The Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremony will occur a few days from now. In some ways, the ceremony encapsulates what many people think when they hear the word Hollywood—movies, attractive people in glamorous outfits, and the like.
Many people also think about alcohol and drugs when they hear the word Hollywood. Stories of actors, actresses, and musicians who have drug and alcohol problems and go to rehab are so common, they’re practically cliches.
Why are drugs and alcohol so connected to the entertainment industry? Maybe it’s the accessibility—performers sometimes spend time with other performers who have and use drugs or frequent places where such substance might be readily available.
Maybe it’s a matter of economics. Many drugs aren’t cheap. Performers with big paychecks can fund big drug habits.
Maybe time is the culprit behind such drug and alcohol habits. Many people in the entertainment industry don’t work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or forty-hour work weeks. They might work fourteen hours a day for a set period of time and not work at all for other stretches of time. They might have to wait on set while others complete their work. They might also work on locations far away from their homes.
The resulting long hours, irregular schedules, exhaustion, and loneliness could drive some people to abuse drugs or alcohol. The uncertainty of not knowing what their future jobs will look like—or even IF they’ll have future jobs—could lead people to doubt themselves. It could breed insecurity, anxiety, and depression or worsen those conditions if performers are already predisposed to them.
These conditions could lead to a dual diagnosis. A dual diagnosis occurs when doctors diagnose a person with a substance use disorder problem and a mental illness such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, an eating disorder, or bipolar disorder. While a dual diagnosis sounds intense—and it is—it is also a common condition. All sorts of people deal with dual diagnoses, including people in the entertainment industry. All sorts of treatment options can treat dual diagnoses.
