Vivitrol is a medication used to treat opioid and alcohol use disorder. It is sometimes used for medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which is the use of medications—often in combination with therapy—to treat addiction. Vivitrol is the brand name and injectible form of Naltrexone. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist, meaning it blocks the effects of opioids. It…
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has been continuously sober since the year 2000. He’s struggled with cocaine, heroin, and alcohol use. The song “Under the Bridge,” one of the band’s most popular, is about a time Kiedis used drugs under a bridge in LA. One day during his first attempt at sobriety,…
Addiction is complex. The factors that contribute to its onset (genetics, environmental factors, traumatic experiences, co-occurring mental health disorders, and more) are multifaceted and different for everyone. Substance use disorders then change the brain, and while it heals throughout recovery, this further complicates things. People with Addiction and Addictive Tendencies I’m not a big fan…
Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and the Machine, has been sober since 2014. In recent years, she’s opened up about her history of addiction and eating disorders. Welch says she grew up with a sense of terror that could only be quelled by music or self-destruction. “I learned ways to manage that terror—drink, drugs,…
What led you to get sober? I was 23 years old, and at that point I had been using and drinking for a decade. I was sitting at my kitchen table in my little mice-infested apartment, and I had this sudden awareness: if I didn’t stop, I would be dead within a year. My life…
Teachers and professors tend to go into the field because they want to help. They are often eager to get students excited about learning. Educators Face Pressures However, there is a fair amount of burnout in these fields. In one survey of 30,000 teachers, 89% reported having felt enthusiastic at the beginning of their careers,…
Many of us in recovery used alcohol or drugs to escape reality. When we’re sober, it takes work to embrace the reality that we’re in, rather than finding other ways to numb ourselves. Being present with what’s happening in our lives is acceptance. If you’re in recovery, you’ve already practiced acceptance. That’s one of the…
In every artistic field—music, literature, visual arts, comedy, etc.—there’s no shortage of famous people who struggled with addiction. That’s why there’s a myth that addiction and mental health struggles fuel creativity. While those with creative brains may be more prone to addiction, substance use only holds them back; believing otherwise can stop people from getting…
The first time I tried to get sober, I followed two friends into recovery and did exactly what they did. It lasted about two months—which was a lifetime of sobriety for me then, but a lot shorter than I meant to make it. When I got sober this time, six years ago and six years…
The food service industry has long been notorious for rampant drinking and drug use. Former server Cinnamon Janzer said, “You’re around alcohol all day and after a long night of dealing with sometimes difficult customers, nothing sounds better than a drink. Then another person gets off of their shift and another and before you know…