Thursday, July 26, 2007

No, this is more serious than just 'kids at play'

Somebody with more cynicism, not to mention ill-spirit than I can muster has already suggested we mount an Internet ‘death watch’ for Lindsay Lohan (pictured here in yesterday's mugshot) and set a date for her terminal burnout. A sad thought, but not beyond comprehension considering the recent misbehaviors of the young, and purportedly ‘talented’ girl. Such a waste, such a waste.

Anyway, if you have been away from the planet you may have missed the news that Ms. Lohan, a few days after departing ‘rehab’ (again) was busted (again) for DUI and possession of blow (again). Hmm. Something doesn’t seem to be working for a person who is much more to be pitied than condemned.


Oh, she must be condemned for driving while pissed and putting others at risk. Such an act is inexcusable no matter what the mitigating factors. And, in this case, there didn’t seem to be any mitigating factors other than the fact that – gasp! – dare I say it? She is an addict! That’s not a judgment call, it’s a statement of the facts based on her behavior.

Her enabling supporters – like her mother – may deny until they give themselves a hernia, but young Ms Lohan is absolutely no different from a run-of-the-mill street junkie, except she has more money and more well-meaning but hopeless people to run interference for her.

If such people really want to save Lindsay’s life (not to mention career) they should reappraise their behaviors.

OK – so in this I am going to put on my addictions counselor hat – yep, it still fits. And state a few realities based on what I observed during my time toiling in the field.

Addicts, who can be very charming people, are the following things:

Liars: They lie about anything and everything. The cliché in the rehab business suggests that any addict is lying as long as his or her lips are moving. A former colleague took it a step further and used to say: “I know you’re lying even if your lips aren’t moving. Your body language and eyes give it away.” They will even lie when they’re caught in the act.

Disloyal: They will turn on anybody or anything if it serves to fuel their addiction. I had clients who stole from their parents. I had clients who stole from their spouses. I even had older clients who stole from their children. That is, they ripped off the people who only desired to help them. The fact that they stole from the rehab I ran goes without saying. And don't expect any gratitude from people who are still using. You won't get it.

Very sad: Despite the bullshit from those who maintain their wild lifestyle is part of an image and they’re having fun, I’ve never met an addict who wasn’t deeply depressed, guilt-ridden, shame-ridden and potentially suicidal. Not 'all' overdoses are accidental. It’s a horrible carousel (with no apparent destination) for any person to be on.

Filled with denial: All addicts (including alcoholics) downplay the extent of their involvement with their substance of choice. Astute doctors, when asking a person how much alcohol he or she consumes on a daily basis, know to take the figure (which is always low) – “Oh, I dunno One or two drinks, I guess.” – and multiply that figure by three, at least. Drug abusers will attest that “Yeah, I only snort (or smoke) but never use a needle. Those people are real addicts.”

So, if I were in charge of the life of Lindsay Lohan, here is what I would advise as a means of dealing with her. And for her family -- if they don’t want her to be a tragic member of the club that includes Joplin, Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith and ever so many others -- they must get real and consider the following:

1. A ‘real’ intervention: Not one of those pissy-assed little interventions they’ve already mounted against Lindsay, but a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners intervention as in “You do this or you are entirely on your own!” The A&E series Intervention (which is actually quite realistic) captures the sort of intervention I mean.

2. Get her into a genuine treatment facility: Not one of those bullshit Hollywood Hills spas, but the real goods, where she will get proper treatment and nobody, but nobody will cater to her “Hollywoodness”. The Hazelden Institute in Minnesota is world standard and it has done well by many of its clients. There are others just as worthy. As horror novelist Stephen King wrote in a recent article on the so-called rehabs checked into by, oh I don’t know, Lindsay, or Paris, or Britney, that he (he makes no bones about being a recovering alcoholic) went to one that was essentially furnished in early Dachau. I don’t remember if those were his exact words, but you get the drift.

3. Get her into a genuine 12-step program and link her with such worthies in recovery as Anthony Hopkins, Robert Downey Jr. or Eric Clapton – no, not Nick Nolte, as much as I love him as an actor.

4. Stop buying her bullshit and stop protecting her: Let her face the judgment of the courts and tell her to eat her punishment. She has earned it. Then – just maybe – she might actually make some progress. The key to success for any addict is to embrace humility. She has shown no sign of that at all.

There are few guarantees in this life except this: Any person who persists with an addiction will either end up in hospital, end up in jail, die -- or get well. The last option is up to the addict. I hope Ms. Lohan chooses the latter course. It works.








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16 Comments:

Blogger Jazz said...

Call me a cynic, but I can't help but think that isn't going to happen. Or she'll go to prison for a day and find god like Paris did. She'll eventually crash and burn. Which is a pity really.

12:43 PM  
Blogger Dr. Deb said...

Given your professional experience, you would know how all of this goes. I feel quite sad for her and her family. The addiction piece is quite prevalent for them all. The addict behavior seems clear to me. Now she has to truly want to get better. If not, there is no healing.

Great post, Ian,
Deb

1:14 PM  
Blogger meggie said...

Hear hear!!
What enrages me, living in Australia, is the fact that it was the second lead item in the evening news! I sat in disbelief.
It seems to me to glorify the drug taker.
My eldest son is an addict. I agree with every word you have written about addicts & addiction. He is on Goverment provided methadone now, having been almost kicked to death while in Government-run custody house, & has suffered brain damage which has caused permanant disability. He was not expected to live, or ever walk or talk again. He has surprised everyone. But the part of his brain that remained the same, was the addicted part. I just cannot understand how or why. I do know, he was in constant pain, mentally. He actually seems happier now, than he ever was, as an addicted adult.

2:14 PM  
Blogger AlieMalie said...

mmm. Hazelden is top notch, definitely.

i think it all boils down to denial for pretty much everyone involved in any sort of addiction - including those who are the enablers. as much as i want to disagree with her lawyer simply the the sake of disagreeing, he has a point that addiction is a serious disease and shouldn't be treated lightly. in that case, can't argue with what you've set out here, Ian. tough love is pretty much the only way to help people in situations such as this.

on another note, it bothers me that this is considered to be top of the fold news. forget that. this isn't news, it's an out of control celebrity who need not continue to be glorified for the way she lives her life. her behaviour is unacceptable and continuing to believe she is newsworthy only, in my opinion, encourages others. and that's not right. this anger, in particular, isn't directed towards Lindsay or any other celebrity arrested for whatever, it's directed towards those who make the decisions on what leads. but then this leads into the argument as to what's news and what's not. and that's pretty much subjective i suppose. give me my NY/LA/London Times and i'll be a happy camper. it'd be interesting to hear what your idea of news really is, being in the newspaper business as you are/were.

gar.

sorry for the post in your comments. :)

2:48 PM  
Blogger heiresschild said...

'ya know, until lindsay admits she has a problem, she's going to stay that way. and her parents need to stop blaming everyone else, including themselves, and blame lindsay. we're all responsible for our behavior, regardless of our background, frontground, sideground....well, you get my drift. i never understand how people think a 2-week stint in a "rehab" is going to solve their problem.

and i, also, am tired of hearing about it on the news. it's been the dominant news story here on everything from the news to the late nite shows. enough already!!!

3:09 PM  
Blogger Bibi said...

Good piece Ian, and I hope she gets the help she needs.

I can't believe the coverage this has received in the media ... along with Paris-the spoiled, and no-panties Britney etc etc the list goes on.

I don't understand our obsession with celebrity. And what that obsession says about our own lives ... but I do hope she wakes up/grows up and smells the coffee before we read an obit.

7:30 PM  
Blogger heartinsanfrancisco said...

Excellent post! It should be required reading by Lindsay and all her party pals.

I know that healing cannot take place until the addict is ready to admit to the problem and needs help in regaining his or her life. The best facility in the world will fail to accomplish this without the person wanting to be clean again.

Of all the many posts on this sad subject, yours is the only one I've read that actually outlines what addiction is like and what needs to be done for it.

8:36 PM  
Blogger geewits said...

I'm kinda torn on this. I say if you are rich and 21 and want to party hard go for it, BUT HIRE A CAR SERVICE. Why she continues to drive is beyond comprehension.

And when my doctor says, "Are you still drinking 18 to 24 beers a day?" (because that's what I told him), I always say, "Oh yeah, but I don't want to grow old." Actually he seems more interested in my smoking than my drinking, but he did admit lung cancer is a quicker death than cirrhosis of the liver. And I am not a depressed or guilt-ridden person. I just like to drink beer.

12:14 AM  
Blogger laughingwolf said...

gotta agree w/meggie... h'wood assholes are NOT 'newsworthy' just cuz they fup duck like the rest of us

sure, the media make money from the bs they 'report' on, but it ain't 'news'

lohan is to be pitied... but so are many others struggling with life, and they are not headlined....

4:02 AM  
Blogger Janice Thomson said...

Great down to earth tell-it-like-it-is post Ian. Unfortunately it is somewhat unlikely that she will ever see the changes needed until much later in life - if she lives that long. One can only hope that somewhere, somehow something hits home with this girl and makes her want to change for the right reasons. I hope her parents love her enough to initiate the proper counseling and intervention.

8:46 AM  
Blogger Rebecca said...

How many of these folks have ever seen a Lindsay Lohan movie, purchased a Britney Spears CD, or give a sh*t which party Paris Hilton is attending next? Why is everyone talking about these hard, trashy, self-destructive young women? They have no talent, they're not appealing, they have no 'star' quality. If they disappeared off Hollywood's radar tomorrow, who would miss them?

Who really cares? Who really cares???

3:03 PM  
Blogger CS said...

In my expereince, addicts tend to get stuck at an adolescent level of development. Impulsive, self-centered, unable to think through consequences. Of those who get clean, some seem able to resume maturing and become reasonable adults, and others never do develop the ability to consider others or control their impulsivity. I think GWB is an example of the latter kind of former addict.

7:53 AM  
Blogger dragonflyfilly said...

*sigh* - man alive, this is such a horrible problem. (i just turned off the t.v. 'cause i can't stand to watch yet another t.v. documentary of the people in the downtown eastside of Vancouver; invaribly i see one of my ex-clients. But still they pretty much all look the same, with that wierd, jerky crooked, lopsided walk they do. And you know that deep down inside there there is some resemblance of a human being, and yet....i dunno, what a dreadful existence - when a race-horse goes lame we shoot it - and yet we just stand by and look on in horror at the sight of these poor helpless lost souls. I don't have the answer, but there has to be a better way of dealing with this tragedy)

As far as Lindsay Lohan is concerned, well, look at Marilyn Munroe, and Judy Garland, - same difference - ground to death by the Hollywood Magic Movie. Machine.

So she will either shape up, relapss, or end up killing someone and landing in jail for life, or overdose...really, those are her choices - i guess it is up to her.

10:57 PM  
Blogger Tai said...

Addiction.
It scares the hell out of me.
Quite recently I've seen someone go from living in a million dollar penthouse at UBC to living in their car on the streets due to their addiction.
Mostly I talk to his mom.
An addiction affects so many more people than just the addict, you know?

10:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your character sketch describing an addict as, disloyalty, depressed, and in denial is very astute and accurate. In a comment above CS said, "In my experience, addicts tend to get stuck at an adolescent level of development." Impulsive, self-centered, unable to think through consequences. His comment and your sketch cover what an addict is.

When discussing how to solve her problem though you make the all too common assumption that her addiction is solvable. First, for the rest of her life she will never solve her addiction. At best, she can hope to arrest her behavior and so her addiction, but so far, a solution or cure eludes us. Second, you refer to her in the third person as you suggest ways to help her. Help for her can only come in the first person, she must decide to abstain from using and ask for help. Until then anything others do for her is simply delaying the inevitable, jails, institutions, and death.

The fastest route to her recovery has nothing to do with another soul. Only she can travel that road, alone, before she will find others willing to help. If those who love her want to save her life, they must be willing to let her end it her own way. Only when those who love her get out of her way and have nothing further to do with her is she more likely to hit bottom. If there is a possibility of keeping her, they must let her go, totally.

6:25 PM  
Blogger Ian Lidster said...

Just had to say there were some excellent perceptions expressed here, including the fact that in combatting this 'disease' it ultimately comes down to the individual making the 'hardest' choice of his or her life. Ceasing an addiction is a brutal thing, but the end result, as to which countless numbers will attest, is so utterly worth the grueling task.
Goader's point on the fact that addiction is for life was also well-stated. We cannot reverse those brain tracks, but we can encourage them, through abstention, to lie dormant -- forever, if we make that choice.
Cheers, friends,
Ian

9:42 AM  

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