If you’ve kept up with current events lately, perhaps you have noticed the invasion of drugs, alcohol, prostitution, and depression becoming more abundant, not only in local communities, but also in more prestigious locations, not excluding Hollywood. It’s fast becoming evident that the rich and famous are no more immune to these vices and their consequences than are the rest of us. Of course, the question that begs to be answered is “Why would someone who ‘has it all’ feel the need to self-medicate?” There is obviously a void that needs to be filled among rich, poor, and middle class, and many believe that drugs and alcohol hold the key to what’s missing. In truth, many of society’s drug and alcohol abusers are actually calling out for help. Is anyone out there listening?
When considering those who seemingly have no reason to abuse drugs and/or alcohol, the actress Lindsay Lohan certainly comes to mind. What went wrong and when? In and out of the court system, rehab clinics, and even jail, Ms. Lohan has made the news time and again as the media follow her every misstep. Could it be that repeatedly she cries out for help? And could it be that repeatedly she gets a little first aid, but never addresses the root of her problem? Thus, the cycle begins again.
Michael Jackson is another unfortunate individual who succumbed to self-medication with the help of a physician. He took the world by storm; he was worshipped, idolized, disturbed, and troubled. As talented as he was, he found fame and success, yet felt the need to undergo countless surgeries, and in the end could not sleep through the night. Was it fear, worry, anxiety? What had been the catalyst? Some have speculated that he was abused as a child. Perhaps he felt as though he had been thrust into a “grown-up” world, having never experienced life through the eyes of a child. Whatever the case, obviously he was calling out for help.
No stranger to the horrors of child abuse is the family of Andrea Yates. Hers became a household name when the world learned that she had drowned her 5 children in a bathtub. Surely, this is not what she had planned for her life, or for the lives of her children. What sparked this Medusa-like act and could it have been stopped? Were there signs leading up to the deaths of her own children, and did people that surrounded her ignore the red flags? Could it be that she, too, called out?
In Rhonda Tibbs’ latest novel, Angel’s Blues, there were plenty of tells. There were obvious outward signs of abuse toward the main character Michael O’Mara by his alcoholic father, perverse uncle, and even neglect from his mother. His call of help was ignored by those with whom he resided. We watch Michael’s life being transformed; we see him achieve fame and fortune. Later, when life again is too much to handle, he too turns to alcohol to cope with the demons from the past. Finally breaking the vicious cycle of abuse and alcohol, he realizes that without the help of others in his life, perhaps his life would have ended no differently than Michael Jackson’s. For more information about Rhonda Tibbs, visit www.rtibbs.net.
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