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lollytea · 3 years ago

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Okay I wanna write down a few thoughts on that part of the climax in Thanks to Them that has garnered some mixed opinions. Specifically Hunter’s possession and the subsequent death of Flapjack.

I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m defending this scene, as people are perfectly within their rights to be uncomfortable with it and criticize everything from its execution to its inclusion at all. Whether this whole thing was objectively a terrible writing decision for Hunter’s character, his arc, and the overall message it sends is....a discussion starter to say the least. Rather, what I wanna do is maybe try and dissect the reasons why these scenes might exist in the first place. From a writing perspective.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot, trying to figure out just what angle the crew was going for and I think I might have some vague idea. And I’ll admit, I think there’s something poignant in here somewhere. Maybe they fumbled the bag a bit and didn’t consider just how troubling some of these implications could be. Writing gets clunky sometimes. But that’s up to every individual viewer to draw their own conclusions. But personally, I don’t believe that these scenes were intended to be gratuitous. I don’t believe that they were added solely because the crew are sadists who enjoy wringing Hunter dry like an angsty dish cloth. As flawed as they may be, I think I can understand why they were written. Possibly.

So, I’m gonna try to give an objective look at the themes, storytelling and symbolism at play here and how all of that relates to Hunter’s overall character and the big climax of his story.

We’ll start with the very understandable hurt viewers felt when Hunter’s road to recovery was abruptly relapsed by Belos. The thing many people are vocalizing their feelings about is how the episode made sure to demonstrate just how happy Hunter was. That’s what devastated them the most. Hunter was in the process of healing, which hits close to home for many, making what Belos did to him all the more disturbing on a personal level.

However, every single one of us knew that Belos was alive before we watched the episode. Hunter did not. Hunter believed that Belos was dead and this was the only reason that he felt safe enough to make such progress in his recovery. So now matter what way you twist it, we all knew Hunter was set up to relapse the moment he realized Belos was in the Human Realm.

So what was the point of showing this sixteen year old abuse victim experiencing safety, warmth, happiness, confidence and self exploration just to cruelly rip it all away from him?

Put simply, to establish just how much Hunter now has to live for. Just how much Hunter has to fight for. His motivations for living and for fighting are sprinkled all throughout the episode. This boy has such a hopeful future laid out before him and he knows it. So when he finally gets his moment to tell Belos exactly what he wants for himself, you understand exactly where this passion and determination is coming from. It means something.

And then there’s the possession itself, which everything comes down to. We saw the leaks, we hated them, some of us talked ourselves into believing they were fake but we all kinda knew deep down. It was a very fun very terrible week. ANYWAY.

I think that Hunter’s arc would have felt incomplete if he didn’t get a final confrontation with Belos. That’s the popular opinion. However, many are also in the opinion that Hunter getting possessed was very unnecessary and violating and it should not have been done in the first place. And I’m not gonna argue with this view. It’s legit. But again, here’s what I believe the crew might have been going for with this.

The possession of Hunter’s body is a symbolic manifestation of everything Belos has always represented in his life. It’s a final culmination of all sixteen years under that man’s thumb and all the damage he’s done to Hunter’s body and psyche.

Ever since Separate Tides, Hunter has been Belos’ puppet. And honestly, though the specifics of the arrangement have shifted, this was still the case throughout Thanks To Them. Between Separate Tides and Hollow Mind, it’s pretty simple. Perfectly obedient Golden Guard who does everything his uncle tells him to do, without much say in the trajectory of his own life.

However, after Hollow Mind, Hunter was no longer that. But that didn’t mean the puppetry stopped entirely. He was a nervous wreck for the rest of the season. The mention of the Emperor’s name paralyzed him with fear. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t done directly. Belos still had an alarming amount of control over Hunter.

So long as he was alive, Hunter knew he wasn’t safe. And once Hunter starts to realize that he’s still out there, it becomes obvious that he will never fully recover until he’s certain Belos is dead.

Everything about the possession is an encapsulation of what Belos’ years of abuse and manipulation have been like to Hunter. How powerless he’s always felt. But this time, it isn’t done through words or threats of violence. It’s worse than that. It’s physically invasive. It’s desecration. It’s having his very self taken away from him and nothing is more sacred than a person’s autonomy. The weight of what’s happening to him is palpable.

This is the worst thing Belos has ever done to him.

But what does Hunter, the boy who spent his entire life petrified of this man, do about it?

He finds it in himself to rebel against it.

Because, though Belos’ abuse and the negative effects of his upbringing have always been such a crucial aspect of Hunter’s sense of personhood, it’s not all that defines him.

A long time ago Hunter was given orders from the Emperor to slay a selkidomus. Instead he passed the job off to somebody else because he didn’t want to do it.

Hunter self-sabotaged his own mission and allowed Luz to escape with the palismen he was ordered to recover.

Hunter studied wild magic against his uncle’s wishes.

Hunter went to Eclipse Lake even when he was told not to.

Hunter had a secret palismen named Flapjack.

Hunter assigned himself to the Hexside mission without getting Belos’ approval.

Hunter owned a secret scroll.

Hunter refused to roll over and die in the mindscape even when Belos decided that he was no longer useful.

Hunter has a rebellious heart. Had one from the very beginning. He was definitely in denial about it back then (Happily declaring just how much he loves “Authority! And rules!”) but it was there, clear as day.

But this is the moment where Hunter embraces that rebellious heart. And in doing so, he finds the willpower to regain control of his body. To Hunter, this moment is a reflection of everything he’s always wanted to do. To break free of Belos’ power. To speak his mind. To choose his own future. To choose himself.

And all that genuine joy we saw him experiencing earlier in the episode is what strengthens his resolve to grit out his final words to Belos.

Hunter releases years of pent up frustration that he was too brainwashed to ever let himself think about.

Hunter openly expresses desire after desire, fully aware that every single one of them will boil Belos’ blood.

Hunter outrights demands that he be allowed happiness.

He’s proving, not only to Belos, but to himself that you can hurt him, you can scare him, you can manipulate him, you can even possess him, but you will never own him. Nobody will ever own him.

So, yes, absolutely. There are valid criticisms to be had of the concept of Hunter being possessed. And it’s likely the writers didn’t really think a lot of the ramifications through.

But I believe the idea it’s trying to portray was how the intensity of that moment and how violating it was to Hunter further emphasized just how powerful Hunter’s final act of defiance was. It wasn’t just one last fight between the two of them, it was a visceral way of having Hunter confront everything Belos has ever put him through, allow his resentment to bubble over and finally understand that he has the right to reject who he was “supposed” to be, whether Belos likes it or not.

One thing that came from the possession scene that I believe is genuinely a good and healthy thing is that Hunter’s perspective of Belos has changed for the better.

This was the worst thing Belos could have possibly done to him. And Hunter did not only survive it but he was capable of resisting it. Something he’s never been able to do before. He has officially endured the worst Belos can inflict on him. So, with that in mind, Hunter has no reason left to be afraid of this man anymore. With this, all remaining control Belos had over him has been shattered.

I have to acknowledge that, though this experience was truly godawful, it did provide Hunter with the closure he needed. It was necessary to how he proceeds forward. With all that fear out of the picture, Hunter’s current feelings towards Belos consist of righteous fury and contempt. Which is cathartic to say the least, as Hunter’s hate can finally be directed at the person who hurt him, rather than himself. In the case of a victim struggling with their trauma, allowing themselves to be angry at their abuser can be a very therapeutic thing.

This is huge for Hunter. While many have expressed the opinion that the after effects of this moment will be detrimental to Hunter’s overall arc, I honestly think it’s a massive step in the journey to recovery. It’s not the nice peaceful part he experienced while in Camila’s house but not everything about an abuse victim’s healing process is pleasant. Sometimes it’s ugly. But progress is progress.

And then there’s the matter of Flapjack’s sacrifice which is a doozy of a subject.

Anyone who follows me is aware that I was very vocal in my belief that Flapjack would survive, because surely they wouldn’t take something so precious to Hunter away from him. Surely.

(Well I’m Stan and I was wrong, I’m singing the Stan Wrong Song, okay fuck you.)

But once that episode was over and the credits were rolling, I started to think about Flapjack as far back as his introduction in Hunting Palismen. And honestly, I feel like his death was planned from the start. The kind of friend who comes into your life, changes you for the better before inevitably having to say goodbye. But even if it’s temporary, that doesn’t make their presence in your life any less impactful.

While Flapjack had plenty of personality, he wasn’t so much a character with his own arc, as he was a tool in progressing Hunter’s. His role in the story was to guide a lost and lonely boy into the light and show him that he’s worthy of being loved.

And with Flapjack’s influence, Hunter let himself meet people who don’t make him feel worthless. He has never felt more loved in his life.

Flapjack officially imprinted on Hunter when the boy expressed a longing to figure out his own future. Flapjack decided that he would try to lead him in the right direction.

And in his final moments, Flapjack watched the boy he had been guiding adamantly proclaim everything he wanted his future to be. It was safe to assume he had figured it out.

Flapjack’s existence in Hunter’s life also represents the link to Caleb along with Hunter’s complicated “relationship” with this ghost of a man that he’ll never know. Caleb is not Hunter and Hunter will never be Caleb. However, they’ll always be connected by the strings of terrible, terrible destiny that Belos tied together. And though Hunter didn’t know it, Caleb lingered in his life in the form of the bird he left behind.

And in all that time where Hunter figuring out his own identity, Caleb’s bird was helping him along. It was when Hunter was finally certain exactly who he was (Not a witch hunting accomplice of Belos) that Caleb’s bird was ready to move on.

With all these ends tied up, Hunter did not need Flapjack anymore.

But Flapjack still had one more job left to do. And that was to make sure Hunter got to stay with the people who loved him and Hunter got his chance to experience the future he had decided for himself. Figuring it out is useless if it’s all a hopeless fantasy. Flapjack wanted it to be a reality.

It must have been a relief to the little bird’s heart that his witch had grown so much and he could leave knowing Hunter would be okay without him.

(There’s also the interpretation that Flapjack is an analogy for a service animal/disability aid. But that line about learning to carve could not set it up the future any clearer. Hunter will not be without a palisman forever.

Obviously, it might take him some time before he’s ready to begin again. But he will make a new palismen. As a boy who’s spent his entire arc learning how to let new loved ones into his life, it would make absolutely no sense whatsoever if he didn’t.)

Anyway, my biggest fear when I saw the leaks which showed Flapjack sacrificing himself for Hunter’s sake, was how much something like that could completely destroy all of Hunter’s healing progress. Because why wouldn’t it? He not only lost his best friend but Flapjack died to keep him alive. How could he possibly live with himself after something like that?

I think this is one of the main talking points over why people are upset about Flapjack’s death. How it’s going to effect Hunter. I’ve seen the belief that this devastating loss was detrimental to his recovery journey and it’s rendered all of the lighthearted scenes of enthusiasm and confidence from earlier in the special obsolete. But I honestly feel like it’s the exact opposite.

Hunter’s reaction to Flapjack’s death was different than I imagined it would be. And not in an objectively bad way. It’s quite telling of how far he’s come. Compare it to Hollow Mind where Hunter also experiences a traumatic loss which results in him having a complete meltdown. He cries, he hyperventilates, he runs blindly into the woods. It was borderline apocalyptic. And it’s completely understandable. At this point in life, Hunter lost what he believed to be his entire world.

After Flapjack’s sacrifice, the first thing Hunter did when he regained consciousness was smile, softly greet his remaining loved ones and ask if they were alright. It’s revealed seconds later that he already knew Flapjack was gone. But he still had it in him to smile. Because even in the devastating aftermath of losing the creature who changed his life and introduced him to real happiness, he’s relieved to know his friends and family are safe. He knows he’s not alone.

Flapjack was deeply important to Hunter. It’s impossible to even articulate just how much he adored that little bird. When he lost his former life, Flapjack was all he had.

However, by this point, Hunter’s life is flourishing with hobbies and interests and ambitions and friends and family and love. Flapjack was no longer everything Hunter had. And being surrounded by so many people who cared about him in his moment of grief is a powerful thing.

Hunter is quiet about Flapjack’s death. He’s weak, he’s exhausted, he’s utterly gutted. But there’s nothing that implies he blames himself. Judging by how he was aware of the sacrifice despite just waking up, I believe they did get one last goodbye via their mental link.

And I think this is why Hunter seems so accepting of what had just happened. Whatever Flapjack said to him, he had successfully made Hunter understand that this was just how it had to be and that it was not his fault. And with all the love and optimism Flapjack has instilled in him since they met, Hunter decided that what he needs to do now is try and lead the most fulfilling life he possibly can. He has to. This life had been a gift from Flapjack after all.

But as mentioned way up above, Hunter can never have the life he wants until Belos is permanently out of the picture. I think this is where his new lease of life comes from in the final moments of the special.

Hunter has changed significantly throughout this episode. While in his opening scene, he was completely clueless on how to comfort Luz properly because he equates the guilt she feels to his own and that link between their similar feelings sabotages any attempt at clarity on his part. His words of comfort were basically “If it helps, they’ll hate me more.”

But before he steps through the portal, Hunter has a new perspective on the self-loathing that has been corrupting both himself and the girl he now calls family. It was never them. It was Belos. It was always Belos. Hunter is able to tell Luz that it was never her fault because he finally understands that it was never his fault. And he’s telling her all of this because she’s important to him and she always will be.

Hunter still has Luz.

He then expresses his new motivation. To fight back. To regain control of his life. To get some justice for all the damage his abuser has done to him and so many others. To protect the world that he cares about.

Hunter still has Willow and Gus and Amity.

Hunter still has Camila and Vee.

Losing Flapjack did not kill Hunter’s fire. It did not render all of his prior growth in the Human Realm null and void. Hunter has experienced a loss and his grief is palpable but he still has so much left.

In fact, I think if Hunter hadn’t had these experiences, hadn’t built these relationships, hadn’t realized just how much life has to offer to him, he wouldn’t be taking such a defiant stance. He wouldn’t be the first one to march into the portal, taking Flapjack home, determined to end Belos once and for all. And he’s standing on a strong foundation of mourning, experience, wisdom, love and support.

I keep thinking about that very infamous line by Dana that was misinterpreted to Hell and back.

“Dana doesn’t like happy endings.”

That line never bothered me much, even when I didn’t know what the exact context actually was (Dana doesn’t like happily ever after.) Like, I watched the Owl House, I know the kind of stories Dana liked to tell. So, the way I always interpreted that opinion was the simple message that we can never have it all.

Life is tumultuous. There are ups. There are downs. There are gains. There are losses. And I feel like that’s an accurate summary of Hunter’s development throughout the special.

Hunter had been mistreated. He now has far more scars than he started out with. He lost Flapjack. These are all devastating blows to him physically and emotionally.

But please, don’t allow the suffering Hunter went through distract from all of his positive growth in this episode. Hunter spent months making happy memories. He strengthened his bonds with his friends. He now has somebody who genuinely loves him that he can call family. He’s discovered all these brand new hobbies and interests.

He likes who he is now.

That hasn’t changed. I promise you that it hasn’t changed.

And most importantly of all, Hunter is no longer ruled by fear of the man who hurt him. He is no longer under Belos’ control.

Hunter is grieving right now but he is not in ruins.

This is not rock bottom for him.

I feel that Hunter’s gains and losses were pretty evenly distributed throughout the episode. However, because of the attachment people have towards him, as a teenage abuse victim who’s steadily recovering, it’s easy to only see his losses. Because it hurts to see, it really does.

But I promise you all of those happy Hunter memories meant something too. Those are what’s him pushing forward right now.

Anyway, those are my two cents on that whole thing. Again, I don’t think these scenes are immune to criticism. However, I did want to take a moment to examine them a bit because I truly believe that there was a team of passionate writers attempting to create something profound with this.

I like to write myself and I understand that a lot of the time I miss the mark and don’t always execute the point I’m trying to make. So, at the very least, even if things aren’t handled perfectly, I’d like to try and dissect the message that they were attempting to send.

It’s absolutely fine if you don’t agree with a word of this. I understand that these scenes have hurt quite a lot of people. But thank you for reading. I appreciate it. 💕

#toh spoilers #tw abuse

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nelliievance · 5 years ago

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The Neuroplasticity Revolution- Willpower Can Change our Brains.

I have recently read some fascinating books about findings in neuroscience, and their practical applications in cognitive behavioral therapy. Equally important, they can be used for everyone to become happier.

My interest in this was first piqued when I heard, years ago, that the Dalai Lama had asked neuroscientists whether our thoughts can change our brains [1]. The answer he received was pretty much universally no, for two reasons which were entrenched beliefs in neuroscience:

Adult brains do not have “neuroplasticity”: they cannot grow new neurons or make new connections. Only the brains of children can do that.

Even if neuroplasticity could occur, our thoughts have no influence on it. That would be “top-down plasticity”. There’s no such thing.

If you read the history of neuroscience in the earlier part of the twentieth century [1, 2], it’s easy to see how these hypotheses arose (although there are glimpses of counterevidence being ignored). But this is a case where entrenched scientific dogma does not intuitively feel right. It seems like adult brains can change, although maybe considerably less so than children. Us old dogs can learn new tricks. The Dalai Lama knew, from his own experience, that decades of meditation had changed his brain, and had seen its effects on other dedicated practitioners of his tradition. And the second point above cannot explain the placebo effect. How can some people get better taking a sugar pill because they believed it was the real medicine (there are a lot of fascinating evidence related to that in the book Timeless Healing by Dr. Herbert Benson).

There has been a quiet revolution in neuroplasticity in the past 20 years or so that has turned these views upside down. [1,2]. Partially this was caused by accumulating evidence that could no longer be swept under the rug by skeptical scientists, and partially it’s due to increasing powerful imaging techniques and other technologies like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMri). These allow the active regions of the brain to be imaged with precision. Our mental states are subjective and cannot be measured. But their neurological correlates can. You can, for example, ask someone with clinical depression, for example, how sad are you on a scale of 1 to 10, then see what regions of the brain are active. The possibilities are endless, and they are being put to good use in labs all over that world.

The bottom line is that both points one and two above are now known, undoubtedly, from repeated experiments, to be false:

neuroplasticity persists into adulthood, even for senior citizens like me: New neurons can grow from stem cells, existing neurons can be repurposed, even wholesale regions of the brain can be repurposed [1], And

your mental states, including your thoughts, can influence all of this: top-down neuroplasticity exists [1,2].

It’s even more exciting than that. Individual neurons, of which there are about 100 billion in the brain, were thought to be simple summing devices. If enough input sensors (dendrites) are activated, the neuron fires, and its axon sends out an output signal. The interfaces among neurons (the synapses) were known to be quite intricate biochemically, but it was thought that all the action occurred there. Recently it’s become known that neurons are sophisticated “microprocessors”, which contain thousands of quantum devices [3]. There’s clearly a lot more going inside than summing, The staggering implications of that are in the early days of study. I’ll cover the details in a future post.

Practical examples of the new findings in neuroscience abound [1,2], including:

more long term recovery from functionality lost in strokes can happen than previously thought possible. Neurons from other regions of the brain can take over for those lost in the damaged region.

An effective new cognitive treatment has been found for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD sufferers have strong urges from what’s been identified as the “worry circuit” in the brain. Often it feels like they are helpless observers of their own minds. They know the signal they are receiving, like “my hands are dirty, I have to wash them again” (even though they’ve been washing them repeatedly), is wrong, but feel powerless to fight off the urge. A clear sign of lack of free will if ever there was. But they can train their minds to mindfully observe the abnormal thought arising, and apply cognitive techniques to fight off the urge (like noting “that’s not me, it’s just a faulty circuit”). And repeatedly doing this changes their brains, calming down the worry circuit, as shown in imaging studies.

Clinical depressed people have an over-reactive “doom and gloom” circuit in their brains. One aspect of this is deficient serotonin, which is why drugs like Prozac help. But unfortunately, drug treatment has a high relapse rate and doesn’t work as well after a while. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) reduces the relapse rate considerably, by calming down the activity in the brain that causes excess brooding and “awfulizing”. Again, modified thinking changes the brain.

And to get back to the Dalai Lama’s question, the answer to that is now conclusively yes also: long-term meditators appear kinder and calmer, and they subjectively feel a higher state of unconditional inner peace. But now imaging and brain wave measurements have shown significant associated brain changes, compared to control groups with untrained minds [1, 4]. During meditation, there is a temporary alteration in your brain state. Repeated over time, this leads to a permanent altered trait.

The Role of Willpower

I have talked about mental benefits of techniques like meditation and mindfulness previously. The benefits of these go beyond stress relief if they are consistently used as part of what I call a transformational path, as I’ll describe in my next post. This is not some “new age” notion, it is well-supported by the evidence in neuroscience. The single most important factor for this to work is giving consistent attention to it, which requires willpower.

Whether or not we really have free will or it is illusory has been argued by scientists and philosophers (and scientists) for centuries, and I’m not going to get into it. But the evidence shows that if we pay attention and apply willpower, we can change our behavior and our brains. It is hard to explain otherwise how someone in the incredibly strong compulsion of OCD, caused by a faulty brain circuit, could choose, with awe inspiring willpower, to change their thoughts and rewire their brain. Or numerous other examples.

It’s true we often behave as if we are on autopilot. We can compulsively perform an action and then rationalize to ourselves that we really chose to do that. It’s often easy to show how these compulsions come from survival instincts. In my case an obvious example is eating junk or poor eating choices. Some part of my mind comes up with a reasonable sounding explanation why just this once some cookies wouldn’t hurt, and I fall for it. We can fight this off, but it sure takes willpower. One of the coolest examples is the Nike ad where the woman’s alarm goes off so she can go for her run. While she’s still bleary-eyed, her bed starts talking to her, “you want me, you know you want me. I am so soft, so comfy…”. But she goes running anyway!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTvJ8clMWX0

I’ve seen estimates that on average we’re behaving compulsively 95% of the time, and then probably rationalizing that we chose that behavior. And we are actually only rationally choosing 5% of the time. But that 5% makes all the difference. By using willpower and picking our battles, it allows us to choose in important situations. Like fighting off OCD, depression, or compulsive eating. And we can also choose to meditate. If our mind wanders off, whenever we notice that we can choose to bring it back .

That 95%/5% estimate is for the average person, with what meditation teachers would call an untrained mind. But that’s like saying the average person can only run 200 feet. With physical training you can run a marathon or more. The same is true for mental training.

I am continuing to read up on the exciting new developments in neuroscience and their implications, and will report when I find any exciting new tidbits.

References

Begley, S, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, Random House, 2008.

Schwartz, J, and Begley, S, The Mind and the Brain

https://www.closertotruth.com/series/quantum-physics-consciousness. Click on the interview with Dr. Anirban Bandyopadhyay.

Goleman, D, Davidson, R, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body, Penguin, 2017.

The Neuroplasticity Revolution- Willpower Can Change our Brains. published first on https://steroidsca.tumblr.com/

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ruthsulivan · 7 years ago

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New Study Shows Proposed Flavor Ban Gives Huge Advantage To Big Tobacco

Yale Professor conducted a study to determine the potential effects of a proposed e-liquid flavor ban

The FDA has long been concerned with the effects of e-cigarettes on our society. Despite the mounting evidence on the dramatic harm reduction value of vaping, FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, recently announced a new probe into the effects of e-liquid flavors on their uptake. According to the FDA, the examination will last a full 90 days during which they will be taking input from the public on possible courses of action. Some in the vaping community are concerned that if there isn’t enough of a response from the public, the FDA will quickly move to ban all e-liquid flavors that aren’t traditional tobacco.

That’s why a Yale Professor decided to conduct a survey looking into the real world effect flavors have on the efficacy of vaporizers as a smoking cessation tool. What he found was that not only do e-liquid flavors play a significant role in helping smokers quit, but they’re also helping to maintain the declining smoking rates across the country. According to his statistics, a flavor ban would actually increase combustible tobacco sales, not reduce them.

The New Study

The study was led by Dr. John Buckell of Yale University, and it was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Called Should Flavors be Banned in E-cigarettes? Evidence on Adult Smokers and Recent Quitters from a Discrete Choice Experiment, the study was designed to determine what sort of effect a flavor ban would have on the tobacco and vaping industries. The researchers interviewed over 2,000 vapers and former smokers about several different aspects of their habit, and how they believe it would be affected if a flavor ban was implemented.

After collecting their data, several interesting patterns began to emerge. By looking at different hypothetical scenarios, the team was able to determine the potential fallout from different types of flavors bans. Buckell and his team found that if menthol cigarettes were banned alongside all e-liquid flavors, over 8% of vapers would likely relapse into smoking, no longer having their preferred option. When his team calculated the probable change if only menthol cigarettes and menthol flavored e-liquid was banned, they found that the Big Tobacco sales would rise nearly 3%. But the most telling result of the study was when Dr. Buckell and his team concluded that if only menthol cigarettes were banned while leaving all e-liquid flavors untouched, Big Tobacco sales across the US would drop by nearly 5%.

What We Can Do

It’s clear based on Dr. Buckell’s research that an e-liquid flavor ban would do more harm than good. Luckily, as mentioned above, the FDA is currently accepting public input on the potential ban for another couple of months. You can, and should, submit your own objection to the FDA’s proposed ban or even make a call to your local congressperson or senator. But the best thing we can do is work together to show a united front.

In this spirit, renowned tobacco control experts, Dr. Farsalinos and Dr. Poulas have created an online survey that aims to collect as much information as possible to submit to the FDA as an objection to their flavor ban. The survey is free and anonymous, plus it only takes about 20 minutes to finish. Doing this will allow the respected doctors to bolster their defense of e-liquid flavors, showing just how important they’ve been to those who were able to quit smoking using vaporizers. The FDA public input period ends on the 19th of June, so it’s essential that we get as many vapers as possible to take the survey so their voice can be heard.

Implications

Dr. Buckell and his research make it clear, a flavor ban that targets e-liquid flavors will only help Big Tobacco. While the FDA’s intentions are seemingly good, they mistakenly believe that limiting the variety of flavor options for e-liquid will prevent more teens from picking up the habit. But according to the research, the opposite is more likely to occur, as those who had made a switch are more compelled to relapse without their favorite flavors. Given what we know from studies by Public Health England and others, vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking and should, therefore, be much preferred if the alternative is continued smoking.

But the harm doesn’t stop there. There’s another less obvious way in which a flavor ban would give a leg up to Big Tobacco. It’s no secret that companies like Philip Morris International see the writing on the wall for their industry. Over the last few years, PMI and others have shown clear signs that they’re planning for life beyond traditional cigarettes. Philip Morris representatives have even gone on the record several times stating that they plan on ending production of combustible cigarettes in the relatively near future.

With this being the case, it should be evident that they plan on taking over the smokeless market with their own devices such as PMI’s iQOS. If we take away one of the most significant advantages that the vaping industry has over Big Tobacco now, it will only be that much easier for those companies to ultimately take over. So it’s more critical now than ever that we join together in a unified voice by answering Dr. Farsalinos’ and the FDA’s call for public input. If we genuinely value the independent vaping industry, we must prove it.

What do you think about a potential flavor implemented by the FDA? Do you think research like Dr. Buckell’s will help make our case? Are you going to let your voice be heard, and if not, why? Let us know what you think in the comments, and don’t forget to check back here or join our Facebook and Twitter communities for more news and articles.

The post New Study Shows Proposed Flavor Ban Gives Huge Advantage To Big Tobacco appeared first on ChurnMag.

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vacenterforaddiction · 8 years ago

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Why is Gambling Addictive?

Gambling addiction is a devastating condition that places individuals in a dangerous position. Gambling addicts have been known to fall into debt, lose their families and even their lives to this toxic affliction. If you suffer from gambling addiction, or know someone who does, then you’ll find lots of value and useful information in this article that’ll give you a clear perspective on how it affects your life and how to overcome it.

What Makes Gambling Addictive?

The High

For most people, gambling usually starts out as an innocent ‘hobby’ that they engage in to escape the stressors of daily life. First, they experience ‘beginners’ luck where they seem to win every hand. They then slip into an abyss known as ‘gambling fever’, a state of euphoria that follows a few strokes of luck.

At this stage, the gambler might start having illusions of grandeur where they consider themselves invincible. However, it’s when a gambler starts to lose that things turn sour. This ‘gambling fever’ becomes an addiction, and failure to re-capture it leads to desperation and bad distress.

The Illusion of Control

Most gamblers find themselves under the illusion that they have everything under control. After a few winning streaks, they start thinking that they’re able to control the outcome of the gamble through their minds, not realizing that gambling is so called because it is a game of chance. And chance is something that you cannot predict or anticipate, no matter how good you think you are.

Thinking That Their Luck Will Change

By definition, any game of chance is bound to end in loss, but gamblers simply don’t see it that way. Once hooked, they keep believing that their luck will change even if the odds are clearly stacked against them. Despite the signs, they continue gambling thinking “the next round will be mine for sure”, and they fail to see that gambling will never solve their problems. Inevitably becoming like a dog chasing its tail, searching after an illusion that they’ll never capture.

What Gambling Does to Your Body?

Gambling is extremely stressful to the body. For example, it affects one’s sleep because you stay up at night constantly regretting your losses or trying to figure out a way to win. There’s also the stress of trying to figure out how to pay back the gambling debt you’ve amassed. Other common physical side effects of gambling include:

Lack of appetite and losing weight

Lowered libido

You start to feel lethargic, weary; or agitated and nervous in turns. This causes fluctuations in your blood pressure and wreaks havoc on your immune system causing the development of ailments such as muscle tension, headaches, ulcers and bowel issues.

What Are the Health/ Financial Risks?

Health Risks

Gambling addicts usually end up suffering from mental ailments such as chronic depression, anxiety and nervousness. Symptoms for these conditions usually manifest themselves as follows:

Decrease in social activity and isolating oneself from loved ones

Hopelessness and feeling powerless

Memory loss

Difficulty processing information

Constantly feeling aggravated

Excessive sleep

Suicidal thoughts

Damaging relationships with friends and family

Burnout

Physically or emotionally abusing loved ones as a result of stress caused by gambling

Low self-esteem

Using drugs and/or alcohol to ‘cope’

Financial Risks

A gambler’s financial situation tends to fluctuate and eventually takes a downward slope. This might prompt them to borrow more gambling money in the hopes that they’ll experience big wins and recoup their losses. Apart from creating a serious debt problem, here are some of the other financial risks caused by addictive gambling:

Inability to pay bills on time

Dispossession of property

Pawning valuables

Depleting your savings or maxing out your credit card

Showing up late for work

Inability to focus and low productivity

Getting multiple warnings at work and eventually getting fired due to lack of performance

Committing crimes such as: embezzlement, fraudulent insurance claims, Tax evasion, larceny and even arson

Why You Should Quit Gambling?

If the above financial and health implications aren’t convincing enough, here are some more compelling reasons why you should quit gambling:

It can cause you to become sour, self-seeking and ill-mannered

A gambler becomes so committed to keeping up his addiction, that he’s willing to even deplete his moral fiber in the process. The stress and depression that comes with gambling can turn a formerly sweet and loving person into a sour grouch who’s only concern is greed and chasing after money.

Losing Friends and family

Obviously, no one wants to associate with someone who is untrustworthy, rude and greedy, and having such a disposition can negatively impact one’s relationships. Selfishness and loss of integrity can also compromise your reputation and lead you to lose a lot of friends.

Letting Yourself and Your Family Down

Imagine how your kids and your family will feel when you constantly miss their recitals, award ceremonies, sports games etc. Gamblers are also most likely to borrow from friends and then fail to pay back the money or even worse, steal from them. All of this can seriously strain your relationships because your loved ones start losing hope in you and this usually leads to broken families through divorce or separation.

Poor Health

As mentioned, gambling can negatively affect your health and lead to ailments like heart disease, hypertension, bowel problems, memory loss and a host of others.

It Distracts You from Your Life Goals

Just like any human being, a gambler has hopes, goals and a vision for the future. Gamblers often become so distracted that they lose sight of who they are and their aspirations in life.

How Long It Takes To Quit Gambling?

As with any addiction, quitting gambling takes time. Luckily, there are helpful support groups and resources with useful information on how you can wean yourself from, and ultimately quit, gambling.

The journey towards quitting can be arduous and is different for every individual. While there are no official statistics on how long it takes, it’s worth to note that some individuals can actually recover instantaneously. About 50% of all addictions tend to come to an end by age 30. Quitting is complicated and many individuals find themselves relapsing so it’s worth to look at it from a long term point of view and manage your expectations.

Conclusion

Recovery from gambling is a different process for everyone, and each one goes through their own unique journey. Some prefer to recover gradually in a group setting while others do it alone. Whichever method you use, remember to go into it with complete determination and be open to trying out different modalities.

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