Answer Addiction

Tag: alcoholism

  • Ben Affleck To Portray Former Basketball Star In Recovery

    Ben Affleck To Portray Former Basketball Star In Recovery

    Affleck reportedly began preparing for the role while in rehab with daily training and meetings with a basketball coach.

    As Ben Affleck adjusts to life post-rehab, he’s taking on a new role that he can very much relate to.

    This month, the 46-year-old actor completed a 40-day treatment program for alcohol, which he began in late August. In a statement posted on social media, Affleck shared that he will “remain in outpatient care.”

    He’s now back at work, filming his new movie Torrance, about a former basketball star struggling with substance use disorder who tries to make a comeback by coaching a high school basketball team, according to IMDb.

    Affleck’s problem with alcohol—which he’s been contending with for more than a decade—mirrors his character’s issues.

    People reports that Affleck began preparing for the role while in rehab with daily training and meetings with a basketball coach.

    Affleck previously sought treatment in 2001 and then in 2017. After his most recent stay, he expressed gratitude for the support he’s received throughout his highly publicized ordeal.

    “The support I have received from my family, colleagues and fans means more to me than I can say. It’s given me the strength and support to speak about my illness with others,” Affleck wrote on social media.

    “Battling any addiction is a lifelong and difficult struggle… So many people have reached out on social media and spoken about their own journeys with addiction. To those people, I want to say thank you.”

    His brother, actor Casey Affleck, says he was lucky to have “the kind of resources and time” to be able to go to a good facility and get help.

    “It can’t be easier to have everybody looking at you and taking your picture as you’re walking out of an intervention,” said Casey. “I don’t envy that. I saw my father struggle with it for many years and nobody was following him around with cameras and stuff.”

    Casey added that he and his brother “come from a long line of alcoholics.”

    “Alcoholism has a huge impact on not just the person, but also their family,” Casey told ET in September. “So, I think for his kids’ sake and for their mom, he’s trying to do the work and get it together.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Diabetics More Likely To Die From Alcoholism?

    Are Diabetics More Likely To Die From Alcoholism?

    Alcohol-related deaths, specifically cirrhosis of the liver, were as much as 10 times higher for those with diabetes, according to a new study.

    A Finnish study concluded that diabetes sufferers are at significantly higher risk than the non-diabetic population of death from alcohol-related issues or suicide, due to the strain on their mental health while managing the disease.

    However, once the numbers of the study are parsed, it’s clear that the risk in the diabetic community is relatively small overall.

    Studies have already proven that diabetes—especially diabetes that is not well-controlled—puts a person at higher risk for various serious health issues such as certain cancers and heart disease.

    However, the new Finnish research, published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, shows that because of the strain of managing diabetes, those with the disease are at higher risk of psychological issues and resulting death.

    Specifically, The Independent reported that the study showed that alcohol-related deaths, particularly caused by cirrhosis of the liver, were as much as 10 times higher in the diabetic community versus those without the disease. Death by suicide was increased by a staggering 110%. The more severe the disease (requiring more insulin injections and medical interventions) the bigger the risk of death.

    The lead researcher on the study, Professor Leo Niskanen of the University of Helsinki, said, “We know that living with diabetes can lead to a mental health strain.”

    A diagnosis of diabetes is either Type 1 or Type 2. Both variations disrupt the way your body regulates blood sugar, also known as glucose. Insulin allows glucose to enter the body’s cells. In Type 1 diabetes, the body is not producing insulin, while in Type 2, the cells are not responding as well as they should be to insulin.

    During the timeframe of the Finnish study, there were 2,832 deaths related to alcohol and 853 deaths by suicide. Patients taking insulin saw a 6.9% increase in deaths from alcohol-related conditions for diabetic men, and 10.6 times higher for women. Patients taking oral medication—who were able to control their condition with diet and exercise—saw an increased risk of death but at a much lower percentile.

    Professor Niskanen says, “The low absolute suicidal rates make the risk ratios look very high—even small increase in risk may thus have higher risk ratios… However, they are highly [statistically] significant anyway. This study has highlighted that there is a need for effective psychological support for people with diabetes. If [diabetes patients] feel like they are under a heavy mental burden or consider that their use of alcohol is excessive, they should not hesitate to discuss these issues with their primary care physician.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Jamie Lee Curtis: Sobriety Changed Everything

    Jamie Lee Curtis: Sobriety Changed Everything

    The “Halloween” actress revealed in an interview that she would not be where she is now without sobriety.

    Now coming up on her 60th birthday, movie star Jamie Lee Curtis is focused on her legacy.

    “I want to die having said something,” she told USA Today.

    Curtis stars in the newest Halloween film, re-assuming her debut role as Laurie Strode to once again face the masked murderer Michael Myers. Between that first starring role and this most recent redux, Curtis has played a wide range of characters in a variety of genres. But the road was not always easy, and it was during these times that Curtis used alcohol and opioids to deal with the stress. She recalls the summer of 1987, trying to balance work and family while shooting A Fish Called Wanda.

    “My memory of A Fish Called Wanda is that I cried every day to and from work. Not that I laughed, not that it was super-fun, nothing,” she said. “My memory of A Fish Called Wanda was leaving my sleeping 6-month-old daughter, going to work an hour away and then working 12 hours, sometimes more, and then an hour back, often to a child asleep again. And that was like the beginning of it all for me.”

    Looking back, Curtis realized she was forgetting to take care of herself.

    “I think I was replicating my mom and really trying to just make everybody happy,” she reflected.

    Curtis has been candid about her former addiction and her sobriety, now going on two decades. Of all the things she’s accomplished, Curtis once said she considers getting sober her number one accomplishment.

    “As soon as I got sober, which is 20 years coming up in February, everything changed,” she said. “Because it was a big, big acknowledgment that I could not do all of the things I was trying to do.”

    The secret, Curtis suggested, was in prioritizing what really matters.

    “All I hear is the grading, the rank ordering in my industry. A-list. A-listers. I’m in B-movies. That’s how I’ve buttered my bread. And horror movies are like at the bottom end of the scale,” she said, referring to her legacy as a horror film scream queen. “…And yet I have navigated 40 years. I sold yogurt that made you poop for five years because it was a gig that allowed me to stay home and be a mom the way I needed to be a mom.”

    The newest Halloween, starring Curtis, Judy Greer and Andi Matichak, arrived in theaters on October 19.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "That's So Raven" Star Orlando Brown Enters Rehab

    "That's So Raven" Star Orlando Brown Enters Rehab

    Since his Disney days, Brown has battled substance use disorders and has had multiple run-ins with the law.

    Orlando Brown, former star of the Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven, has entered treatment for substance use disorders and mental health, after his Hollywood friends got together to stage an intervention on his behalf. 

    According to TMZ, Brown’s childhood friend, former Death Row artist Danny Boy, organized the intervention, which took place earlier this week. Danny Boy reportedly contacted producers Wendy Wheaton and Tommy Red, who helped connect Brown with a rehab. 

    Brown has a long history of trouble with the law, which seems to be connected to his substance use. In September, Brown was arrested for breaking into Danny Boy’s Las Vegas restaurant, Legends Restaurant & Venue.

    At the time, Danny Boy told TMZ that Brown had recently been released from the hospital and needed somewhere to stay, so Danny Boy said he could stay in the restaurant.

    However, Brown triggered security alarms by wandering around the kitchen and attempting to change the locks in the restaurant. Danny Boy notified the police, saying he believed that was the best way to get Brown the help he needed. 

    At the time, TMZ reported that Brown’s bail was set at $13,000 and he remained in jail. However, he made bail at some point, because on Sunday police were called to a hotel where Brown had been in an argument. That call didn’t result in an arrest, but it did prompt Danny Boy to organize the intervention that reportedly led to Brown getting treatment. 

    Since his Disney days, Brown has battled substance use disorder and has had multiple run-ins with the law. In 2014, a woman called police saying that Brown had showed up at her home and threatened her. 

    In the tape of the 911 call, a man is reportedly heard saying, ”Tell him Orlando Brown is crazy… I’ll kill you, your mama, your daughter, everybody… Come outside!”

    The woman told the dispatcher, ”I know him, we’re acquaintances… The other day, he made some passes at me — the boy is 28, I’m 40 — he made some sexual passes at me and I declined them, and now he’s upset. Bottom line. He’s a known actor and he’s a known alcoholic, and he sounds very intoxicated.”

    In 2016, Brown was arrested for being in possession of methamphetamine and assaulting his girlfriend. He was charged with possession of a drug with intent to sell, having contraband in jail (felonies) and misdemeanor domestic battery and obstruction of justice.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Goo Goo Dolls Singer John Rzeznik Reflects On Getting Sober

    Goo Goo Dolls Singer John Rzeznik Reflects On Getting Sober

    The “Iris” singer has been sober since 2014. 

    The Goo Goo Dolls, the multi-platinum rock group best known for hits like “Iris” and “Name,” are still going strong both on the road and off. And lead singer John Rzeznik is living the family life he had never previously imagined before he got sober.

    Rzeznik recently reflected on his hard upbringing and journey to sobriety to Buffalo News. The singer grew up in Buffalo, New York with a “pretty serious drinker” for a father.

    “I have no idea how he survived as long as he did.” Rzeznik recalled his relationship with his father as “distant… That’s the mark of an alcoholic—the distance. It’s a very lonely disease. It’s a disease of loneliness.”

    As Rzeznik told the Press of Atlantic City in 2016, “I was wearing my father’s clothes. My father was a brutal alcoholic, just crazy. I thought that was my destiny as well. I finally got slapped in the head hard enough to go get help.”

    Rzeznik lost both his parents in the early ’80s, leaving him on his own when he was 16. He took refuge in music, but he was still trying to deal with serious mental and emotional demons.

    “I had no idea what was going on inside my head,” he recalled. “I didn’t understand it, that what I was feeling was depression, and it was very, very hard.”

    On November 16, 2014, Rzeznik had a meltdown in New York, and drank himself into a blackout. When he came to, he called his manager and said, “I’m not doing anything for the next three months. I’ve got to take care of this, because I’m going to die.”

    Rzeznik then checked into rehab for three months, and adds, “I wish I could have stayed for six months. I went to a very serious place, where they don’t do yoga and massage. They concentrate on triangulating treatment, where it’s like therapy and 12 step and some spiritual work.”

    Rzeznik now has a sobriety calendar on his phone, and as of September 10, he racked up 3.81 years, 45.79 months, 1,395 days, and 33,467 hours sober to his credit.

    Rzeznik’s wife Melina confessed that she was thinking of leaving him before he went into rehab. Once he hit his one-year sober milestone, they started a family and had a daughter, Lili, who was born in December 2016.

    Today the singer says, “I’m paraphrasing someone else, but kids turn you into the person that you should have been the whole time.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Bradley Cooper’s "A Star Is Born" Role Hits Close To Home For Sober Actor

    Bradley Cooper’s "A Star Is Born" Role Hits Close To Home For Sober Actor

    “Anytime you’re trying to tell the truth you need to go to places and use things that have happened to you, or you’ve read about or experienced.”

    As someone in long-term recovery, Bradley Cooper’s role of heavy-drinking musician Jackson Maine in A Star Is Born is one that isn’t too far off from the star’s own experiences in the past, he tells Variety. 

    “Anytime you’re trying to tell the truth you need to go to places and use things that have happened to you, or you’ve read about or experienced,” Cooper said. “And that’s all part of the beauty of turning whatever things you’ve gone through into a story. I find that to be very cathartic. I remember learning that in grad school, our teacher said all the insecurities, all the dark stuff you get to use that and that’s really the truth.”

    The film, which hit theaters Oct. 5, has generated a lot of buzz and is being slotted as an award winner, with Forbes calling it the “movie to beat” at the Oscars. Cooper directed the film and co-starred alongside pop star Lady Gaga. 

    Cooper first spoke publicly about his substance use battles and recovery in 2012, stating he had gotten sober at age 29 after his use of alcohol began affecting his work.

    “I was so concerned [with] what you thought of me, how I was coming across, how I would survive the day,” Cooper said at the time. “I always felt like an outsider. I realized I wasn’t going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me.

    In 2016, Cooper spoke to Barbara Walters about his recovery, crediting his recovery for his success in his career and his relationships.  

    “I would never be sitting here with you, no way, no chance [if I hadn’t gotten sober,]” he told Walters. “I wouldn’t have been able to have access to myself or other people, or even been able to take in other people, if I hadn’t changed my life. I never would have been able to have the relationships that I do. I never would have been able to take care of my father the way I did when he was sick. So many things.”

    As of Oct. 8, A Star Is Born had earned $44 million in North America and $57 million worldwide. Cooper tells Variety that his biggest hope is that viewers forget they are watching Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and instead get caught up in the story.

    “I hope you just see the characters, that’s the point. From the opening that was one of the key things in structuring the movie and shooting it. I really want to make sure that you forgot it’s me and that you forgot it’s her right away, otherwise the story won’t work.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Olympian Ryan Lochte To Enter Treatment for Alcoholism

    Olympian Ryan Lochte To Enter Treatment for Alcoholism

    A pair of incidents with the law were the reported driving factors behind Lochte’s decision to enter treatment. 

    Twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist Ryan Lochte will seek treatment for alcohol addiction after a string of incidents culminating in a car crash on October 4.

    Lochte’s legal representative, Jeff Ostrow, stated that the 34-year-old “has been battling from [sic] alcohol addiction for many years, and unfortunately, it has become a destructive pattern.”

    Ostrow added that his client’s goals are to be “the best husband and father he can be” and to return to competitive swimming for his fifth Olympics in 2020.

    Lochte has amassed an impressive treasure chest of laurels in swimming, including six Olympic gold medals, but since 2016, has also generated headlines for his involvement in several swimming-related scandals.

    He was widely criticized for embellishing his account of a 2016 incident during the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in which he and three teammates were allegedly robbed at gunpoint.

    Lochte later apologized for his statement and for what he described as “immature behavior,” including damage to a gas station bathroom, which caused an altercation with security guards. 

    He was subsequently suspended from swimming for 10 months and banned from participating in a 2017 world championship event.

    In 2018, Lochte was suspended for a second time for reportedly receiving an intravenous infusion without a therapeutic use exemption.

    Though Lochte claimed that the injection only contained vitamins, he was handed down a 14-month suspension, which effectively halted his comeback after the 2016 incident.

    On October 4, 2018, police were called at approximately 3 a.m. to a hotel in Newport Beach, California where Lochte had kicked in the door to his room while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. No arrest was made, but according to TMZ, he was involved in a car accident in Gainesville, Florida, after flying in from California.

    Police were again summoned, and Lochte, who had reportedly failed to brake before striking the car ahead of him, was cited for “careless driving.” Alcohol was not mentioned in the police report, as TMZ noted.

    The pair of incidents was apparently enough for Lochte to seek assistance for his substance use issues.

    According to his lawyer, he “has acknowledged that he needs professional assistance to overcome his problem, and will be getting help immediately. Ryan knows that conquering this disease now is a must for him to avoid making poor decisions, to be the best husband and father he can be, and if he wants to achieve his goal to return to dominance in the pool in his fifth Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.”

    No word as to where Lochte will seek treatment has been given as of this writing.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Ben Affleck Speaks Out After Completing Rehab Program

    Ben Affleck Speaks Out After Completing Rehab Program

    The Justice League star told fans on social media he just finished a 40-day rehab stint.

    Actor Ben Affleck took to Instagram on Thursday to tell fans that he’s just finished a 40-day stay in rehab for alcohol addiction treatment.

    “This week I completed a forty day stay at a treatment center for alcohol addiction and remain in outpatient care,” he wrote on Instagram.

    He credited family, friends and fans for providing the support he needed to complete his treatment program and being able to speak about it publicly.

    “The support I have received from my family, colleagues and fans means more to me than I can say,” he admitted in his post. “It’s given me the strength and support to speak about my illness with others.”

    Affleck said that while his family is a major source of strength for his ongoing recovery, fan support also helps to push him through.

    “So many people have reached out on social media and spoken about their own journeys with addiction. To those people, I want to say thank you,” he posted. “Your strength is inspiring and is supporting me in ways I didn’t think was possible. It helps to know I am not alone.”

    He hopes that his being open about recovery as a high-profile celebrity can help others find the courage to seek help.

    “As I’ve had to remind myself, if you have a problem, getting help is a sign of courage, not weakness or failure,” he wrote. “I continue to avail myself with the help of so many people and I am grateful to all those who are there for me. I hope down the road I can offer an example to others who are struggling.”

    Affleck sought help with the support of his estranged wife, actress Jennifer Garner. The two have three children that they are committed to co-parenting despite the soon-to-be-official divorce. She’s been pushing him to get help since last year, and continues to help him today. In fact, Garner was the one who drove him to rehab for this most recent stint, according to People.

    “I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be,” Affleck wrote in a March 2017 Facebook post. “I’m lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Trump Says Sobriety Is One Of His "Few Good Traits"

    Trump Says Sobriety Is One Of His "Few Good Traits"

    The president went on to say that he would “be the world’s worst” if he drank. 

    President Trump told reporters on Monday that his sobriety was one of his “few good traits.”

    “I’m not a drinker. I can honestly say I’ve not had a beer in my life. That’s one of my only good traits. I don’t drink,” Trump said, according to ABC News. “I’ve never had alcohol, you know, for whatever reason. Can you imagine if I had what a mess I’d be?”

    The president went on to say that he would “be the world’s worst” if he drank. 

    Alcohol came up during the press conference in relation to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh who has been in the spotlight for an alleged sexual assault that reportedly took place when he was drunk. During a congressional hearing he was open about the fact that he enjoys alcohol. “Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I, the boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer,” Kavanaugh testified.

    “I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,” Trump said. “He’s had a little bit of difficulty. I mean, he talked about things that happened when he drank. This is not a man that said alcohol was absent.”

    On Monday night, Jimmy Kimmel picked up the comments on his late night talk show, saying it was alarming that anything about the potential Supreme Court Justice would surprise the president who is trying to appoint him. 

    “After the Kavanaugh hearing last week, it was really hard to enjoy a beer this weekend,” Kimmel said. “Imagine being so off the rails, you even surprised Donald Trump with something.”

    “By the way, I feel like it’s worth mentioning that this guy who has never had a drink in his life once had his own brand of vodka with his name on it,” Kimmel pointed out. “That’s kind of all you need to know about him.”

    Trump’s brother died from complications of alcoholism at the age of 42, which is part of the reason why Trump doesn’t imbibe, the president has said in the past. 

    “He was a great guy, a handsome person. He was the life of the party. He was a fantastic guy, but he got stuck on alcohol,” Trump told People in 2015. “And it had a profound impact and ultimately [he] became an alcoholic and died of alcoholism.”

    After seeing his brother’s struggle, Trump decided to stay away from booze. 

    “I’ve known so many people that were so strong and so powerful [yet] they were unable to stop drinking,” he said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Kevin Hart Details Forgiving His Father For Being Absent Due To Addiction

    Kevin Hart Details Forgiving His Father For Being Absent Due To Addiction

    With the help of his older brother, Hart eventually put aside his feelings and helped his father find help in rehabilitation.

    Comic actor Kevin Hart spoke at length about the process of forgiving his father, Henry Witherspoon, for being absent during his childhood due to drug and alcohol dependency.

    The Night School star wrote about his father, Henry Witherspoon, in his 2017 memoir I Can’t Make This Up, and said that while his father’s presence while he was growing up was both sporadic and prone to tumult, he has learned to look beyond those memories and focus on their relationship today.

    “Regardless of my upbringing and the way I was raised and how often he was in my life, he’s my dad,” said Hart. “I have a positive outlook on life regardless, and I’m going to love [him] because [he’s] my father.”

    Hart also detailed the difficulties in his relationship with his father in a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, where he explained that while he was growing up in Philadelphia, Witherspoon was dependent on “heroin, coke, crack, you name it, he did it.”

    According to Hart, Witherspoon even stole $20 that his son had received as a gift.

    Thankfully, Hart had a grounding force in his mother, who worked as a computer analyst at the University of Pennsylvania while raising him and his brother.

    “The reason I am the way I am is because my mom was so strong,” he said. “[She] was such a strong woman, she said, ‘Look, regardless of whatever your father’s doing and where he is, I have a job to do raising you. You’re going to do what you’re supposed to do and you’re going to grow up to be two intelligent men, me and my brother.”

    With the help of his older brother, Hart eventually put aside his feelings about his father’s absence and helped him find help in rehabilitation.

    There, according to Hart, “he met an amazing woman who turned his life around and helped him stay clean, and right now, he’s all about clean living.”

    Hart added that he saw no value in holding on to the pain of the past. “I don’t understand people who hold grudges,” he said. “Do you know how much time and energy it takes to hold a grudge?”

    Today, Witherspoon has a presence in his sons’ lives, for which Hart is grateful.

    “I’m in a position where I’m blessed and I can provide,” he explained. “I can say, ‘Here, dad, here’s a home, here’s a car, here’s some money. Go spend time with your grandkids. Be the best grandpop. The days you missed with me are the days we missed. It’s fine. I’m okay with that.”

    View the original article at thefix.com