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Category: Addiction News

  • Julianne Hough Uses Dancing To Combat Anxiety & Depression

    Julianne Hough Uses Dancing To Combat Anxiety & Depression

    Hough says she considers dancing her “superpower.” 

    Two-time Dancing With the Stars winner Julianne Hough is opening up about how she used dancing to battle anxiety and depression. 

    As Hough explained to People, “I struggled with anxiety and depression growing up. I don’t think a lot of people would know that because I come off as sunshine and happiness and positivity.”

    Hough has struggled with endometriosis, which she was diagnosed with when she was in her early twenties. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of it, and it can lead to intense chronic pain and infertility. (It can also make sex very painful, and one in ten women suffer from the condition.)

    Hough told the Huffington Post, “It’s very debilitating. I can’t get up in the morning sometimes or it interferes with my daily activities. It really has affected my quality of life.”

    Hough also told Women’s Health that it was very traumatic when she was first diagnosed. “At the time I felt very lonely and like nobody understood me. I had no idea that [so many women] had endometriosis.”

    When Hough spoke at the annual The Wonder of Women Summit in Los Angeles, she also said that dance has helped her feel mental and physically balanced.

    “I believe that those two work hand in hand. I put on music immediately, which helps my auditory and sensory experience with my body. So then my body is activated and I’m moving my body, which changes my whole energy level for the day. So I get to choose how I show up in the world, with all the external pressures.”

    Hough considers dancing her “superpower.” She also feels that it “really transformed my experience and gave me a way to express myself. [Dance] actually breaks the barrier so you get confidence within yourself, and it’s for nobody else but you.”

    Hough said she is working with neurologist Dr. Wendy Suzuki, who also appeared at The Wonder of Women Summit, on studying the effects of dancing on people’s brains and well-being. “We’ve been really closely looking at how it affects the brain, our memory, and our ability to create endorphins and mood boost.”

    Hough’s brother Derek, a judge on the dance competition show World of Dance, released his first solo single “Hold On” in 2017, which dealt with mental health issues and had a strong anti-suicide message. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Could Working From Home Be Detrimental To Your Mental Health?

    Could Working From Home Be Detrimental To Your Mental Health?

    Experts say remote workers often struggle more with depression and anxiety than their peers in a traditional workplace. 

    While working from home is becoming more common and has certain conveniences, there are some pitfalls to doing so as well, new research has found.  

    The 2019 State of Remote Work report found that working from home may negatively affect wellness, Forbes reports.

    More specifically, when discussing the negative aspects of working remotely, 49% of those surveyed said they most struggle with wellness-related aspects. This includes 22% saying they are unable to “unplug” after they finish working, 19% reported feelings of loneliness and 8% struggled with motivation.    

    “These statistics could have a number of subjective influencers, such as the management style of their boss, their local connection speed, their personality or even which organization tools are used,” Forbes states. “However, there is one dominant common thread that can’t be ignored: 84% of all remote workers are working from a home office.”

    According to Dr. Amy Cirbus, PhD, Manager of Clinical Quality at Talkspace, those who work remotely often struggle more with depression and anxiety than their peers in a traditional workplace. They also often cite feeling lonely and isolated. 

    “Remote workers report a lack of concentration and focus that can compound and exacerbate these mental health challenges,” she tells Forbes. “It can lead to a loss of self-worth and a questioning of one’s abilities. Combined together, these symptoms can have a significant impact on job performance, job satisfaction and the efficiency of productive work.”

    According to Forbes, there could be a few reasons for this connection between working from home and wellness struggles. For one, self-management can lead to taking on more tasks than normal. Some remote workers also struggle to identify progress in their career, due to the lack of traditional milestones of climbing a career ladder. 

    The idea of work output also contributes to stressors for some who work remotely. Many who work in the freelance field, according to Forbes, are expected to pitch their own assignments and then complete them. Sometimes this may even lead to focusing so much on output that individuals are working unpaid hours or not taking sufficient breaks.

    However, these struggles don’t necessarily mean that working from home should be discouraged. Instead, remote workers can take a few steps to make sure they are doing so in a healthy manner. 

    One suggestion is creating a home office area, which will help create a literal separation of work and home life. Another is to stick to some form of normal working hours each day, while also making sure to move and exercise throughout those hours. Finally, Forbes suggests staying connected with others to limit isolation and being sure to have a support network. 

    “Research indicates that both exercise and connecting with others, even in short bursts, produces endorphins that boost mood, increase creativity and esteem, and decrease anxiety,” Cirbus tells Forbes.

    “The key is the consistency. One afternoon walk or one lunch break with a colleague or friend won’t eliminate these mental health challenges. Making a daily commitment to healthy injections of well-being on a regular basis is where the positive, lasting change occurs.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Lena Dunham Celebrates Sober Milestone

    Lena Dunham Celebrates Sober Milestone

    The “Girls” creator took to Instagram to celebrate her first sober birthday.

    On April 10, Lena Dunham, the creator of the groundbreaking show Girls, marked a year sober in an Instagram post.

    Giving the thumbs up in her Instagram photo, Dunham told her three million followers, “Today I’m in the miraculous position of being one year sober. I’ve done a lot of cool things in this life, but none has brought me the peace, joy and lasting connections of being part of a sober fellowship.”

    “Life is full of problems,” she added, “but the cool thing about this one is that there is a solution: in ever city, in many countries, you can find a group of people who are working hard to live sober, accountable lives, and want to support you on your quest to do the same.”

    Dunham had previously taken the anti-anxiety medication Klonopin, and didn’t realize an addiction was creeping up on her. “I didn’t know I had an issue with drugs for a long time,” she writes, “because they were doctor prescribed, because I was outwardly successful and not a wild in da club party chick. But wouldn’t you say that hurting people you love is an issue? Wouldn’t you say feeling lost and lonely much of the time is an issue?”

    Dunham also realized that sobriety doesn’t solve all your problems. “Life is still challenging,” she continues. “That’s the nature of the game. But every day I am surprised by the richness and depth of, well, reality. I don’t need to escape this beautiful carnival. Instead, I’m on the ride.”

    Dunham ended her post by telling the world, “Please remember you are never too far gone, too broken or too unique. There are people in plain sight waiting to help you. Let’s do this.”

    Dunham had previously confessed her struggles with Klonopin on the Dax Shepard podcast “Armchair Expert” when she hit her six-month sober mark. “My particular passion was Klonopin,” she explained. She started taking the medication when she was battling severe anxiety, but then she was taking it more and more often.

    “It stopped being ‘I take one when I fly,’ to ‘I take one when I’m awake. I didn’t have any trouble getting a doctor to tell me, ‘No you have serious anxiety issues, you should be taking this. This is how you should be existing.’”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Dear AA, We Need to Talk

    Dear AA, We Need to Talk

    You weren’t straight up so now we’re on the rocks.

    Dear Alcoholics Anonymous,

    I’m leaving you. I’ve had enough after 31 years and that’s not even counting the 2 before that. Oy, those were rocky. You sounded way too Christian with just a spritz of Buddhism thrown in for a twist. We’d be nothing but a sour mix because I’m a devout Jewish atheist.

    “Trust me,” you cooed. “Alcohol is cunning and baffling. I can help.” But when you strongly suggested I pray on my knees, I lost it.

    I screamed, “Jews don’t pray on their knees!”

    You weren’t alarmed but you asked that same old tired question. “How can you be an atheist and a Jew?”

    Before I could explain culture versus religion to you with my secular “bagel Jew” crack, you cooed at me:

    “That doesn’t matter. Anything can be a higher power—a chair or a doorknob. Just as long as you know you’re not it.”

    With an eyeroll, “A doorknob? What’re you, high? That makes no sense.”

    Unfazed, you kept trying to lure me in. “You’ll see the hoop you have to jump through is wider than you think.”

    But, oy vey, the goddamn god stuff left me feeling shaken so I split. Then when alcohol stopped working all together, I ran back. I dreamed about you warming me up like a stiff scotch used to. But instead of giving me euphoria, you said I needed to admit I was powerless over alcohol. If I surrendered this time, you said I could pour my sadness into you. I was lost and you were gentle, so when you told me to close my eyes, I did.

    You asked, “Can you think of anything that’s more powerful than you?”

    “Yes,” I said. “Rain. No matter how much I screamed at the sky, it wouldn’t stop raining.”

    Your face lit up. “You got it!”

    I beamed. “Oh! And the ocean, too,” I said. “Waves will keep crashing no matter what I do.”

    “Right. You’re powerless over alcohol and I can restore you to sanity.”

    Hands on hips, I yelled “I’m not insane!” But I was still shaken, not stirred.

    “You can use G.O.D. as in Group of Drunks,” you reminded me, then led me to a dark church basement where you said I’d feel welcome. But the pathetic coffee left me craving something stronger; I wanted to be under the influence till I was over the limit. Yet, still attracted to the liquor-free confidence there, I decided on the GOD acronym. Until the speaker cracked the Big Book open and read Step 11.

    You smarmy liar! And I was vulnerable, trying to quit getting lit. You gaslit me:

    “To certain newcomers and to those one-time agnostics
    who still cling to the A.A. group as their higher power….”

    Still desperate and confused, I kept going because people were nice to me. At a lunchtime meeting, the speaker talked about her fifth step. It sounded so much like confession I got excited and whirled my head around scanning the room for communion wine. Those early meetings taught me to pray—for a liquid lunch.

    You said it was a spiritual program so I had to accept the idea of a higher power. That nearly crushed me. You really didn’t understand that some people know there isn’t any god. I’d held out hope that you were going to unveil yourself as top shelf stuff but most of the time, you seemed like Mad Dog. Especially when you said stupid shit like, “Your best thinking got you here.”

    I wanted to be with you in the rooms, but most of the time I was dragging my ass around. But now I’m sick of feeling trapped. I hate your smoke and mirrors trickery. Your demand for rigorous honesty can cramp my style. When we almost broke up and I wanted to bolt, I cheated on you with meetings for atheists. The problem was there were so few of them and they were just as dogmatic.

    I can hear your disdain when you call me one of those “unfortunates” who can’t get the program because I’m constitutionally incapable of being honest. Now that’s grandiose. I’m sick of your self-righteous finger wagging at me, saying you’re not judgmental but then labeling me the belligerent one if I challenge anything you say. But come on, the idea of a looming spirit in place of intoxicating spirits is ridiculous.

    Okay, I admit I’m grateful that you always took me back. You’ve been patient and kind and most of all, you stuck by me. But damn it, I’m sick of being barked at for doing things that aren’t suggested. So I’m at a crossroads. The fear of leaving is a biggie. You and all of our friends will pull away from me if I leave you. The pressure to stay feels a lot like the bar pressure to do one more shot.

    If I went that route, at least I could take breaks from feeling everything so acutely while also stuffing down any critical words about you. Whenever I express frustration about how hypocritical you can be, I get looked at with pity: “Poor Dee. She’s taking her will back. Let’s pray for her. It only works if you work it.” 

    I wince at that crap. I refuse to wear a cone of shame if I save a seat, or gossip, or don’t feel like stacking the chairs some days. A lot of people think it’s healthy to fear slipping but I no longer want to fear anything. Peer pressure reminds me of junior high.

    Please quit telling me if I’m upset it’s because I’m obstinate, immature, and willful.

    Uh oh. But what if you’re right? If I leave, would I regress? I never want to be the sorry sot I was before we met. Those stakes are too high. I was afraid to give up alcohol and drugs because I “knew” I needed them. Then you proved me wrong. If I storm out, does that make me a brat who won’t take my medicine?

    You’ve always been a good listener and who else would love me in spite of my god rants? Maybe I am at the right party now. Though I long for the schnockered nights, I ain’t in my twenties anymore. I don’t even know if I could still stay up till four in the morning, much less hit the after-hours until the Tequila Sunrises. Yearning for wild nights of yore could be euphoric recall — rosy as a maraschino on top.

    Maybe staying together is fine after all. We’ve talked so many times about my expectations and you’re right—it’s stupid to blame you for being imperfect. I mean, look at me.

    G.O.D. can stand for good orderly direction, with Buddhism’s tangy flavor: a god within. Now that I’m thinking things through, I suppose a frothy soy milkshake could satiate me more than White Russians ever could. And, seriously, who wants a shit-faced higher power within anyway? No marriage is 100 percent bliss; perhaps I just caught a 31-year itch. My mind easily wanders back to booty calls with sexy bar pickups. Libidos on fire. At weak moments I ache to go back there. Then I snap out of it.

    Truth is, I love Netflix nights chillin’ with decaf chai latte from Starbucks. You’ve been there for me time after time. So, let’s hold up the paper cup. Cheers, AA. I’m not going anywhere.

    What’ll it be tonight? Barfly or Leaving Las Vegas?”

     

     

    How have you handled boredom and frustration in recovery? Or did you decide to leave your 12-step program? Tell us in the comments.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Older Adults Receiving Adequate Mental Health Care?

    Are Older Adults Receiving Adequate Mental Health Care?

    Suicidal ideation, self-harm and depression are among the mental health issues that senior citizens are battling without professional help. 

    Older adults are getting left behind when it comes to mental health care, according to an opinion piece in the The Guardian by Emily Reynolds.  

    According to recent research in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the self-harm rate for older individuals was around 65 per 100,000. This was based on an analysis of about 40 studies.

    But these results are hardly surprising, Reynolds writes. She states that in 2014, the World Health Organization discovered that in those over age 70 across the world, the suicide rates were highest.

    Additionally, the Royal College of Psychiatrists determined that 40% of older individuals in basic care clinics struggle with mental health, as do 50% in hospital settings and 60% in care facilities. 

    While it’s widely believed that focusing on eliminating or decreasing loneliness in older adults could aid in this issue, that’s not the full problem, Reynolds says.

    “Loneliness is sometimes presented as the primary problem when it comes to tackling mental ill-health in older people—and, while it indubitably contributes, this explanation doesn’t really go far enough,” she writes. “Many of those experiencing self-harm, suicidal thoughts or other signs of mental distress already have diagnoses—they’re people who have dealt with mental illness their whole lives. Social isolation may contribute to their problems, yes, but it’s not the full picture.”

    According to Reynolds, who cites research from the Journal of Psychiatry, there is more at play. Other factors apart from loneliness include age, an individual’s history when it comes to self-harm, physical conditions and other existing psychiatric diagnoses. 

    Another barrier, Reynolds points out, is access to aid—what she calls “a perennial bugbear for mental health campaigners.” Research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists has determined that 85% of those in the older population who struggle with depression do not receive the help they need.

    Additionally, they are only one-fifth as likely as younger generations to be able to utilize “talking therapies.”

    According to Reynolds, the solution starts with simply acknowledging who needs help. 

    “And on a very basic level, acknowledging that mental illness is not a problem that suddenly vanishes as you age would be a huge step,” Reynolds writes.

    “The current face of mental illness is young, white, middle-class, diagnosed with a condition such as depression or anxiety. People of color, those with more serious diagnoses and the elderly are often not given a look in at all.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Clark Gable III Died from Accidental Fentanyl, Oxycodone Overdose

    Clark Gable III Died from Accidental Fentanyl, Oxycodone Overdose

    The grandson of Hollywood legend Clark Gable was found unresponsive in his home on February 22.

    Actor and television host Clark Gable III’s untimely death at the age of 30 was due to an accidental overdose of fentanyl, as well as oxycodone and alprazolam (Xanax).

    Several news sources, including TMZ and the New York Daily News, revealed that an autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office in Dallas County, Texas, determined that Gable, who was best known as the host of Cheaters, died on February 22, 2019 from the “combined effects” of the three drugs. 

    TMZ also quoted its conversation with Cheaters producer Bobby Goldstein, who said that Gable’s drug use was known on set.

    Gable III—the grandson of Hollywood legend Clark Gable—was found unresponsive in his home in Dallas by his girlfriend on the morning of February 22 and transported to an area hospital, where according to the medical examiner’s report, he died at 9:11 a.m.

    At the time of his death, Gable’s passing was credited to undisclosed causes, but in an interview with Radar Online, former girlfriend Heather Chadwell said that they both struggled with addiction during their relationship.

    “We were together on-and-off for several years, and during that time, we went through a lot,” she told Radar. Chadwell also noted that after their split, Gable called her from the hospital, where he had undergone surgery to treat a stab wound that caused one of his lungs to collapse.

    Sources on the set of Cheaters, which Gable hosted in its 13th and 14th season, said that Gable’s drug use concerned some crew members to the point that they spoke to producer Goldstein about his health.

    Goldstein told TMZ on April 12 that he addressed the issue with Gable, but was told that there was no cause for concern.

    At the time of his death, Gable, who had a daughter with his girlfriend Summer in 2017, had either completed or was working on acting roles in several independent features, and was reportedly compiling a documentary about his grandfather, who starred in Gone with the Wind. 

    Gable is the most recent celebrity whose death has been attributed to fentanyl.

    Musicians Prince and Tom Petty both succumbed to overdoses caused by the powerful synthetic opioid, as did hip-hop musicians Mac Miller and Lil Peep and Jay Bennett of the band Wilco.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Delaware Passes Opioid Prescription Tax

    Delaware Passes Opioid Prescription Tax

    New York passed a similar measure earlier this month.

    Lawmakers in Delaware have passed a measure to tax prescription opioids, a move that they expect will generate $8 million over three years to support addiction treatment in the state. 

    Democratic Sen. Stephanie Hansen, who sponsored the bill, said that it will pass on costs to the manufacturers who contributed to the opioid epidemic, according to the Associated Press.  

    “These multi-million dollar companies that have reaped record profits after flooding our doctors’ offices and getting people in pain hooked on these drugs will no longer be able to avoid responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by their products,” she said. 

    However, people who oppose the measure say that manufacturers will pass the costs on to insurance companies, which will then pass them to consumers. Others said that the tax is a misguided and unfair way to address opioid addiction. 

    “Unfortunately, what’s being proposed—taxing legitimately prescribed medicines that patients rely on for legitimate medical needs to raise revenues for the state—ignores evidence-based solutions, sets a dangerous precedent and ultimately won’t help patients and families,” said Nick McGee, a spokesperson for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry group that opposes the measure. 

    The tax rates depend on the dosage, and whether an opioid is a brand name or generic. It ranges from a few cents per pill, to up to a dollar per pill. The bill sets the tax rate of one cent for every morphine milligram equivalent, or MME, a measure of an opioid’s strength. In addition, there is a surcharge for brand-name pills. 

    For example, a 10-milligram pill of oxycodone would be taxed at 4 cents, while OxyContin, the brand-name alternative, would have a 15-cent tax. 

    Johns Hopkins University health economist Jeromie Ballreich said that these amounts would not change what people can expect to pay for their pain medication. 

    He said, “I do not expect copays to change based on this fee, just as they don’t change for drug price increases.”

    Delaware isn’t the only state that hopes to fund treatment through taxing opioids. New York passed a similar measure last week, its second attempt since 2018. Last year the measure was struck down by a federal judge because of the way that it would affect interstate commerce. 

    While New York lawmakers also insisted that patients would not be affected, an academic report on the measure found a different result. 

    “While the language of the proposed law attempts to place the burden of the tax on drug manufacturers, in practice market forces determine how the burden of the tax is shared between producers and consumers,” Lewis Davis, professor of economics at Union College, wrote in the report.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • DOJ Accuses Indivior Of Illegally Marketing Suboxone Film

    DOJ Accuses Indivior Of Illegally Marketing Suboxone Film

    The drug company is accused of promoting its sublingual film strips as safer and less abusable than other opioid treatment drugs.

    A British pharmaceutical company was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on charges of fraud involving its Suboxone film medication, which is used to treat opioid dependency.

    The DOJ alleged that Indivior reaped “billions of dollars in revenue” by engaging in an “illicit nationwide scheme” to promote its sublingual film strips as safer and less abusable than other opioid treatment drugs, and further sought to boost profits with a helpline for prospective patients that allegedly diverted them to physicians that prescribed Suboxone. 

    Indivior refuted the charges in an eight-page rebuttal, but were unable to stop their stock from dropping by 71% after the DOJ issued its indictment on April 9.

    Indivior developed its Suboxone film strips in 2007 as an alternative to the tablet form of the drug, which was facing competition from generic products. Both the tablet and the film strips contain buprenorphine, an opioid used in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid dependency, and itself a highly addictive drug.

    The DOJ alleged that Indivior marketed its Suboxone film as safer and less-divertable than the tablet modality, and “aggressively marketed” the film as having a “lower risk of child exposure,” despite lacking any scientific evidence to support those claims. 

    Prosecutors found that the film strips could actually be more hazardous to children, due to their fast dissolution when placed under the tongue and formulation that made them “taste better.” The DOJ also claimed that Indivior lied when it announced the end of production for Suboxone tablets in 2012 due to “concerns regarding pediatric exposure,” when, as the indictment noted, the real reason was to delay the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of generic forms of Suboxone.

    Additionally, the indictment alleged that Indivior diverted more patients to its film strips through an internet and telephone resource program. The “Here to Help” line connected opioid-dependent patients to doctors that it knew were prescribing Suboxone and other opioids at an amount and dosage greater than allowed by federal law, and in some cases, under suspect circumstances.

    The alleged scheme proved successful for Indivior, which saw sales of Suboxone Film strips jump from $83 million in 2010 to $843 million in 2014, according to the DOJ indictment.

    Thousands of patients reportedly switched prescriptions to Suboxone film as a result of the company’s allegedly fraudulent promotion, and state Medicaid programs expanded and maintained coverage of Suboxone film at a “substantial” cost to the U.S. government.

    The DOJ indictment charged Indivior with one count of health care fraud, four counts of mail fraud and 22 counts of wire fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit all three aforementioned charges. The indictment is only an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    In a statement, Indivior chairman wrote that his company “conducts more research into opioid addiction than any other company, and the products it has brought to market have helped millions of people struggling with opioid addiction.” He added that he was surprised that the DOJ would indict a company for claims that “the government’s own researchers believe are true.” 

    The news of the indictment sent Indivior’s stock price sliding from $100 a share to approximately $30 a share on April 10.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Carly Rae Jepsen Parodies "This is Your Brain on Drugs" PSA

    Carly Rae Jepsen Parodies "This is Your Brain on Drugs" PSA

    The pop star parodied the infamous PSA to promote her new single “No Drug Like Me.”

    In a promotional video, the pop star hearkened back to the “just say no” public service announcements of yesteryear.

    Carly Rae Jepsen remade the classic “this is your brain on drugs” public service announcement, complete with egg-smashing and frying pan-swinging.

    She made the video to announce her new single, “No Drug Like Me.” In it, Jepsen holds up an egg, representing your brain, and a large frying pan, representing “No Drug Like Me.” She places the egg on the countertop, and winding up to crush the egg with the frying pan, she delivers her riff on the classic line:

    “This is what happens to your brain when you listen to ‘No Drug Like Me.’”

    After smashing the egg on the counter, she goes to town on the rest of the kitchen, swinging the frying pan through fragile objects that represent your family, friends, money, job, self-respect, future, and life.

    This isn’t the first time the PSA has been remade. Notably, Rachel Leigh Cook, who starred in the original PSA, reprised her role to take aim at how drug policy has fallen short. Cook especially focused on how drug policy has been a conduit for systematic racism.

    “This is one of the millions of Americans who uses drugs and won’t get arrested,” Cook said while holding a white egg. 

    Picking up a brown egg, she continues: “However, this American is several times more likely to be charged with a drug crime.”

    In this version, the frying pan crushes the job prospects of the brown egg who has drug charges on its record.

    “The War on Drugs is ruining people’s lives,” Cook says at the end of the video. “It fuels mass incarceration. It targets people of color in greater numbers than their white counterparts. It cripples communities. It costs billions. And it doesn’t work. Any questions?”

    Comparatively, Jepsen’s is pretty tongue-in-cheek, remixing the PSA to say that her song is so catchy it will destroy your relationships and ruin your life. At the end of her video, she throws whole eggs, shell included, into the frying pan as a snippet of her new song plays.

    “No Drug Like Me” comes from her upcoming album, Dedicated, due to be released on May 17th.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Charlie Sheen Graduates From Rehab, Recalls "Chaos" Of Addiction

    Charlie Sheen Graduates From Rehab, Recalls "Chaos" Of Addiction

    “You get tired of apologizing for things that you can’t remember doing. The amends can’t just be words, they have to be actions,” Sheen said.

    Charlie Sheen, speaking in an interview on Loose Women, announced he has graduated from rehab. On the show, he revealed his biggest motivator for getting sober: being unable to take care of his daughter. At times, he admitted, he felt like he was “possessed by a demon” when he craved alcohol.

    “To this day, I am not sure how I created such chaos and wound up in that headspace. It’s as though there was some alien or demonic possession going on,” he said.

    Sheen’s trouble with drugs and alcohol were highly public, including one infamous 2011 interview where he declared he was indeed on a drug—that he was all too familiar with.

    “I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen,” he told ABC News. “It is not available because if you try it once you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

    Now, after rehab and therapy, Sheen is 16 months sober. He spoke about how he feels about recovery in his recent interview with Loose Women.

    “You get tired of apologizing for things that you can’t remember doing. The amends can’t just be words, they have to be actions. It’s hard but not impossible,” Sheen said. “I said to the [therapist], ‘Is there an end point here?’… and there isn’t. It’s an ongoing thing. You make the amends when it is appropriate, it’s not about making them on your terms, it’s about approaching others on theirs.”

    Sheen’s decision to get sober came after one fateful day where he realized he was simply too drunk to help raise his own daughter.

    “I couldn’t get my daughter to an appointment that she had. I don’t drink and drive ever, I have never had a DUI,” he explained. “’I was like, ‘Wow, I am not even responsible enough to be available for my children’s needs.’ The next morning I woke up and was like, ‘Today is the day.’”

    Sheen believes he’s in a much better and safer state of mind now and doesn’t fear that he will relapse.

    “I have a game plan and I stick to it,” he said. “There is nothing left in that world, I exhausted it completely. The only thing left would be something catastrophic.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com