EDUCATIONAL Blu Robinson EDUCATIONAL Blu Robinson

Loss And Living: A Life With Purpose

This week's podcast Coach Blu invites Desmond and Alison Lomax on the show. They discuss a very sensitive subject matter. They talk about suicide, grief, pain, love, and loss. They lost their son Mateen Lomax to suicide in November of 2019. We know you will feel the love that remains after listening to Alison, a certified fitness instructor and life coach, & Desmond, a licensed clinical mental health therapist and certified trauma-informed care specialist, as they talk about a heartbreaking situation that their family experienced and the understanding and healing that follows. When we experience a loss of a loved one, it can be difficult to find a way forward. The pain can be overwhelming and all-encompassing. Listen as Coach Blu and the Lomax's, explore dealing with loss when progress seems impossible. Do you know how they say, "Don't take life for granted?" To someone who has recently lost someone, it means more now. Listen to this powerful conversation on what exactly is "grief work" and discover it's more than the therapeutic modality your therapist uses. It's the human connection and the delicate balance of loss and living a life with a purpose and meaning after losing someone.
Check out Desi and Alison Lomax on their new podcast Loss and Living

You can also join their FB group called illuminaTEENunity dedicated to their son Mateen Lomax. 

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Substance Use Disorder and Their Impact on Community

On this week's episode, Coach Blu was invited to sit on a panel at the University of Utah with Randall Carlisle from Odyssey House recovery, a former TV news acre, and Evan Done of USARA. This community recovery connection organization helps people find resources and training in recovery. Listen as they answer a student leadership board questions on how addiction recovery and addiction services are rendered in our community. It is incredible to see the differences and similarities and how addiction recovery is handled in Utah. 

This panel discusses the following questions; What is a substance use disorder? What is the accessibility like for low-income folks to treatment? What might this look like for unsheltered individuals? How might mental health impact substance use? What does substance use look like on college campuses? How might stress exacerbate substance use disorders? What could these stressors look like? How do incarcerated people access treatment for substance use and what does that process look like? How have you seen how the stigma around substance use affects caregivers and those receiving treatment? 
How can parents, educators, and leaders in our communities work towards addressing substance use disorders and supporting those affected by them?

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Public Defenders Perspective On Addiction

Listen as Coach Blu interviews a public defender and prosecutor on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. F. Wilson Myers, ESQ. is a Tribal Public Defender. He has worked for forty years as an attorney. He served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Alabama as a Public Defender. Wilson says, "No one chooses to be an addict. I am here to help them work through the consequences."

Stephen Mackenzie, ESQ. is a Harvard graduate. He has been a criminal Defense attorney for 15 years and a Public attorney for 15 yrs. He is now a tribal prosecutor. He has worked on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and now the Uintah and Quray Reservation in Utah. Stephen believes addiction is a disease, not a crime.

Both these gentlemen work to focus on individual sentences that fit the defendant. They want to use rehabilitation to help defendants but understand that sometimes jail is a needed deterrent consequence. Their views on addiction are progressive and an excellent sign for Utah and further. These viewpoints will help us address addiction on a larger scale and work to decriminalize substance abuse which is essential to long-term changes and recovery.

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Expand Your Circle of Relationships

The relationships we form with others are vital to our mental and emotional well-being and survival. In this week's episode, Coach Blu talks about expanding our circle and building healthy relationships. It is through relationships that we will either excel at life or fail. It has been said that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so make sure to choose wisely.

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Exercising Recovery with Nicole Golden

Today Coach Blu speaks to Nicole Golden who is a NASM Master Trainer, CES, BCS, FNS and AFAA certified group fitness instructor and Master of Science in Applied Exercise Science/Sports Nutrition.  Nicole shares the research and the importance of using exercise in your recovery. We all know exercise is a powerful depression fighter for several reasons. Most importantly, it promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Finally, exercise can also serve as a distraction, allowing you to find some quiet time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression and addiction. 

Exercise can be a valuable medicine in the treatment of substance use disorders. Learn about the effectiveness of exercise as an adjunct therapy for drug/alcohol use disorders in this episode. Find out more about her business https://fwfwellness.com

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Disney On The Rocks

On today's podcast Coach Blu take a deep dive into his experience while attending a mental health and addiction conference in Orlando Florida. Following the conference, he was able to attend Walt Disney World Epcot theme park and was absolutely blown away by how much drinking of alcohol had become part of the Disney experience. After a 40-year absence of alcohol within the Disney theme park experience, 10 years ago wine and beer were introduced and now, September 2022, new park rules allow the spirits to openly flow. Listen as he discusses some of his thoughts and what he discovered from Walt Disney himself about why he would not allow the consumption of alcohol in his parks originally. Become informed about what you should be aware of before you book a family experience to a location like this and what you should know about potential triggers before you invest in Disney resorts for your next family vacation. 

**Clarification on Disney lobbying to lower drinking age at Disney parks. We have found that to be misinformation-https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/disney-world-drinking-age/

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Signs of Childhood Trauma in Adults

In this week's podcast, Coach Blu and Marissa discuss childhood trauma and how it manifests in adults. Childhood trauma also results in feeling disconnected and unable to relate to others. Studies have shown that adults who experience childhood trauma were more likely to struggle with controlling emotions, and had heightened anxiety, depression, and anger. Listen as we share a Ted Talk from Nadine Burke Harris says childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. Deep insight and excellent talking points on how to assess yourself using the ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) assessment. 

ACE's Ted Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk

NPR Article

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean

ACE's Quiz

https://www.theannainstitute.org/Finding%20Your%20ACE%20Score.pdf

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Becoming Mentally Tough

In today's episode, Coach Blu dives into what is means to develop mental toughness. Most people define mental toughness as the ability to produce consistent results regardless of the situation. Mental toughness is a personality trait that determines your ability to perform consistently under stress and pressure and is closely related to qualities such as character, resilience, grit, and perseverance. There are many habits you can develop to improve your mental toughness. In fact, the hallmarks of mentally tough people are actually strategies that anyone can practice every day.

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Brain Chemistry, Your Mood, and Recovery

In this week's episode, Coach Blu and our Athletic Director Marissa deeply dive into the human brain and the hormones that can make addiction recovery challenging. The brain is the most complex organ in the body. This three-pound mass of gray and white matter sits at the center of all human activity—you need it for everything. The brain regulates your body's essential functions, enables you to interpret and respond to everything you experience, and shapes your behavior. In short, your brain is you—everything you think and feel and who you are. Listen as they talk about D.O.S.E., the four chemicals we as humans strive for.

D is for doapmine. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. That's why it's sometimes called a chemical messenger.

Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It's a big part of our uniquely human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting.

O is for oxytocin.  In the brain, oxytocin acts as a chemical messenger and has an important role in many human behaviors including sexual arousal, recognition, trust, romantic attachment and mother–infant bonding. As a result, oxytocin has been called the 'love hormone' or 'cuddle chemical'.

S is for serotonin. In the brain, serotonin helps with mood regulation and memory, but it also has important jobs in other parts of the body.  In fact, most of the serotonin in your body is found in your gut, not your brain. The intestines produce almost all of the body's serotonin supply, and serotonin is required to promote healthy digestion. In other places in the body, serotonin helps with sleep, sexual function, bone health, and blood clotting.

E is for endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals produced by the body to relieve stress and pain. They work similarly to a class of drugs called opioids. Opioids relieve pain and can produce a feeling of euphoria. They are sometimes prescribed for short-term use after surgery or for pain-relief.

Blu and Marissa will share tips on how to increase these 4 vital chemicals in your daily life so that you can recover even more quickly from substance use disorders or mental health struggles. 

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What's Emotional Intelligence?

In this week's episode, Coach Blu talks about the foundations of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you. To develop a better foundation, give this a listen.

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Is Self Deprecation a Harmless Habit?

On this week's podcast Coach Blu takes a deep dive into the toxicity of Self Deprecation. It is a way many disparage or under value themselves. Self-deprecation is, in many ways, the cornerstone of negative humor. But many of us are guilty of taking self-deprecation too far – using it as a method of attention-seeking when feeling down or using it to mask low self-esteem which in turn brings you down even further.

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