When will we all learn? I got to the office this morning to the news that Warrant lead singer Jani Lane was found dead in a Woodland Hills, CA hotel. He was only 47 years old and I’m sure it will not take an autopsy to tell the world that drugs and alcohol took his life. I’m old enough to remember Warrant’s music along with Guns and Roses, Poison and all those other 80’s hair bands. I thought those guys were cool and I thought that their life style was even cooler. Back in the 80’s if you were a teenage boy you wanted to drink and party like all those guys. If you were a teenage girl back in the 80’s you wanted to date a rock stars like the “Cherry Pie” guy. I went back and found the lyrics to “Heaven” (a song penned by Lane) and these words stood out and seemed perfect for this post:
“I’ve got nowhere left to go And no one really cares”
It is probably how most alcoholics and addicts feel almost every day. I know that I personally felt alone and that no one cared about me so I drank at the world. I felt like no one could possibly understand the pain I was in and there was no way out of my hell. I’m not dumb or so old that I don’t understand that stardom comes with its vices.
What I’m trying to say here is that the deaths of celebrities like Jani Lane and Amy Winehouse are proof that NOBODY’s invincible. It doesn’t matter that you’re rich and loved by millions of people, the disease known as addiction will eventually catch up with you. None of us are bullet proof and none of us are saints. We have to live life to the fullest but we can’t tempt death by abusing drugs and alcohol. Self -medicating to avoid life will not make the problems go away. Self-medication will only magnify the problems we’re trying not to face. The deaths of famous people from drugs and alcohol should not go in vain, use these people’s deaths to teach your kids or talk to that person that’s struggling with their own addiction.
Don’t forget, you’re not alone!
Bio
Oscar is a thirty something recovering alcoholic. He’s been sober since 2005. You can follow his sobriety journal at Life Without Beer Goggles. Oscar also stays in touch with his readers on his Facebook page and Twitter.