Latest news with #addiction
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Woman Celebrates 10 Years of Sobriety After Using with Her Mother as a Teen. 'I Didn't Realize I Had a Problem' (Exclusive)
Darra Sargent opens up to PEOPLE about experiencing addiction at a young age The mom grew up with parents who frequently used drugs, complicating her teenage years Now 10 years sober, Sargent shares the moving message she would tell her younger selfOne woman is proudly celebrating 10 years of sobriety. In a video posted to TikTok and Instagram, Darra Sargent shared a clip reflecting on her decade of sobriety. The post showcased her over the past 10 years, sharing colorful shots from her life. Though she'd used for years with her mother, she quit when she was five days pregnant with her first child. 'My mom and my dad fell victim to the opioid epidemic when I was in 1st grade … Before that they always partied my entire life,' Sargent tells PEOPLE exclusively. 'They were huge hippies and had a big social life, but nothing too crazy. My dad was a drummer in a lot of local bands so I grew up around the scene. Once they fell victim to the opioid epidemic, my life started to go downhill.' As a kid, she remembers losing her home and needing to stay with various family members as her parents struggled with their addiction. When she was just 13, her father suffered a seizure and ultimately died of MRSA. 'That was when my mom really went off the deep end,' Sargent recounts. 'They were together from 16 years old and she didn't know how to do life without him after being together for almost 30 years. My mom started using harder drugs more frequently and truly didn't know how to be a parent due to her mental health struggles and grief.' Sargent went through a variety of living situations and says she was 'on my own for about a year-and-a-half,' living with various friends' families. When she eventually moved back in with her mother, 'she was already partying with my brother, who was a year younger than me,' she says. 'Once I started experimenting with partying in high school, my friends would always come to my house since there wasn't any parental supervision, and she started asking to join in or asking us to give her things,' Sargent continues. 'She was so deep in her own mental health struggles that she didn't even realize how unhealthy that was.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'She started putting weed and cigarettes in our stockings on Christmas, drinking and partying with us regularly, and just acting like one of the kids," she continues. "It was a normal event to just hang out and drink, smoke, take pills, whatever together.' Sargent decided to get sober on New Year's Day 10 years ago. She says she was up partying and using drugs with her mother the night before, but decided that day she would get sober — a move she still calls 'divine intervention.' 'I was one of those people that didn't really think I had a problem,' she admits. 'My mom was the benchmark for a problem. I thought, 'Oh I have a decent job, I can afford what I need, I'm not letting this take over my life .. I'm just a young adult having fun.' I was only 21 when i decided to get sober.' She recalls a brief period when she had a move back in with her mother — when the two of them shared a room just big enough for a twin-sized bed — as the moment that she 'felt like my biggest fear was coming true before my eyes." 'I was becoming just like my mom. Even though I thought I was just a young adult having normal young adult experiences, I didn't want to go down that slippery slope,' she shares. 'So something in me made me get sober. I found out I was pregnant a month-and-a-half later and I was five days pregnant when I made that choice.' Sobriety hasn't been an easy path, she admits. Going sober at 21, Sargent says many of her friends at that age were partying and going out frequently, but she found art to be a soothing and grounding outlet for herself, coupled with the support from her partner and therapy. 'Following my dreams gave me a goal post, something to work towards and something to look forward to. Now 10 years later art is still a driving factor but I have an amazing support system in my partner and my children,' she shares, noting that she even started sharing her art on Instagram 'not long' after she went sober. Sargent's art is colorful, with most pieces including a rainbow of some sort — a move she says has become her 'signature style.' 'I think that's my way of signifying the rainbow after the storm. I live in the rainbows now,' she says. 'Color is truly one of my biggest passions in life, and I try to collect as many rainbow things as I can! Life is just happier when you're surrounded by color. Color is the way I communicate with the world, and most of the time I have so much to say it has to be a full rainbow spectrum.' As Sargent continued her sobriety journey, she says her mother continued to use until her death in 2016. When she'd initially told her mother that she was going to get clean, her mom asked Sargent if she thought she was 'better' than her. 'She was so deep in her own issues that she just couldn't be happy for me,' Sargent says. 'We had had a rocky life together up until that point already.' 'I reconnected with her in the summer of 2014 when she called and told me she had lung cancer. She was only back in my life for about a year-and-a-half when I decided to get sober,' Sargent continues. 'It was tricky navigating sobriety, while being a caretaker for my dying mother. Our relationship had its challenges, I was still incredibly angry at her, but I had to put that to the side because she needed me.' Now that a decade has passed, Sargent can look back with empathy on the young girl who got into drugs. 'I would tell that girl that's not who she is and she doesn't need to be the person her mom raised her to be,' she says. 'I'd tell her she deserves love, peace and happiness. She deserves to find out who she is, not who she's told she is.' 'Figuring yourself out takes time. We all make mistakes, every person learns and grows," she continues. "It's okay to change and to grow. That's what makes us human. We can go through life with shame about who we used to be, or we can be proud of how far we've come.' If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. Read the original article on People
The Independent
17 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
The lifestyle triple-threat cutting 20 years from a person's life
Approximately one million adults in England are at risk of significantly cutting 20 years from their lives by combining being overweight, excessive drinking, and smoking. Analysis by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) reveals that 22 percent of adults in England, totalling about 10 million people, have two or more of these health risk factors. Experts warn these factors disproportionately increase the risk of developing severe conditions such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and Type-2 diabetes. Public health advocates stress that these issues are often driven by industry behavior and call for a comprehensive, joined-up approach to public health policymaking to alleviate strain on the NHS. The government plans to address these challenges through a new 10-year plan, which includes measures like banning junk food advertising, increasing funding for addiction treatment, and phasing out cigarette sales.
Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bachelor Madison Prewett reveals battle with porn and masturbation addiction as she 'tried to live for Jesus'
Bachelor #24 runner-up Madison Prewett Troutt revealed how she overcame her addictions to porn and masturbation, which 'had been a struggle' as far back as middle school. 'I was about 13 years old. I went over to a friend's house and her parents weren't around and she turned on this show that was extremely inappropriate,' the 29-year-old new mother recalled on her Stay True Podcast on Monday. 'Literally everyone was naked and it was like The Bachelor but, like, way worse and everyone was naked and everyone was trying to like fight for this like one woman's attention and and it was all about like sex and sexual relationships.' Madi continued: 'My body started feeling things that I had never felt before and I started wondering things that I'd never wondered before and then desiring it and then wanting it and and so I left that time with my friend like genuinely so curious about that and wanting it more.' Prewett's yearnings prompted her to search the Internet for X-rated content promising 'satisfaction and pleasure' and 'maybe it did for a moment but then as soon as the moment ended I felt so much shame and I was living in secret shame.' 'I was about 13 years old. I went over to a friend's house and her parents weren't around and she turned on this show that was extremely inappropriate,' the 29-year-old new mother recalled on her Stay True Podcast on Monday 'I questioned my worth and my identity. Every time I gave into sexual sin, I didn't know my purpose,' the Alabama-born brunette explained. 'I was not able to break free until I brought other people into it, until I stopped letting the enemy run my life with living in secrecy and living in isolation.' Madi continued: 'Thankfully, by the grace of God and by the power of Godly community and people around me, I have been free from porn and masturbation for — I don't even know — 10 years. But that was something that enslaved me and marked me for so long.' Prewett and her husband of two years, pastor Grant Troutt, welcomed their first child, five-month-old daughter Hosanna Rose Troutt, on January 20. It's hard to believe it's only been five years since Delta Air Lines pilot Peter Weber dumped his winning fiancée Hannah Ann Sluss for the former foster parent recruiter, who split from him just three days after the ABC dating competition's finale. The Bachelorette has four winning couples still together, and the odds are much better on Bachelor in Paradise where 10 winning couples remain together. Prewett continued: 'I was not able to break free until I brought other people into it, until I stopped letting the enemy run my life with living in secrecy and living in isolation' It's hard to believe it's only been five years since Delta Air Lines pilot Peter Weber (R) dumped his winning fiancée Hannah Ann Sluss for Prewett, who split from him just three days after the ABC dating competition's finale Madi is next scheduled to speak on July 18 at the Lifepoint Church Youth Conference in Fredericksburg, VA. On September 23, WaterBrook will publish Prewett's 240-page faith-based book Dare to Be True: Defeat the Lies That Bind You and Live Out the Truth That Frees You. Madi - who boasts 4.1M social media followers - is also every bit the influencer with paid partnerships for brands like Cupshe, Amazon, Gameday Couture, Sun Home Saunas, and Natural Cycles.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Northamptonshire addiction documentary premieres
A man who shared his lived experience of addiction in a new documentary said he did so to show others that "change is possible".David Sagar's story was one of nine in Breaking the Chains of Addiction, which premiered at Cineworld Rushden Lakes on Thursday film was commissioned by the Northamptonshire Combatting Drugs and Alcohol Partnership - a collaboration of local agencies including the police and Sagar, who has been sober for almost 10 years, said it was important show people "you can go on to other things". The 47-year-old from Desborough said he had experimented with substances from a young age and explained how he struggled to break his addiction because "I surrounded myself with people who wouldn't question [drug taking]."He said he had tried "many times" to "make changes" to his life, but said the turning point was when a doctor told him he would be dead in a matter of months if he did not break his habit."At that point I thought 'I'm not done with life yet' and I started to reach out and get more support," said Mr now works for Change Grow Live, a charity which supports people to move away from addiction and start afresh. The 28-minute documentary was produced by One to One Development Trust - which is an arts charity - and follows people from Northamptonshire from the beginnings of their addiction through to their Judi Alston said: "When people are in addiction, they're disconnected. "All the people that are in the film have been through a process of becoming connected back to themselves, their communities, their families, the world and their ambitions in a way."That's been very interesting and very powerful."She continued: "This is an invitation for people to get ready on their recovery journey."We're not here to judge what the pathway is that people take, we're just saying there are pathways."If life feels unmanageable then take a pathway and reach out." 'Addiction doesn't discriminate' Thursday's premiere was attended by representatives from north and west Northamptonshire councils and a range of support services across the Office for Improvement and Disparities, which is a government department, gave a grant to the Watkins, a partnership development manager for Change Grow Live, encouraged anyone suffering with addiction to reach out to its STAR Northamptonshire initiative to access support, treatment, advice and recovery."Addiction doesn't discriminate, it doesn't care about your postcode, pay grade or profession," she said."Even the people you don't think would be coming to addiction services can come to us."It's just harder for those with social standing to open up and say they need that help. It's free, confidential and there's no waiting lists."A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Reality star opens up on her masturbation addiction struggle and reveals ‘shame' over porn habit
BACHELOR beauty Madison Prewett has confessed she battled a secret addiction to porn and masturbation and says it left her feeling ashamed. The Christian influencer revealed she was "enslaved" by "sin" and claimed God helped her overcome her addiction. 5 The US reality star, 29, made the shock confession on her Stay True podcast. She opened up about her private struggle, which she says began when she was a teenager. 'That was something that enslaved me and marked me for so long,' Madi said. 'Thankfully, by the grace of God and by the power of Godly community and people around me, I have been free from porn and masturbation for, I don't even know, 10 years.' Madi said the habit took root after she was exposed to sexual content as a teen. She said: 'I had already had moments of being curious about things and having certain feelings or wondering certain things or fantasizing about certain things. 'I had not told that to anyone. 'I went over to a friend's house and her parents weren't around and she turned on this show that was extremely inappropriate.' She described feeling 'desire' for the first time and said the experience triggered years of shame, even as she tried to stay true to her faith. 'No matter how much I loved Jesus, I could not shake that sin,' she said. Bachelor star Madi Prewett sells Texas mansion for $1.1m & moves to Nashville with husband before arrival of first child 'I questioned my worth and my identity. Every time I gave into sexual sin, I didn't know my purpose.' Madi came second on The Bachelor in 2020 after Peter ditched fiancée Hannah Ann Sluss, and briefly reunited with him before things fizzled out. She's since found love with speaker and minister Grant Troutt, tying the knot in 2022. The pair welcomed their first child, daughter Hosanna Rose, in January. The Sun revealed she sold her Texas mansion shortly before the birth. According to real estate records obtained by The U.S. Sun, Madi and her husband Grant officially sold their home on December 11, 2024. The pair scored $1.125 million for the 5 bedroom, 6 bathroom Tudor-style house - which was their very first home as a married couple. The move comes as a surprise after The Bachelor alum closely documented her personally designing every detail of the 4,738 square-foot abode. Madi and Grant purchased the property shortly after getting married in late 2022. While it seemed like a forever home, Madi revealed in an Instagram video in September 2024 that she and Grant were moving to Nashville. 5 5 5
