Answer Addiction

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  • Gary Busey Reflects On Cocaine Addiction, Becoming Sober

    Gary Busey Reflects On Cocaine Addiction, Becoming Sober

    Busey says he stopped using cocaine on May 3, 1995, and has been sober ever since.

    In addition to his busy and prolific career as an actor, Gary Busey has earned a reputation for philosophical aphorisms that he calls “Buseyisms” – words of wisdom drawn from the letters of a word that he said reveal a new definition in its “deeper, dimensional meaning.”

    The Academy Award nominee has compiled many of these life lessons in a new book, Buseyisms: Gary Busey’s Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (itself a Buseyism, which stands for “Bible”). In addition to a wealth of Buseyisms, the new book also details the actor’s battle with cocaine addiction, which nearly ended his life before he gained clarity through a spiritual outlook.

    In a conversation with NBC News Digital’s Think page, Busey recalled how he became addicted to cocaine shortly after earning an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Buddy Holly Story.

    “A fellow who looked like a Beverly Hills cowboy showed up at my door,” he recalled. “He told me that he was going to be my manager, and he had a gift for me. It was a blue box from Tiffany’s and, in the box, was a rock of cocaine as big as a 50-cent piece, and thick, with my initials in it.”

    The dealer told Busey that the drug would help him be “more creative,” and as Busey recalled, “I got hooked bad.” His drug use led to an overdose, followed by an unpleasant realization: “What have I been doing? I’ve been dancing with the devil in a circle that’s very tight, and the devil always leads the dance.”

    According to Busey, he stopped using cocaine on May 3, 1995, and has been sober ever since.

    To summarize his 25 years of sobriety, Busey has an aphorism: “F-R-E-E-D-O-M stands for ‘facing real exciting energy, developing out of miracles.” Busey expounded on the notion by adding, “The best freedom you can have is knowing you’re a miracle. So, be yourself, and live in the harmony of what God gave you to be when you were born. Think on that; feel that about yourself. And you won’t need to abuse substances or alcohol or needles or pills.”

    Busey remains sanguine about the challenges of chasing sobriety. He freely admitted that those who follow his advice and give up their substance of choice may actually come to hate him for such a suggestion. “But that’s okay,” he noted. “Hate is an emotion that comes with growth.” But the payoff, he said, is worth the effort. “Everything you’ve done in your life, even though some of it was hard, is good, because you go through it to get better. And that’s why we’re on earth.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Michael Caine Details Alcoholism In Memoir: I Drank Two Bottles A Day

    Michael Caine Details Alcoholism In Memoir: I Drank Two Bottles A Day

    The iconic actor credits his wife with helping him overcome his alcoholism.

    Actor Michael Caine owes a lot to his wife of over 40 years, he says. The British star, famous for his cockney accent, was in a difficult place when he met model and actress Shakira Baksh.

    “By an immense stroke of good fortune, Shakira arrived in my life just in time,” he writes in his new book Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Lessons in Life.

    “The empty feeling vanished and she got on my case. Then, to top it all, she got pregnant and I was given a second go at fatherhood, and soon I got myself straightened out.”

    Around the time they met, Caine was in his forties and drinking too much. “I was never bombed on set, but I thought that a small vodka for breakfast was nothing to worry about, and in the early 1970s I was drinking two bottles of the stuff a day,” he wrote.

    Meeting Baksh was life-changing for the film veteran, now 85. “I gave up alcohol entirely for a year and now I never drink during the day, and with dinner it’s just wine. Shakira literally saved my life.”

    The couple married in 1973. The Italian Job actor also discussed his past life as a heavy drinker in a previous interview with the Radio Times in 2016. “I was a bit of a piss artist when I was younger. I used to drink a bottle of vodka a day and I was smoking several packs a day,” he said at the time.

    His habits were fueled by anxiety over working in film. “Am I going to get another picture? How will I remember all those lines? I’ve got to get up at 6 a.m. and I hope the alarm works.”

    Baksh was able to calm him down. “Without her, I would have been dead long ago. I would have probably drunk myself to death.”

    As for non-alcoholic vices, according to the Telegraph the actor didn’t care much for them.

    “He smoked a spliff once at a London party during the Sixties and got the hysterical giggles so badly, no taxi would take him home. He had to walk from Mayfair to Notting Hill and swore he’d never do drugs again,” the Telegraph reported.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Liam Neeson's Son Talks Recovery, Hitting Rock Bottom

    Liam Neeson's Son Talks Recovery, Hitting Rock Bottom

    After gaining sobriety, Michéal paid tribute to his late mother Natasha Richardson by taking on her maiden name.

    As a tribute to his late mother, the actress Natasha Richardson, Michéal Richardson changed his last name from that of his father—the actor Liam Neeson—to his mother’s storied surname.

    The 23-year-old’s maternal grandmother, Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, told the British press that Michéal’s decision was a way for him to “hold his mother close.” According to Michéal, his mother’s death in 2009, from injuries incurred in a skiing accident, put him in a depressive spiral which he treated with drugs and alcohol.

    After gaining sobriety, Michéal paid tribute to his mother with not only the name change, but also following in his parents’ footsteps by becoming an actor.

    Michéal was 13 at the time of his mother’s death, and in a 2015 interview with the Sunday Times, said that he was unable to find a way to cope with the loss. “In my mind, subconsciously, I either pushed it out or stored it deep inside,” he said. “And so, within the next week, I was like, ‘Okay, on with my life.’”

    But by the spring of 2014, Michéal saw that “things just started going downhill” in his life. “The people I was with, we were partying a lot. It was dark.”

    Though observers saw his behavior as springing from his loss, Michéal wasn’t ready to accept it. “Everybody said, ‘This kid has lost his mum, that’s where the problem comes from.’ And I was like, ‘No, it isn’t. I just like to party.’ But looking back, I realize it was a delayed reaction.”

    According to Us Weekly, Michéal sought help at a treatment facility in Utah, where through wilderness therapy, he eventually gained sobriety. He credited his father with giving him the support and work ethic he needed to make the change. “He came from a small town, Ballymena,” Michéal told Hello! Magazine in 2015. “It took him years to make it. He’s an inspiration.”

    The adoption of his mother’s last name appears to be one of several ways in which Michéal has paid tribute to her memory. He has also appeared in several film and television projects, though his father has expressed caution in the choice.

    “Dad was like, ‘Please become a carpenter or something,’” he said. “On my mother’s side, I was encouraged to do whatever I wanted.”

    The Richardson/Redgrave family counts such acclaimed acting talents as his great-grandparents, Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson; grandmother Vanessa Redgrave and her siblings Lynn and Corin Redgrave; aunt Joely Richardson; cousins Jemma Redgrave and Daisy Bevan; and step-grandfather Franco Nero. Michéal’s maternal grandfather was Oscar-winning director Tony Richardson and his uncle is film producer Tim Bevan.

    “I know that my mum liked the idea of me becoming an actor,” said Michéal. “She would have thought that was cool.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • 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

  • Jason Biggs Celebrates One Year Of Sobriety

    Jason Biggs Celebrates One Year Of Sobriety

    The movie star posted a photo on social media to celebrate his one-year sober milestone.

    Jason Biggs posted a photo of his one-year sober coin on Instagram to celebrate his newfound freedom from alcohol addiction. The milestone marks the Orange is the New Black star’s second attempt to get sober.

    “I first tried to get sober over 5 years ago, when the weight of my obsession with booze and drugs became too heavy for me to handle,” he wrote on the post.

    Biggs acknowledged that it’s been a struggle to keep on his path, but he is proud of the progress he’s made.

    “Turns out this shit is hard. After some fits and starts, I’ve managed to put together one year of sobriety,” he posted. “I’m as proud of it as anything in my life.”

    He also had a message for those out there who might know they need help but for some reason feel avoidant of actually getting it.

    “If you’re struggling, know there’s help. Don’t be ashamed. We can do this,” Biggs wrote.

    His wife, actress Jenny Mollen, also took to Instagram to celebrate Biggs’ achievement and posted a picture of Biggs kissing her cheek.

    “So proud of my husband today. Congrats baby. I know how hard you work,” she wrote in the caption. “I see you. I love you.”

    The couple has been married for 10 years and have two children between them, four-year-old Sid and one-year-old Lazlo. In an interview with PEOPLE Now, Mollen read a fill-in-the-blank card to her husband, Biggs:

    “‘At this point in our marriage, the sexiest thing she can do for me is…’” she started.

    “Oh, take the kids and leave for a couple hours,” Biggs quipped.

    Biggs’ big public reveal of his recovery is part of a tidal wave of celebrities and famous figures opening up on addiction and their struggles with mental health. Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga, and Ben Affleck are just a few examples over the past year, sharing their personal experiences with mental health or addiction to fight stigma and encourage those who need help to seek it. Their message is more important than ever as the opioid crisis becomes more and more prominent.

    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

  • 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

  • Martin Sheen On Sobriety, Supporting Charlie Sheen

    Martin Sheen On Sobriety, Supporting Charlie Sheen

    “I think all of us are striving to lead honest lives. That’s a requirement of every human being.”

    Actor Martin Sheen addressed the many challenges experienced by his son, Charlie Sheen, at a charity event in Los Angeles on September 24.

    The 78-year-old actor, who currently appears in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, folded his son’s experiences with alcohol, drugs and his very public meltdown into statements about selflessness, family unity and the importance of finding a means of giving back to the world at large at an benefit for the nonprofit The People Concern by LA Chefs for Human Rights.

    Sheen, who was being awarded with LA Chefs’ Human Rights Hero Award for his work with the homeless in Los Angeles, said that he was proud of his son’s efforts to follow a healthier path and admit to his past discretions. “I think all of us are striving to lead honest lives,” said Sheen. “That’s a requirement of every human being.”

    Sheen, who also battled alcoholism, said that charity and helping others can also be beneficial to one’s own problems. “The best way to heal is to help healing someone else, and it takes one to know one, so you can appreciate what someone’s going through if you’ve gone there yourself,” he noted.

    In an interview with AARP Magazine, Sheen said that upon getting sober through his Catholic faith, he turned to Alcoholics Anonymous to gain perspective on how to help Charlie with his dependency issues, which ultimately entailed him turning over his son to authorities for probation violation in 1998 as a last-ditch attempt to get him into rehabilitation.

    Martin Sheen admitted that bringing his son to help felt, at times, almost insurmountable. “What he was going through, we were powerless to do much, except to pray for him and lift him up,” he told Radio Times in 2015. Being in the glare of the celebrity spotlight also posed its own set of unique roadblocks. “The ego, the cover, the availability of stuff – it’s bread for destruction, the celebrity’s life,” he explained.

    To counter the siren call of the dangerous side of fame, Sheen said that giving over one’s most precious commodities – time and ability – can become an oasis.

    “When you come to understanding that the only thing you can ever possess is the thing that you cherish, and you give away with love, including your precious time and talent,” he explained. “That’s why volunteering is so important, because that’s the only thing we can take with us when the job is over. The only things you can take with you are the things which you cherish and gave away with love.”

    Sheen expressed pride and gratitude in Charlie’s latest attempt to live a clean and sober life. “The bigger your celebrity, the more difficult it is to lead an honest life, because your past is always present,” said the elder Sheen. “I think today makes it that much harder for people because there’s no privacy. I think that the idea of anonymity is very important to the [recovery] program, and it has an energy all its own.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Casey Affleck Opens Up About Ben's Alcoholism Struggle, Rehab Stay

    Casey Affleck Opens Up About Ben's Alcoholism Struggle, Rehab Stay

    “I think for his kids’ sake and for their mom, and for himself, he’s trying to do the work and get it together.”

    Actor and director Casey Affleck, brother of Ben Affleck, opened up about his brother’s ongoing struggle with alcohol, also revealing that it’s a family issue. He said that he and his brother “come from a long line of alcoholics.”

    “Ben is an addict and an alcoholic. Most of my grandparents are alcoholics. My father is an alcoholic, as bad as you can be, and he’s been sober for about 30 years,” Affleck, who is “about six years” sober, told ET.

    The Justice League star was admitted to a treatment facility in late August, with the support of estranged wife Jennifer Garner. The actor and director’s relapse attracted plenty of media attention as he sought treatment for the third time. Onlookers speculate that Affleck’s personal life, including a recent break-up, threw his recovery for a loop.

    His brother Casey says he is lucky to have “the kind of resources and time” 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. 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,” said Casey. “It’s not a great look. But on the other hand, it’s nothing to be ashamed of and it’s good that he’s taken care of.”

    Ben sought treatment in 2001 and then in 2017. In March 2017 he released a statement via Facebook announcing that he had completed treatment for alcohol addiction.

    “I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I’ve dealt with in the past and continue to confront,” he wrote. “I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be. I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step.”

    His brother Casey says his family is the driving force of his recovery. “Alcoholism has a huge impact on not just the person, but also their family,” he told ET. “So, I think for his kids’ sake and for their mom, and for himself, he’s trying to do the work and get it together.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Joe Manganiello On Recovery: Stigma Kept Me From Getting Help Sooner

    Joe Manganiello On Recovery: Stigma Kept Me From Getting Help Sooner

    “When I was growing up, when I thought of an alcoholic, I thought of some toothless guy in a trench coat in a basement somewhere. I just never thought that would apply to me.”

    Joe Manganiello, star of True Blood and Magic Mike XXL, has been sober for 16 years, and he recently spoke out about his sobriety, and how hard it was to initially get help.

    On September 7, Manganiello was honored at Summer Spectacular Event for the Brent Shapiro Foundation. Brent, the son of OJ attorney Robert Shapiro, died of an overdose at the age of 24.

    As Manganiello received the organization’s Spirit of Sobriety award, he told the audience, “Sixteen years ago, I crashed and washed ashore on the banks of sobriety. When I was growing up, when I thought of an alcoholic, I thought of some toothless guy in a trench coat in a basement somewhere. I just never thought that would apply to me. That type of stigma kept me from getting the help that I needed when I knew I needed it.”

    Manganiello has been open about his alcoholism in the past. He told The Huffington Post, “There was a period of about four years where I needed to quit drinking. And the drinking got in the way [of my career]. It was one of those obstacles that I had to get over and once again I needed to clear the road in order for these things to happen, so it really is an inside job. I had to clean up my act and figure that whole situation out. My life was ruined. I was homeless, careless and broke with no career, so yes, it was worth it [to get sober].”

    Manganiello told Men’s Health that his problems were “all internal…the drink just helped me to quell all the ill feelings I could remember having since I was a child. I was an addict before I ever picked up a drink.”  

    He also told GQ, “Had I not been able to [quit drinking], I’d be dead.”

    Manganiello added that when he got sober, he became “the man that I dreamed of being, and the result was I met the woman of my dreams,” namely Modern Family star Sofia Vergara.

    Robert Shapiro told US Weekly that with the Spirit of Sobriety Award, which is given out every year, “we honor someone that has been open and honest about their recovery because it serves as an inspiration to others.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com