13. October 2010 by John Schinnerer.

From ScienceDaily…

ScienceDaily (Oct. 12, 2010) — Children who spend longer than two hours in front of a computer or television screen are more likely to suffer psychological difficulties, regardless of how physically active they are.

The PEACH project, a study of over a 1,000 children aged between ten and 11, measured the time children spent in front of a screen as well as their psychological well being. In addition, an activity monitor recorded both children’s sedentary time and moderate physical activity. The results showed that more than two hours per day of both television viewing and recreational computer use were related to higher psychological difficulty scores, regardless of how much time the children spent on physical activity.

The authors of the report, published in the November edition of the journal Pediatrics, conclude that limiting children’s screen time may be important for ensuring children’s future health and wellbeing.

According to the activity monitor, the children in the study who spent more time sedentary had better psychological scores overall. Those children who did more moderate physical activity fared better in certain psychological areas, including emotional and peer problems, but fared worse in some areas related to behaviour, including hyperactivity.

Lead author Dr Angie Page from the University of Bristol’s Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences said: “Whilst low levels of screen viewing may not be problematic, we cannot rely on physical activity to ‘compensate’ for long hours of screen viewing.

“Watching TV or playing computer games for more than two hours a day is related to greater psychological difficulties irrespective of how active children are.”

Children’s psychological wellbeing was assessed on the basis of a strengths and difficulties questionnaire which rated their emotional, peer, conduct and hyperactivity problems.

The children were asked to rate a series of statements as true on a three-point scale, varying from not true, to somewhat true to certainly true. Statements to assess their emotional wellbeing included; ‘I am often unhappy, down-hearted or tearful’, while statements to assess their peer problems included; ‘I am usually on my own’, ‘I generally play alone or keep to myself’.

This work was supported by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK) and the National Prevention Research Initiative.

University of Bristol (2010, October 12). Screen time linked to psychological problems in children. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2010/10/101011085958.htm

 Can we extend this study to adults who spend the majority of their time in front of computer screens at work and in front of the TV to unwind?

One of the solutions is to get out into nature as we know that being in nature has a restorative effect on the human mind.

Mindfulness also is a potential solution as it requires silence (what a concept!) which means turning off all electronics.

To live, love and laughter!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Founder of Guide to Self, Inc.

P.S. For a FREE copy of John’s award-winning self-help book, just visit www.GuideToSelf.com and click on the yellow book icon. In exchange for your email address and name, you will receive an instant PDF copy of Guide to Self: The Beginner’s Guide to Managing Emotion and Thought! Check it out now. It will take you less than 2 minutes.

Posted in De-escalating anger, Parenting adolescents, San Francisco Bay Area, Alamo CA, Self-improvement book, Managing anger, Impact of video games, Screen Time & Psych Problems, Free self-help book, Danville CA, ADHD, Depression, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Dr. John Schinnerer, Parenting, Managing Anxiety, Mindfulness, Managing Sadness, Anger Management, Managing stress | Print | No Comments »

12. October 2010 by John Schinnerer.

From ScienceDaily…

ScienceDaily (Oct. 9, 2010) — When people are rejected by peers, they often lash out. In children, that aggression occasionally takes horrifying directions, leading to school shootings or other deadly acts. Researchers in the Netherlands found that some children are more likely than others to lash out in response to acute peer rejection: children who already feel like outcasts.

“It was inspired by the fact that we had these school shootings and wondered what the most important feature of these kids could be,” says Albert Reijntjes of Utrecht University, who cowrote the study with five other psychological scientists. “In discussing it with colleagues, the alienation concept came up; maybe there is something to alienation that increases aggression.”

The researchers recruited students in two or three classes at each of three Dutch schools; 121 students aged 10 to 13 took part in the study. Each child was told they were playing an Internet contest called “Survivor” — a fake contest for the study. Each child completed a personal profile to be allegedly uploaded to the website alongside their picture. Then they were given time to look over the feedback they received from eight judges, children from other schools. Some of the children received mostly positive feedback; some had mostly negative feedback, like, “This person does not seem fun to hang out with.”

Finally, the child had a chance to choose how much money each judge would get, and to write comments about the judges.

Students who had been rejected were more likely to act aggressively toward judges — taking away money from them and/or writing comments like “this person is fat and mean.” They were even more aggressive if they’d scored high on a measure of alienation — agreeing with statements like, “Hardly anyone I know is interested in how I really feel inside.”

The results are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The experiment ended with a thorough debriefing session, where the researchers explained the project and that the judges and their mean comments were fake. To round it off, “We talk at length about a recent positive social experience they have had and they get a present,” Reijntjes says. “So far, that has always been successful in not getting crying kids.”

“When you’re an outcast, you’re more likely to lash out aggressively when faced with bad peer experiences,” says Reijntjes. “Although we examined “normal” aggression in a community sample, the findings shed light on factors involved in the more dramatic acts of aggression such as school shootings.” Maybe part of the solution is to help children not to feel like outcasts; he says it could be useful to look out for children who feel alienated and design interventions that help them feel part of the group.

For a free award-winning self-help book on managing negative emotions and cultivating happiness, visit www.GuideToSelf.com.
Journal Reference:

1.Albert Reijntjes, Sander Thomaes, Brad J. Bushman, Paul A. Boelen, Bram Orobio De Castro, and Michael J. Telch. The Outcast-Lash-Out Effect in Youth: Alienation Increases Aggression Following Peer Rejection. Psychological Science, 2010; DOI: 10.1177/0956797610381509

Posted in Parenting adolescents, San Francisco Bay Area, Optimal Human Functioning, Men's feelings, Anger management therapy, Anger in the workplace, Free self-help book, Managing anger, Danville CA, Men's emotions, Victims of bullying, School age bullies, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Parenting, Managing Sadness, Anger Management, Managing Anxiety, Managing stress | Print | No Comments »

8. October 2010 by John Schinnerer.

From ScienceDaily…

ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2010) — An alarming number of adolescents already battling eating disorders are also intentionally cutting themselves, and health-care providers may be failing to diagnose many instances of such self-injury, according to a new study from Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.

The researchers found that 40.8 percent of patients with eating disorders in their study had documented incidents of intentionally harming themselves, most often by cutting and burning. What’s more, the study suggests that inadequate clinical screening might mean the count should be much higher.

“These are very high numbers, but they’re still conservative estimates,” said the study’s lead author, Rebecka Peebles, MD, who was an instructor in pediatrics at Stanford when the research was conducted and is joining the faculty at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Peebles noted that clinicians aren’t routinely asking about this activity. “We ask 97 percent of children 12 years and up if they smoke cigarettes; we need to get that good with screening for self-injurious behavior,” she said.

The study is to be published online Oct. 8 in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Its senior author is James Lock, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of pediatrics. He is also psychiatric director of the Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program at Packard Children’s Hospital.

To conduct the study, the researchers examined the intake evaluation records of 1,432 patients, ages 10-21, who were admitted to the hospital’s eating disorders program from January 1997 through April 2008. Just over 90 percent of all the patients were female, three-quarters of them white, with a mean age of 15. Among the 40.8 percent identified to be physically harming themselves, the mean age was 16. Many of these patients had a history of binging and purging, and 85.2 percent of the self-injurers were cutting themselves.

The researchers also discovered that slightly fewer than half the charts showed that health-care providers had asked patients if they intentionally injured themselves. If patients aren’t asked, they are unlikely to volunteer such information, said Peebles.

Those who were questioned tended to fit previously published profiles of a self-injurer: older, white, female, suffering from bulimia nervosa, or with a history of substance abuse. “The question is, ‘Are we missing other kids who are not meeting this profile?’” Peebles said. “This is part of why we wanted to look at this. If you see an innocent-looking 12-year-old boy, you don’t even think of asking about self-injurious behavior. We need to get much better about universal screening.”

Peebles noted that the profile itself might be flawed. If health-care workers only ask a certain type of patient about a behavior, the profile that emerges will necessarily reflect that bias, she said.

The study did not examine the reasons behind such acts but Peebles said her clinical experience suggested patients “are trying to feel pain.”

“Patients describe a feeling of release that comes when they cut or burn themselves,” she said. “They’ll cut with a razor or a scissor blade. Sometimes we’ve even had kids who will take the tip of a paper clip and gouge holes. To burn themselves, they’ll heat up a metal object and press it to their skin, or they’ll use cigarettes.”

Physicians and other health-care providers at Packard’s Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program now question all new patients about self-injurious behavior. Studies have shown that between 13 and 40 percent of all adolescents engage in some form of self-injury, which is also associated with a higher risk of suicide.

“In clinical practice, kids are fairly open when you engage with them,” Peebles said. “They’ll come in wearing long sleeves, or hiding the marks on their inner thighs. But then when you ask them, they are usually willing to discuss the behavior.”

For full article, click here.

Please Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

I’ve witnessed cutting behaviors on the rise in my practice, particularly in those with borderline personality disorder and eating disorders. I recall it was shock when I first encountered cutting with one of my own family  members nearly 20 years ago. Now I’m seeing it much more frequently. In fact, some high school students are trying to help friends on their own with cutting behaviors. In one case, a high school student who was cutting was encouraged to go to her parents for help. The parent responded by yelling at the child ‘You can’t feel that way. We have a $2 million house. You have everything you could ever want. That’s ridiculous!’

Sometimes cries for attention are really cries for attention and need to be listened to with compassion. Then address them by seeking out professional help.

John Schinnerer Ph.D.

Founder Guide to Self, Inc.

For a free copy of John’s award-winning book on emotional management, visit http://www.GuideToSelf.com. You can get an instant PDF copy in exchange for your name and email address!

 MLA Stanford University Medical Center (2010, October 7). Self-injury behavior not recognized in many youths with eating disorders. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/10/101007184116.htm

Posted in Parenting adolescents, Self-help book, SRVHS, San Francisco Bay Area, San Ramon CA, Alamo CA, Self-improvement book, Managing anger, Eating disorders, Cutting behavior, MVHS, Emotion and physical health, Free self-help book, Danville CA, Relationships, Anxiety, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Emotional IQ, Life coach, Dr. John Schinnerer, Depression, Parenting, Anger Management, Managing Sadness, Managing Anxiety, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Managing stress | Print | No Comments »

4. October 2010 by John Schinnerer.

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Handsome. Intelligent. Strong. Athletic. Popular. Addicted to OxyContin.

As a senior in high school, Steve (whose name and details have been changed to protect his identity) is captain of the football team, an elite baseball player, has a 3.8 grade point average and dates one of the hottest girls on campus. His blonde hair flows in curls down around his ears. His olive skin is darker than usual due to afternoon practices under the 100 degree California sun. He is the quintessential All-American Guy – ruggedly good-looking, muscular, smart, physically gifted, admired by his peers and teachers, and revered by underclassmen.

As he sits in my office, Steve begins to tell me how he became addicted to one of the strongest prescription drugs on the planet – OxyContin.

OxyContin Facts

OxyContin is an opiate-based medication used to manage high intensity pain. It is an alternative to morphine for pain management. While morphine has been shown to be the most potent pain killer on the planet, OxyContin clocks in at a close second.

A 2009 WebMD report states that 12% of high school seniors have taken opioids without a doctor’s orders. The purpose? To relieve stress, to have a good time with friends, pain relief or simply for the high. These numbers are based on self-reports by high school students so it’s likely that these numbers are a conservative estimate.

OxyContin is produced by Purdue Pharma. It was introduced to the United States in 1996 after being approved by the FDA a year earlier.  In five short years, OxyContin became the biggest selling brand name narcotic pain reliever in America.  In 2008, retail sales of OxyContin surpassed $2.4 billion.

The generic version of OxyContin is oxycodone and comes under a variety of names including Oxycontin, Percodan-Demi, Percodan, Tylox, Percocet, OxyIR (immediate release), OxyNorm, Proladone suppositories and Roxicodone or Roxicet (both of which are immediate release). Most of these are available in varying dosages (e.g., 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and so on up to 80 mg).     

Steve’s Journey

As quarterback of the football team, Steve was expected to play regardless of physical injury.  When he suffered a low back injury, he went to his doctor who prescribed him Vicodin. The Vicodin took the edge off the pain but not fully. His ability to play was still impaired due to the injury. He returned to his M.D. who upped the ante to Vicodin ES which increased the dosage from 5 mg to 7.5 mg. The Vicodin and the Vicodin ES were his first introduction to the pleasant ‘high’ which results from opiate-based pain killers. Steve was prescribed 80 tabs of Vicodin ES with three refills and he was off and running.

Scripts for Pain Killers Represent a Ethical Quandary and Financial Opportunity for Some

The flip side of this difficult equation is that for some individuals, these prescriptions represent a money-making opportunity that is impossible to ignore. At $4 to $5 a pill, Steve’s prescription carried a street value of $1200 at the top end. For a student, that amount of cash lights up the reward centers in the brain to rival the effect of the opiates themselves.

One high school student told me that, upon bringing up the subject of his father’s recent shoulder surgery, he was asked what prescriptions his dad received. As soon as he mentioned Percodan, he was asked by a friend ‘Hey can you get me some of those? I’ll pay you for them.’

Slang Terms for OxyContin

Oxycontin is known as ‘hillbilly heroin’ due to the first cases of abuse occurring in rural areas like Appalachia. It also goes by the nicknames ‘OC’ and ‘oxy.’

Getting Into the Body

OxyContin can be swallowed in tablet form, crushed up and snorted, crushed and smoked, injected or inserted rectally in suppository form.  Oxy is a timed release pain killer so crushing it makes the high more intense and immediate. It also makes it more addictive and life-threatening.

Cranking Up the High

After a month of ramping up the number of Vicodin ES per day, the relaxed sense of well-being Steve got from the pills led to a desire for a more intense, longer-lasting buzz. A friend told him about the power of OxyContin. The friend had a few oxy that he’d taken from his dad’s medicine cabinet. Steve and his friend both swallowed a 20 mg oxy before school. Steve had never experienced anything like it. He felt ‘chill, relaxed and happy’, yet he was able to do his school work and manage his life. Steve later recalled, ‘all my problems seemed to recede into the background when I was taking oxy.’

How Long Does Oxy Take to Get Out of the Body?

Oxycontin is eliminated from the body via sweat and urine.  Individuals metabolize the drug at varying rates based on age, weight, amount consumed, frequency of doses consumed, overall health, metabolism rate of the body, tolerance to the drug and the manner in which the drug was consumed (e.g., swallowed, smoked, snorted, rectally inserted or injected).  The substance is detectable in urine tests for anywhere from 12 hours to 5 days from time of consumption (with an average of 3 days to leave the body).  Urine tests can look specifically for OxyContin use and are quite accurate. Be aware that there are tests which do not look specifically for synthetic opioid and thus miss the presence of oxy.

How OxyContin is Made

Oxy is a byproduct of the opium plant. Liquid is drained from the opium plant and dried to create a powder form of opium. A variety of substances are derived from this powder, including morphine, codeine and oxycodone.  

Climbing the Ladder

Soon after taking his first pill of oxy, Steve was swallowing 3 20 mg pills per day. He was flying on a cloud of detachment all day every day. Yet, the high started to dull after two weeks. The group of 4 friends he was hanging with spent most of their time, energy and money seeking out more and more oxy. If one of them could earn or steal $80, they would head to the town next door where a dealer would sell them 3 40 mg tabs of oxy for $80. Steve felt an intense rush of anticipation and excitement waiting in the car, unsure whether or not the dealer would deliver. Within a few weeks, Steve was crushing the pills into powder and snorting it with friends. Next, the group started crushing the pills, putting it in a pipe and smoking it to max out the euphoric high. However, the best high, according to Steve, was injecting it.

Acceleration towards Addiction

In the U.S., Oxycontin is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration due to the high risk of addiction associated with it. As individuals use oxy, a tolerance develops over time. As tolerance builds, users frequently increase dosages to get the same effect. Some individuals try different methods of taking the drug to achieve a similar or stronger effect (e.g., snorting, smoking, injecting).  As oxy is designed to be time-released and work over a 12-hour period, many abusers chew the pill, crush it and snort it, or crush it and mix with water to inject it so as to make the high more immediate and intense.A 2009 study from the National Study on Drug Use and Health reports that prescription pain relievers has risen over 400% from 1998 to 2008 in individuals over the age of 12. Pain killer abuse rose from 2.2% in 1998 to 9.8% a mere ten years later. These gains were seen across a variety of demographics including age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, educational level and geographic region. Even more startling, pain killer abuse exploded in treatment centers across the U.S. increasing from 6.8% in 1998 to 26.5% in 20008.  

Prescription pain killer abuse is now ‘the 2^nd most prevalent form of illicit drug use in the nation,’ stated Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Administrator Pamela Hyde, J.D.

Side Effects of OxyContin

While the main effect of the drug is relief from moderate to severe pain, OxyContin provides a variety of side effects. While these side effects vary by individual, they frequently include a sense of well-being, euphoria and relaxation. One side effect reported by a client is a feeling of calm in social settings (i.e., ‘it allowed me to chill’).   Many use to dull the emotions that cause them distress: anxiety, sadness, irritation and guilt.

OD and OC – The Downside

As a mental health professional, few things are as scarier to me than OxyContin and the possibility of overdose (OD). People begin taking oxy for the happy and pleasant high. Within 2 to 3 weeks, they use oxy simply to function and feel normal. Within 2 to 3 weeks, they are addicted. Within 2 to 3 weeks, they are forced into a terrible choice - use or suffer intense withdrawal effects. Some users combine alcohol with oxy to create a deadly effect. The FDA reports that combining OxyContin with alcohol, barbiturates, antihistamines, or benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium) may result in death. The exact number of deaths due to OxyContin is difficult to determine, but Miami-Dade County reported 11 deaths likely due to oxy use in 2001. The true numbers are likely far higher. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the ‘vast majority of (oxycodone-related) deaths have been associated with oral consumption of the drug.’ More people have died taking oxy orally than smoking, snorting or shooting it.  Also, the majority of deaths related to oxycodone involve more than one drug (e.g, OxyContin and Valium).  The CDC stated that deaths from opioids have exploded by 300% from 1999 to 2006. In 1999, there were 4,000 known opioid-related deaths. In 2006, that number ballooned to 13,800.One report found oxy use to be a gateway to heroin use. Given the addictive strength of the high associated with oxy, when money gets tight, users may look for a cheaper fix. Many overcome their aversion to needles, start with oxy and move on to heroin. While the life-shattering effects of heroin and oxy are similar, there is one massive difference: heroin is illegal; oxy is legal when used under doctor’s orders. While the battle currently rages on over the legalization of marijuana (with its own set of issues), one of fastest-growing drugs in the world has the FDA’s stamp of approval and is easy to rationalize in the mind of users. One of my oxy-using clients told me that he would never take Vicodin because it has too much acetaminophen in it and it can ruin your liver. As soon as he uttered this statement, we both laughed aloud at the absurd nature of the statement. However, this is exactly what users tell themselves in their minds when they are in the midst of using. This is the power of rationalization.

Withdrawal Effects of OxyContin

When oxy is stopped, the symptoms can include nausea, vomiting (in some cases for multiple days), muscle aches and pains, twitching (also known as ‘crazy arms and legs’), insomnia, intense irritability, depression, diarrhea, extreme fatigue (e.g., sleeping for 12 – 16 hours), runny nose, perspiration, and possible auditory and visual hallucinations. Clients have anecdotally reported the withdrawal symptoms are ‘ten times worse than a bad flu.’

What to Look For as a Parent or Loved One

How do you spot someone who is abusing oxy? By the time Steve’s parents were aware of the abuse, needle tracks littered his arms. Yet, he was still managing a 3.4 GPA (dropping a bit from when he was sober), playing one high school sport, had a girlfriend, and was popular among peers. Steve was pulled over by local police 20 times over an 8 month stretch and ticketed only twice (for speeding). He was high on oxy every single time. He had liquor in the car with him nearly every time. No one picked up the fact that he was high on oxy. Why didn’t the police pick it up? Because it’s that difficult to detect. There is no smell as in alcohol or marijuana use. There are no slurred words. The eyes are vaguely glassy but not necessarily bloodshot. Balance is intact. What’s more, the feeling of relaxation that comes from oxy, lulls others into thinking the user is sober because they don’t get overly anxious in pressure-packed situations. So what are some of the signs of oxy abuse?The easiest signs to pick up are also the most concrete such as used syringes wrapped up and thrown away, pens which have been disassembled with powdery residue inside the hollow shaft (used for snorting crushed oxy), aluminum foil thrown away in garbage cans outside the kitchen (used to contain the oxy when heating it), lighters, pipes, needle tracks on arms and cut straws. You can also spot oxy use by dramatic changes in sleep behavior (e.g., up all night most nights, sleeping for 12+ hours after coming down) and sudden weight loss (e.g., 5% of body weight in a 2 to 3 month period).

Less obvious signs of abuse come from careful, mindful attention to patterns of behavior. Patterns to watch for include:

·         Concern for the abuser expressed by friends and peers

·         Text messages or emails referencing ‘deals’, ‘needles’, ‘OC’, ‘oxies’, ‘roxies’ or ‘O’

·         Wearing long sleeves all the time regardless of outside temperature (to cover up needle tracks)

·         Intense impatience and jitteriness (e.g., cannot stand to stay at home, always in a hurry, a 10 on a 10 point scale)

·         Out all day long (e.g., leaving for school early to use, staying out late to use)

·         ‘Riding dirty’ ( as one parent termed it) where a group of 3 to 5 friends drive around for hours with no real plans

·         Extreme fatigue (e.g., user will crash hard and sleep for 12-15 hours upon coming down off high)

·         Profuse perspiration

·         Angry and indignant when approached about discipline or use (again, think of a 9 or 10 in intensity on a 10 point scale)

·         Intensely emotional denial of black and white truths such as the existence of texts referring to ‘hooking up with some OC’ or ‘needle’ references or a positive drug  test result

·         High frequency of lying

·         Low engagement with family

·         Most of free time is spent shut in bedroom or out with friends

·         Missing money among family members (frequent theft of cash, perhaps $80-100 per week or more)

·         Excuses for more cash that are socially acceptable but are untrue (e.g., ‘Mom, I want to go to tutoring for help with calculus. Can you give me $80 to pay for a tutoring course at school?’)

Reformulation of OxyContin – OxyContin ‘Version 2.0’

A newly reformulated version of oxy is more difficult to abuse as is resistant to cutting, chewing and breaking. Attempts to melt or dissolve the new oxy creates a gooey substance that individuals cannot pull into a syringe. While version 2.0 of oxy reduces the possibility of abuse, it does not eliminate it.

A Happy Ending?

After a massive collective effort by his parents, psychiatrist, friends, family, counselor and himself, Steve has been clean and sober for over three months. However, everyone is well aware that a relapse is only a bad day away. The motto used by everyone involved is ‘trust and verify’ as a reminder to mindfully work to rebuild the trust that’s been disintegrated and to ensure the factual accuracy of every story Steve shares. His grades are back up to a 3.8. His relationship with his girlfriend is solid. And perhaps, most importantly, his relationship with his parents is on the mend. The indignance and conflict that were daily occurrences at home have been replaced with greater happiness and emotional equanimity.

Sources

“A Guide to the Safe Use of Pain Medicine.” (2009-02-29).  Federal Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm095673.htm.

“Misuse of Prescription Pain Relievers: All Graphics and Other Media.” (2009-12-16). Federal Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/ucm080368.htm.

“Prescribed Opioids: Overdoses Not Uncommon.”  (2010-01-19). WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20100119/prescribed-opioids-overdoses-not-uncommon.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009). Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434) Rockville, MD.

“Summary of Medical Examiner Reports on Oxycodone-related Deaths.”  Drug Enforcement Agency. http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/oxycodone/oxycontin7.htm.

Tough P (2001-07-29). “The alchemy of OxyContin”. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/magazine/the-alchemy-of-oxycontin.html.  

About the Author John Schinnerer, Ph.D. is in private practice teaching clients the latest ways to turn down the volume on negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and stress. He also helps individuals discover successful, more meaningful lives. His offices are in Danville, California 94526. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a Ph.D. in educational psychology.  He has been an executive, speaker and coach for over 14 years.  John is Founder of Guide To Self, a company that coaches men to happiness and success using the latest in positive psychology.  He hosted over 200 episodes of Guide To Self Radio, a daily prime time radio show, in the SF Bay Area.   His areas of expertise range from positive psychology, to emotional awareness, to anger management.  He wrote the award-winning, “Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought,” which is available for FREE right now at http://www.GuideToSelf.com.  His blog, Shrunken Mind, was recently recognized as one of the top 3 in positive psychology on the web (http://drjohnblog.guidetoself.com ). His new video blog teaches people concrete steps towards managing anger and irritability. (http://drjohnsblog.wordpress.com ).

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16. September 2010 by John Schinnerer.

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide to Self, Inc. 

High-intensity, chronic anger and stress have an adverse impact on your heart and your health. More specifically, the more often you feel negative emotions, such as anger, irritation and depression, the higher your risk for hypertension and subsequent coronary heart disease.  A recent study by the American Academy of Family Physicians is creating a growing awareness that long-term, chronic anger and stress are linked to a higher risk of heart attack.

Recently, I received this comment on my anger management blog which stirred something deep inside of me…

‘John,I want to let you know that your online anger management course is very helpful to me. These tools to a better life are working. There has been a change in my outlook on life already. I AM EXCITED ABOUT DOING THIS.  I want to be a better person and have a healthier life. This past March, I had a massive heart attack and almost left this world. I have realized through your teachings that some of my health issues have to do with my anger. I really did not know that my anger was even associated with or causing me problems - problems not only with my health but in my life. I was always thinking that my anger was someone else’s fault. This past week before I got on to your website, I blew up with my wife and was as mad as I’ve ever been. I was throwing things and saying things that I should not have said. I got mad because she was mad. Thanks to you I’ve realized that anger has a negative effect on my heart. Thank you for teaching me new ways of being. Please keep up the great work.’

This note was quite flattering and also deeply moving. As I lost my grandfather to heart disease (after he survived five heart attacks), I’m pleased to be able to help men discover new tools to manage their anger.

One of the major points that I’ve been emphasizing for several years now is that chronic, long-term anger has a harmful effect on the heart. The same holds true for chronic stress. Both long-term stress and anger are harmful on a number of levels.

Anger and Coronary Heart Disease

In a 2007 study published in the American Academy of Family Physicians, researchers concluded that men and women with high levels of chronic anger and stress are much higher risk of developing coronary heart disease.  The study found that men with high levels of chronic anger and irritation were 1.7 times as likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure). Individuals older than 50 years qualify as having hypertension if their blood pressure is regularly over 140/90 (i.e., at least 140 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic). Individuals with chronic high levels of anger and annoyance were 90% more likely to progress from prehypertensive to coronary heart disease as compared to those with low to moderate levels of anger.

Stress and Coronary Heart Disease

Both men and women with long-standing levels of stress had nearly 1.7 times the chance of developing coronary heart disease as compared to those with low to moderate levels of stress. This means individuals with high levels of chronic stress are nearly twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease! This is entirely preventable by learning new ways of relating to stress and pressure. The authors suggest that high quality stress management and anger management programs are beneficial for preventing the progression from prehypertension to hypertension to coronary heart disease.  

Negative Emotions In General Related to Coronary Heart Disease

Three major negative emotional states – depression, anxiety and anger/hostility - were implicated in coronary heart disease in 2005 in a study published in the Psychological Bulletin.  These findings indicate that it is more of a general disposition towards negative emotions that may be more critical for the risk of heart disease than any one specific emotion.

A Predisposition to Negative Emotions

In my experience, I have frequently found an overlap between the existence of depression, anger-hostility and anxiety in many of my clients. Rarely do I work with someone who is merely angry, or solely anxious, or only depressed. More often, people have a difficult time dealing with all the major intense negative emotions (e.g. anger, sadness and anxiety/fear).

Hopefully, the word will continue to spread that a predisposition towards negative emotions (hostility, anger, anxiety and depression) harms the heart and puts individuals at a greater risk of coronary heart disease.

By learning stress management tools, anger management tools, and tools to increase the frequency of positive emotions, this risk can be reduced significantly.

If you are interested in online anger management classes, please call 925-944-3440, email Info@GuideToSelf.com or check the website at http://www.GuideToSelf.com.

For a free copy of John’s award-winning self-help book (Guide to Self: The Beginner’s Guide to Managing Emotion and Thought), just visit GuidetoSelf.com and enter your name and email for a free instant PDF copy!

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