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To begin with, I want you to know that this is a very, very personal story for me to share. Relapse is a part of my story. Mine is not an uncommon story; the longer I stick around in my fellowship the more I hear the truth about relapse: People relapse before they even pick up a drink or drug.
With the legalization of marijuana in some of the United States, the land of opportunity and capitalism is gradually becoming the land of the red, white… and green. As Americans we have always been interested how to manifest our destiny by profit… and now thanks to the newest laws passed, cannabis seems to be the newest way to make some green. It’s estimated that the cannabis industry is on track to post $24.5 billion in sales by 2021.
Staying sober for the holidays has been one of the many gifts of recovery for me. However, the holidays are typically a dangerous time for relapse among addicts & alcoholics. Even though this time of year is supposed to be about joy and celebration it can just as often turn into a stressful time filled with anxiety, tension, resentments and loneliness. Take time to breathe and pause.
Here’s the truth: You don’t need to be an addict to know the difference between going through life numb and living life fully awake and present. Even though a very small percent of the population can benefit from maintenance drugs, for an addict who is ready to recover and achieve the clarity that comes with being clean, it’s quite possible that “Maintenance Medication” is actually doing a disservice and robbing them of true sobriety.
If you’re a family or friend of someone who is struggling with addiction, you know how overwhelming it can be to find help for your loved one. You might not know a lot about addiction, much less anything about treatment options. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact that you are left with the daunting responsibility of making a decision for your loved one.
Maybe you’re not entirely ready to say, “I’m addicted, and I need help.” Perhaps you’re just wondering what to do if you need help with drugs and alcohol?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alcoholism and excessive alcohol use causes somewhere around 88,000 deaths each year making alcohol the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
What Is Detox and is it necessary? Detox is the first phase of recovery from substance abuse recovery.
“Rehabilitate: to restore or bring to a condition of health or useful and constructive activity.”
Many people who abuse Adderall and other prescription drugs wrongly assume the drug is safe because it comes from a doctor. Adderall is a dangerous drug because even when used correctly it is known to be habit forming and addictive; but when it is abused it becomes life threatening, especially for an addict.
At the risk of sounding totally cheesy I’m going to say that AA’s principles when applied to everything in life, not just sobriety, really do work.
You’re not drinking? What are people going to think?! How are you going to respond if someone asks why you’re not drinking?
The holidays are all about family and traditions and now that you’re living sober it’s the perfect time to create new and improved sober traditions.
It’s an amazing thing to witness the recent shifts in social attitudes towards addiction. While there still remains a social stigma attached to being an alcoholic or an addict, there is also an increasing awareness regarding the positive effects of recovery and a greater understanding of addiction as a disease. All of this new awareness makes sober living a peaceful possibility.
The million-dollar question for any newly sober person is how to achieve long-term sobriety. However, sobriety and recovery from addiction is a lifelong, one-day-at-a-time process.
Although similar sounding, the term “Dry Drunk” should definitely not be confused with a “Dry Drink!” Dry Drunk Syndrome and the term dry drunk refers to a person with a chemical dependency issue, who gave up alcohol/drugs, but made no internal emotional or behavioral changes.
Living healthy may be an American obsession (especially in Los Angeles) but for people in recovery, healthy sober living is actually a matter of life or death.
During my time on MTV’s Laguna Beach, The Hills, and Celebrity Rap SuperStar, I was known for my hard partying ways, but in reality I was going through a public battle with addiction. Later landing me in Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.
In an interesting move today the US Department of Health and Human Services announced nearly $53 million in funding to back the Opioid Initiative. The Opioid Initiative, which was launched in 2015, was created to improve prescribing practices, expand medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and increase the use of Naloxone—a specific MAT drug that treats someone in the midst of an overdose.
I have always been extremely vocal about my goals in the field of treatment and recovery. I have never waivered from the fact that I will do anything and everything I can to raise awareness about addiction as a disease. That I will go to any lengths to help those struggling to overcome their demons, all while holding tightly to my moral and ethical values. Sadly, I sit here today disheartened and ashamed of the way business is being conducted in my chosen field. Too many people are treating people with addictions like cattle, using them for the high insurance payouts, and then discarding them back into the world with little in the way of a long term plan, much less any true shot at maintaining their sobriety.
The majority of my experience on TV hasn’t always been great. Looking back all I remember is the negativity surrounding myself while I was active in my drinking and using. I’ve since made a promise to myself that if I was to ever return to TV, it would be to raise awareness and smash the stigma of my disease in the hopes of changing the negative perception society has on addiction. If you told me when I was drinking and drugging that I was going to return to TV to shed light on addiction in a positive way a few years later, I would’ve laughed. But, the truth is, that opportunity is here.
A few weeks ago, I flew out to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Unite to Face Addiction concert. Tens of thousands of people were there, and it was incredible to see how many people’s lives have been touched by addiction. It was even more incredible to see how many people are recognizing addiction as a disease.
Every day I wake up and it is my mission to do everything possible to make sure that I make a difference when it comes to addiction and recovery. If you asked me five years ago if this would be my life, I would’ve laughed at you.
For months, I knew that I was going to be interviewed for an E! True Hollywood Story, and I was beyond psyched! Just a few weeks ago, I sat down with the crew and told my story from start to finish. Needless to say, I was exhausted after only one day of filming.