Another celeb gone... too soon?

This morning I woke up to the Yahoo! headline flashing across my screen, "Actor Corey Haim Dies at 38."  Am I shocked?  No, not really.

In one of my toughest entries on this blog, "New Year, New Me," I touched on the subject of drug use and the unhealthy lifestyle that oftentimes comes along with living in Los Angeles.  Another dead celebrity as a result of drug use is no surprise to me.  I've watched as friends destroyed their lives by ingesting prescription drugs, given to them for a valid health issue, soon to be abused for the purpose of having a good time.  I've watched as a friend passed those drugs out to their friends as if they were candy, even sold them for a profit.  I've stood by as that same friend exchanged pills with friends and family through the mail.  This is all too common, especially in Los Angeles and definitely in the entertainment world.  And you don't even need excessive amounts of cash in order to participate.

I recall a very poignant moment during a visit to LA sometime in late '99.  My friend and I were headed down to hang out and party in Hollywood.  Mind you, partying for me is and always has been having a few drinks (sometimes a few too many) but never has it ever involved the use of a drug of any kind (not prescription or non-prescription ... nothing, NADA!).  I've never picked up a cigarette, never taken a pill other than aspirin or a pain killer for oral surgery or a toothache, or the occasional sleep medication, which by the way, I no longer do).  We were in the car with my childhood friend and his very pregnant girlfriend, driving down Sunset Boulevard to go to a couple of hangouts where all the action goes down.  I remember my friend talking to us about ecstasy and how it was so commonly used in his world (meaning the LA/entertainment world).  I said, "I've never used it and never would.  I have no desire to."  He shot back at me, "Oh, that'll all change when you move down here."  Both he and his girlfriend swore up and down that a life in LA would mean that I'd give up my morals and values simply to fit in.

I was in shock that these people, one who's known me since I was a little girl and who I thought understood me, would even suggest that I'd give in.  Just because they'd done so, did that mean I'd have to?  I think not!  That is one belief of mine that I can promise has never and will never waiver.

This brings me back to all of these celebrities (actors, singers, wanna-be-somebodies) dying of drug overdose, whether accidental or intentional.  I beg the question, can you have an "accidental" overdose?  Do we not all completely understand the consequences of putting these dangerous foreign substances into our bodies, right into our blood stream, in most cases mixing them with other lethal drugs?  While they may not intend to kill themselves, how can we claim it's an accident if they know the possibility of death is there?

And while we're on the subject, is it me, or do these types of overdose deaths seem to be occurring more frequently?  I remember vividly, back in the day, the untimely death of entertainers such as River Phoenix (1993) from a drug overdose outside the Viper Room on Sunset Blvd.  A few years later it was Dana Plato (May 1999), actress from the sitcom Different Strokes.

Now it seems to be happening way more frequently:  Anna Nicole Smith (February 2007), Heath Ledger (January 2008), Michael Jackson (July 2009), Adam Goldstein AKA DJ AM (August 2009), Brittany Murphy (December 2009), Corey Haim (March 2010).  Why are these people doing this to themselves?  And why do "we" tend to idolize them?

I pray that the next time you want a feel-good fix, instead of popping a pill or something potentially worse, ask yourself the question, "Do I want to die?"  Because if the answer is no, then don't do it.  Find someone to talk to: a friend, confidant, parent, therapist, or better yet, go get some exercise.  That's a natural high that will continually make you feel better, not just give you a false high that will send you crashing back down.

Life is for the living!  Stay strong and be healthy.