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I generally avoid partaking in Hollywood scandals, but the life and times of Anna Nicole Smith is a sensational story. Born a poor Texas girl, she became famous for being famous–that’s it. Some called her a “gold digger.” She was a stripper and an on-again, off-again mega millionaire’s widow, a Playboy centerfold, a model and a reality star with her very own television show. But most of all, she was human–not really a shining star. Her spotlight was not one with subtle rays of light dancing about the stage. Her beam was so bright it blind-sided everyone in sight. Her life flashed by with glitters of lightening and a kaleidoscope of hazy blues. She also turned me into a media addict. Since her tragic death, I have remained glued to the boob tube–like a video freak. I haven’t felt like this since O.J.

It was the late morning of Thursday, February 8, 2007. I awoke feeling ill, so I called in sick. I had the classic symptoms of the influenza strain. I felt miserable, to say the least. I had a fever, sore throat and body aches. I still have not been back to work for the past twelve days.

During my illness, I have been bedridden and all my attention has been focused on the Anna Nicole Smith tragedy on television. My interest is intense, because her story of addiction hits a strong chord with me. The twists and turns of her story keeps me unusually focused because I can relate to the addictions she suffered. I can also relate to her grief. Anna lost her beloved son, Daniel, last September. He died of a suspicious drug overdose. This was the ultimate tragedy that threw her over the edge in deep depression and suicidal attempts on her life and eventual death.

With Anna’s grief, we saw her pain. Her lifestyle and the people she hung out with enabled her to continue her self-destructive path. We have all seen it before. We knew of celebrities before her that fell from grace. Unfortunately, with fame and fortune, addiction and loneliness equal disaster. We saw the path and destruction in Anna’s idol, Marilyn Monroe. We saw Elvis Presley and John Belushi, and many other celebrities sadly go the same way. Some simply can’t handle it. Anna, also, was one of these personalities. The Anna Nicole Smith story should be a wake up call for those who might be heading a similar direction. We all like to blame others for not setting her straight. The truth is, some people do not listen to advice or counseling. Neither do they react or respond to intervention. They have to hit rock bottom first– if they survive.

Our culture dictates that we cannot force our will on others. Alcoholics and addicts must take the first step. Anna’s friends did not kill her. They enabled her to kill herself. If everybody followed the same path, other directions are not visible. The steps and stones are not there. An addict must fall off the deep end and hit rock bottom. Some will swim, others will drown. It’s a cold, brutal and ruthless world.

When Anna gained fame and fortune, she weakened to drug addiction, then she lost her self and never found her way back. She preferred friends in low places. She befriended leaches, blood suckers,and wannabes that had possessed several dysfunctional traits–greed and a craving for attention, just like Anna.

I had sympathy and a soft heart for Anna. I could feel her pain. I am an alcoholic and addict, too,– in recovery. I have hit rock bottom many times. I saw my two older brothers and several friends self-destruct and kill themselves from addictions and suicide. They had friends in low places. I had friends in low places. I had overdosed and almost lost my life several times. Like Anna, I lost somebody very special in my life–my wife, Bobbie. When she died from cancer, I lost my will to live. I fell off the deep end and was drowning. Nobody else could save me. In my final days, by sheer fate, I pushed myself up toward the surface and I survived.

People love to hear these kind of stories and the media goes wild. Of all the articles I have written, suicide and addiction rate the highest among my readers. This is no surprise. People can relate. The attention to Anna’s story has trumped the war in Iraq and other world events. It’s all about the reality of life in America and how we perceive it. It seems we all know somebody like Anna, who do not heed the obvious warnings, and live on the edge in the fast lane.

Blaming others for Anna’s death may be wrong. Her story has just begun. Many people may prove to be responsible for their negligent actions and strange behavior. And Anna, for the first time in her life, may have just performed an academy award winning performance in a wilder version of the life and times of Norma Jean–Marilyn Monroe. In Anna Nicole Smith’s case–the portrayal of Vicky Lynn, the most famous person for being famous. Her story is greater.

Anna Nicole Smith’s life was a long and winding train wreck. Marilyn Monroe’s life was a candle in the wind. I hope and I pray, they have found eternal peace. May God bless them all. Rest in peace.

Earl D. Erickson is an internet author who loves to write true stories. He writes exactly how he feels. His articles can be read at EzineArticles.com or by going directly to his websites. He hopes his readers will be inspired by relating to their problems they are experiencing, like grief, depression, addiction, suicide and other struggles in life. He is currently writing a book about his life struggles. The book is entitled, Independence Day: An Alcoholic’s Journey To Recovery. He encourages his readers to e-mail him with their stories and comments.

I don t have a problem with my drinking you have a problem with my drinking!

Honestly, honey, I don t drink that much! You should see the guys I work with!

Have you ever noticed that alcoholics are usually the last to realize that they have a problem? Why do alcoholics refuse to acknowledge their condition?

The answer can be uttered in one simple word denial!

Denial is a key psychological symptom of addiction. Alcoholics continue to drink even after their world has fallen apart. They blame everything and everybody around them for their problems except alcohol. Denial is a very effective tool for alcoholics to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions. It is far easier to blame others for their crises and dilemmas.

What are the telltale signs of denial?

In the early stages of alcoholism, denial has an outward appearance of seemingly logical rationalizations.

I am not an an alcoholic. I am getting straight A s at school!

I ve got an excellent employment record and I haven t missed a day s work in five years.

Real alcoholics lose their jobs, houses and families. That has not happened to me.

It is part of my job, I have to drink.

As the disease progresses, alcoholics are very talented at projecting their problems on to other people or events.

I only drink because I have such enormous stress at work.

You d drink too, if you had a wife/husband like mine!

I would not have to drink so much if the boss would just get off my back!

It s not my fault I got into an accident. It was the other driver s fault.

As the problems and crises accumulate, alcoholic denial takes the form of withdrawal and/or escape. At the very least, alcoholics are quite insistent that they do not require any type of outside help.

I ll stop drinking as soon as I leave this relationship.

I ll be fine as soon as I get away from this awful city. (This is known as a geographical cure.)

I m not hurting anybody else, leave me alone.

I don t need help to stop drinking; I can do it by myself.

What can you do about it? What if someone you know and love has a serious problem with alcohol? How can you help them if they don t think that they have a problem?

The most opportune time to approach the subject is during a remorseful hangover period. If they feel sick, despondent and thoroughly defeated, they may be ready to admit that they have a problem. Ask them if they have a problem with alcohol and ask them if they are interested in getting help.

If they admit to having a problem and are ready to get help, there are several options available:

Call Alcoholics Anonymous and arrange for AA members to come over and visit with them.

Take them to an open AA meeting.

Set up an appointment with a drug and alcohol counselor.

Contact a treatment centre and ask about the admission process.

Remember that nothing can be done for an alcoholic until they want to stop drinking for themselves! If an alcoholic is quitting for their partner, employer or any other external factor, recovery is doomed right from the beginning.

There is a distinct possibility that you may have to wait until a serious crisis arises before they realize that they need help. Unfortunately, this usually involves them being physically injured, losing their job or being arrested. It is very important that you do your best to help an alcoholic get the treatment that they desperately require. However, this does not involve enabling their insane behavior or continually covering up for them. In many cases an alcoholic may very well have to hit absolute bottom before they are ready to seek help.

However, there is no way for them to ever hit bottom — if there is always a soft place for them to land.

Dr. Larry Smith Chiropractor and Author of:

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If your answer is yes, then this book is for you!

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You will quickly learn how to confront, conquer and powerfully triumph over addiction, cancer or any other life threatening illness!

Experience the remarkable story of two courageous yet ordinary individuals and their astonishing recoveries from heartbreaking tragedy. Find out how a cancer survivor and an alcoholic mutually support each other and passionately embrace the journey of recovery.

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There are a lot of people who will have you believe that you’re addicted to cigarettes. That smoking is a habit that’s more difficult to get rid of than breathing oxygen. That killing your first born would be easier than quitting smoking. What I find funny about this little fact is that all the people saying these things have one thing in common. They want to sell you something to make quitting cigarettes easier. That’s right, the want to make money off of you. So it’s in their best interest that you believe that you can’t break the addiction without the help of whatever they may be selling.

I came to this conclusion after I personally walked away from cigarettes after sucking them down for the better part of fifteen years. And I walked away from cigarettes without the aid of anything but myself. Throughout my fifteen years of smoking I had tried to quit with the aid of gum and patches with no success. It wasn’t until I did it without the aid of anything other than myself that I came to the realizations I’m going to speak about in this article.

The biggest realization that I came to was the fact that I was never really addicted to anything. I had simply engaged in an activity for so long that it had become “normal” to me. Smoking cigarettes had become a habit. That’s it. I realized that smoking cigarettes was mental. It was more important what I thought about smoking cigarettes than the actual act of smoking them. I came to the realization that I wasn’t addicted to anything!

This realization changed my entire perspective, and I quickly walked away from cigarettes forever. Honestly, isn’t smoking disgusting? It really is, and this is coming from someone who engaged in the practice for more than 15 years. I think about it now and it’s just disgusting. IU was walking through the grocery store the other day and someone walked by me reeking of cigarettes. It was disgusting, and then I thought to myself, “That was you just a little while ago you idiot!” It’s amazing how when you’re involved in things, your perspective gets all screwed up.

The bottom line is that if you want to quit smoking cigarettes, you can. You’re not actually addicted to anything. You’ve just become so used to smoking that you think it’s going to be difficult to stop. That’s it. And I’m telling you, it’s not that hard to stop smoking. Just believe that you can, and that can be enough. Remember when you used to not smoke. Remember when you could run up a flight of stairs and not feel like you were going to die. Remember all of those things, because it wasn’t that long ago that you didn’t even know what a cigarette was, let alone how to smoke it! And believe in yourself. It’s amazing what a human being can accomplish when he/she believes in themselves.

Trevor Kugler – Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country – Montana.

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There are many people in this world that would have you believe that addictions are a horrible thing that happen to us. As a person who smoked cigarettes and drank an average of a twelve pack of beer a day for the better part of 15 years and walked away form both practices, I think I have some expertise on the subject of addictions. I don’t look at either of these addictions as negative. I look at them as my greatest teachers. Although I was caught in the haze of drinking and smoking for all of that time, I now realize why it happened. I’ve learned that both practices taught me more than they took from me, although on the surface that may seem hard to believe.

At first the idea of addictions being your greatest teachers sounds weird, but if you begin to think about it, you will realize that its true. Without being “addicted” to beer and cigarettes as I was, how could I really explain to my daughter why she shouldn’t engage in such things? I couldn’t. To me there is nothing worse than someone telling someone that they shouldn’t do something simply because that thing “isn’t good for them” or “isn’t right”. To me that was always the definition of hypocrisy. Telling someone not to do something that you yourself have no experience with. For example, I couldn’t tell my daughter that she shouldn’t rock climb, why? Because I have no experience with rock climbing, so what the hell do I know about it? I would imagine that it’s dangerous, but in actuality I have no idea. The bottom line is that I can tell my daughter all about both drinking and smoking when the time comes. They both taught me a lot and I have the direct experience of knowing how they can effect a person.

This very fact is one of my major problems with politics. Politicians want to tell everyone what to do, while having no direct experience with many of these things themselves. It’s just a terrible way to deal with things in my humble opinion. So my addictions were my greatest teachers and I will always be thankful for the fact that I came to this realization. Maybe, in the divine plan of the universe, that is the very reason that I started drinking and smoking in the first place. To come to that realization.

Remember, anything that you might find yourself addicted to isn’t bigger than you are. As much as people might want you to believe that your addictions are bigger than you, they’re not. Your addictions are just trying to teach you something. Something that you couldn’t realize in any other way. You have within you, everything that you need to conquer any addiction.

Trevor Kugler – Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country….Montana.

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