Why I don't feel bad for Charlie Sheen.

It's been plastered all over the media - Charlie Sheen is on a bender of monumental proportions, and it doesn't look like he's going to stop any time soon.  His megalomanical ravings have been broadcast endlessly over the past few days, and people either feel sorry or him or mock him.

I do not fall into the former category.  I feel guilty for being in the latter category.  But here's what I have to say, just in case you are interested.

People across this country suffer from both drug addiction and mental illness.  I haven't watched enough of his insane diatribes to figure out what he suffers from, but based on the little info I have, I'm thinking he started out with drugs which in turn has led to mental illness.  That being said, help is available to him.  And not just any help.  He's rich enough to afford any kind of help he wants.

I know that money doesn't buy happiness.  I know that money cannot make a sick person better.  But I work with people whose children suffer from drug addiction and mental illness.  One woman, Sue, is a single mother to two children, a son and a daughter.  Sue is a special ed assistant - I'm sure her wage is next to nothing.  Her daughter got pregnant and had a baby at fifteen (which she gave up for adoption, probably the most selfless and loving thing she could have done), and then proceeded to become addicted to Oxycontin and some other things.  She got out of rehab a short time ago, but she just had a relapse.  Sue is encouraging her to go back to rehab and not feel bad for falling off the wagon.  Sue knows; she is a recovering addict herself and will celebrate 26 years clean in a week.

Sue is not only dealing with her daughter's addiction, but also her son's.  Her son has severe learning disabilities, and he is not getting the help that he needs to overcome them.  He has been diagnosed with ADD, but he is not really getting help for that either.  School is terribly difficult and tiring for him, so he makes one of two decisions every day:  either he skips school, or he gets stoned.  He is 14 years old.  He is in middle school.  And he is already self-medicating.

Sue wants to help her children so, so badly.  She loves them so much, and she would spend every damn penny of her measly pay to help her children be happy and healthy.  She has no support system - her ex-husband/kids' father is in and out of jail and is an addict himself.  She has little family to lean on.  She is fighting this battle by herself.  And yet she still comes to work every single day, and she supports autistic children.  And she does it with a smile on her face.

I know another woman, Nancy, who is a middle school science teacher. She and her husband have one son; he is adopted.  Nancy is a passionate, kind, loving, caring woman, and her son is hopelessly addicted to drugs.  He has almost died several times.  She and her husband have spent money and, more important, tears and strength and love trying to help him get better.  I remember talking to Nancy about it - "He's not a bad boy.  He has so much love in his heart.  He is just trapped in the claws of this addiction." 

My husband lost his best friend to mental illness over 30 years ago.  They tried everything to help Paul get better, but nothing worked.  My husband reflects and says, "Suicide was his only option.  The pain was too great for him to handle."  My husband has another friend whose daughter is addicted to drugs.  She has wrecked too many cars to count.  She has come close to dying at least three times.  And my husband's friend looks the other way.  I think he feels powerless to do anything.  She is 19 years old.

I work with 10th graders.  I know at least one of them has been in rehab at least twice.  I was in the bathroom the other day - two girls came in, one sobbing.  They went in a stall, and the girl who was upset said, "Why does my mom leave me alone?  She is always out with guys.  Why doesn't she want to be with me?"  My heart broke into a thousand pieces for this child.  No one should have to deal with that heartbreak at such a young age.

I'm ranting.  My point is, Charlie Sheen has the means to get better.  I don't know what his relationship with his family is, but if there is anyone in the world that cares about him, they should have an intervention with him.  I know that guarantees nothing, and the person who is ill has to want to get better, but Charlie Sheen can afford the best doctors, the best psychiatrists, and the best treatement facilities in the world.  I know that doesn't guarantee recovery, but it's a start.

There are many, many people in this world who would love to trade places with Charlie, if only so they could afford to help themselves or help the ones they love.  I hope Charlie gets the help he needs: for his sake, for his family's sake, and especially for the sake of his children.  It would be a pity for them to grow up heartbroken and fatherless because their father chose drugs over them.