The Hills star Heidi Pratt has gotten a lot of guff for her plastic surgery ventures of late. But the new focus of those conversations have turned to her recovery from surgery. Specifically, friends of hers co-cast members have voiced concerns (or would it better be termed “catty gossip”) that Heidi is relying a bit too heavily on her painkillers post surgery.

While one show insider is reported as describing Heidi as a “shell of her former self,” Heidi’s reps are reportedly firing back that these comments are “completely ridiculous.”

But one source says that Heidi has been exhibiting increasingly odd behavior of late. The source describes Heidi and Spencer, her husband, as having “crossed over to this bizarre place.”

Recognizing Painkiller Addiction

Agreeing to undergo 10 plastic surgery procedures in one days is admittedly extreme, but is it really a sign of painkiller addiction? No, say Heidi’s reps, but sources are saying that the painkiller abuse is just one of her odd quirks that happened as a result of the strange decision to undergo so much surgery in order to get media attention.

Says the source: “They are addicted to the fame. As The Hills winds down and people start to care less, they are desperate to get back that high.”

The Signs and Symptoms of Painkiller Addiction

Attention-seeking behavior is not exactly a sign or a symptom of painkiller addiction. It’s not even a sign of drug abuse. Alcohol can cause people to behave loudly or obnoxiously in public (hence the “drunk in public” citation) and people can make poor decisions under the influence, but many who choose opiates and other sedative-type drugs like prescription painkillers are just as likely to want to blend into the woodwork as land on the cover of a tabloid.

There are more definitive ways to determine whether or not someone you care about is abusing prescription painkillers. Painkillers are opiate-based and include prescription drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, hydrocodone, Percocet and others. They generally sedate those who take them, and those who take too many or take them too often may appear “out of it” or tired. They may “nod out” and be unable to focus on conversations and appear unfocused on what they are doing. They may forget things that were said or commitments they made. Hand-eye coordination is impaired and as a result accidents of all kinds can occur. Financial issues soon develop because prescription pills are not cheap and those who are taking copious amounts of them are rarely able to go to work every day or do well if they do.

These kinds of behaviors when they are uncharacteristic and not attributable to anything else can signify painkiller addiction in your loved one’s life.

Treating Painkiller Addiction

Painkiller addiction is best treated at an holistic inpatient drug rehab that specializes in opiate addiction and detox. Here you can receive the medical care you need to make sure that your physiological symptoms are taken care of as well as the psychological dependence. Call now for more information.

Now that you are beginning your addiction recovery process, you’ll have to do a lot of moving. In drug rehab, you will learn to move many parts of your life to create a sober path for yourself. Read on to find out more.

Move Your Emotions

Your emotions are probably the reason you developed a drug addiction in the first place. Maybe you started taking prescription drugs after a surgery, and kept taking the medication to calm your feelings. Or maybe you grew up in a family of alcoholics, and you used drugs and alcohol to help you cope with the chaos. Whatever the exact reason, your emotions are tied closely to your addiction. You’ll need support and trust to move your emotions out of the dark so you can learn to live with them.

Move Your Mind

Your mind has been moving to the beat of a drug addiction for a long time. Even if you stop using drugs, you may still feel that beat going in your mind. That’s almost unavoidable, but you can learn how to tune it out or at least turn down the volume. Drug rehab is not a cure for drug addiction – more like a sanctuary to help you get well and learn to live with it. Your mindset and your thoughts are like the cogs of a giant wheel, setting your addiction and your recovery in motion. In drug rehab, you’ll learn how to keep this wheel in your mind turning in the direction of sobriety.

Move Your Body

In drug rehab, you might find yourself in an exercise class. Even if you have never been a fitness buff, you are likely to have some form of recreation time or fitness opportunities on a daily basis. Why? The mind and body are so connected, and you can really get this connection muddled with a drug addiction. Exercise like aerobics or even yoga can help you develop a healthy relationship with your body. You can learn what your body is saying to you and how to take care of yourself better than ever before.

Move Your Focus

You have been almost hyper-focused on anything that had to do with your addiction. You may not see it at first. But as you go through your drug addiction experience, you’ll find out just how many of your thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and choices had to do with keeping up your addiction. Realizing this can be so overwhelming. As you shift your focus away from a drug lifestyle, you’ll (discover and rediscover) so new opportunities in your life.

Moving Into Addiction Recovery

This is an important time for you. Drug rehab starts a lot of change in motion, which can also trigger some feelings of uncertainty. These feelings are normal and you can get through them. Don’t wait on your sobriety – get moving!

After Sandra Bullock officially announced that she was filing for divorce from Jesse James (no big surprise) and completing the adoption of their son, 3½-month-old Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single mother (actually, that was kind of a surprise), Jesse James released his own statement to the public. In brief, he’s sorry. He knows “Sandy” didn’t do anything wrong and didn’t deserve any of the treatment he dumped on her. But. He hopes that his 30 days in sex rehab will help him to build a foundation to become a better husband father.

But don’t take it from me. Read his statement for yourself:

“My whole life has been full of hard decisions.

“The decision to let my wife end our marriage, and continue the adoption of Louis on her own, has been the hardest. The love I have for Louis cannot be put to words. Not having him around to love and to hold has left a huge hole in my heart.

“Sandy is the love of my life, but considering the pain and devastation I have caused her, it would be selfish to not let her go. Right now it is time for me to beat this addiction that has taken two of the things I love the most in life.

“I have always taken great pride in proving people wrong. That time has come once again to show that I am not what everyone says I am. I know in my heart that I can be the best father possible to my four children, and the mate Sandy deserves, and realize that this is an incredible mountain to climb. But I believe that the steps I have taken in the last 30 days are the foundation for making this happen. The lifelong commitment I am making is what being a real husband and father is all about.

“I ask that you please do not judge Sandy for the things I have done. She has done no wrong. She played no part in any of this. She has been an amazing wife, mother, and best friend, for the over 6 years we have been together.”

Can Rehab Put Your Life Back Together?

It’s a question that many who come to rehab ask. Having hit bottom, many come to drug rehab or sex rehab with regrets, things that they’ve done that have destroyed their relationships, their careers, their reputations, their self esteem. They come to rehab hoping to repair those things and gain the skills to move forward.

While moving forward is definitely possible using what you learn about yourself in drug rehab and certainly learning how to live without acting upon addiction cravings, you may not be able to get back everything you lost during addiction. Though it is possible to mend relationships, rebuild your reputation and reclaim your dreams, these will most likely look quite different to you after rehab as well as to the other people involved. Different, of course, can be a good thing, even better than if you had stayed on your previous trajectory. Opening yourself up to the sheer magic of possibility is a big part of healing during drug treatment.

You’ve overcome some huge hurdles in your addiction recovery – getting laid off then getting your job back, financial difficulties, and then being gone for drug rehab. Now you’ve been back home for a few months and you realize you might be facing your biggest hurdle yet – staying sober when your spouse doesn’t support your sobriety needs.

Complaining That You Go To Too Many Meetings

Now that you are working on sobriety, you are gone for an hour or so several nights a week. You have no opportunity to go during the daytime, and not going is not an option. You have worked too hard for your sobriety and you don’t want to start letting it fall through the cracks.

Instead of being understanding or encouraging you to keep it up, your spouse has started making snide comments and complaining when you go out to a meeting. You wish you could share some of your feelings and revelations from your time at meeting, but you don’t see much point. Your spouse isn’t very interested and complains that you talk about it too much.

Refusing To Make Any Personal Changes

Some of your triggers revolve around stress, particularly conflict in your marriage. You learned many ways that you needed to change the way you spoke to your spouse to keep things calm. You also understood how your strong emotionality and harsh words made communication difficult.

Now that you are toning down your conversation habits, you still see that your spouse is defensive and aggressive as usual. You aren’t sure why they haven’t changed their ways since you are working hard to be more even tempered and level headed. It seems that sometimes, they even created conflict out of nowhere.

You find that your frustration levels rise when you have disagreements with them. You know this isn’t helpful for your sobriety because you start thinking about drugs again.

Drinking At Home In Front Of You

Perhaps the most frustrating and concerning thing your spouse does is drink in front of you. You used meth on a daily basis, and there is certainly no meth in the house now. But you also drank frequently when you got high. Meth and alcohol went together like peanut butter and jelly for you.

You know from your meetings and drug treatment that it isn’t the end of the world if you see other people drinking. But right after you come home from treatment, you didn’t expect to see your spouse having a drink every night and inviting people over to drink on the weekends.

You are really annoyed and surprised by this. Your spouse says they are glad you are sober, but you can just deal with it because they are still going to have fun.

Staying Sober With An Unsupportive Spouse

This is a dangerous slippery slope if you don’t get some help. One option is to go to individual therapy and invite your spouse to come once to share their thoughts. Perhaps they will visit with you more than once and start understanding what you need. Did you have a family session with your drug and alcohol treatment program? Bring those materials out again and talk about some meaningful topics.

Talk to your sponsor about this and any aftercare support professionals you are in touch with. It may take some time for your spouse to understand what you need. Don’t give up on them, but also don’t put your sobriety in jeopardy.

If you’re having trouble envisioning your life sober all the time, you aren’t alone. Lots of recovering addicts can’t easily envision their future, let alone a sober one. It’s just too hard to comprehend making that much change with something inside pulling so hard against it. Take a few minutes and read this post to settle your mind. By trying to focus too far ahead, you may actually be hurting your chances of staying sober.

Drug Rehab In The Moment

The main goal of a drug or alcohol addiction is to avoid the current moment of reality. Or to avoid reality in the past. Or to avoid any reality that may come in the future. In short, facing any sort of truth becomes too painful to bear without emotions being fuzzed out.

It takes a lot of work just to get used to being in the moment. Whatever is right in front of you – painful or otherwise – just being with it and keeping focus on it. In drug rehab, this can be one of the first challenges you wrestle with. It’s hard to avoid since your body has been rid of the chemicals.

Facing The Current Moment In Addiction Recovery

If facing the current moment can be difficult, imagine what it’s like trying to see your whole life like that. Overwhelming for sure, and even confusing. If you have had an addiction for even a short time, your brain has been affected and your perception of the world has been altered significantly.

Thinking about your life being totally different (sober) might be like imaging life on another planet. You may have never really known what a stable healthy life was like, especially if you have had alcoholism or drug addiction in your family history.

The addicted mind works in blacks and whites, even if it doesn’t really make sense. So if you are thinking you can only achieve sobriety if you can envision your whole life in front of you, that thought might swing your emotions toward pessimism. If you become hopeless about ever achieving some kind of sobriety perfection, you may throw in the towel and wonder why it’s worth trying.

Only Think About Sobriety Now

Stop right there. Don’t think about the rest of your life, or next year, or next month. Don’t even think about tomorrow. Think about today – think about the next ten minutes. How can you stay sober for the next ten minutes? What will it take for you to make that happen? Think about what you have learned in your drug rehab experiences to help you get through the moment if you are feeling cornered or stressed. When you can cope with those difficult times, you can keep your hope for the future.

photo credit: base77

Alcoholism – definitely a family problem. If you’re alcoholic, you probably already know this. Growing up with an alcoholic or drug addict made you learn how to survive, parent yourself, and do without much loving attention from your family. The pain from alcoholism is usually passed from generation to generation.

Seeing Old Pain In Your Family Members Eyes

It’s not just you – you have seen something bitter and ancient in your parents eyes when you grew up. Their dulled expression when they were drunk, their uncontrolled anger, and their illogical rants. Something wild and untamed was there in the way they look at you and others. This is the generational gift of alcoholism – old pain from generations past.

No one ever went to addiction treatment, they refused support groups, or claimed that all that counseling stuff never worked. Or worse yet, the elder generations of alcoholics in your family didn’t have alcohol treatment available to them. Help wasn’t offered, and help wasn’t asked for.

Don’t Ask For Help With Alcoholism

Unfortunately, your family also passed down this distrust of anyone prying into their business. And that includes you, as the child trying to understand your world. So in your innocent efforts to understand the chaos of your family, you are left with but a few conclusions. Any sort of help you need isn’t going to come from your family. Or, you can succumb to the chaos and cope like everyone else does – with alcohol.

You might be the first generation in your family to actively seek help for your alcoholism. Awareness is better than it used to be, and alcohol rehab is far more available than ever. But other problems have plagued you. Chronic health problems, not unlike your relatives have faced. Trouble connecting with others, also similar to your family situation.

So when the chips are down and you are backed into a corner, alcohol may seem like your only refuge. At least it’s familiar. You know you shouldn’t, but what’s the use? Everything hurts, just like it does with everyone in your family. They hurt, you hurt, and it doesn’t seem to be anything different for the future.

Hope For Sobriety Still Exists

As a person with generational alcoholism, you might feel that the cards are stacked hopelessly against you. Each and every day you have the chance to make a change. If you can step out and start alcohol treatment, go to just one AA meeting, or just talk to someone you trust, there is always hope for sobriety. Always.

Rather than buy into a $5000 a plate dinner to benefit the cause of the month as many celebrities do, Beyonce Knowles has decided to take a different philanthropic route. She and her mother, fashion designer Tina Knowles, have opened the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center at the Phoenix House Career Academy in Dumbo, Brooklyn for those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction and/ or mental illness.

The Benefits of Beauty School for Dual Diagnosis

Beyonce’s new beauty school offers those who are dually diagnosed an opportunity to gain job skills in a supportive environment. Those who have successfully completed rehab and who are focused on getting their lives back on track after active addiction can come here without worry of being judged for their past or discriminated against due to psychological issues. As long as they remain on a healing track, the Beyonce school offers a 7-month program that is focused on continued dedication to recovery and learning.

Beyonce, Hair Salons, and Recovery

According to Beyonce, hair salons are inherently a place for community and support. Her mother, Tina Knowles, worked in a salon when Beyonce was a child and Beyonce remembered it as a place to “share stories, cry, laugh, and get advice. The first sign of recovery is caring about your appearance and hopefully, this Center will be a place that will change lots of lives every year.”

Combining beauty school with recovery was an idea that came to Beyonce when she spent time at Phoenix House while preparing for her acting role as Etta James.

Says Beyonce: “Through their stories, I realized that all of us have our personal struggles and we all have something to overcome. But it is mostly drug and alcohol addiction that has the stigma that must be removed. Drug addiction is a disease and these beautiful women I met did not choose to become addicts, but they have chosen to get better, and the staff at Phoenix House is important to that healing process.”

This isn’t the first move Beyonce has made on behalf of the women who inspired her at Phoenix House: she also donated her salary from her role as Etta James to the foundation. She and her mother will also donate $100,000 a year to their beauty school.

Recovery and Rejuvenation

While there are only a limited number of openings at Beyonce’s new beauty school, there are a ton of opportunities for those coming out of drug rehab and looking for a new focus in life. Programs are available across the country that provide a sober living as well as assistance if not training in reaching a new educational or job goal post-rehab.

The Canyon is one such place. Located in southern California, we can provide a sober living environment for those who have successfully completed drug rehab. Contact us today to learn more about our program or to schedule a tour of the facility. Find out if The Canyon is the right place for you.