Addiction to drugs and alcohol is a painful mistress that infects without prejudice. Just ask Steven Tyler, best known today for being a judge on TV’s American Idol, but a celebrity for the last several decades as the frontman for the rock band Aerosmith. In a media blitz of interviews, Tyler goes into detail about the lengths he went to keep his habit within arm’s reach: “I kept my medicine cabinet on stage, in a 14-inch drum head, the bottom of which contained…one Dixie cup with a straw and blow (cocaine) in it and the other with Coca-Cola and Jack Daniels in it.”
Tyler will be the first to tell you how easy it is to get sucked back into addiction, after years of being clean and sober. He says that a large part of his decision to do a special on Oprah Winfrey’s new primetime series Oprah’s Next Chapter was because he wanted to explain to America the events that actually led to his re-admission into drug rehab at the end of 2009. “I wanted America to know that I didn’t just go off on my own somewhere and buy some street drugs. There really was a story behind it.”
Addiction To Drugs That Are Supposed To Help You
Steven Tyler’s latest bout with addiction started like so many others do present day. He went and had what he described as a “long overdue” surgery on both of his feet, and became addicted to the pain medication he was prescribed. “I have an addictive personality and I got into trouble again. I did, and shame on me for that,” Tyler disclosed. His story is like so many other Americans who go to their doctor’s office seeking pain relief following a car accident or surgery or things of that nature and are prescribed dangerously potent and addictive pain killers without the necessary supervision they so desperately need.
Steven Tyler could be considered lucky he was only left with a relapsed addiction. Thousands of people are admitted to emergency rooms every day in this country thanks to complications related to prescription pain killer overdoses. While prescription medications are not illicit street drugs and may be legally prescribed, they are just as dangerous and addictive – sometimes more so. And, that is a message that Steven Tyler wanted his legions of fans to know. Hopefully, his speaking out publicly shed some additional light on how dangerous these substances truly are.
Destination Hope is a full-service addiction treatment center for women with substance abuse issues in South Florida. Steven Tyler is yet another example of how prescription drug addiction can take over the life of even the long-term recovering addict. If you or a loved one has developed a problem with prescription drugs, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with Destination Hope today.
