Whitney Houston has died

[Topkat]

Yes, Dreamer, I did read that she was in rehab 2 or 3 times, & kept going back to drugs. It's sad, but people are enablers without even realizing it. I don't know that much about drug addiction, as fortunately I never had to deal with it personally. As a college kid I did do more drugs than maybe I would like to admit, but I knew I would never be a drug addict. There were certain boundaries that I knew I would never cross.(certain drugs that I would NEVER try) I think maybe Whitney dabbled in some drugs, but I do believe Bobby Brown took her to the next level of dangerous drugs that got her hooked. it's unfortunate that she couldn't win that battle to stay off them.

[sodascouts]

I don't know anything about her relationships with her family and friends, so I'm going to refrain from making harsh condemnations of them and assuming none of them cared enough to talk to her. Speculating about her personal relationships is pretty useless anyway.

Since Bobby Brown and Whitney put their relationship on TV, we could see that there were definitely problems. Still, even then, the picture we get is distorted.

In the end, Whitney is responsible for her own decisions. How I wish she would have made the right ones! Another beautiful voice gone too soon.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I watched part of the service, but I had to leave. It was very moving & Whitney Houston had many people who loved her, but I have to ask where were all these people when it was so obvious that she had drug problems for about 20 years? Why didn't any of them try to get her in rehab? They all claimed they cared & loved her, but it's hard to believe that they didn't know about her drug use. It was obvious. There were times when she looked in very bad shape.
It's very sad because she had so much talent, & a beautiful daughter. She could have gone on to make more beautiful music or live a life in luxury if she chose to retire. Her mistake was falling in love with the wrong man.

Well – I don't want to take this thread too far off topic, but this is a very sensitive subject with me because I have had to deal with a family member battling addiction so, unfortunately, I have a lot of personal experience with it. As Soda said, we have no idea what measures were taken to help Whitney. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am far from an enabler, but I am a caretaker. I am always there to help anyone who wants to help himself. My mother, on the other hand, was an enabler. So, here was the trend with my brother (and every other addict that I’ve ever heard of). When my brother was using, he always sought out my mother and avoided me at all costs. He would shut me out and literally hide from me because he knew I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. However, whenever he decided he wanted help, guess who the first person was that he always ran to. That’s right – me … because he knew that I was there for him every single time he decided he wanted help. To make a long story short, my family went through years of struggling with him and no matter what we tried, it didn’t matter. Only when he decided once and for all to get clean did that actually happen. And even after almost ten years of sobriety, it remains a daily struggle for him.

Yes, Dreamer, I did read that she was in rehab 2 or 3 times, & kept going back to drugs. It's sad, but people are enablers without even realizing it. I don't know that much about drug addiction, as fortunately I never had to deal with it personally. As a college kid I did do more drugs than maybe I would like to admit, but I knew I would never be a drug addict. There were certain boundaries that I knew I would never cross.(certain drugs that I would NEVER try) I think maybe Whitney dabbled in some drugs, but I do believe Bobby Brown took her to the next level of dangerous drugs that got her hooked. it's unfortunate that she couldn't win that battle to stay off them.

See – that’s the difference between an addict and a casual user. An addict looses total control of those boundaries the moment they use. The disease of addiction takes the addict to the next level – not the people or circumstances around them. In Whitney’s case, if Bobby Brown hadn’t been in her life, I assure you it would have been (and was) someone else.

We have lost a very talented lady and all I hope for now is that she is finally at peace.

[Topkat]

I think I was trying to say is that when you become addicted to a drug, someone has put that drug in front of you & you make the decision to take it or not to. Once you cross that line to take it, I think anyone can become addicted because that drug is so powerful & addictive, then the addiction takes over & you do anything to get that drug. Unfortunately Whitney made some bad choices.

Quote Sodascouts

In the end, Whitney is responsible for her own decisions. How I wish she would have made the right ones! Another beautiful voice gone too soon.

Yes, in the end, we are all responsible for our own decisions.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I think I was trying to say is that when you become addicted to a drug, someone has put that drug in front of you & you make the decision to take it or not to. Once you cross that line to take it, I think anyone can become addicted because that drug is so powerful & addictive, then the addiction takes over & you do anything to get that drug. Unfortunately Whitney made some bad choices.

Sorry, TK, but, again, I disagree. No one has to put a drug in front of an addict - they will seek it out. While it's true that non-addicts can become dependent on a drug, they are typically able to get off of it much easier than an addict. But you don't have to take my word for it - ask the experts if you would like to better understand the disease.

[Topkat]

Sorry, TK, but, again, I disagree. No one has to put a drug in front of an addict - they will seek it out. While it's true that non-addicts can become dependent on a drug, they are typically able to get off of it much easier than an addict. But you don't have to take my word for it - ask the experts if you would like to better understand the disease.

I'm talking about the first time you do a drug; that someone introduces it to you and you choose to try it. It can only take once to become addicted to a drug like crack or heroin.
Like I said, I'm no expert, but if you never tried a drug, why would you seek it out, unless you were already addicted?

In any case, it's too late for Whitney. What is a concern now is for her daughter, who from what has been said, is in very bad shape & her family is very concerned. I just hope they can save her in time. Very upsetting. She is so distraught over her mothers' death, that they fear she is doing drugs.

[TimothyBFan]

In the end, Whitney is responsible for her own decisions. .

That pretty much sums it up!!! I also have had to deal with addiction first hand. Lost a very close friend to it, have dealt with it in several members of my own family and glad to say, I myself have been sober for 14 years. The bottom line is no matter what anyone else does to help an addict, the bottom line, they will NOT get clean till they decide themselves to do it!! Period!!!!! Which means a whole different lifestyle and by all means, they HAVE to get away from the people that enable or are still using.

It's such a shame to lose anyone from addiction but someone like Whitney, with so much talent and so young and in the public eye is hard to watch.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I'm talking about the first time you do a drug; that someone introduces it to you and you choose to try it. It can only take once to become addicted to a drug like crack or heroin.
Like I said, I'm no expert, but if you never tried a drug, why would you seek it out, unless you were already addicted?

In any case, it's too late for Whitney. What is a concern now is for her daughter, who from what has been said, is in very bad shape & her family is very concerned. I just hope they can save her in time. Very upsetting. She is so distraught over her mothers' death, that they fear she is doing drugs.

Really??? Many people seek out new drugs to experiment with every day. In any event, my original response was to your comments that no one tried to help Whitney and that "her mistake was falling in love with the wrong man". I wanted to keep this thread as a memorial to honor a wonderful and talented entertainer and didn't intend to turn this into a general discussion about addiction. However, if her death can help open up the dialog about addiction so that others can understand it better, then to me, that would be a fitting tribute to her and her death would not have been in vain.

My thoughts are also with her daughter at this time.