I’ve written a couple of essays on drug overdoses. Unfortunately, as a drug counselor, I’ve known too many people who have died. Drug overdoses happen more often than you want to believe. Last year, I surveyed a group of ten people who were in drug treatment for addiction to opioids (heroin or pain killers). Among […]

Young people don’t have a good understanding of mortality. When I was younger, I took risks, never believing that something bad could happen to me. But now I am afraid. I’m afraid for my dark-skinned family members. I’m afraid for the safety of myself and other women. I worry for our LGBTQ community members, global […]

No one wants a divorce. It is terribly painful for one or both partners and the children. But by the time a woman says “I’m Done” it may be too late. Michael Rosenfeld of Stanford University studied relationships and breakups. It turns out that women are 69% more likely to initiate divorce than men. Interestingly, […]

There’s a saying that it’s better to give than to receive. We get an overall feeling of happiness when we help someone, or plan a surprise for someone, or give a gift. Did you know that every time you perform a good act, you get a drop of serotonin? Serotonin is the feel good chemical […]

I attended the wake of a young woman this week. I’ll call her Carla. She was 20 years old, petite, pretty, sweet and smart. I had known she was a biology major but didn’t know that she was also a skier and golfer. I learned this from the photos displayed at the funeral home where […]

Between the 1960s and the 2000s, Americans grew, on the average, an inch taller and 24 pounds heavier. I think you could make the case that Americans are getting larger while at the same time are increasingly troubled over their bodies. Men, women and children are self conscious about their size. Everyone makes a New […]

I had to laugh at an HBO video “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Marketing to Doctors.” But in addition to laughing, I wanted to scream. He uses humor to address a very serious problem regarding prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies advertise drugs on TV commercials and encourage the viewer to “ask your doctor if this […]

I listened to a wife complain that she felt unimportant. Her husband was inattentive and a poor listener. He was addicted to his phone, causing him to be distracted when she talked or shared activities such as a meal. He admitted that he spent an inordinate amount of time on his cell phone which he […]

The U.S. has suffered many epidemics such as smallpox, yellow fever, polio, and HIV/AIDS. Utah Governor, Gary Herbert is concerned about a new health crisis: Pornography. He signed a resolution calling for additional research and policy changes to combat the “pornography epidemic that is harming the citizens of Utah and the nation.” He believes porn […]

Heroin and prescription medicines kill thousands of people every year. According to the CDC, almost 30,000 people died of opioid overdoses in 2014. 74 people overdosed on the west side of Chicago within a 72-hour period in October 2015. And closer to home, there were five overdose deaths in Dubuque, Iowa since March 1st. Two […]