Chapter 1: What challenges did Rivkah Reyes face as a child star?
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We're talking about your journey with sobriety.
Yeah, and I'm sure all of the other fun chaos that comes with before sobriety and the after sobriety.
Yeah, tell me about the before. Let's start there.
I identify as a recovering drug addict and an alcoholic. To be fully honest, my story isn't all that exciting. The what it was like of my story isn't too, too insane. It was just really the way I felt. I used to drink and do all the drugs and whatever that I did to...
basically just like avoid my feelings you know I was I was sexualized as a child um after being kind of thrust into the public eye at 10 years old and growing up gay and growing up in a school where I was bullied and and so let's unpack a little bit yeah when did you realize that you were gay I started having little inklings when I was on set for School of Rock.
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Chapter 2: How did Rivkah navigate their identity and sexuality?
I sang Take Me or Leave Me with my friend Raven at the talent show in high school. Yeah, I mean, Chicago is a pretty liberal city. I got by because I was a theater kid. I was a child star. I had some level of notoriety already. And because I was fun at parties because I would kiss girls. Yep. I also, like, did a lot of dares.
Like, people would, like, dare me to do stuff, and I was just, like, so willing to, like, do whatever.
Yeah, the fact that you felt like you needed to perform for these people.
Listen, my whole life has been a fucking audition. Like, I've been going everywhere.
through this in therapy and like with my spiritually kind of similar friends and they have to constantly remind me like you don't have to audition for love like you don't have to audition in your relationships in your situations et cetera like in your Community you shouldn't have to feel like everything's an audition But I think because I've been a performer since I was four fucking years old everything feels like an audition or a recital or a performance and
And I'm also a Leo and we love the stage. Yeah, I mean, drugs and alcohol played a huge part in that. Like I was very easily impressionable. You know, my first drink, I was 11. I was at the Toronto Film Festival, brag, but with the School of Rock. And, you know, we all were just like, we're celebrating. This is what adults do when they celebrate. They have a little glass of champagne.
And I'm not going to say like my first drink was like what,
triggered the alcoholism but I did drink it and I felt this like sense of ease that I really didn't and I was just like you know what like the Olsen twins are here I'm gonna go talk to them which I didn't have before I had that little baby glass of champagne in me and then for the rest of the night I was like sneaking sips of people's drinks off of random tables which the other kids weren't doing that certainly but I was and
Right. Over the years as it progressed, which I drank and smoked weed pretty heavily from when I was a junior in high school until I was 24. So not that long of a time, but it went from like, ha ha, look, give her two beers and she's going to kiss a girl to like, I was smoking crack.
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Chapter 3: What role did addiction play in Rivkah's life?
New York lesbians. Come to Strat.
Wait, maybe I'll go.
Anyways, all that to be said, like, party girl, you can still have fun in sobriety. It's, like, not a death sentence. I, of course, had to take some time off from being in bars because I thought I would be triggered. But I am in bars every day now. Wow.
Yeah.
And I... I've had it happen sometimes where I'll accidentally be served alcohol or like whatever. And I literally just like recoil from it. Like it's like I touched an oven. It's like, ah, you know, instead of being like, oh, no, what's going to happen? Like I literally if I taste it, I'm just like, let's spit it out. Call somebody I trust and be like, hey, accidentally just was served alcohol.
And usually we'll like giggle about it and be like, well, free laps. Like it's a joke. It's not it's not funny. All that to be said, if you're a bartender and somebody asks for a mocktail, it might be because they have an allergy and a mental blank spot and a mental illness called alcoholism. We ought to be a little better about making sure the mocktail is properly... Handled.
Marked. Yeah.
And then if you're sober and you're ordering mocktails and you keep on accidentally getting served alcohol, maybe stick to stuff that's in cans that's absolutely zero proof that you know 100% can't be spiked by accident. And other things that...
you can do is like hand it to a friend who like is okay with alcohol to like sip it make sure there's no alcohol in it first or like just like triple double check with the bartender or the waiter and just be like yeah and this has no alcohol right you could even use the word sober to make sure they get it one time i was at the hotel chelsea which is my favorite place in new york was served an actual cocktail instead of a mocktail and you know i didn't make too big of a fuss about it when i gave the drink back i was just like i
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Chapter 4: What experiences led Rivkah to seek recovery?
wean off the vape ones I'm ready but there's so many sober people in New York and in LA and in big cities there's community and even if like AA or like 12 step isn't your flavor there are other methods I do the ones that I do because they're the only things that have worked for me you know which is to say that like I know folks that have gotten clean off of like harder stuff via substitution or harm reduction methods that's not me I don't think I could have done that but
If you can, go off, diva. I love that for you. And just heavy emphasis on you're not alone. I will often be at a party and run into somebody that I know is sober that I can trust. Or somebody will see me and go, oh my god, I'm so glad there's another sober person here. Yeah. Just stick with your buddies.
And if there is nobody in the room, you have a phone full of people who you can call to share with or spiral to who you trust and can help you navigate things soberly.
Thank you so much for being so open.
My God, of course.
You've taught me. I've had a lot of these conversations about sobriety. We've done a few episodes, but you shared a lot of perspectives that were very new, so I really appreciate it.
All I have is my experience.
Yeah.
That's all I really can share. I'm not the authority on any of it, and I'm certainly no expert. The only thing I'm an expert on is my experience and line dancing. Which I'm going to find out.
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