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Quote: "Hitch" star and former model Amber Valletta, 40, has decided to open up about her bouts with alcohol and drug addiction.

She spoke with an audience for MindBodyGreen for a piece called "How I Live With Addiction Every Day: Amber Valletta" and revealed her battle with addiction has been ongoing since she was 8 years old.

"I'm coming out to you today," Valletta told the audience. "I coming out to you today as an addict. ... I've had it for as long as I can remember."

"My hope is that someone, somewhere in this room, out of this room will hear something that will help them and perhaps get them out of the shadows and the darkness of addiction and bring them into the light," she said of why she decided to reveal this addiction.

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Valletta said she started with drugs and alcohol because she was "predisposed for it" and that it's genetic.

"Once you kind of feed the monster, there's a switch and it takes hold," she said, saying that at 8 years old, she started trying to get outside herself. "I sniffed markers, I sniffed glue, fingernail polish, anything that could give me a buzz ... then I found drugs that were around the culture of my family."

The actress added that she had been high from marijuana by age 10, but that she only blames herself.

"I'm not a victim, I do not blame my parents," she said. "I'm uncomfortable, I'm uncomfortable being a human being."

By the time Valletta was 18, she moved to Europe "and I found cocaine and alcohol and I was good to go."

Valletta added that she's from Oklahoma and as a full-time model she said she was socially inept and "I couldn't manage my feelings, so I had to take something to manage my feelings."

She explained how she could have lost everything at 22 years old, at the top of her game and a big-time model.

"I had a multi-million [dollar] deal and I showed up the first day to shoot this campaign high and drunk," she revealed. "Addiction takes you to the worst places. I showed up to my uncle's bedside and he was dying and I was still high, still drunk and looking for a place to go do another line."

Valletta said she got sober at 25, because "I didn't want to die."

Valletta stressed that addiction doesn't discriminate and that you can't just "buck up" and not drink that beer or do drugs.

"It doesn't allow you to stop on sheer will power," she said.

She's sought out programs, support, along with being "humble" and praying to stay sober 15 years later. She's also helped other people recover from addiction.

"I had to be willing to lift the veil off the shame and say, 'I'm addict, I can't do this alone, I don't want to do this alone, I don't feel comfortable, can you help me?'" she said, breaking down a bit. "I needed help from other people, so that's the way I stay sober."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/actr...d=24552745

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Post: #3

Damn.
   

Post: #4

Quote:The actress added that she had been high from marijuana by age 10, but that she only blames herself.

She didn't blame men or an abusive father, good to see.

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That short haircut ain't helping my boner.

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She's played the right role in Hitch...Owner/CEO in NY-based business.

They musta noticed the man-jaw. Cred to her if she's staying clean tho

Post: #7

(07-15-2014 05:28 AM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  

Quote:The actress added that she had been high from marijuana by age 10, but that she only blames herself.

She didn't blame men or an abusive father, good to see.

Yes, but she says you can't stop on your own using will power and that she was predisposed genetically to addiction. While I might agree with the latter a little bit, I categorically disagree with the former. Her words give some indication that she is actually eschewing personal responsibility for her bad choices.

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she looks like she still might be using. At least she didn't blame her parents or society, but she does seem to be saying that there's no way she could have battled this affliction on her own.

Sadly, I'm sure the messed up modeling world did her no favors. I'd bet 30-40% of her fellow young models were doing blow or some other drug.