CBS  interviews Tanya Young Williams, the estranged wife of former NBA star Jayson Williams.
Williams was sentenced to five years in prison for the fatal shooting of his limo driver in 2002.

Tanya, who survived his violent behavior, now talks about the alleged Mel Gibson’s threats, and the deadly combination of drugs, alcohol and psychosis.

The former O.C. star admitted to hitting “rock bottom” when she was placed on involuntary psychiatric hold last summer, following the cancellation of her TV series The Beautiful Life.

The meltdown, which Barton blamed on botched dental surgery, came two years after she was charged with driving under the influence, stemming from a December 2007 arrest in Los Angeles.

But the actress is determined to turn her career around and clean up her act – and she’s starting her health kick by giving up booze.

She says, “I’m being healthy and working hard. I have had lots of offers coming in and as well as reading through scripts, I’m also designing my own range of bags.

It’s sad to see the beast such a talented person has become. Here are some facts I found in wikipedia on Mel’s situation.

• Gibson has said that he started drinking at the age of thirteen. In a 2002 interview about his time at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Australis, Gibson said, “I had really good highs but some very low lows. I found out recently I’m manic depressive.”
• On July 28, 2006, Gibson was arrested for DUI while speeding in his vehicle with an open container of alcohol. After hiss arrest, his publicist said he had entered a recovery program to battle alcoholism. On August 17, 2006, Gibson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge and was sentenced to three years on probation.^[109] He was ordered to attend self-help meetings five times a week for four and a half months and three times a week for the remainder of the first year of his probation. He was also ordered to attend a First Offenders Program, was fined $1,300, and his license was restricted for 90 days.

Alcohol may encourage aggression or violence by disrupting normal brain function. According to the disinhibition hypothesis, for example, alcohol weakens brain mechanisms that normally restrain impulsive behaviors, including inappropriate aggression (1). By impairing information processing, alcohol can also lead a person to misjudge social cues, thereby overreacting to a perceived threat (2). Simultaneously, a narrowing of attention may lead to an inaccurate assessment of the future risks of acting on an immediate violent impulse (3).

(1)Gustafson, R. Alcohol and aggression. J Offender Rehabil 21(3/4):41-80, 1994. (2)Miczek, K.A., et al. Alcohol, GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor complex, and aggression. In: Galanter, M., ed. Recent Developments in Alcoholism. Vol. 13. New York: Plenum Press, 1997. pp. 139-171. (3)Cook, P.J., & Moore, M.J. Economic perspectives on reducing alcohol-related violence. In: Martin, S.E., ed. Alcohol and Interpersonal Violence. NIAAA Research Monograph No. 24. NIH Pub. No. 93-3496. Rockville, MD: NIAAA, 1993. pp. 193-212.

Drugs Inc. from  National Geographic is a great series of documentaries I really recommend.

Watch a new episode tonight a 7pm.

Visit: Channel.nationalgeographic.com

The Journal of the American Medical Association, released  a study based on a 2009 survey of 1,891 practicing U.S. doctors.

The report says that a surprising 17 percent of  doctors surveyed,  had direct, personal knowledge of an impaired or incompetent physician in their workplaces – one third of them had not reported the matter to authorities such as hospital officials or state medical boards. (Continue to Article)

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found that a little rodent, known for it’s tendency to be monogamous, can also help scientists study addictive behaviors.

According to the researchers, the overlap with human tendencies makes the mouse-like rodent an ideal model to study the social aspects of excessive drinking.

“They not only drink alcohol, they prefer it over water,” says Allison Anacker, a neuroscience graduate student at OHSU.

More importantly, tests showed that, among prairie voles, social bonds play as big a role on drinking behavior.

To read more about these studies continue here.

“Power is the faculty or capacity to act, the strength and potency to accomplish something. It is the vital energy to make choices and decisions. It also includes the capacity to overcome deeply embedded habits and to cultivate higher, more effective ones.”

-Stephen R. Covey