To those who dream of stardom it may appear as if celebrities have it all. While there are certainly some benefits to being famous there are also many drawbacks too. These celebrities are only human, but they will often be dealing with an excessive amount of pressure – they don’t usually manage to get where they are without hard work. There is also the possibility that the attributes that helped the individual achieve their fame may also make them more prone to addictive behavior.

Fame Defined

The word fame refers to reputation and renown. It is quite a subjective idea, but to say that somebody is famous implies that they are known by many people. It can also mean that the famous person is known by many people who they have never even met. Fame is closely related to celebrity which can be defined as being celebrated, and this usually applies to people who are well known because they receive attention from the media. It is common to associate with fame with wealth, but these two don’t always go together.

Reasons Why Fame Can Lead to an Addiction

There are a number of reasons for why famous individuals fall into substance abuse including:

* Many of these individuals may have already been abusing substances before they became famous. For some people the decline into addiction occurs over many years.
* Many of the careers that lead to fame involve a strong drinking or drug using culture. This means that those who join such professions may feel pressured into substance abuse.
* Famous people will often have more disposable income to spend on recreational drugs.
* The personal characteristics that help people become famous can be similar to those found in the addictive personality. This may mean that some of those who achieve some type of stardom may be prone to addictive behavior.
* The pressures of fame can be used as an excuse to abuse alcohol or drugs. The individual feels that they deserve a respite from all the pressure surrounding their work.
* There are many famous people who would be classified as high functioning addicts. The fact that they are doing so well in life means that they feel entitled to party hard.
* Those who receive the star treatment are allowed to get away with much more than the average person.
* It is suggested that those who achieve stardom can lose their humility. This means that they feel sure that the normal rules should not apply for them – this is something referred to as terminal uniqueness.
* Many famous people who develop an addiction may have followed the same path even if they had not had success.
* It has been suggested that those who abuse alcohol and drugs and those who need fame may enjoy higher dopamine spikes as a result of such behaviors. In other words they get higher feelings of pleasure than the average person.
* Those individuals who achieved celebrity at a young age may have missed out on important elements of human emotional development. They may be turning to alcohol or drugs because they feel unable to cope with things.
* It can be incredibly difficult to be in the public eye, and some of these people can’t even visit their local shop without being hounded by reporters. This can be used as justification to abuse alcohol or drugs.

Fame and the Addictive Personality

Many of those who become addicted to alcohol or drugs will tend to share certain character traits. These shared characteristics are sometimes referred to as the addictive personality. It has been suggested that those individuals who manage to find outward success in life may do so because of the same characteristics that lead people into addiction. The addictive personality involves traits such as:

* The individual needs to be the centre of attention, and this means that they are prone to attention seeking behavior.
* Such people tend to value nonconformity. They don’t like to go along with the herd but prefer to express their own individuality, and they also like to think outside the box.
* They have a high tolerance for deviant behavior.
* These are individuals who will often act impulsively. Such impulsiveness will often get them into trouble, but it can also open the door for new opportunities.
* Those people who have the addictive personality are more willing to take risks. Achieving fame often involves risk taking along the way.
* One of the most common traits of the addictive personality is low self esteem. The individual may try to overcome their feelings of low self worth by seeking the approval of other people.
* They struggle to delay gratification. This means that they find it difficult to wait for pleasure.
* Such individuals will believe that they have a high degree of stress in their life. They feel that this gives them justification to abuse alcohol or drugs.
* They have a feeling of alienation from other people. They may alternate between feelings of being better than everyone else to feeling that they are worse than everyone else – or they just might feel like they do not fit in.
* These people tend to be insecure in their relationships.
* They have a tendency to act in ways that would be considered antisocial.
* Such people will often suffer from depression or anxiety problems.

The Famous as High Functioning Addicts

Many of those who are famous but turn to substance abuse can be described as high functioning addicts. The fact that these individuals are doing well in their life means that they can hide the excesses of their addictive behavior. They have an outward appearance of success and accomplishment so other people are unlikely to even view them as having a problem. The individual can ignore their substance abuse problems because they do not fit the profile of the stereotypical addict. The individual with a well maintained addiction like this is in serious danger because:

* Most addicts quit their addiction because they have hit rock bottom. Those who have a great deal of outward success may take much longer to hit their bottom, and this can mean that they end up suffering more than those addicts who lost everything quickly.
* The individual may worry that they have too much to lose by admitting that they have an addiction problem. This can mean that they feel trapped in their misery and unable to ask for help.
* Such people may have higher than normal financial resources, and this means that they can afford to spend a great deal more on drugs or alcohol than the average person.
* Many of these individuals will belong to a profession where there is a culture of substance abuse. This means that such behavior will be accepted and condoned.
* The fact that the individual has the money to feed their habit means they are less likely to have to face withdrawals. This means that they may not even realize that they have developed a physical dependence on these substances.

How Famous People Can Tackle Their Substance Abuse Problems

Those individuals who attract media attention may feel like they have fewer options when it comes to treating their addiction, but this is just a justification to not do anything about the problem. The reality is that they do have many possible paths into recovery including:

* There are many rehabs that specialize with dealing with the rich and famous. Such programs will understand the special needs of those who are in the public eye.
* Many of these rehabs do not require that the individual uses their real name. This can help them protect their anonymity.
* Although fellowships such as AA are open to anyone there is an expectation that anonymity is respected. Considering the nature of these groups it is surprising how well anonymity is respected – this is why so many famous individuals have no qualms about joining 12 Step groups.
* Those who are put off by the spiritual aspects of the 12 Steps will find that there are more secular alternatives such as SMART Recovery.
* Just giving up alcohol or drugs is often not enough in itself to ensure that the individual will have a fulfilling life going forward. There is usually an underlying reason for why they turned to substance abuse in the first place, and so it is important that once people become sober they deal with this root cause.
* In order to remain sober the individual needs to make this their number one priority in life. In some instances the individual may need to make changes to their career, and they will almost certainly have to make major changes to their lifestyle.