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Based on some experiences with a close family member, I have learned that many, if not most addictions are the result of undiagnosed and untreated depression.
I believe that Michael may have had depression for most of his life. Considering his upbringing,that would not be surprising.
I have very mixed feelings about Katherine Jackson getting custody of Michael's beoved children. She didn't intervene in the abuse in his childhood, and probably not strongly about his later drug abuse.
It appears he was supporting at least 10 other family members in Katherine's house, and his mother has already petioned the court for funds.., prior even, to his burial. What will happen when the kids get older and want to get out from under all these people? And why did she not threaten Michael with Child Protective Services if he didn't get clean? The fear of losing his children might have saved him. Maybe Joe is not the only villian here.
It became obvious with all the news coverage, that Jackson had been a full-blown addict for years. What compounded the madness was that he had the money to support it in an unbelievable fashion. The fact that you can have Diprivan in the house, with a doctor to administer it is unbelievable.
The really disturbing thing is the fact that he had the money, which allowed him to be surrounded by an army of enablers. The Pepsi accident happened in 1984, that"s 25 years of addiction. Half his life was spent in a drug haze.
The doctors and other providers of drugs obviously loved the money; because you"d think if any of them had a conscience, they would"ve tried to detox him, not sustain the addiction.
The doctor should be prosecuted for giving him Diprivan, which shouldn"t even be outside the walls of a hospital, and is only administered by an anesthesiologist. The fact that the doctor was using it in this fashion should be a criminal offense.
What he really needed was a psychotherapist, in conjunction with a program of recovery. The fact that there was never an intervention by the family is definitely puzzling as well.
I don't trust much of what I hear in the media, but somewhere it was reported that Dr. Murray didn't have a license to practice medicine in Calif...anyone know if this is true or not?
I love it when a celebrity writes a post, and so many here trip all over themselves writing "thank you" notes in the hope of a personal response.
MJ like EP, and HH hadn't produced anything worth a second look or listen in years.
SHOCKING ARTICLE JAMIE ! MIND BLOWING ! Reading this story did two things to me; First was the same thing that it did to everyone else, it IMPRESSED me. It was well written and informative as well as entertainingly easy to read and related to, I loved it! But secondly; I was amazed that as beautiful & talented an entertainer as you are could be such a talented writer as well. Some people just get an unfair portion from the blessings fairy ! Thank you for further enlightening the world to the dillema that was Michael Jacksons and many many americans today. Addiction is a modern day terrorist and congratulations on your personal victory. You are an inspiration to others - keep carrying the message ! I too am a committed messenger... thank you.
stop by and say hi sometime
Drew Pillow http://drewpillow.blogspot.com/
Thank you Jamie Lee for your insightful commentary. An intentionally disturbing and compassionate reflection on a life. I appreciate the awareness that your recovery has shed on this one life.
Jamie Lee, I thank you for your insights and your compassionate understanding of one of MJ's problems, the one that apparently led to his early death.
I do have to take issue with your statement that at some point the pain ends. While it may be that the psychologiacal need may soon outway the physical pain, its is not true that the pain - the true physical pain - eventually ends. This falacy has led way to many people to seek any means necessary to end the true physical pain they do feel. As you know, psychological pain is undertreated in our society. It is also true, though some strides have been made , that true physical pain is incredibily under treated in our society. Unfortunately, this often has led to pain sufferers being labeled as addicts, as you suggested, when, in truth, they are trying to treat the physical pain that prevents them from living a "normal" life.
I did not know MJ at the level you seem to have known him. While most of you observations seem sound, I wonder how it is that you know that his pain was a result of his background and not a result of his injuries.
Many good wishes to you.
Retromega
Jackson lived how he wanted and died. The only one responsible for how he lived was him.
Many people were dealt bad cards in life, how you deal with that defines you as a person. There are a vast number of people who over came horrible challenges and were successful in their personal and professional lives, absent the spot light of the public eye.
Jackson made odd and bad choices not as a child but over 32 years of his adult hood (50-18). His old man was abusive, big deal. He was in the public eye, big deal. The Jackson and Elvis lines of life were very close. They killed themselves.
He has 'finally' found peace, now.....i so loved his music and him. :)
"the old man was abusive; big deal."
It is indeed a VERY big deal. I'm guessing you are not a survivor of any type of abuse. Your comment is short-sighted and nasty.
Thank you Jamie Lee Curtis. for speaking out about Michael Jackson's pain. Once you have walked in another's shoes, you know. You know drug addiction and I know Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a survivor and as a psychotherapist who specializes in trauma. PTSD is a crippling disorder caused by trauma. The public is familiar with wartime trauma but more prevalent is childhood abuse and/or neglect. Michael talked to Oprah Winfrey and others about his father's abuse and his terrible loneliness as a child. The mind/emotional life/brain of the child is so damaged that addictions are common. Yes, the brain's emotional neural connections are damaged. PTSD is a medical condition and, if the doctors treating Michael did not evaluate for it, that was medical malpractice as surely as the illegal prescription of drugs.
The press has honored Michael or vilified him. Both miss the essence of the man. PTSD causes terrible anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, depression, and difficulty forming adult, healthy relationships.
There are excellent treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that have been highly researched for effectiveness. We need to educate ourselves, the media and our government so that our returning troops receive the help we owe them. And we must help the children around us who may be suffering abuse but have no one to turn to. And lets' learn from Michael's life and feel sorrow at his pain and loss.
I have yet to see the heart of the issue, "the elephant in the room" so to speak of MJ's addiction. His parents. When are we going to stop sympathizing and start holding people like this accountable?! Iam truly sorry they lost their son but if they had been more concerned with his well being instead of his profitablity, we would not be in this discussion!
I agree. MJ supported two generations of an army of Jacksons - via his mother - including the "expenses" for the Encino compound. That she allowed him to, via her as conduit, is shameful. First, it prevented his brothers from growing into independent roles as supporters of their own wives/children - and, second - it made Michael into the patriarch/breadwinner that Joe Jackson never has and never will be, though (again) Katherine Jackson's refusal to DIVORCE him and protect her children/grandchildren from him, allows him to dysfunctionally and toxically function as if he has been/is.
Michael Jackson should have had counseling and intervention no matter what - years ago. NOBODY cared enough to do it - and since the entire family (except for Janet) is financially dependent upon him in life and now death - nobody could.
Only Katherine Jackson had his ear and trust. She chose to allow her son to be commoditized for the rest of the family to exploit for his entire life. That he was in pain because of this FACT...should be of no surprise to anyone. If your mother burdens you with too much, unfairly...as a condition for holding HER husband/family together...you have been very poorly served in this life.
I totally agree..when the pain of the pressure and beatings by his father, although he admitted that he himself may not of been beaten as much because he was better than his brothers, but he was the cause of their beatings because he was better..that's alot of guilt and pressure at 5 years old. As he grew older his father would make fun of his looks...then came physical pain...the scalp burn..to replace the hair he had to have balloons placed under his scalp to expand the skin..painful..physically and emotionally..discovering neededed painkillers. All this while dealing with vitiligio, the pigment loss..which when it became so bad that it made more sense to treat the dark spots, he was ridiculed..as he became more white looking..his nose looked out of place..so..here comes the surgeries..
Living in the his fame, with all these problems..I am amazed he kept going..Add to that his emotional stunted emotional growth..bringing the kid problems..and the inability to sleep..
What a combination..all the talent..all the money..all the fame all the pain..buys you self-destruction, by unscrupulous doctors who will do anything..
Although ultimately Michael is responsible for himself, I have to wonder, if this is any different than a doctor raping you while your under..I believe it's about time a Doctor goes to jail for this type of negligence...to me, for a doctor, it's negligent homocide..period.
Even this, though, was taken away from him here in his latter years. It was clear that he had, for whatever reason that these things happen, 'dried up' as a creative force. Times passes--before you know it 20 years have passed and Michael has not had a new hit in that time. Perhaps a lot of his fans don't notice it as much as they might due to his ability to cruise on his past, but he, as the artist, must have been painfully aware that he had nothing to offer, musically-speaking, any more. In essence, the KIng of Pop died before Michael did, but with it went his last refuge of normalcy. It's really no surprise that he soon followed his alter-ego into the void. The King is dead...what was left after that for that strange little boy from a long-gone Gary, Indiana.
What a wonderful comment.
You just described all what all addicts go through
famous or not.
You appear to have a couple of advantages Michael Jackson never did.
For one, your parents never saw you as their "meal ticket" and did not exploit you. You and your sister didn't really begin your acting careers until adulthood; you went to college and appear to have chosen to be an actress. Although I believe Michael Jackson loved music and making music, he was robbed of any semblence of a "normal" childhood.
You have other talents (as an author, photographer and even inventor). You are not wholly defined by your Hollywood celebrity.
You are also in a stable, loving marriage - something Michael Jackson never enjoyed.
I agree
I had no idea that his scalp-burning incident was as bad as it was until I saw the footage they've been showing lately. It's too bad that his wealth worked against him, as he was able to surround himself with enablers who looked the other way.
The blame can only be placed in one place.THIS society.
As long as everyone continues to point fingers at Doctors, Health Care , Pharmacies, parents, Nurses,past histories,too much money,fame, etc ..NO ONE will ever get the care they really need for their addictions.
The real problem is denial. Addiction is a problem that's been swept under the rug for way too long.It's being masked, fueled & funded by the companies lobbying 2 government parties.BOTH of them,yes,you heard me!
Our society judges,criticizes,makes moral decisions based on not knowing ANY facts at all. No one even knows a thing about addiction or drugs,unless they've been involved in it, have family members who are addicted,or have been educated to treat addicts.
I can attest to that, because(5 yrs ago) I knew next to NOTHING about it myself, an RN, other than a few things read, clinically, college degreed person, you would THINK I would know something...well...NO! I didn't! I happened to fall into this job in my community & wasn't really thinking I was eligible ..when I decided I would go there anyway for an interview.Now, I'm an Addictions Treatment Nurse in an Outpatient Ambulatory Care Methadone Clinic.
Recovery is something that should be out in the open & talked about! It should be shouted from the rooftops! The reason why it isn't is because if addicts recovered...Lots of "other people" would lose money...
Lots of government and CORPORATE people wouldn't be supported any more...think about it!
I agree
I never realized how pain killers can cause addiction until my husband had back surgery and was on a fentinel patch. He had the patch for several months before the surgery (for the pain) and then for the recovery period after the surgery. He knew it was time to get off. So did our doctor. (who responsibly would help him get off the fetinel but would offer no more fentinel). It took him a week, nausea, sweats, hot, cold. But thankfully he got off. He obviously was not mentally addicted, just physically addicted. That makes a huge difference. And the Doctor was also helpful