Dixon Carter Lee
Headliner
- Joined
- Nov 22, 1999
- Posts
- 48,682
I've never taken drugs, or been much of a drinker, and I've never even had a cigarette, so the whole "addiction" thing is something I've only ever truly understood intellectually.
For example, I could never figure out how people like Alan Sorkin and Robert Downey, Jr. and Kelsey Grammer could take drug after drug, despite jail, despite public disclosure, despite family intervention, and STILL manage to do great work. Even after re-hab, when the addiction is, apparently, "gone", they return to the drugs? Why?
I was discussing this with some friends at dinner the other night. One friend had actually shot a "Frasier" the day after Kelsey got out of re-hab, and said the man went right for the bottle, had liquor on his breath all day, was wired with energy, and never seemed "Drunk".
Same thing with Sorkin. According to someone I ain't gonna mention the network and the producers don't care about his addiction because the guy keeps turning out scripts, and they recognize that his dependence is why he's able to be productive.
I had several friends on "Ally" when Downey, Jr. did the show, and they never saw him act sloppy or high, but they knew he was.
I didn't get it. I sat there saying, "How the fuck do these people stay alive and successful?" I was rubbing my head at the time because I was having a headache. My friends asked me what was wrong, and I said that I had stopped drinking Diet Soda, and three days without caffeine was making my head hurt. I ordered an iced tea, took a sip, and immediatley felt "normal" again.
"That" my friend said, "is what addicts are trying to do. They're trying to get back to 'normal'."
You know, I knew that, but it didn't really hit hoime until that moment. All these guys are hitting the drugs and booze just to feel like you and I feel every day. It's not about getting blitzed anymore, they can't get blitzed anymore, it's just about getting rid of that stupid headache with a little chemical you've become dependent on.
Well, I'm still on caffeine, but just barely - I've weened myself pretty well. I can't imagine what someone hooked on heroin has to go through. Particularly a long time addict, like these guys, because even if you DO drop the addiction, you have spent so many years being "normal" on dope that you lose part of your personality with the sobriety. No wonder they go back.
For example, I could never figure out how people like Alan Sorkin and Robert Downey, Jr. and Kelsey Grammer could take drug after drug, despite jail, despite public disclosure, despite family intervention, and STILL manage to do great work. Even after re-hab, when the addiction is, apparently, "gone", they return to the drugs? Why?
I was discussing this with some friends at dinner the other night. One friend had actually shot a "Frasier" the day after Kelsey got out of re-hab, and said the man went right for the bottle, had liquor on his breath all day, was wired with energy, and never seemed "Drunk".
Same thing with Sorkin. According to someone I ain't gonna mention the network and the producers don't care about his addiction because the guy keeps turning out scripts, and they recognize that his dependence is why he's able to be productive.
I had several friends on "Ally" when Downey, Jr. did the show, and they never saw him act sloppy or high, but they knew he was.
I didn't get it. I sat there saying, "How the fuck do these people stay alive and successful?" I was rubbing my head at the time because I was having a headache. My friends asked me what was wrong, and I said that I had stopped drinking Diet Soda, and three days without caffeine was making my head hurt. I ordered an iced tea, took a sip, and immediatley felt "normal" again.
"That" my friend said, "is what addicts are trying to do. They're trying to get back to 'normal'."
You know, I knew that, but it didn't really hit hoime until that moment. All these guys are hitting the drugs and booze just to feel like you and I feel every day. It's not about getting blitzed anymore, they can't get blitzed anymore, it's just about getting rid of that stupid headache with a little chemical you've become dependent on.
Well, I'm still on caffeine, but just barely - I've weened myself pretty well. I can't imagine what someone hooked on heroin has to go through. Particularly a long time addict, like these guys, because even if you DO drop the addiction, you have spent so many years being "normal" on dope that you lose part of your personality with the sobriety. No wonder they go back.
see a pattern here?
