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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLindsey Lohan Interview Was Sad To See
Even though Lindsey Lohan has created a lot of her own problems, I was really sad for how fragile she seemed. Her demeanor reminded me of Marilyn Monroe and her psychological fragility. It is easy to criticize but when you resort to drugs and alcohol it is more of a symptom of other problems that have not been addressed.
I have dealt with such people in my years as an employment rep at DOL and it is very hard to work with such people whose vulnerability and problems run so deep. And it is difficult in the face of the fact that it is hard to find a strategy that will help such and individual help themselves. The failure rate is sadly very high.
For whatever reasons addictions are so hard to treat or reverse and shows how far we have to go in treating mental health issues. Somehow it seems like we are caught in the middle ages where "casting out demons" through exorcism was the usual treatment.
For all those people who want to see someone like Lindsey beat her demons it is hard to standby and watch someone erode before your eyes.
I was surprised that Lettermen seemed to be so hard on her. Somehow being relegated to being part of a low grade movie like Scary Movie does not seem like a success to me. Many 1950's B movies are better than that trash.
get the red out
(13,458 posts)That's the really terrible part, no matter how much or how little money you have; if you get addiction "treatment" in this country it is quite unlikely that there is any kind of science backing it up. Many want to say that addiction treatment can't be improved and all science in this area is to be scoffed at and disgarded, this is an area of medicine that is sadly way behind. I think many factors contribute to this neglence, but one is the desire for addicts to get what they deserve if they don't pull themselves up by the boot straps. Another huge aspect is $$$$, chage costs money, and scientifically based treatment would require professionals rather than very poorly trained, very cheap, non-professionals.
cali
(114,904 posts)You're just making shit up.
Wednesdays
(17,246 posts)And I'm not being hostile. Such info can be lifesaving.
All I ask is that the treatment be scientifically sound.
If you're rich or you have really good insurance you can find a good program.
The only facilities I'm personally familiar with are in VT and CT. In Vermont, Maple Leaf Farm is pretty good. If you've got lots of dough, Silver Hill in New Canaan CT has a good reputation.
You place a lot of emphasis on the treatment being scientifically sound, and though that's important, it's still just as much an art as science- with some luck thrown in.
annabanana
(52,791 posts)I don't know of ANY insurance that would cover the facilities at the link you posted. Those are HUGE numbers, those fees.
cali
(114,904 posts)I know folks who have had insurance pay for Silver Hill.
http://www.thefix.com/content/silver-hill
Little Star
(17,055 posts)just about anytime of the day. Doesn't cost a penny and they don't care if your a movie star or a pauper. In there your just another drunk/drug addict. That program has worked for millions.
get the red out
(13,458 posts)But "good" treatment for addiction is a rarity, and by good I mean treatment with science to back it up. It appears some authors are beginning to delve into this corner of Medicine and that is a positive thing. I have been reading some articles by Anne Fletcher and she appears to be looking in depth at the subject.
Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth About Addiction Treatment-and How to Get Help That Works [Hardcover]
Anne M. Fletcher: (except from book description below)
Anne M. Fletcher is a trusted New York Times bestselling health and medical writer who visited 15 addiction treatment centersfrom outpatient programs for the indigent to famous celebrity rehabs; from the sites of renowned Twelve-Step centers to several unconventional programsto find out what really happens. What she reveals ranges from inspirational to irresponsible, and, in some cases, potentially dangerous.
Real Stories: As always with her books, Fletcher gets the inside story by turning to real people who have been there, interviewing more than 100 individuals whose compelling stories illustrate serious issues facing people in rehab and endemic in the rehab industry today.
Myth Busting: Fletcher exposes twelve supposed facts for the falsehoods they are, including rehab is necessary for most people to recover from addictions; highly trained professionals provide most of the treatment in addiction programs; and drugs should not be used to treat a drug addict. Fletchers most important finding is the alarming discrepancy between the treatments being employed at many rehab centers and the treatments recommended by leading experts and supported by scientific research.
I am not commenting on Lohan, I'm not into celebrities; but there are great numbers of regular people who need help with addiction and what is offered, as with any medical field, needs to be based on up to date scietific study.
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)is very poor. The addicted has to want to recover. Even then, I believe it's 90% who relapse.
Someone has to put in lots of work, no matter where they go to learn about recovery. They don't do it for you.
get the red out
(13,458 posts)It is helpful if they are given the best possible tools to work with. Unfortunately, most are not.
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)Most aren't given any tools at all. It saddens me.
TheMastersNemesis
(10,602 posts)illness or severe addiction in too many cases. Even though medication and counseling and psychotherapy do help, there is no cure in so many cases. We still do not have any kind of real handle on PTSD that effects combat vets and persons suffering severe trauma or assault. Many of these afflictions end up being chronic conditions that need constant attention.
We still know so little about how the mind works compared to where we should be in the 21st century. The massacres of the last few years are not a good sign about the general mental health of our society or other societies as a whole. We are still debating about what causes mental illness in human beings. Just listen to the Officer Krupke song from West Side Story with the original cast. It's on Youtube if you want to check it out. The debate has not changed all that much since the prescient song was written. It is funny yet poignant and very revealing. It covers all the theoretical theories about why we are the way we are psychologically.
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)the person who has the addiction. Part of beating the addiction is wanting to get clean. There are all the obvious things one does in rehab but if the person doesn't sincerely want to beat the addiction, they won't. I went through this with my sister. She was in and out of rehab treatment facilities the majority of my 42 years and she still died of an overdose (prescription drugs which led to the official coroner's report of "heart failure" at the age of 50. Her drug addiction started because she was sexually molested as a child. She started doing drugs to mask the pain and when pot and alcohol didn't work any longer, she stepped into heroin land, which led her to methadone land and prescription drug land. She had a network of doctors and pharmacists that was unbelievable. Had she only used her powers for good instead of "evil," she'd probably still be alive and very successful today.
get the red out
(13,458 posts)You are right in that a person must want help for addiction or any mental health issues in order for treatment if any kind to work. My issue is with a system that doesn't offer most people who want help proven treatments.
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)MY SIL went through something similar. She had chronic pancreatitis as a result of her drinking and drug use. She was diagnosed with some other severe health problems. Then she was hit by a car (while drunk) last autumn. And she died.
She attmepted rehab and AA multiple times, but she was never interested in recovery. She went through the motions after each hospitalization for a month, then resumed her lifestyle when she thought all eyes were off of her.
cali
(114,904 posts)No one could have had more help come her way, or of a higher quality, than Lohan. And she has not taken responsibility for anything. Not for stealing jewelry, not for getting into fights, not for driving drunk and blaming it on someone else.
If she can get herself together, good, but they're are a lot of people without her good fortune who can't get the kind of help available to her.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)she has - we would be sitting in jail for a fist full of probation violations.
She can afford top of the line care for her addiction.
cali
(114,904 posts)9 Extravagant Rehab Centers For The Rich And Famous
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-celebrity-rehab-centers-2011-9?op=1
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)place in the Hamptons next. Poor thing.
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)..a long while back...She has had ample opportunity to get her shit together...but the rules are different if you are rich and famous as we all know...
Addiction is a helluva beast, and she has a little sympathy from me there...but she has the resources to get herself clean...it's her choice..
leftyohiolib
(5,917 posts)Lint Head
(15,064 posts)torture and murder people and away scott free. Lohan stole jewelry. GWB stole the economy and lives. I guess it depends on what station of power you have in life not wealth or psychology.
MFM008
(19,776 posts)have bad feelings about her.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)by definition that puts it into greatness realm!
treestar
(82,383 posts)seem anecdotally at least to have such problems. Maybe it is peaking too early, and having money when you are that young.
Drew Barrymore went through it as well. Her career tanked and it took years, but she came back and has (except for her first two marriages) done really well. Not all child stars are that lucky. I think we could probably come up with a long list that have either died or disappeared.
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)it's have enablers (parents/friends/etc) surrounding their meal ticket.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)if exposed to all the things she was. Money and way too much freedom to do whatever she wanted to do. And kids want to party. Period. Any parent that doesn't know that is just deliberately stupid.
olddots
(10,237 posts)She is the Hollywood bad girl and that gets the attention .
There are many sharks in L.A. some of them are in the mental health profession and addiction treatment business .Lohan is in a very toxic environment ,if she leaves she has nothing but maybe a chance to make it to thirty .I feel she is not evil and has been abused in a abusive business.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)It wasn't that bad and I think anyone who cries about how she was treated is out of touch with reality. Yes, she was uncomfortable in parts, but she also got off some jokes at her own expense. Letterman did heap praise on her and say that he wished her well.
If she's smart, she knows she's going to have to clear herself up and figure out how to stay clean, and then rehabilitate her image. If and when she did that I'd have great respect for her.
Honestly I don't feel sorry for her. Considering the fact that most people with addition problems who have done what she has would be in a crap load of trouble compared to the slap on the wrist she's gotten. The judge in the current case finally did something that might get her attention.
AndyA
(16,993 posts)Lots of people who started off in the entertainment industry at a young age have had a difficult time as they reached adulthood.
Lohan is actually a pretty decent actress, although some of the roles she's taken haven't been so great.
I remember reading that Jane Fonda had to have a heart to heart with Lohan during the filming of Georgia Rule when Lohan didn't show up on time, or called in sick repeatedly, throwing off the shooting schedule and disrupting everything.
Obviously Lohan has some issues that aren't being addressed properly, and it's a shame because she could actually become a really great actress with a little work if she can straighten herself out. There are lots of people who would love to have the opportunities Lohan has.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)I think maybe there's hope. Letterman handled it just right. Like a parent would. Like her parents should have but never did. A little stern but caring. He complimented her on having the strength and sense of self to come on the show. You could see her head come up a little higher then. Her eyes teared up. It meant something to her that he noticed it took guts for her to do that.
He's an alcoholic. He knew what she needed instinctively. They're like that. She's in now. She will have people she can rely on from one coast to the other. People who will really help her mature and not use her. Unlike her parents.