Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Michael Hutchence and now the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, all immensely talented, all with the world seemingly at their feet, and now all sadly dead as a direct result of drug and alcohol addiction. There are many more talented actresses, actors and musicians that can be added to the list in recent years. One thing they all have in common, aside from their talent and riches,, is that they all relapsed on drug and alcohol addiction, which in turn lead to their sad and untimely death.
They died alone
Addiction has a habit of isolating individuals. Most people who experience an addiction relapse, feel such shame and guilt that they hide their using and drinking way from the rest of the world. This means that if they overdose or become dangerously ill, there is no one there to help them and so they die alone. Even the rich and famous, who are constantly surrounded by people, in addiction, end up alone. All of the above actors and musicians were discovered dead, alone in an apartment or a house. They had all experienced periods of being sober and clean, some for a very long time, but had all once again succumbed to the false promises made by addiction. This cost them the ultimate price, their life.
Progressive illness
Time and time again it has been the experience of many who suffer from alcoholism and addiction, that when they relapse, they quickly find themselves in a place where they are just as out of control as they were when they first gave up the drink and drugs. Addiction is a progressive illness and even a long period of abstinence is unlikely to change this. Over any considerable period of time, those who suffer from addiction will only get worse, never better. It may have taken an individual years to progress to a certain amount of alcohol or drugs a day, but an addiction relapse means often returning very quickly to where they left off, and then worse. Their bodies simply cant cope after a period of abstinence. Their tolerance levels will be extremely low and so they are at huge risk of overdosing. This is the main reason that so many die as a result of a relapse. Their bodies are no longer used to processing large quantities of alcohol and drugs, they are at huge risk of respiratory and organ failure.
Secrecy kills
Once someone has had a period of abstinence and recovery from addiction, it can be especially hard for them to ask for help. They will sense that what they are doing is dangerous, but will be over taken by the compulsion to carry on. Feeling like they have failed at sobriety and let loved ones down, they are likely to try and hide the evidence rather than admit they are struggling. This makes for more wreckless drinking and using than ever before. For some the guilt, shame and feeling of being trapped back in addiction hell is too much and they deliberately take their own life. This is a sad fact of relapse.
Don’t be a victim
If you or a loved one are worried about addiction relapse, or have relapsed and are frightened to admit it, call our helpline and speak to someone in confidence. It is vital you seek help before its too late. Even speaking to someone anonymously can give you the courage you need to face your addiction and problems. Don’t make the fatal mistake of thinking it wont happen to you, you could well be addictions next victim.