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Growing up, Rick’s mom couldn’t care for him due to her struggles with alcohol and substance abuse.
“Home wasn’t really a place, it was more like an idea,” he shared. Fortunately, after a very short time in the foster care system, he was placed in the care of a loving aunt.
Determined to not fall into the same lifestyle he grew up around, Rick pursued an education at San Diego State University. It was there that he was introduced to Just in Time for Foster Youth through the Guardian Scholars program.
Rick is an ambitious student, majoring in Biology, Psychology, and Communications and planning to go to graduate school. As part of his goal, he needs clinical laboratory experience and credible certifications, so he decided to seek his phlebotomy certification. However, the certification process is an expensive one, and even with budgeting and saving, it seemed like a nearly impossible dream. That is, until he decided to turn to Just in Time for help.
Through JIT’s NEXTjobs service, Rick was able to get over half the cost of his certification process covered. Although COVID has made it harder to practice, Rick is determined to do everything he can to complete his certification.
“I’m not stopping,” he said. “I’m going to make as much progress as I can. And I for sure wouldn’t have done it without the support. I’m really thankful for all the opportunities Just in Time has brought into my life.”
Both N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, and 5-Methoxy-N, N-Dimethyltryptamine are potent psychoactive substances capable of causing brief and intense psychedelic effects when consumed. Although 5-Methoxy-N, N-Dimethyltryptamine is notably more potent than N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, both have been substances of interest amongst the medical and scientific community since their revolutionary discoveries (Davis et al., n.d.).
N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, and 5-Methoxy- Dimethyltryptamine are characterized to be classic hallucinogens in many regards. One reason is that they increase levels of 5-HT(formally known as serotonin)( Nichols, 2004). Ingestion of these agonists increases neural activity in the serotonergic pathway. Regions along the pathway are normally designated for higher brain function such as mood, memory processing, sleep, and cognition, this higher awareness primes the conditions needed for a profound introspective experience with which we are able to catalyze recovery from addiction. (Carbonaro & Gatch, 2016)
Prospective Articles
Addressing the Diverse Needs of Patients: Implementing an Integrative Approach to Mental Health Treatment
Medicine is continuously evolving and contorting to fit better the complicated lifestyles of patients and the various factors we are subjected to. With the intensification of various societal aspects, like communication entering the digital age and our diets shifting from whole foods our ancestors used to eat to more processed food, medicine has a lot to keep up with. Modern medicine is most commonly associated with allopathic treatments, which primarily focus on the disease pathology of sickness. So what is integrative medicine? Integrative medicine refers to blending conventional and evidence-based alternative medicines or therapies to address patient issues as a whole. Integrative medicine should not be seen as the opposite of conventional medicine, it takes a multidisciplinary approach to expand tools for treatment. And how does that differ from conventional approaches? Great question. Conventional medicine is associated with allopathic and osteopathic care, which have been extremely beneficial to trauma treatment and issues regarding high acuity, but this approach is also embedded with a reactive predisposition focusing on issues as they arise, while integrative medicine preaches preventative care.
The Physiological Implications of Mindfulness Meditation
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
With the continuous advances in scientific frontiers, the overlap between science and spirituality becomes more apparent. This paper aims to further explore mindfulness meditation's physiological effects through the dual lens of science and spirituality.
Altered States of Consciousness
What is consciousness? Who am I? Such simple questions, with answers ranging from a microcosmic to macrocosmic nature, answers could be 'I am Richard Fuentes' to 'I am everything.' To answer, we must first be aware since awareness is where we cultivate our sentience.
Short-Acting Tryptamines as Alternative Treatments for Substance-Use Disorders [Literature Review]
This article is a literature review exploring short-acting tryptamines, such as 5-MeO-DMT and N,N-DMT, as potential alternative options for treating substance-use disorders. As clinical trials for ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin-assisted therapies continue to unfold, there are many commonalities bubbling up to the surface, refining methods for future use. There is a disappointing scarcity of information regarding short-acting tryptamines and their consideration as alternative treatments for various conditions, especially substance-use disorders., and how their effects could be integrated into a person's recovery continuum.