During the COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol use has skyrocketed. With most businesses closed or operating on virtual platforms, what are people looking to get substance use treatment to do?

In this special edition of Straight Talk, host Mike Gimbel speaks with COO of Amatus Recovery Centers in the South East Region, Matt Newcome, Awakenings Recovery Center Director of Client Services Robert Zellner, and Blueprint Recovery Center Executive Director Jonathan Gerson about what their centers are doing to continue providing treatment while keeping clients and staff safe and healthy.

Coronavirus has impacted most facets of our lives, leaving many in recovery to wonder how people with substance use disorders are receiving treatment during this uncertain time.

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. But after trying prescription medication with her boyfriend at the time, she fell into the very drug using habit that she spent years avoiding.

In this episode of Straight Talk with Mike Gimbel, Jenny, now sober, joins Mike to discuss her own story from active addiction to recovery. Jenny, who spent two and a half months in treatment at Maryland Addiction Recovery Center, firmly believes that taking a longterm approach to treating substance use will have the most productive results.

The first step in recovering from substance use disorder is detoxification, commonly called detox: the reduction and the removal of a psychoactive substance. The process can be physically and emotionally distressing, including cramping, vomiting, irregular temperature control, and more uncomfortable symptoms.

In this episode of Straight Talk, Dr. Neeraj Gandotra, chief medical officer of the Delphi Behavior Health Group joins Mike to break down what happens in the body during the detox process. Mike also speaks with Scott Dehorty from Maryland House Detox about how to break down the barriers of receiving help.

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

In this episode of Straight Talk, Mike speaks with psychiatrist Dr. Julie Stancliff, addiction treatment experts Rebecca Hogamier and Zach Snitzer, about different models of treatment for addiction including medication assisted treatment (MAT) such as vivitrol and suboxone, and the impact they are having in helping people recover.

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. Olivia faced consequences immediately, drinking to a toxic level of .38 and going to the hospital the first time she drank. Instead of swearing it off, she was off to the races and added Xanax to her chemical cocktail when she was in college.

In this episode of Straight Talk with Mike Gimbel, Olivia tells her story of addiction, which ended with with a heroin dependency, and the strength and hope of her recovery. Her parents, Kim and Tony, also join Mike to discuss the toll that having a loved one with substance use disorder can take on the family, and how family support gives your loved one a better chance of recovering.

Alex W. talks to Straight Talks’ Mike Gimbel about why she finally decided to give recovery a chance. Alex and her parents discuss the final straw, hitting rock bottom, and warning signs they wish they recognized.

Caroline Covington’s addiction progressed from alcohol and weed to heroin before she graduated high school. Her mother, Jill Prevas, was a school nurse who had been educating students about drug addiction for years. When she and her husband Chris found out that Caroline was using heroin, they knew they needed to act fast.

In this episode of Straight Talk, Caroline and her parents join Mike to discuss recovering from addiction as a family, and rebuilding the relationships it damaged.

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?

In this episode of Straight Talk, Carol Boyer Delphi Behavioral Health Group joins Mike to discuss preventative resources that entire communities, from health departments to citizens, can use in order to lessen the impact of drug and alcohol use.

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.

But often, in recovery those same people will be especially mindful of their physical and mental health and well being. In this episode of Straight Talk, Joshua and Elyse Buchbinder of B-Strong Athletics join Mike to discuss the pivotal role that fitness and nutrition can play in recovery.