Category: From Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Stick with the Winners! –  

December 23, 2020 – Benjamin Oberman is the Founder, President & CEO of Film Festival Flix, a streaming platform connecting quality films, the festivals that champion them, and the audiences who love them through the curated virtual festival experience. WIth more than twenty-five years experience in the Entertainment Industry, he has expert knowledge in digital platforms, streaming technology, film distribution, festival and event production, and marketing. Prior to his work in the film and television industry, Benjamin was on stage in more than a thousand live performances following a career as a world-class competitive figure skater and member of the US Figure Skating Team. 

Q. If you are in recovery, what was your Drug of Choice and when did you discontinue its use?
A. I’m not in recovery. Drugs were never my thing and alcohol is / was something I can take or leave. I spent much of my life as an athlete and got / get my high from sports, adventure, and business. So I guess that exercise is my drug of choice.

Q. At which of the schools you attended did you learn the most?
A. My formal education took place in High School (Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, CO). I then trained full time at the Ice Castle Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, CA where I became a member of the US Figure Skating Team. However, I learned the most from life experience, reading books, and seeking great mentors.

Q. Do you believe leaders are made or born?
A. I believe leaders are made. We have all strengths and weaknesses, but with desire, persistence, and perseverance we can develop our strengths and overcome our weaknesses. I’ve had the privilege to work with many people who overcame physical, mental, emotional, socio-economic, societal, and race dis-abilities to become world class athletes, business leaders, community leaders, and thought leaders. Anything is possible if you’re willing to work hard enough, long enough.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

MEDIA: Book Recommendation – 

Dec. 18, 2020 –

Q: Also, as a first-time novelist what was the biggest writing hurdle you faced? 
A: Having a day job makes it difficult to tackle creative projects with any kind of scheduled regularity. Something Drastic was largely the product of weekend and late-night binge-writing. It was often a struggle. But there was always a pay off. And I learned what kind of writer I am. I’ll never get it right the first time. I like to let fly, and then return later to chisel it down.

Q: Manhood and competing visions of it are a dominant idea in your story. Can you say a little more about your exploration of that theme?
A: Big male personalities can often dominate the pages of Something Drastic. But in equal measure, they falter under the strain I put them through. In many ways, it’s the female lead that is the hero of Something Drastic. Without her, my protagonist would still be lost in the deep woods.

Q: A narcissistic shaman with an appetite for LSD, your Wolfgang Yellowbird character is one of a kind. What inspired him?
A: Wolfgang Yellowbird was the easiest character to write. I knew exactly who and what I wanted him to be. He is a man in his element, and his exuberance absorbs the intensity of his surroundings. Put simply, he was inspired by the wilderness that he lives in.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Trailer for new doc “Under the Grapefruit Tree” –  

Dec. 21, 2020 – That painful period, and Sabathia’s road to the big leagues, are featured in the new documentary “Under the Grapefruit Tree,” which premieres on HBO Tuesday. Today, Sabathia says he has a new outlook on life — and life after baseball. 

2020 has been such a strange year. You retired one year before the pandemic and everything that has gone on. How are you?

Good, good. Thank you. Thanks for asking. My family’s doing well. We’ve blessed during this time, you know, not having anybody sick so far. So I’m just going to hopefully continue to be safe. And you know, we can get through this and, you know, be good on the other side.

A lot of retired athletes are so used to the grind and having their schedule mapped out down to the minute sometimes. What have you been doing with this extra time? You know what, it’s been good, actually, you know, I have four kids, so spending the time with them. My oldest plays baseball, so, I’m on the road a lot with him. You know, even during this pandemic, they play pretty much all summer. So, you know, there’s been a lot of time with him, I work out a lot. And just like, enjoy being a dad. Like you said, our time is mapped out for so much of our lives while we’re playing, that, I think it’s good to not be on the schedule for a little while.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

From the Editors –

2020 has been officially added to the Dr. Who list of “time travel destinations to avoid.” What primary emotion exemplifies the transition from 2020 to 2021?

Gratitude.  Yes, our gratitude to every reader of the Addiction/Recovery eBulletin who trusts us to provide a unique interpersonal connection by sharing all the news you can use for that intoxicating cocktail of amusement and information that makes it all easier to swallow.

Gratitude to our advertisers and virtual event sponsors who realize the intrinsic value of maintaining visibility to those who would most benefit from their services.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Rituals Heal – 

Dec. 22, 2020 – It’s a spiritual experience when his skin is submerged in the icy water, but it also helps him raise money for his nonprofit, Chucky’s Fight, which funds drug treatment and other programs for people who can’t afford them.

I’d decided that on the first day of winter, I would join Chucky on his daily dip. This time of year — particularly in the pandemic — is especially hard for those struggling with addiction. I know, because I spent two decades addicted to drugs. Dec. 21 is not only the first day of winter — it marks the 16-year anniversary of my first full day free, after I had served a two-month jail sentence on charges related to my meth addiction.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Not skating the issue… – 

Dec. 20, 2020 – She said: ‘I don’t drink or do drugs … I used to have a frozen yogurt addiction!’; seen recently on Instagram for an appearance on Conan.

Heather also spilled her secrets to getting a good night’s sleep, revealing that she can get under her covers and sleep for 12 hours a night.

‘I adore sleeping. I could easily sleep 12-plus hours a night,’ Graham said.

Heather, who is now in the fifth decade of her acting career, also revealed what she thinks she would have done as a job if she hadn’t become an actress. I love psychology!’ she said. ‘If I wasn’t an actress, I think I would be a good therapist … My friends call me “the intrepid reporter” because I love asking people a ton of questions about themselves.’ 

On the acting front, the star has three projects in the works. 

One is the pilot for a television series, titled The Hypnotist’s Love Story.

The other two are feature films, one a western called The Last Son.  

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Start 2021 SOBER –  

Dec. 23, 2020 – Last year, Garcia launched the Dallas Sober New Year’s Eve party, but COVID-19 forced her to reimagine the concept as an online resource available to anyone seeking help — even on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

“The in-person sober NYE party was inspired by my own depression. I had always been a social butterfly and loved to host events. The problem: My events always included heavy drinking. For the first entire year of my recovery, I felt I was not ready to be in a social setting and be able to remain sober,” she says. “It was around Halloween of 2019 that I realized how sad I was that I was no longer able to host events.”

Then a lightbulb went off.

“I thought to myself, ‘Is this what sobriety is going to be like for the rest of my life?’ That’s when I decided to try out the idea of hosting a sober NYE party, so I could experience a party atmosphere without the temptation,” Garcia recalls. “I figured that if I needed something like this, others would, too. I was right. We packed the house and danced the night away.”

As 2020 progressed, she knew rather quickly that an in-person event wouldn’t be possible, yet the demand remained.

“I had many people reach out to me asking if I would have a sober NYE party this year. I was puzzled and thought, ‘Why are they even asking? Don’t they know there’s a pandemic? Of course, we can’t have the party this year!’” she recalls. “That’s when I thought to myself how important it is to figure out a way to provide a safe space for connection, community and conversation. So instead of having a party this year, I brought together 100 people in recovery who are willing to reach out to anyone needing someone to talk to.”

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

No relapses please – 

Dec, 25, 2020 – “Patients who were previously well-established in addiction treatment, for example, their clinics may have closed due to COVID, and they’re not able to be seen in person anymore,” she said. “A lot have transitioned to telemedicine, but some have not. And that was a big disruption for a lot of patients who were formerly doing quite well in treatment.”

That shift also took a toll on Wood. When her clinic abruptly switched to telemedicine as COVID-19 cases ballooned, Wood had to become better acquainted with delivering care over digital platforms like Zoom. She also needed to ensure patients had reliable access to devices, like smartphones and computers, to continue their treatment.

Telemedicine sessions can require more mental effort from Wood to connect with her patients the same way she would face-to-face in her office. She said spending multiple hours a day delivering care through a screen has led to “virtual fatigue.” Finding ways to overcome that is just one of the challenges she and other providers have faced as coronavirus reshapes health care.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Don’t disappear –  

Dec. 22, 2020 – We’re in a very festive season. But we should keep in mind that the holidays can be a difficult time for those in recovery. 

In fact, the time between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s has been called the “Bermuda Triangle” of addiction. Here to help us know how to navigate these rough waters is Dino Bedinelli from Compass Recovery in Agawam.

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Anyone can do it… – 

Dec. 24, 2020 – Additionally, Sorrentino is getting ready to be a dad in the new year, as his wife, Lauren, is pregnant with their first child together. The lovebirds are expecting a baby boy in May 2021.

“Gym Tan We’re having a Baby Boy,” Sorrentino proudly exclaimed in a post shared to Instagram earlier this month, which featured pics from their holiday-themed virtual gender reveal. The reality star also tagged “@itsbabysituation,” the account he and his wife already set up for their little one. 

The Sorrentinos revealed to ET last November that they were “still trying” for kids after healing from Lauren’s heartbreaking miscarriage.

“We’re doing OK,” Lauren shared at the time. “[Mike] leads our family by example, with going through our past tragedies and trying to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. I looked at him lost when this happened, like, ‘I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to recover from this.’ And he just kept doing the next right thing. You get ready for the day. You’re just one day at a time, and we’re almost a month later, and I’m doing a lot better.”

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