Relapse and Ongoing Struggles Part of Substance Abuse Battle for Courtney Love
It’s a roller coaster ride through recovery from substance abuse addictions for most celebrities, including rocker and actress Courtney Love, who is alleged to be seeking treatment again for several substance addictions. Celebrities and non-celebrities may relate to Love’s story, having experienced relapses and periods of recovery – and at times, reaching out to others for help.
Courtney Love, widow of Kurt Cobain, former lead singer for alternative rock band Nirvana, began garnering public attention for problems with drugs and alcohol in the early 1990s. During this time, while her relationship with Cobain captured public interest, Love’s music career with the band Hole was taking off – but both Love and Cobain were reported to abuse drugs.
In 1994, Cobain committed suicide, which Love said pushed her further into substance abuse and also began a period of financial troubles. For a time, the celebrity’s custody of she and Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean, was removed. Sentencing for other offenses during the late 1990s included six months of substance abuse treatment.
A 2003 charge was given to Love for possessing medications without having a prescription, and she is reported to have overdosed on the prescription painkiller Oxycontin. She is also reported to have attempted drug rehabilitation on several occasions.
Substance abuse professionals and people in drug or alcohol recovery have often cited the benefits of peer support for fighting addiction – a situation Love says is also part of her past experience with drugs. The star says actor Mel Gibson and professional counselor Warren Boyd intervened while she and others were taking drugs in a hotel, encouraging Love to begin rehabilitation.
Love reflected on this, and other periods of her life, in a 2006 interview with ABC News, where she discussed the release of her memoir. During the interview, Love spoke of a three-year span where most of her life was spent under the influence of drugs – from 2001 to 2004 – causing her to say she would have left those pages of the memoir all black, demonstrating the chaotic state of those years.
Keith Richards, Rolling Stones guitarist, is also a name among celebrity resources Love has been linked with in her battle against drug addiction. A 2010 news article says Love has sought help from Richards’ son, Marlon Richards. She is reported to have asked Richards for help in locating a professional who specializes in addiction treatment.
Love has said part of her encouragement to seek sobriety comes from her daughter, Frances Bean, now 18 years old. She also returned to music, with a new album with Hole in 2010, “Nobody’s Daughter.”
Love has also admitted to self-hazardous behavior, even reported to have admitted thoughts of suicide. It is believed that self-destructive behaviors are part of a method of escape from emotions including depression, high levels of stress and anxiety – behaviors also linked to people with higher rates of substance abuse.
Called one of the most watched female celebrity musicians, Courtney Love’s ongoing battle with substance abuse will likely remain in the public eye. Love’s struggle highlights the difficulty of working through relapse for many people with substance abuse problems.
