{"id":89,"date":"2010-11-22T07:00:30","date_gmt":"2010-11-22T07:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/movingbeyondaddiction\/2010\/11\/what-does-actor-eric-roberts-have-to-say-about-his-former-addiction-to-pot.html"},"modified":"2010-11-22T07:00:30","modified_gmt":"2010-11-22T07:00:30","slug":"what-does-actor-eric-roberts-have-to-say-about-his-former-addiction-to-pot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2010\/11\/what-does-actor-eric-roberts-have-to-say-about-his-former-addiction-to-pot.html","title":{"rendered":"What does Actor Eric Roberts Have to Say About his Former Addiction to Pot"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/b>One of the clients I had the privilege to work with on season 4
\nof Celebrity Rehab<\/i> is actor Eric
\nRoberts. Eric has been acting since he was 5, and has a reputation for taking
\non edgy roles and playing them fearlessly. He’s been in many movies, including The Dark Knight,<\/i> had a recurring role on
\nthe TV series Heroes, <\/i>and was
\nnominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in 1985 for his performance in Runaway Train.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>Eric was in a
\nvery serious car crash in 1981 that left him in a coma for three days and
\nchanged his face forever. He became a heavy cocaine user, adding it to the
\nmarijuana he said he has smoked all his adult life. He was arrested for
\npossession and eventually kicked the cocaine habit, but ended up struggling
\nwith prescription medications. Plus, he never gave up the marijuana. <\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>I read an
\ninterview that Eric did recently with ET Online in which he said, “I’ve been a
\npothead all my adult life.” And on Celebrity
\nRehab<\/i> he said, “Anything bad or negative that ever happened in my career or
\nin my personal life had to do with the abuse of drugs, completely.” (You can
\nsee it in the season trailer here: http:\/\/www.vh1.com\/shows\/celebrity_rehab_with_dr_drew\/season_4\/series.jhtml)<\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>So why did he
\nkeep smoking marijuana? In the interview with ET he said, “I liked it, it makes
\nme nice, and I’m basically by nature a curmudgeon, so smoking pot makes you
\nvery pleasant.” And that’s not an exaggeration, because Eric has been arrested
\nfor spousal abuse and for trying to assault a police officer. He has rage
\nissues when he’s not smoking marijuana.<\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>Rage is an
\ninteresting emotion–one we sometimes characterize as primitive. And that’s not
\nfar off the mark. Rage stems from our very primitive “fight or fight” response;
\nin the very olden days, if our life was in danger, a physiological response
\nwould kick in and we would be able to either run away really fast or else try
\nto fight our way out of the problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>All kinds of
\nphysiological responses once enabled us to deal with the type of extreme
\nphysical danger humans used to face routinely. The problem is that these
\nextreme physiological responses still kick when we face stresses that are not
\nreally threats, and some people just don’t know how to deal with them. So they
\nact on them, often violently. But while violence may have been the perfect
\nresponse for fighting off a bear, it’s not appropriate for when you get angry
\nat your spouse or a police officer or anyone else who has done something to
\ntick you off.<\/span><\/p>\n

            <\/span>Eric’s answer
\nwas to control his rage with marijuana–which does, indeed, dull some
\nphysiological responses. That’s an answer, but it’s not a solution. The
\nsolution is to learn to put into context the things that make us angry, so that
\nsmall events do not spark large reactions. When we can do that, we don’t need
\nany substance to dull our perception or our reaction. We can feel fully, but
\nalso think fully and see the small stuff for what it really is. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Sherry Gaba, LCSW, is a Psychotherapist and Life Coach on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew on VH1 and the author of The Law of Sobriety. She is a frequent contributor to anthologies, blogs, newsletters, and is a sought after speaker. She has appeared on Jane Velez-Mitchell, Hollywood Confidential, Inside Edition, E!News, CNN Prime News, San Diego Living, San Diego Fox, and KTLA. Contact Sherry at sherry@sgabatherapy.com or go to her blog at thelawofsobriety.com to learn more about Sherry’s private practice, psychotherapy, life coaching (by telephone all over the world), teleseminars, webinars, audios, and meditation CD’s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the clients I had the privilege to work with on season 4 of Celebrity Rehab is actor Eric Roberts. Eric has been acting since he was 5, and has a reputation for taking on edgy roles and playing them fearlessly. 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