Every addict knows that while it’s hard to overdose on heroin alone, it’s pretty easy to kill yourself by mixing with alcohol. You have to be careful about that. Benzos and alcohol are also a deadly mix. Surely Cory Monteith, the beautiful young star of the hit TV show Glee, was aware of this. And yet, he died from exactly this cocktail, like so many other drug addicts. By all accounts, he didn’t intend to kill himself. The power of addiction was just too strong. He couldn’t resist the urge.
Why are actors so susceptible to the disease of addiction? Could it be the fame, the power, the excitement, the hard work of show business, and having to be ‘always on’? No, it is not any of these things — many people in other fields experience all these pressures and more. The reason that actors are so susceptible to addiction is the reason that makes them good actors in the first place: their susceptibility to the power of suggestion. Their ability to believe something so deeply and make it true even if it isn’t. The ‘addict’ is a powerfully dramatic and fun role, and actors love drama more than anything. For a kid who was fascinated by drugs and stories about addicts from an early age, it’s impossible to pass up the opportunity. This drama makes for some of the most compelling performances. Only problem is, sometimes they take it too far. They believe that they are hopelessly addicted. Any small craving for drugs is magnified into intense obsession, and no amount is enough. They are forced to overdo it.
For Monteith’s final role a few months ago for the movie McCanick, he played a street hustler with a ferocious addiction. He lobbied hard to get this role, in which intense cravings for heroin would make him sell his body for a $50 fix. Where did he find the motivation for the part?
“Hi my name is Cory and I’m a drug addict. I am powerless over heroin.”
Cory sought treatment at the Betty Ford Center, which practices the 12 Steps and requires that the participants admit this as Step 1. AA and programs like it are pagan-theistic cults that alternately demonize and glorify drugs. Just go to your local AA meeting and laugh along to the mischief and depravity in the speaker’s drunkalogue. Nod solemnly as they demonize drugs and alcohol, as if referencing the devil himself, and his “cunning and baffling” disease known as alcoholism. When you are possessed by the devil, you are powerless to its whims. Step 1: “I am powerless under alcohol/heroin/drug-of-choice and my life has become unmanageable.” If you cannot take the first step, then you are not ready to get well. You are obviously in denial. You are not welcome. (For many excessive drinkers this is a convenient time to pursue indiscriminate fornication — and amass material for your future AA career.)
OK you are ready now? Good. Here’s what you need to do: you have to choose a god (your Higher Power — any power greater than yourself will do) and pray to it to remove the ‘character defects’ (greed, lust, sloth, etc) that cause the resentments that power the cravings. Yes, this is actual AA theology. Pray to your chosen god (HP) to exorcise the demons residing in your soul. Don’t worry, it has a scientific explanation. Something to do with allergies, I’m told.
Not ready to believe in god? That’s OK. It takes time. Many men don’t come to accept god until middle age (well after their days of mischief are behind them).
But wait. I’m hopelessly addicted and I’m not ready to accept the divine light into my life. I’m scared. I have no defense against the cravings — cravings so strong I’d sell my own body for a fix if I had to. They tell me to take it one day at a time. I will. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope. My life is balanced precariously high above the earth. Any small nudge and I could fall to my death….
Crack Whore: Myth or Reality?
Nic Sheff author of Tweaked (and son of David Sheff author of #1 New York Times Best Seller Beautiful Boy) sold his body for meth, even though his family would have gladly supported him if he would just stop using. From Tweaked:
If dealing is this easy and profitable, I can’t really see having any problems. There’s no way I’m gonna fall into the life I had before — eating out of trash cans, hustling money from guys at gay bars, hanging out on the corner of Castro and 18th where guys circle the block in fancy sports cars. It hurt so bad the first few times. I thought maybe I’d throw up — just praying for it to be over, for him to finish. They’d take me back to their apartments — or houses up near Twin Peaks. And, of course, there were the rough ones — the ones into violence, leather, different harnesses and things. You just try to shut it all out — getting as loaded as possible. But I’m determined not to do that again. There’s a nausea that sweeps through me just thinking about it. Dealing has to work out for me. It has to. It took a miracle to get me outta that situation. I can’t count on something like that happening again.
How much did he spend on the drugs to get loaded and block out the pain? Let’s hope he made a profit!
He later admitted that his prostitution was a search for validation, not money for drugs. From Thefix.com – Going Gay for Pay:
At first getting high seemed like the only thing that could ever make me feel any different. But then one day some guy in the Castro offered me money when I was down living on the streets—not even for real sex at first. And I felt…what? Like maybe I might actually be wanted by somebody. Of course, I’m straight, so I would’ve preferred to be wanted by women for sure. But, hell, I’d take what I could get. And men did seem to like me. So suddenly, in a world where I felt like I wasn’t worth a goddamn thing, I was able to find value in myself. People wanted to have sex with me for money. And I guess I just started to think that if I let enough people pay me for sex, eventually I would feel good, or beautiful or important or whatever. And when I was out there, you know, hustling, I’m telling you, a lot of the kids I met were just like me. They wanted to feel like I wanted to feel. They wanted to feel wanted. Because, after all, there is a certain pride in being owned.
Nic Sheff is the first to admit that he always had difficulty telling the truth (A conversation with David Sheff, author of “Clean”). It’s fun to play the crack whore, even if it’s pure folklore. Nic Sheff and Cory Monteith (and let’s not forget River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho) performed the role with epic verity. Unfortunately, the part can be fatal.
I am not the same person I was when I entered the Rooms almost 7 years ago; and I thank my Higher Power everyday for the 12 Steps. I have never admitted that I am powerless. In fact, I’ve been encouraged to exercise my power over the things in my life I can change — my thinking, my attitudes, my behavior, my self esteem — and no one has told me what any of those should be. I am finding my own path, like so many others have done, to become happier, stronger, healthier people, all with the help of the Steps.
You”Re an idiot , you know nothing about alcoholism . Stop killing people with you”Re ignorant opions
AA works one day at a time…alanon works one day at a time. It allows you to not just look at but to see through. It allows understanding, patience and support. It is a way of life….a tremendous way to live! A cancer survivor couldn’t survive without steps and treatment…either could a diabetic. Sometimes the cure, the treatment fails…but for some it saves their life! This is the working of AA too…it saves lives to a very powerful disease that seeks to destroy.
Robin Williams apparently killed himself shortly after entering a 12 step program. Yet the talking heads on TV, of course, blame is drug use.
He used drugs for decades without killing himself . When does he kill himself? After joining a cult that tells the noobs the must immediately “admit” powerlessness, demands that the noobs put the advice/demands/snark of a bunch of self-identified “powerless” losers ahead of their own “stinkin thinkin” (considering how brilliant and quick Williams’ mind was, as are the minds of so many people who manage to think/create themselves into impressive careers while also indulging in drugs/alcohol, this particular AA/NA trope is especially ridiculous), and treats the noob’s loved ones as threats to the noob’s sanity & life.
And of course you can’t remove character defects through prayer, and a million other things that set you up for failure. They always like to say that most alcoholics will die of their disease.
I think people should attend your local AA meeting and see this for yourself.
As a member of a 12 Step fellowship, (I will not say the name in deference to the 12 Traditions of the program) I can attest to the effectiveness of it. While the author was verbally correct as to the “introductory method” of the program, he or she made the usual out of context statements of someone who has never been there. I have. And as a result, after 19 years of active addiction, I have 28 years clean. Obviously, this person is a drug user, trying to blame Cory and Robin’s deaths on anything but the obvious. Their drug use.
Your comments on 12 step recovery are far from fact! Honest, open mindedness and HONESTY!
To “AddictionMyth”:
I get the sense that you are a very Type A type personality and probably believe that people should simply be able to snap themselves out of depression, as well as wake up and choose to just stop using drugs or drinking. if either of those habits have started to create havoc in your life. I have no idea what your belief system is when it comes to God. It seems like you are a believer? I personally think if every person worked through the 12 steps, regardless of whether or not they’re addicts or alcoholics, society as a whole would be much improved! I have no clue as to why a person like yourself, who seems intelligent, would have such a loathing and disrespect for a large organization that has saved millions of lives, asks for no government funding or private and delivers messages of hope, tolerance and love, but I would suggest you may gain something by researching the Disease of Addiction by way of the American Medical Association. Perhaps speak to people like myself, who have had their life changed in dramatic ways by AA, also remained clean and sober for many years and who have not replaced their addiction with an addiction to attending meetings that discuss….addiction. Sadly, addiction is Real and not a Myth as you say. I wish that was the case. It is certainly a wonderful fantasy to dream of. Perhaps there will be a day when there is a vaccine for addiction just like many other diseases. For now, AA is the best option and hope for the majority of people with this illness.
“Loathing and disrespect” is an understatement. Not just for the religion, but for the parents who sacrifice their own children on its altar. If you and your son would like to be cured of your ‘affliction’ please contact me any time. You can drink and do drugs normally. Or not. It’s your choice.
You are using drugs while you write this nonsense obviously because the verbiage is like that from a Hunter Thomas book. You do know that your brain will eventually and ultimately be rendered useless after years of abuse which I’m certain had transpired in your painfully angry existence on this planet. Thorazine, or maybe a simple lobotomy is your best bet. I’ll pay for it if it will keep this psychobabble off the web. Call 911 if you think you’ve overdosed ok? Despite my disdain for your hateful attack on a program that saved my life and countless others, I still think you’re worth saving and probably are a good person somewhere inside if only you could humble yourself before you self destruct! The path you’re on is long, dark and dangerous. Heed my warning, everything that you’re trying to suppress by using drugs will come back to haunt you full force no matter how long ago it transpired. Be sure your sins will find you out! There is another way, a way of hope! You know what to do if only you were willing. You speak of AA as a cult. What about the disciples following a man around Israel claiming to be the son of God which was totally going against the Jewish religion at the time. Obviously because they killed him. So Jesus was a Cult leader? AA states that we don’t have a monopoly, just a path to God and encourages people to seek God in another way if they choose. No one told me I was in denial, I saw for myself that I was because I spent 16 years addicted and was blaming everyone and everything else for my using other than the obvious. I couldn’t stop because addicts are incapable of doing so without divine intervention. Read Q& A by Howard Wetsman MD. Do you treat an obsessive over eater by simply doing stomach surgery? Maybe just maybe there is another problem. Let’s say in there thinking? Obsessive compulsive disorder manifests in many forms, not just light switches and hand washing my friend. You speak of the 10 Commandments like you’re some kind of devout follower of Christ. So what day do you worship? I bet it’s Sunday. The day of the sun, a pagan day of worship forced upon Christians by the Catholic Church under Constantine’s rule. On the 7th day he rested. Look at a calendar. Saturday is The Sabbath. Do not use the Bible to fit your agenda. I’m an AA member and a Christian and the only people that I know who have a problem with either are people that use drugs and drink. Save yourself from looking foolish because they’re people out here such as myself who know how much of a poser and an imbecile you actually are. Stop, just stop.
Wow. Obsess much? Try adding more serenity to your calamity.
AMEN ! 12 steps work if you work it. Half measures avail us nothing!
AA, NA and all 12 step fellowships have saved thousands of lives but hard facts are hard to come by. Many estimates claim about a 15% success rate, making it one of the less succesful options for recovery. CBT often comes out above this which is why outside of the USA it is what is commonly used to treat addiction, often witha supporting role being provided by 12 step groups as a means to createnew positive social interaction.
I’m trying to find help with an alcohol problem with my son. I was looking into AA when I saw your articles. I’m confused now. Mostly, I’m confused because after reading several of them, all I read a lot of slamming of AA but no NEW direction to go for help. If AA is NOT the answer, then what is? According to you? I want to do for my son but, I don’t know what that is.
The answer is simple: be a parent. How old is he? The details may vary, but you need to tell him that drinking and drugging is a choice and he is not allowed to drink or do drugs and that he is responsible for his behavior whether drunk or sober, despite what they say in AA. Require him to participate in school or community or church events to keep him busy.
Don’t panic! A parent’s words are far more powerful than any AA brainwashing. Please feel free to contact me directly to discuss further.
Lady get your son to AA. they saved my brothers life. IF its a cult then so b it. IT WORKS IF the person is ready to stop what ever. O yea dont forget to. seek Gods help
Vicki,
I am a recover-ING alcoholic and have over 5 years of sobriety. I have read several of his articles as well, out of curiosity and because I too am seeking answers for my son, who has an addiction to pretty much any opiate type drug. I agree his articles pretty much seem like an AA bashing symposium! Don’t be confused. AA does work! I no longer go to AA meetings and haven’t felt the need to for the past few years. But, when I was at my worst, AA saved my life and I’m sure it can save my son as well as your son, if they really want to change their circumstance. AA is not a community of drunks and addicts gathering to discuss their adoration of using substances to escape life, it’s a gathering of people who see vulnerability as a strength and who help each other through their greatest struggles. I thank God for AA and hope it can help your son, along with mine.
It works. No costs. If it doesn’t your misery is refundable. Try Al-Anon for the family! It works if you work it. 3 things -openmind, honesty, willingness. With these
Up well on your way!
Vicki – I hope your son is now finding some peace from addcition what ever path you have offered to him. I strongly suggest you find a SMART recovery meeting and a therapist who offers Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I suggest the book ‘Rewcover@ by Dr Stanton Peele.