American actor Robin Williams. ILLUSTRATION | JOSEPH BARASA
By Dr Frank Njenga
In Summary
I used to be, and still am, a big fan of US
comedian Robin Williams. I have read about his depression and abuse of
drugs as well as how he had managed to conquer both.
SHARE THIS STORY
Why do people who are successful in their business and
careers get overwhelmed by depression or drugs? And secondly, what are
the first signs that someone is going down that dangerous path? Is there
a way friends and relatives can help or should people just help
themselves?
--------------------------------------
Your question has allowed me to further consider a
theory, which though accepted by some experts is yet to be proved
scientifically. My observations are very similar to yours.
Very many giants in the entertainment world who
have troubled childhoods rise to fame and die desperate lives of drug
and alcohol addiction. Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson
are good example of this phenomenon.
Elvis Presley was the giant of rock and roll in my
generation and I will illustrate my point using his life and fate. His
music lives on many years after his death on August 16, 1977 aged 42.
Elvis came from a severely deprived background, in
which his poverty stricken parents lived on handouts. His father served
time in jail for issuing a bouncing cheque, and they lived in a poor
neighbourhood getting subsidies from government and food from
neighbours.
On school entry, he was simply described as an
average student, who kept to himself. His teachers regarded his music as
“trashy”, and he scored a C in music.
In these circumstances one can picture a teenager
full of self doubt, depressed, lonely and perhaps out of touch with
parents and peers. In 1954, Elvis was working as a lorry driver.
The following year, he became rich, famous, and
sought after by the world. He had also turned out to be an incredibly
handsome young man, much adored by the girls.
The rest, as they say is history, as he went on to
become simply the king. In a few years, he was catapulted from a life of
poverty to a life of opulent decadence. He was in a totally unfamiliar
territory in a very short time.
Sadly, this status, came with its challenges, and
in a state of self doubt and high societal expectations, his marriage
failed, he took to abuse of prescription drugs and eventually died.
This, however, is the short version of the story.
Before he was found in his hotel room dead from a drug overdose, many
instances had given reason for friends, like you to intervene. They did
not do so in time.
The increasing use of barbiturates, prescribed
initially by his doctors, his breaking up with his wife and several
incidents in which he collapsed on stage were all reasons to wonder what
was going on, in the life of the king.
At one time he went on stage and held on to the
microphone unable to do more than mumble into the microphone and the
world still refused to accept that the king was “dying”.
No comments :
Post a Comment