Uugh...
Feeling so sad about Whitney Houston’s death -- for all the obvious reasons, and more.
More -- regarding what it means for our culture regarding addiction -- AND for my own personal loss of my mother and my sister to prescription drug addiction and abuse.
Of course, we don’t know yet if Rx drugs were directly involved in Whitney’s death, however I do know they were involved in my mom’s and sister’s deaths -- and the heartache I feel from this is painfully reactivated and reawakened every time we lose a public figure where Rx drugs are the cause or a contributing cause to their death.
The hurt regarding my mother goes way back to the late 50’s and the 60’s when Rx drug abuse and addiction were an issue with “no name” or real recognition.
My mom died in 1991 at the age of 60.
My sister died in 2005 at the age of 47.
I will turn 59 this May.
I will not go gentle, or otherwise, into that dark night.
I am a mental health therapist who has professionally worked with addiction for over 25 years.
I was a little girl of five when my mom first began taking prescription drugs. Her addiction and abuse were full blown by the time I was in 5th grade and my sister was barely in 1st grade.
I am a woman who still mourns the way too early and way too senseless loss of two women connected to me by heart and blood and sinew -- and a sadness that seems older than my soul.
:hug:
Thank you for sharing this Avalon and, as I sit here in tears, I can tell you that I have seen prescription drugs ravage my own family and friends lifes over the years and many have succumbed because of it, including my own mother. While technically my mother, at the age of 60, died from a stroke, she had lost the fight long ago when she became addicted to oxycontin 5 years earlier - prescribed to her after she'd taken a fall and broken her arm.
Over the years (too many times to count) I've received the late night phone calls to the ER for my niece who has battled with prescription drug addiction for over 10 years now. She is 30-years-old today and still actively using and the late night phone calls tellng me that dear family friends (2 in the past 8 years) have lost the fight...
This IS NOT only about the Michael Jackson's, Amy Winehouse's, and the Whitney Houston's - This is
OUR OWN friends,
OUR OWN family, and
OUR OWN community and they are dying!
So while some may have no sympathy or compassion left for the addict because they can certainly beat us down, let us not forget that this is a disease that takes over, not only the body, but the mind and the spirit. It robs everyone (the addict AND everyone around them) of everything---of everything and anything good.
And to all my fellow WS's who may be struggling with addiction themselves or know someone who is, you are not alone! Addiction is not a weakness or a character flaw, it is a powerful disease. We need to remove the shame around reaching out for help and realize, the disease of addiction is bigger than any/all of us! JMO~
