Author: bkellaway

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

AUDIO – A GIANT IS GONE –                                                                                        

Dec. 10, 2024 – Nikki Giovanni, the poet, author, educator and public speaker who went from borrowing money to release her first book to spending decades as a literary celebrity who shared blunt and conversational takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality, has died. Subject of the prize-winning 2023 documentary “Going to Mars,”she passed with her lifelong partner, Virginia “Ginney” Fowler, by her side.

The author of more than 25 books, Giovanni was a born confessor and performer whom fans came to know well from her work, readings and other live appearances and her years on the faculty of Virginia Tech, among other schools. Poetry collections such as “Black Judgement” and “Black Feeling Black Talk” sold thousands of copies, led to invitations from “The Tonight Show” and other television programs and made her popular enough to fill a 3,000-seat concert hall at Lincoln Center for a celebration of her 30th birthday. n poetry, prose and the spoken word, she told her story. She looked back on her childhood in Tennessee and Ohio, championed the Black Power movement, addressed her battles with lung cancer, paid tribute to heroes from Nina Simone to Angela Davis… 

CONTINUE@APNews

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

DOUBLE WINNER –

Dec. 8,  2024  – Standing 5′8″ and weighing in at 330 pounds, Breen had always been a big guy. He was also a regular drinker, though it had never been a “problem,” per se. That changed when the pandemic hit. He had already been dealing with a lot of stress between navigating his career as an emergency medical dispatcher and raising a daughter with autism. Add a global health crisis, and an evening cocktail turned into two or three. Then cocktails turned into bottles. At one point, Breen remembers picking up a bottle of vodka at the store to quietly replace an empty one at home. But before he made it back inside, he decided to open it up in the driveway. The more he drank, the more he became dependent on it, while also packing on a bunch of empty calories that contributed to ongoing weight issues.  

CONTINUE@MensHealth

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

VIDEO – ACTIVE RECOVERY –

Dec. 9, 2024 – Getting outdoors, hiking, climbing and even gardening has been helping those with a substance use disorder stay away from drugs and alcohol. The Phoenix, a nonprofit, promotes an active lifestyle for individuals recovering from substance abuse.  

CONTINUE@Fox

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

TOO LATE? –                                                                                        

Dec. 10, 2024 – Smartphone addiction has quietly become one of the most pervasive challenges of modern life, reshaping how we connect, work, and unwind. Yet, this constant connection comes at a cost — affecting sleep, mental health, and even personal relationships, especially among teenagers and young adults. Calling smartphone addiction a “public health epidemic.”   Continue reading

As per the report, the panel advocates for mandatory health warnings on digital services, alerting users to risks such as overuse and exposure to harmful context. According to the proposal, these warnings would function similarly to those on cigarette packs, less extreme albeit. The warnings will provide a clear reminder of the potential dangers of smartphone addiction. The report also recommends displaying cautionary messages on screens when accessing certain apps or platforms, aiming to encourage more mindful usage.

CONTINUE@MSN

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

HELPFUL –

Dec. 13, 2024 – Last year, when Lauren Haydel began her first sober holiday season, she wondered how difficult it would be to avoid alcohol at family parties and celebrations with friends. She owns a boutique, Fleurty Girl, in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a neighborhood synonymous with drinking.

But few people questioned her choice. “Instead of them asking me why,” Haydel says, “they ask me, ’Oh, do you feel better?’”

Many friends told her they’re considering avoiding alcohol themselves.

Sobriety has been having a moment, says Jessica Jeboult, founder of the website and online community A Sober Girl’s Guide.

“This is the ultimate time to rediscover or change your relationship with alcohol,” she says. With so many alcohol-free products available and growing awareness about the benefits of staying sober, “there is maximum support.”

If you are planning to stay sober this holiday season, here are tips from sober coaches, sober bar managers and happily sober people:

CONTINUE@ABCNews

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

VIDEO – MUSICAL INTERLUDE –

Dec. 6, 2024 – 16,346,294 views 11 days ago #1 on Trending for music

CONTINUE@YouTube

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

SHE DID IT HER WAY –

Dec. 11, 2024 – People are buzzing about Angelina Jolie’s role as Maria Callas in the new Netflix biopic, Maria. In fact, Angelina has already earned a Golden Globe nom for it. Callas stopped performing after struggling with her voice. That was likely due to overuse, her extreme weight loss, dermatomyositis, and rampant addiction. Aristotle died in 1975, and Maria withdrew from public life afterward.

While it’s been said that she died of a broken heart, it’s more likely that her drug addiction and health issues contributed to her heart attack, per Biography.

Maria suffered a heart attack in September 1977, which killed her. She was cremated and her ashes were placed in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, per the English National Opera.

Her ashes were stolen and later recovered, before they were scattered over the Aegean Sea in 1979.

CONTINUE@WomensHealth

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

STICK WITH THE WINNERS! –

Dec. 17, 2024 – Alonzo Bodden is a comedian, dog lover, motorcyclist, and a world traveler with a curious mind.

Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date?

A. Cocaine, weed, and alcohol. By cocaine I mean crack 3/15/1988.

Q. What do you like most about 12-step meetings?

A. I gained perspective and at this point I never want to forget I’m an addict.

Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice, or a wicked twist of fate?

A. I don’t know. I’m ok with the disease description, but as my first sponsor said, “It’s not about why, it’s about fixing the problem.” He said, “When you get a flat do you change a tire or walk up the road looking for a nail?”

CONTINUE@AddictionRecoveryeBulletin

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

VIDEO – DON’T DISCARD OUR YOUTH –                                                                                        

Dec. 13, 2024 -Lawyers for teenagers accused of crimes have argued for their clients to be released to the family because of the violence and drugs inside YSC. “This case is really about where the children are being detained, and the services they’re being provided or, in this case, not being provided. What this case is really about is the fact children in the juvenile system who are awaiting placement – which means they’re waiting to be moved to facilities where they get the rehabilitative services that they’re entitled to – are being detained longer than necessary at a jail-like facility,” Shah said. “The children are supposed to receive rehabilitative services, which generally means evidence-based behavioral programming that’s targeted towards equipping these kids with the tools that they need to return to our communities and be able to succeed after they served their commitment periods, whereas with the Youth Services Center, it is not a rehabilitative placement facility, and that’s been made clear in public statements. It’s in our filings. It’s, instead, basically a holding facility where children are not getting these tools and services that they need in order to succeed in the future and, indeed, they’re entitled to under the law.”

CONTINUE@WJLA

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

VIDEO – LET IT RIDE –

Dec. 8, 2024 – When first-time movie producer Stuart Regan found a novel entitled Leaving Las Vegas in a secondhand bookshop, he was stunned by its unflinching depiction of alcoholism.  In O’Brien’s real life, followed Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic screenwriter who decides to move to Las Vegas to drink himself to death after losing his family and job. In ‘Sin City’, he strikes up a relationship with a prostitute, and a slight glimmer of hope begins to appear for both of them. However, she can’t save him with her love, and he succeeds in killing himself with alcohol.

This was obviously extremely dark, harrowing material. It was made even darker, though, by the fact that O’Brien committed suicide only weeks after his book was optioned. The last time his father saw his son, he was in hospital, having drunkenly driven his car into a telephone pole. When he was released, he went on a binge and took his own life, but not before ensuring his family received the entire six-figure cheque he was paid for the film adaptation of his novel.

CONTINUE@FarOutMag

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