Be sure to watch overcoming addiction with Derek Steele This Sunday April 3rd at 3pm on HoustonPBS (repeats Friday at 10pm)
Watch the video on this page on the Science of Addiction with Dr. Tom Kosten the creator of the cocaine vaccine.
By: Patricia Gras & Michelle Reed, Production Assistant
In today’s generation, social media plays a pivotal role in most young adults and teenager’s lives. From checking what our friends are doing on Facebook to Twitter, teens are connected to the digital world 24/7. And with a connection to outside resources, and friend’s lifestyles, some teens can be introduced to drugs and alcohol.
Since 2008, a steady decline in drug use has been shown among 10th to 12th grade high school students according to NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse). In NIDA’s study, use of the painkiller Vicodin has decreased from 9.7 percent to 8 percent among students. While nonmedical use of hallucinogen’s has declined as well, studies show that student’s continue to choose crack cocaine and Adderall (a drug used for people with Attention Deficit Disorder or Narcolepsy to focus on normal tasks), as their drug of choice.
Finding a way to communicate with a teenager about drug addiction or alcoholism can sometimes feel as if you are pulling teeth, but it’s easier to communicate to your teen about issues like addiction in a way that they can understand, even if that mean’s allowing them to search the web for answers.
TheFix.com, a website that is a number once source for all things drugs, alcohol, and recovery, went online today. While the topics are geared toward adults, parent’s can use the website as an indirect way to communicate to their teen’s while spending time together.
The website was founded by Radar Magazine editor Maer Roshan who says in a New York Times article that he decided to create the website because while he was struggling with substance abuse earlier in his life, he found that there were no media outlets for him to go to for help.
“These are people who are united by their values, united by their mission; there’s a common lingo, common literature,” Roshan said in the article. “There’s an actual community here.”
The website not only offers serious stories on addiction and recovery, but it brings in funny stories that will help any addict recover in laughter. Even if the website isn’t helpful for a child, it is said to be incredibly helpful for recovering adults as well. Each story will be written by affluent writers, journalists and novelists all over the world.
And even though the website won’t replace the help of a doctor or a recovery center, it does serve as an outlet for recovering addicts to participate in a community where the writers, and the fans, are dealing with the same issues.
Links to a few Texas and Houston area recovery centers:
Memorial Hermann Prevention & Recovery Center: http://www.mhparc.org/
Road to Recovery Texas: http://www.roadtorecoverytexas.com/
Pathway to Recovery: http://www.pathwaytorecovery.com/
Burning Tree Ranch: http://www.burningtree.com/
Sources: http://www.thefix.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/business/media/28fix.html?src=busln
http://www.nicd.us/statistics.html
EMMY-NOMINATED SERIES LIVING SMART WITH PATRICA GRAS RETURNS ON APRIL 3 FOR ITS SEVENTH SEASON
Living Smart with Patricia Gras airs Sundays at 3 p.m. and Fridays at 10 p.m. on HoustonPBS/Channel 8
(HOUSTON-March 18, 2011)- Living Smart with Patricia Gras, a locally produced, award-winning series on Channel 8, returns for its seventh season on Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m. The show, which focuses on helping viewers get the most out of life by finding solutions to different life challenges. Each episode features a single guest discussing a specific topic. The show’s producer and host, Emmy-award winner Patricia Gras, says she selects her guest because they have something to share that will empower, educate or inspire viewers.
“When times are difficult and uncertain I want this series to remind us we have a choice, to survive or thrive, to be passive or proactive, to live in fear or live with hope. The underlying theme of this season, and really every season we produce, is there is always hope. There is always a better way to live.” says Gras.
For the new season, Gras went in search of practical solutions to help viewers who are dealing with an array of issues—from addiction, to career advice to improving relationships and finding better health and wellness. Even though Living Smart airs nationally on over 200 PBS channel, the majority of experts featured on the show are Houstonians, which is important to Gras.
“Houston is a great city with amazing people who are doing remarkable things that sometimes fly under the radar. One of the things we want to accomplish with this show is give Houstonians an opportunity to share their expertise not just here in Houston but with the rest of the country as well,” says Gras.
Living Smart with Patricia Gras airs Sundays at 3 p.m. and Fridays at 10 p.m. on HoustonPBS/Channel 8.
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Additional Resources
Living Smart with Patricia Gras http://www.houstonpbs.org/livingsmart
About HoustonPBS
HoustonPBS/Channel 8 serves to empower, engage and enrich the lives of the people of Southeast Texas. HoustonPBS provides content and services that advance civic engagement, create an environment for learning and encourage the exchange of diverse perspectives. Millions of people tune in each month to watch quality programs about culture, arts, science, news and national and world affairs as well as award-winning children’s programming.
HoustonPBS/KUHT-TV is a service of the University of Houston supported through the Association for Community Broadcasting.
