Amy Winehouse Died Of Bulimia, Not Drug Abuse

Newsflash: Amy Winehouse’s brother says that bulimia killed Amy, not drugs.

Alex Winehouse recognizes that his sister was on a path to death, but that it was ultimately years of her eating disorder behaviors that rendered her body too weak to continue functioning.

Bulimia symptoms and behaviors started in Amy’s teen years and did not subside, probably because she was never treated for the illness. She was also never treated well for substance abuse. 

Co-occuring disorders

With this news from Alex, we now know that Amy Winehouse could have been dually-diagnosed. In other words, Amy had co-occurring disorders: an addiction and an eating disorder.

When left untreated, just one mental illness or disorder is detrimental to the life of the sufferer. When two illnesses are happening at the same time, it is certainly harder to diagnose and treat. If you are abusing a drug that alters your brain chemistry, and therefore how you view the world, and subsequently act, it is really hard to tell if symptoms of a mental illness are from the drug use, or if they are a separate issue.

There are numerous treatment centers that treat co-occurring disorders during the same rehab stint. For someone like Amy, a focus on bulimia and on alcohol and drug abuse could have given her the opportunity to get change. People who have felt uncomfortable in their own lives, and in their own bodies, often turn to alcohol, cocaine, prescription pills, heroin, or whatever else to feel differently or to escape from your discomfort. When the drug use stops, and you are left with a life on pause, you want to immediately go back to the feeling the drug gave you.

Unenjoyable reality

Reality for these people is not enjoyable without substances. Cocaine, for example, can seem to help someone who has an eating disorder. In Amy’s case, the appetite suppressing power of cocaine may have been just what she was looking for: a way to eat less and maintain a smaller body weight.

The cocaine is masking the eating disorder symptoms, but below the surface, and when the person is not using, the symptoms come right back, sometimes even more intensely.

Amy Winehouse could have spent some time in rehab and healed the issues that lead to bulimia and substance abuse. She could have gotten better. Maybe her dad should have stepped in with more force to get his daughter the help she desperately needed.

Club 27

People loved her music. She definitely made her mark on the industry, and could have realized a sustainable creative career, but instead she joins the 27 Club (famous people who have died at age 27) whether it’s because of bulimia or substance abuse.

Sadly we will never know because she said no, no, no to rehab. It doesn’t make a difference what actually took her life because a young, talented woman is gone.

With dual diagnosis treatment, Amy could still be singing but with how she said yes, yes, yes to rehab and what adventures she can now experience without drugs and alcohol.

Kate Green is a quality improvement manager at Balboa Horizons Treatment Services that helps those who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.

Image Credit: 1, 2.

Women's Inpatient Rehabilitation For Lindsey Lohan

Lindsay Lohan is back in rehab after facing court-mandated treatment instead of jail time.

What do women need in treatment to be successful? Are gender-specific treatment programs necessary for women to get sober and sustain a life of recovery?

Lindsay has been to rehab several times, so what can be different this time? Would she benefit from a women’s inpatient substance abuse program rather than a coed group?

Women Have Their Own Set Of Challenges

Women who have been abusing alcohol, prescription pills, or any illegal drugs are reacting to something emotionally difficult. Getting to the bottom of that void that’s seeking to be filled is important for her to ever be clean for long periods of time. Often times elminating the distractions associated with the opposite sex is beneficial.

Was this woman a victim of violence or another form of trauma? Is there unresolved emotional pain that’s making her want to numb out, escape, or kill pain?

What Women Need

Women in rehab need comfort, security, a good support system, and other good women around. When a women's inpatient substance abuse program provides those key elements, clients can open up to one another and really share the truth about their lives.

Let’s pretend for a minute that we know Lindsay Lohan. Since she is a public figure, we have more information than we would a stranger walking down the street. We know that the relationship with her dad is volatile, but we don’t really know why. The reasoning behind the distance is something personal to Lindsay that may feel like an empty space that needs to be filled with something else.

When she doesn’t know how to handle the painful emotions and real-time situations, Lindsay seems to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. Self medication is a common reason people begin abusing substances in the first place and often what triggers a relapse.

The Root Of Addiction

In a women’s inpatient substance abuse program, where the clients live on-site, Lindsay Lohan’s inner turmoil could be revealed, added as a component of her treatment plan, and then addressed during individual therapy and in a peer process group. With the help of and support from other women, Lindsay could get to the root of her addiction and her harmful behaviors so that this stint in rehab could potentially be her last.

For any woman seeking treatment for addiction, a women’s inpatient substance abuse program is the way to go. You can participate in activities like yoga, meditation, intention-setting, art therapy, 12-Step Meetings, nutrition counseling, life skills workshops, and various forms of therapy.

Getting Healthy

What could be better while getting healthy and regaining your life? Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living, there is no reason to let drugs and alcohol limit you potential enjoyment in life.

Let’s hope Lindsay’s time in rehab allows her to see the life she could be living without drugs, alcohol, continuously being involved with the legal system, and self-harming behaviors that surround her current lifestyle. Best of luck LiLo!

Kate Green is a quality improvement manager at Balboa Horizons Treatment Services, her passion is to help others overcome struggle with issues of alcohol and drug addiction learn more at http://www.balboahorizons.com.

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John Galliano Opens Up About Alcohol And Prescription Drug Abuse

John Galliano lost his job as head designer of Dior after a 2011 anti-Semitic rant in Paris.

Now, two years later, John Galliano opens up about alcohol and prescription drug abuse that lead to his behavior, his “I love Hitler” comments, and the subsequent Dior firing.

Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair previewed the story that’s in the July issue of the magazine, released nationally June 11th, 2013. John shares his childhood, his passion for fashion, and his future career plans, but what do people really care to read? His problems with alcohol and prescription drug abuse.

Galliano says he started using alcohol in an effort to, in his words, “crash after the collections.” He would take a few days to unwind, but alcohol had other plans. Gradually his desire to escape for a bit lead to blackouts for days at a time. He’d wake up not knowing what happened, and then experience days of tremors, shame, and an inability to sleep.

Prescription Drugs

Galliano’s solution was sadly prescription drugs. After a while John realized, "I was going to end up in a mental asylum or six feet under."

Being fired from Christian Dior was actually a blessing in disguise, he tells Vanity Fair. It was the wake-up call he needed to change his life. He checked into rehab and started to get clean.

Kate Moss then asked Galliano to design her wedding dress. He feels that was his time to be himself again; to use his creativity and unique style again.

What Caused It?

So through all of this, what really lead John Galliano, and what really leads anyone, to a life of alcohol and prescription drug abuse? For John, he feels it was his tumultuous childhood. For alcoholics and addicts overall, unresolved events of trauma, abuse, neglect, or abandonment can leave residual low self-esteem, shame, guilt, and a diminished sense of self-worth.

As he got clean, John wanted to figure out where his anti-Semitic rage came from, and as he tells Vanity Fair, 'I now realize I was so f****** angry and so discontent with myself that I just said the most spiteful thing I could.’

Denial

Denied anger and sadness creates angry and sad adults. Repressed emotions that were never dealt with resurface with alcohol and drug intoxication.

While in treatment, the goal is to work through all those past events, issues, and emotions so that the root of addiction is addressed once and for all. Without the identification of your demons, you are really unlikely to get well.

Emotionally Painful

That’s why we see a lot of celebrities (and addicts in general) who have 2, 3, or 4 stints in rehab before changes are really made. Maybe the first time in rehab was too emotionally painful and events of the past are still too hard to face. Relapse and a return to drug and alcohol ensue, but eventually that person ends up in rehab again.

Maybe the second time is a little easier, and issues are addressed, but then the changes made in rehab are not continued after the program ends, and a relapse happens weeks or months later. Drug and alcohol abuse will always lead back to a need for treatment.

Lessons Learned

The lessons learned and issues processed are never lost, even through many cycles of relapse, but addiction is progressive and will only get worse when not properly treated.

John Galliano seems to be living a healthy life in recovery. He is two years clean and sober, and is working to get his fashion career back on track. Alcohol and prescription drug abuse had a hold on his life for a while, and he hit his rock bottom. He worked hard to complete treatment and stay clean, and now hopefully he can continue sharing his gift with the world.

Jared Friedman is quality improvement manager at Sovereign Health Group a dual diagnosis treatment center http://www.sovcal.com. Keep up with Sovereign Health Group and Jared Friedman on Twitter.

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