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| Amy Winehouse with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil |
No doubt that Amy's addiction issues caused pain to the people around her. Her father had even written a eulogy for her, preparing himself for the early death of his daughter. The Facebook commentary echos the same sentiment: No big surprise.
The thing is, Amy did go to rehab. Several times. It didn't work. In fact, for every rehab success story one can find numerous failures.
The success rate of addiction rehabilitation programs is questionable at best. Depending on which study you read, you'll find success rates anywhere between 5% and 30%.
Moral of the story? Rehabilitation programs don't work for the majority of people who enter them.
Why? Well, an article by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) entitled "The Past and Future of Research on Treatment of Alcohol Dependence" sheds some light on the issue. According to the article, up to 75% of alcohol dependent people recover on their own. With no help from any recovery program. Furthermore, it seems that any treatment program, regardless of its approach, succeeds as often as any other - which is to say, not often.
Take those two facts and smash 'em together. It seems that the addict's desire to quit is the single most important motivator in their success. That's a far cry from the statements you will hear at a typical Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where the first of twelve steps is to "admit that you are powerless" over your addiction. If addicts are truly powerless over their addictions, how is research telling us otherwise?
The NIAAA article bemoans the treatment industry's lack of interest in the scientific research findings:
"For the most part, the scientific advances of the last 40 years have not been well embraced by treatment providers...The model on which most currently available treatment relies was developed about 50 years ago, when scientific understanding of substance use disorders was rudimentary..."
Why? Well, an article by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) entitled "The Past and Future of Research on Treatment of Alcohol Dependence" sheds some light on the issue. According to the article, up to 75% of alcohol dependent people recover on their own. With no help from any recovery program. Furthermore, it seems that any treatment program, regardless of its approach, succeeds as often as any other - which is to say, not often.
Take those two facts and smash 'em together. It seems that the addict's desire to quit is the single most important motivator in their success. That's a far cry from the statements you will hear at a typical Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where the first of twelve steps is to "admit that you are powerless" over your addiction. If addicts are truly powerless over their addictions, how is research telling us otherwise?
The NIAAA article bemoans the treatment industry's lack of interest in the scientific research findings:
"For the most part, the scientific advances of the last 40 years have not been well embraced by treatment providers...The model on which most currently available treatment relies was developed about 50 years ago, when scientific understanding of substance use disorders was rudimentary..."
Now, this article was written in the US. Amy Winehouse was treated in London. But I bet the story is about the same.
Where does that leave the addict? From what I can tell, it leaves them alone. Scary as that might seem, it is empowering to find that a person's decision to quit can be so powerful. The unfortunate truth about many addicts is that they just aren't ready to quit. The majority who enter treatment programs do so at the urging of relatives and friends, not for themselves. Unfortunately, those who are not committed to quitting are likely to fail.
My opinion: Alcohol and drug treatment programs are not developed for the benefit of the addict, but to provide a false sense of control to the friends and family of the addict, who are likely to shell out thousands of dollars for their loved one's recovery. Call me a bitch for saying that. It might be true.
So, back to my topic.
What (Really) Killed Amy Winehouse?
Like many things in life, there is no easy answer to why people drink themselves to death. In the case of Amy Winehouse, however, I found a few interesting facts about women who drink that seem to resonate well with her story:
1. Alcoholic women are more likely to die from their addiction than alcoholic men.
2. Young women (say, age 27) are more likely to drink than older women.
3. Women who have never married, are living with an unmarried partner, or who are separated or divorced are more prone to heavy drinking.
Where does that leave the addict? From what I can tell, it leaves them alone. Scary as that might seem, it is empowering to find that a person's decision to quit can be so powerful. The unfortunate truth about many addicts is that they just aren't ready to quit. The majority who enter treatment programs do so at the urging of relatives and friends, not for themselves. Unfortunately, those who are not committed to quitting are likely to fail.
My opinion: Alcohol and drug treatment programs are not developed for the benefit of the addict, but to provide a false sense of control to the friends and family of the addict, who are likely to shell out thousands of dollars for their loved one's recovery. Call me a bitch for saying that. It might be true.
So, back to my topic.
What (Really) Killed Amy Winehouse?
Like many things in life, there is no easy answer to why people drink themselves to death. In the case of Amy Winehouse, however, I found a few interesting facts about women who drink that seem to resonate well with her story:
1. Alcoholic women are more likely to die from their addiction than alcoholic men.
2. Young women (say, age 27) are more likely to drink than older women.
3. Women who have never married, are living with an unmarried partner, or who are separated or divorced are more prone to heavy drinking.
Add 1+2+3. A young single woman going through the ups and downs of relationship woes is more likely to drink herself to death.
For those of us who have ever gone through an especially shitty break-up, the last statement should be no shocker. Relationship trouble is probably the hardest thing in life to cope with. As I stated in the post, "Why Single People Are so Crazy", staying single into our late 20's subjects us to so much more bullshit than staying in the same relationship for years on end. Relationship problems and a foggy sense of self will dig a girl an early grave.
Basically, Amy Winehouse died yesterday morning because she never learned how to deal with the pain that life (and love) brings. Rehabilitation programs didn't teach her, so she resorted to the only thing that made it better. Unfortunately, that "thing" had become an addiction stronger than her.
I suspect there are a plethora of women out there who will struggle with the same problems. For all her wrongdoings, this talented young woman paid the ultimate price.
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