Amy Winehouse: Cool, Creative, and Coping?

I wish singer Amy Winehouse the best of luck, I really do. I will however use her addicted plight as a chance to highlight the myth that the substance abuse of artists such as Winehouse and others is part of a creative process or that it is ”necessary to dull a finer sensibility.” This picture along with the corresponding story at the Daily Mail is a very stark reminder that drug and alcohol use is neither cool, creative, or necessarily helps one cope with the stresses of life. That is unless you describe “cool” as walking a very chilly London street in your underwear, count drooling as a creative endeavor, and coping as losing all touch with reality.

"Amy came out and started stumbling around," one onlooker told the paper. "She popped her head over the fence like she was looking for something. "It was freezing, and she had no shoes and just a red bra," the onlooker added. "She was mumbling something incomprehensible. It wasn't the behavior of someone in the right state of mind."~Fox News

Drug and alcohol use is glorified by our society and this shines through most prominently in popular music, movies, and other entertainment. Drinking and drugging may sound great in song or look cool in a movie, but Amy admirably demonstrates the real face of substance abuse with her most recent and definitely unflattering photo shoot. Good luck Amy… please get help.