bill, no less pick up the check like you used to.

It astounds you that they can be so insensitive. It is as though the American middle class has been torn in two, those who were lucky enough to find a way to prosper and those who are treading water and about to drown. Why can’t they see this too? Why do they continue to ignore your dire situation?

Really, I think it’s because they can see how easily the wrong move at the wrong time or a sudden misfortune could put them exactly in the seat you are in now, looking across the table at someone they no longer have all those “things” in common with. The American Dream gone haywire…

So…some sensitivity is in order here. If you’re doing well, don’t talk about this too much to others who are spending their last bit of savings on necessities. Ask them how they are doing and listen. Don’t make suggestions about how they can get out of the hole they are in unless there is a realistic way you can provide assistance. They already have tried everything you can think of and more. If you feel that your assistance might obligate you or embarrass them you can always help anonymously.

If you have more, now is the time to pitch in and help your less fortunate friends. A recovery is no fun for anyone if a whole lot of people are left out. Fulfill the social contract: give them a way back in.

Caffeine Powder: Emerging Drug Trend?

Posted on by kathleenmc1953@sbcglobal.net

caffeine powder

 

This is the third in a series of posts about drug trends in the United States and other countries. Previously I looked at drug use in San Francisco and at Burning Man. In this post I will begin to look at emerging drug trends, drugs that are newer on the scene or are making a comeback.

Media Hype

The media do not necessarily report accurately about the harm related to the use of various drugs; drug use tends to be sensationalized. This can lead to people dismissing the negative consequences associated with certain drugs. What is needed is a balanced approach to inform the public of the realistic hazards which may influence a person’s choice to use a drug or not. I will, therefore, look at information from governmental sources such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) as well as press accounts.

Caffeine Powder as Emerging Drug Trend

The most recent emerging drug trend according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG) is caffeine powder. Some highlights from the latest report about caffeine powder include:

        • Ohio high school senior died due to overdose of powdered caffeine
        • Bags of bulk caffeine powder offered online and bought for weight loss and athletic performance
        • One teaspoon of caffeine is equal to 25 cups of coffee which is a lethal amount
        • Overdose can cause erratic and fast heartbeat, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea and disorientation
        • Very easy to overdose because it is difficult to measure correct dosage with ordinary kitchen implements
        • Recommended that caffeine powder be avoided altogether
        • Parents should be aware of this form of caffeine and be alert to the hazard

A Sign of Things to Come? Perhaps…

This CEWG warning about caffeine powder is dated July 2014 and appears to be most immediately in response to the death of an Ohio teenager in May 2014. I looked at the the CEWG regional reports that were presented in June 2014, after this incident. None of the reporting areas in the United States list caffeine powder as a drug trend.

While not occurring in the United States, another recent death took place in Britain when a 23 year-old man took two teaspoons of caffeine powder and washed it down with an energy drink in 2010.

Dr. Henry Spiller, who directs the poison control center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, said that in the last year there have been 30 caffeine powder overdoses reported to poison control centers nationally. He also reported that his poison control center had three reports of people hospitalized due to misuse of caffeine powder.

FDA Concerns

Caffeine has been on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and American Poison Control’s radar for several years now. In 2010 the FDA warned manufacturers to take beverages containing alcohol and caffeine off the market. Wrigley’s Gum also took their caffeinated gum off the market in 2013 after the FDA expressed concerns.

In Conclusion

Powdered caffeine is marketed online and in stores and can be far more potentially lethal than either energy drinks or caffeine tablets since measuring the amount is difficult and the lethality of the dose is indeterminate. It therefore comes as no surprise that the FDA is presently considering regulatory action.

There is more information about the facts and fiction of caffeine in its various forms here.