Prince, Heroin and Parkinson’s Disease

MAY 13, 2016 BY DAVID 

The rock legend taught me some things about coping with my disease.

Prince

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What is the first question you ask when you learn that somebody you care about has died suddenly? When it is someone famous, we all wonder what happened.

It is sad that the speculation surrounding Prince’s death could be true, that he suffered from opioid abuse.  Still, it’s too early.

The saddest thing for me is that there will no longer be new music from a living Prince. I know many fans look forward to the revealing of a vast treasure chest of recordings by Prince that have never been heard by the public before, but this hardly makes up for the loss of a living legend.

Prince was more than a rock legend. He taught me how to deal with my mental illness and Parkinson’s disease.

Heroin and our Heros?

I am sad that as a society we still don’t know how to think about opioid abuse. There is still so much judgment around opioid deaths.

I am sad that as a society we still don’t know how to think about opioid abuse. There is still so much judgment around opioid deaths.

If Prince died from an opiate overdose, would that make him a criminal or morally apprehensible?

At one point, he changed his name to a symbol. I wonder if that was easier for him than the judgment he may have endured, going from rock god to junkie.

Prince was known for his monster practice sessions, day after day, with little sleep. He reportedly played through physical pain like a twenty-year-old, ignoring his physical and mental needs.

There are many musicians who want to know more about how Prince did it. If it turns out that his secret included opioid pain medication abuse, his death should be a cautionary tale.

I was blindsided

I work as a Social Worker and I have always played by the rules. I managed my anxiety by monitoring my thoughts for negative thinking and by running.

Then I faced a bout of crushing depression. That was difficult enough until I received another diagnosis: Parkinson’s. I learned that my depression was a kind of early warning sign of Parkinson Disease.

Then I faced a bout of crushing depression. That was difficult enough until I received another diagnosis: Parkinson’s. I learned that my depression was a kind of early warning sign of Parkinson Disease.

I was very sad to be diagnosed with Parkinson Disease because progressive neurologic conditions tend to not be good news. Thinking about how this disease may affect my life worries me a great deal.

The best defense against progressive adversity is treatment, and treatment costs money. I knew that I needed to continue to work to give myself the best shot at a quality of life. I was doing well, I had energy, I felt challenged, I slept well, I had good relationships with my coworkers, and I continued to meet my work expectations.

I wondered how long I could keep it up.

As time went on it took more and more energy to focus on my work. I worked with my psychiatrist, I Googled the literature, I changed up medications and doses. I coped with the side effects. I searched for the prescription cocktail, with tolerable side effects, that would keep me in the game.

I don’t know how long the medication mix and match of went on.  At some point, I decided that I didn’t want to find out. I dropped out. I stopped being a social worker at a clinic devoted to helping people with opioid abuse disorders in the middle of a heroin epidemic.

What I have learned from Prince about coping with disease

I can only imagine what it felt like to be Prince. I think no less of his musical performances if it turns out that he abused opioid pain medication. In a way, his uniquely shaped guitar may have symbolized his devil-soul-swapped-fiddle-of-gold that Charlie Daniels sings about.

One of the greatest obstacles to admitting to an opioid abuse problem is realizing that you have one, but that is the first step. When you no longer fight your disease, you have more energy to get the help that you need.

One of the greatest obstacles to admitting to an opioid abuse problem is realizing that you have one, but that is the first step. When you no longer fight your disease, you have more energy to get the help that you need.

I am finding that there are other powerful hedges against adversity besides money. Writing is one of them. Being challenged is good medicine in the fight against Parkinsons Disease.

Writing helps with the psychological aspects of the disease. I have guilt about retreating from the front lines of working with individuals suffering from opioid abuse in the midst of a heroin epidemic. I hope that there is still some good I can do writing about it.

I don’t claim to know everything about disease, about drug abuse, or about recovery. What I have learned is that getting the help you need is the important thing. Please, please, never stop fighting.

Purple Rain

About David Shaw

David S. Shaw is a clinical social worker who has specialized in the treatment of men with substance abuse disorders and maintains an interest in Men’s issues in general. He has particular interest in issues related to male sexuality, Pro-feminism, countering rape culture and the socialization of boys. He lives in the Catskill Mountain region of New York State.

http://goodmenproject.com/guy-talk/prince-heroin-and-parkinsons-disease-snsw/