Tom Arnold Will Share His Mental Health and Addiction Journey in Sarasota Tomorrow

what is tom arnold doing now

Stephanie Thurrott is a writer who covers mental health, personal growth, wellness, family, food and personal finance, and dabbles in just about any other topic that grabs her attention. When she’s not writing, look for her out walking her dog or riding her bike in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. “When I was a kid we didn’t talk about mental health, alcoholism, abuse. We didn’t talk about anything. This is a fantastic organization,” he shared. “There are great places for kids who have problems, but pace yourself with those. It’s hard to recover—you’re feeling all these things, and then you’re sent away. If a kid goes to rehab, everyone should be involved and [the rehab facility] should welcome family, too. When an addict hears their family is coming to visit, it’s comforting.” In a late 1990s interview on radio’s The Howard Stern Show, Arnold admitted that his share of his and Barr’s estate amounted to “over $20,000,000”, including a percentage of the Roseanne ABC-TV series, but would not elaborate, citing a confidentiality clause. In 1994, Arnold appeared as the sidekick to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in James Cameron’s action blockbuster film True Lies.

My kids are very active, and I could tell I was putting myself in a position to not be a good father,” he said. “Talk to your kids early. You also have the luxury of keeping tabs on them now. If I thought one of my kids was using, I would check their phones. It’s not spying. Ask them. I have their passwords, and they have my passwords, too, even if there might be filthy jokes on my phone. I’ll talk to them about anything. Once kids are adults, you can’t do that. They grow up so fast. “My dad was a single dad at age 22. I was 4 years old. Mom would show up wasted and fall into the Christmas tree. My dad would just laugh, thinking he was taking the high road. My sister idolized my mom, and my mom made her marry a pedophile at 14.” “When I was young, the people who worked there had union jobs and lived on the same street as the doctors. When the union jobs ended, there was a lot of despair. Some people dealt with that by using drugs and alcohol.”

what is tom arnold doing now

In November 2000, Arnold played the role of Al Raymond in the second-season Baywatch Hawaii episode, “The Cage”. “There’s a variety of reasons that keep us in the shadows, and we don’t want to keep them in the darkness,” said Austin. “I write and produce and I enjoy a variety of stuff. I enjoy coming to Sarasota and telling my story. It’s all part of the balance. I have four ex-wives, so I have to work forever.” “In recovery, they tell you to love yourself, which is important. I have a picture of myself at 4 years old, and I love that kid.” “My biggest connection is my own journey of recovery—sharing that and getting involved with organizations like Sunshine from Darkness that are doing amazing things. It’s an honor.”

He’s appeared in blockbuster movies like True Lies, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and starred in Nine Months, with Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore. There have been TV dramas and sitcoms, and he even anchored a sports talk show. Plus, he’s written and produced television shows and written an autobiography.

‘It keeps me sober going around talking to folks’: Tom Arnold to share his story of recovery in Sarasota

But I say it’s the most selfless thing they can do, because you can give so much more of yourself,” D’Angelo said. “If you find your kid smoking pot, don’t freak out and send them to a reform school or a camp. It helps to be a little more analytical while making sure they don’t get in any more trouble. Me and Roseanne made that mistake with my stepkids, who were doing drugs and having sex. We panicked and sent them to rehabs out of state. But the panic keeps you from making wise decisions. Every kid screws up. If they’re honest with you, you’re lucky you hear about it. “By the time I was about 13, I was drinking, due to the way I grew up. People like to blame Hollywood, but I come from a place with lots of drinking and drugs, where factory workers took drugs to work longer hours. “There was so much shame around mental health, even though it affects just about all of our families, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs. To make things better, you have to talk about them. From my experience of talking and sharing, people are constantly trying to figure out better ways to help more people. It’s a constant work in progress. The non-profit works to bridge gaps in local funding for mental health and addiction treatments, while working to reduce the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction.

“There’s security when kids know their parents are on it. My mom let me do anything. But kids like to know you’re on top of things and that they can share with you. Don’t overreact to your kids sharing something that seems crazy with you—they need to be able to trust you without you being a maniac and threatening them or their friends.
“My dad was a single dad at age 22. I was 4 years old. Mom would show up wasted and fall into the Christmas tree. My dad would just laugh, thinking he was taking the high road. My sister idolized my mom, and my mom made her marry a pedophile at 14.”
Every two weeks, Arnold and D’Angelo meet over Zoom, and Arnold shares photos of his scale.
On top of that, he was worried about how the weight he had gained during the pandemic was affecting his health.
“Talk to your kids early. You also have the luxury of keeping tabs on them now. If I thought one of my kids was using, I would check their phones. It’s not spying. Ask them. I have their passwords, and they have my passwords, too, even if there might be filthy jokes on my phone. I’ll talk to them about anything. Once kids are adults, you can’t do that. They grow up so fast.

“With kids, you wonder if they will have the same issues [as you do], but you just have to share honestly. They know Dad goes to sober events and he has to work out for his mental health and to stay alive as long as possible. I tell them addiction was dark and gloomy. Everything I do now is from the perspective of a parent.” Arnold had his first romantic leading man part in the 2005 movie Happy Endings. From 2008 to 2011, he hosted the CMT show My Big Redneck Wedding.[14] He hosted CMT’s The Biggest Redneck Wedding Ever in 2008, in which he served as the wedding planner, created a wedding that exceeded the dreams of a couple who wanted to be married in a mud bog, and performed the actual ceremony.[15] CMT also made three series of “My Big Redneck Vacation” presented by Arnold and featuring the Clampet Family from Shreveport, Louisiana.

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“I grew up in Iowa, and if you live there and everything goes right, you end up in Sarasota. I’ve also performed comedy here, and there are lots of Iowans here.

“I’m an addict in recovery and have mental health issues. Growing up in the ’80s, people didn’t talk about it. It was considered a weakness. I’m from a blue-collar town and worked at a meat packing plant there for three years to save money for college. There was a lot of drinking and drug use. I’m not the only famous Arnold. My sister was the biggest drug dealer in America. “Kids love their parents, no matter what. It’s in their DNA. When something inappropriate happens, I acknowledge it with my kids, but I don’t engage. If they say, ‘You want to know what mom did this weekend?’ I say no, for my own mental health and sobriety. “There’s security when kids know their parents are on it. My mom let me do anything. But kids like to know you’re on top of things and that they can share with you. Don’t overreact to your kids sharing something that seems crazy with you—they need to be able to trust you without you being a maniac and threatening them or their friends. In 1993, Arnold and Barr bought a house together in Arnold’s hometown of Eldon, Iowa and opened a restaurant, ‘Roseanne and Tom’s Big Food Diner’ nearby. The diner served loosemeat sandwiches similar to the specialty of the fictional Lanford Lunch Box on Roseanne, which in turn was based on the real-life Canteen Lunch in the Alley in Ottumwa.

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Both appeared in the 1993 movie The Woman Who Loved Elvis, filmed in Ottumwa.[12] Arnold and Barr divorced in 1994 due to irreconcilable differences. Once recovered from the mini-stroke, Arnold, 64, started his weight loss journey with the help of his coach Charles D’Angelo, who offered to help him four years prior when they first met. He previously told PEOPLE how D’Angelo helped him realize he needed to put himself first if he wanted a future, and a lot of their work was centered on changing the comedian’s mindset. “You have to disengage from all your toxic relationships as much as possible. Your circle gets small. When you’re 64 with kids this age, your circle is already small. But you’re able to look around and see who you can count on. For me, it’s mostly others who have recovered, too. I’m grateful for them. I’ve downsized a lot and we don’t have the money we used to, but we have a lot. It’s one day at a time. I take nothing for granted.

Now, the 64-year-old comedian, actor, producer and writer, who is also a father to two young children, is giving a different kind of performance. This Friday, Jan. 12, Arnold will be the keynote speaker at the Sunshine From Darkness “Inspiring Hope” dinner. Sunshine From Darkness is a local volunteer-driven nonprofit that raises funds for research and local charities that provide mental health and addiction services. Arnold will speak about his journey with anxiety and addiction to give hope to others who face the same challenges. “Part of the disease is it isolates you and I know that certainly myself, there was a point in the 80s where I went ‘oh I cannot do drugs in front of people’. I didn’t go well I need to quit drugs and drinking, I just can’t do it in front of people, so it’s a very dark place and same with mental health,” said Arnold.

While his research led him to believe he had an eye problem, Arnold followed up the next day and found out he had had a ministroke. On top of that, he was worried about how the weight he had gained during the pandemic was affecting his health. Sunshine From Darkness was started by Lee and Bob Peterson after a family member was diagnosed with a severe mental illness.

Now six and a half years sober, Arnold said it’s something he works on every day. “I grew up in Ottumwa Iowa, on a farm. I swear to God my childhood, everyone said if you do everything right and get really lucky you will end up in Sarasota, Florida. A lot of the successful people ended up in Sarasota,” he told FOX 13. “My dad loved Bob Hope, so I wanted to be a stand-up comedian. The only time Dad laughed out loud was when he watched Hope on TV. I remember thinking, ‘Whatever Hope does is what I want to do.’ Years later, in the same living room, he watched Hope on TV with me, and that was magic for me. “There’s a lot of hope. You can get into a support group and share, and it helps you feel less alone and get more information to make better decisions. My advice is to be honest. Secrets are bad for people like me, because [that means] the thing that wants to kill me is still in my head. Many of us remember when Arnold was married to comedienne Roseanne Barr, who rose to fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s with her eponymous sitcom. Arnold and Barr met in 1983 in Minneapolis, where he opened for her stand-up comedy act.

He followed a straightforward plan

“You can work through it and find the light which I have to do every day. Every day, I wake up and say my most important job is to be in a good mood in front of my kids,” he said. SARASOTA, Fla. – He’s a writer, an actor and, as a comedian, Tom Arnold knows how to make others laugh. “Unless I’m more patient than I ever thought I could be, or whatever, it’s very helpful to not assume, well, I’m going to live for 30 years,” he continues.

“Because it’s very helpful to go, okay, today’s the day. Today’s the day that is going to be the best day. Because if somebody has to think back on this day with these kids, I want them to know I was here, we were together, and I was 100%.” “We all know what we need to be doing, but getting yourself to do it can be a different story,” the True Lies actor said at the time. “Having someone in your corner who cheers you on but also calls you out and challenges you is crucial. Charles has been that for me.” “As an actor, you’re supposed to present yourself as cool as possible, but I’m committed to sharing. I’d rather do it before someone else does. People have been very generous and helpful to me. I want to do the same.” “I think there are bits of my story someone can connect to. I still get nervous when I go in front of people to do it because I care, but afterward, I always feel better. It gives you a natural high.