From the Headlines

Athletes and Addiction, Holidays in Recovery

A common starting point for an opiate addiction is developing a dependency on pain medication that was prescribed to an athlete after being injured.

D.A.R.T Program Responding Immediately to Helping Drug Users to Get Treatment Not Arrested

In this episode of Straight Talk, Mike sits downs with members of Lucas County Police Department to discuss the D.A.R.T. program, which places those with substance use disorder into treatment rather than getting arrested.

How Can We Tell If a Treatment Program is a Quality Program?

When it comes to seeking treatment, sometimes one chance is all we have.
On this episode of Straight Talk, Amatus Health Senior Compliance Officer, Desiree Mountain, joins Mike to discuss how to tell the difference between a quality, accredited and certified treatment facility from a not-so good one.

Straight Talk with Mike Gimbel: Young People in Recovery

Straight Talk with Mike Gimbel: Young People in Recovery

Alex W. talks to Straight Talks’ Mike Gimbel about why she finally decided to give recovery a chance.

The Best Way to Recover from Substance Use Disorder is to Seek Help

Straight Talk – The best way to recover from substance use disorder is to seek help

The best way to recover from substance use disorder is to seek help. But what about the best way to prevent becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol in the first place?

Treating Co-Occurring Disorders

Many people who have a history of substance use also have co-occurring disorders, including different forms of mental illness.

A History of the Fentanyl Outbreak

In this episode of Straight Talk, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Supervisory Special Agent Todd C. Edwards joins Mike to discuss how fentanyl became so prevalent in American communities.

Treatment, Recovery and Redemption

As a young man, Lilo Brancato, Jr. was on top of the world. After landing a role in “A Bronx Tale,” a film directed by legendary actor Robert DeNiro, Brancato began his long career as an actor in film and television.

What is Residential Treatment?

In recovery, everyone reaches the point of willingness to get help at different times.

Advocating for Quality Facilities

Conversations about addiction treatment facilities often sound like horror stories. Whether it’s an exorbitant co-pay or physical deterioration of the facility itself, many are left unsatisfied and are in fact still using after receiving treatment.

Engaging Communities

During recovery from addiction, we relearn basic life skills including how to find and maintain a steady job and live life on life’s terms. But strong recovery comes from building a strong community with strong peers.

The Dangers of Teen Vaping

Vaping is in, for adults and teens alike, and for many reasons, teens are choosing to vape instead of smoking cigarettes and smoking pot. But oils and tinctures used in vape pens can be just as addictive.

Selecting the Right Drug Treatment Program

As the opioid epidemic continues to devastate families and communities across through the country, many treatment programs have popped up. But how you know which ones are legit?

Addiction is a Family Disease

For every one person with substance use disorder, there is a entire network of people–family, friends, co-workers– who are impacted.

Rising Above Addiction

In 2014, Tammy Lofink lost her son Robert to a drug overdose. He was 18 years old.
Since then, she’s co-founded Rising Above Addiction, an advocacy group that raises awareness for the substance use epidemic, and raises money to provide resources to save the lives of young people with substance use disorder.

Recovery in the LGBTQIA Community

Members of the LGBTQIA community face many forms of social stigma and discrimination that heterosexuals do not face, including in substance use treatment.

Relapse Prevention

Jenny Paul grew up in a household where drug use was common. For many years, she unlike her brother and father, avoided drugs and enrolled in college and in the military.

Pro Skater Brandon Novak Talks Addiction and Recovery

Brandon Novak is not a stranger to success. By age 15, he was a professional skateboarder and rubbing elbows with sports industry legends like Tony Hawk and Michael Jordan.

Addiction and Families

When Olivia Houser was growing up, she never really felt a strong sense of self. In order to fit it in, she did what other teenagers were doing: drinking and partying.

The Role of Interventions in Recovery

Our dopamine receptors are not only the pleasure center of our brains, but also that part of our brains that control our senses of logic and reason.

Familial Treatment for Substance Use Disorder

When Ashley Horner’s stepdaughter was kicked out of school 12 years ago for using drugs, Horner had no idea the extent of addiction she and her family would need to endure over the following years.

Fitness in Recovery

Those with substance use disorder will often forget to take care of themselves during active addiction. Daily tasks like eating, bathing and taking time to care for one’s mental health are often placed to the side, as seeking the next drink or drug can be an all encompassing endeavor.

Detox from Opiates

The first step in recovering from substance use disorder is detoxification, commonly called detox: the reduction and the removal of a psychoactive substance.

How Do We Make Our Communities Drug Free?

The fastest way to recover from substance abuse disorder to ask for help. But are there effective ways to prevent addiction from happening in the first place?

The Physician’s Role in Recovery

Substance use disorder is an all encompassing condition, effecting a person’s physical, mental, and some say, spiritual health. In order to fully recover, many try to actively address each of these facets.

Alcohol Use on College Campuses

Each year in the United States, alcohol use on college campuses is involved in approximately 2.000 deaths, close to half a million sexual assaults, and over one million will be arrested.

Getting Access to Drug Treatment Programs

Although drug addiction and alcoholism are quite prevalent throughout the United States, many people with a substance use disorder and their families are unaware of how many addiction treatment programs are available and how to access these resources.

Women in Addiction, Treatment and Recovery

Colleen Waterfield grew up in Arbutus, Maryland and got into partying at a pretty young age. Rather quickly, her drinking turned to drug use, and although she got kicked out of a Catholic school, she did graduate high school, as she says, by the skin of her teeth.

Medications to Treat Opiate Addiction

In recent years, treatment for addiction has become more comprehensive, and not entirely based on abstinence.

Drug Testing in the Workplace

In the midst of the opioid crisis in the United States, employers have been cracking down on drug use in and out of the work place.

Treatment Centers’ Admission Process

Many people with substance use disorder know that they need help, but are not sure where or how to seek it.

Heroin Addiction in High School

Caroline Covington’s addiction progressed from alcohol and weed to heroin before she graduated high school.

The Opioid Crisis in Maryland

When campaigning with future Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in 2014, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said he heard countless stories of how heroin and opiates were destroying individuals, families and communities.

Prescription Drug Addiction

In this episode of Straight Talk addiction expert Karen Moore joins Mike to discuss how recieving a prescription medication can eventually lead to a full blown addiction.

Families Recovering from Addiction

By the age of 16, Corey Long started smoking cannabis, and quickly moved on to harder substances like hallucinogenics and pain pills. Before long he was dependent on heroin.

What is Drug Treatment, and Where Can I Find It?

The opioid epidemic has seen an average of 130 individuals die each day from a drug overdose. Many people with substance use disorder know they need help, but are not sure where to turn to get it.

Do Painkillers Actually Promote Pain?

Pain Recovery Clinician Scott Dehorty says that the opioid epidemic is not as big as everyone makes it out to be. It’s Bigger.

Families and Addiction

When a parent has a substance use disorder, it often causes children to have behavioral problems, anything from isolation to hyperactivity.

Levels of Addiction Treatment

Addiction does not discriminate. People of all ages, all economic statuses and all backgrounds experience substance use disorder, and the problem continues to get worse.

Art and Relapse Prevention

David Allen Roesner used to drink to cope with the shame he felt for being gay, and very quickly it took over his entire life, leaving him with many unfulfilled ambitions.