Psychologist Julian Rotter introduced and coined the term locus of control in the 1950’s. To put it simply, your locus of control is what you deem to have power over regarding the successes and failures in your life.
Do you believe that you have control over your life? Or instead do other forces such as God, authority figures, or those who appear to be more powerful have control over your life?
As Katie Couric put it, there’s a new face of heroin that’s making its appearance around the country. Typically, we think of heroin addicts as those who are strung up somewhere in a dirty, dark alleyway. We don’t think of heroin addicts as educated, well groomed, and respectful.
Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening. Those who were, for one reason or another, on painkillers eventually turned to heroin and got hooked. One reason for the epidemic is heroin’s low price.
When an addiction develops with pain medication and that gets too expensive, heroin is a close second choice. One NBC show indicated that many turn to heroin as a lesser expensive version of illegal pain medication.
Plus, there has been a crackdown on prescription pill use, making it harder to get and heroin the best alternative.
Not too much of the public know about Robin William’s inner life. He was depressed, diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and had a long battle with drugs. Along with many other comedians, Williams used drugs as a way to amp up his performance.
Certainly, he already had comic genius, but the drugs helped him to keep up with his own awe-inspiriting creativity. Throughout the 1970’s and early 1980’s, Williams was addicted to cocaine, heroin, and alcohol.
According to People Magazine, Williams quit cocaine and alcohol entirely in 1982 when his first wife was pregnant with their son Zachary. The approaching role of fatherhood as well as the recent death of his close friend John Belushi prompted him to get sober.
As recent articles are revealing, Williams has been in and out of drug detox, addiction treatment centers, and hospitals to address his drug abuse and mental illness. In an interview with The Guardian, Williams described the way his first drink exploded into alcoholism:
“I just thought, hey, maybe drinking will help. Because I felt alone and afraid. It was that thing of working so much, and going…’maybe that will help.’ And it was the worst thing in the world.”
It’s a common scenario: an individual gets hurt. Their physical pain requires the use of and a prescription for painkillers. Yet, over time, an addiction develops. Over time, they need the drug physiologically and even psychologically.
Randy, who is now 33 and living in Southern California, was happily married and working at a rewarding job. But when he was 26, he got into a serious motorcycle accident, and his recovery required painkillers. An addiction developed and it eventually got in the way of his marriage and his career.
Long after the accident, he continues to struggle with an addiction. Sadly, he was recently arrested for the illegal possession of prescription drugs. Although he was required to look for addiction help, he ignored it and continues to abuse painkillers to this day.
