Quote:
Originally Posted by Aurora
I feel sorry for her family and a little her for the mess her life was in pretty much. I have no sympathy if she died due to drug abuse. She was an excellent artist and a loss. As RT said she went down the swanny years ago.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Butler
I don't care, she brought it on herself with all the drug and alcohol abuse. The real travesty is the 92 people in Norway that have been shot by some nutcase. Not saying she didn't have any musical talent though, that will be a loss.
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I have sympathy for Amy Winehouse, because from what I understand of addictions, those who are addicted can't just easily choose to stop (that's why it is called an addiction) since the substances affect their brain such that the ability to stop on their own becomes incredibly difficult.
When you are extremely hungry, can you stop yourself from feeling hunger? When you are very tired, can you "will" yourself out of exhaustion? I've felt very hungry before, and the urge to eat can become all-consuming, the single thought on my mind.
The best I can tell, an addiction results in similar neurological changes, and you are powerless to change the direction of your thoughts while under the influence. Blaming someone who dies of a drug overdose (if that *is* how she died) is like blaming someone for falling asleep when she is exhausted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by captaincaptain
Self destruction is a terrible way to go out. People are out there to help you, but it takes some motivation on the addicted's part. It's unfortunate she died, but it happens daily.
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If someone is able to find the motivation to break an addiction, perhaps that person just isn't as physiologically addicted as another?
As motivated as I am to stay awake and alert when I am sleepy, I can't fight my brain's neurochemistry. I think that "a brain on drugs" can't fight the neurochemistry of addiction either. It isn't just a simple matter of having or lacking motivation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by right-track
This is so sad, yet not unexpected to me.
It was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
On a personal note, I'm a big fan of Amy Winehouse and this news has saddened me greatly.
So much wonderful talent, wasted.
God only knows what this woman could have achieved had she more self control.R.I.P Amy Winehouse.  |
She does seem to sing songs in the style you'd like, Right-track....very soulish.
Is it possible to have self-control while under the influence of drugs? Don't they by definition shift the brain's priorities and the ability to control one's desires? I guess I just don't think of addiction as being due to a problem of self-control; lack of self-control
results from addiction. The question I have is what factors influenced Amy's decision to
start?
I just listened to her song "Rehab," which someone mentioned earlier in the thread. The song is interesting and reminds me of how so many addicted people's stories are the same...resisting rehab, for example, and not feeling that they need it or gain anything from it.
The song reminds me to have humility: if I were addicted to some drug, I see no reason to believe that my brain/mind would react any differently than any other addicted person's. And if I *did* manage to break an addiction, it wouldn't be something to use to put down people who haven't found a way yet, or never do.
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
The saddest line in the song, I feel, is this one: "I don't ever wanna drink again." Imagine how it would feel, to want to stop oneself from doing something, and to fail at it again and again? I have only sympathy for someone who is walking that path, especially if it leads to her death.