AHS Views

News stories are talking about Amy Winehouse and her new boyfriend, Rugby player Josh Bowman. Some articles say they’re an item, others say Josh denies it and Amy’s grieving. Who knows if we’ll ever know the truth. And who really cares – except for the fact that it may help Amy beat drugs, as she reportedly says - and it’s none of our business who they go out with anyway. However, it does bring up an interesting point about addiction help.

For some people, a change of environment, including being around people who take care of themselves and are in robust good health, can motivate them to quit taking drugs.

Not only are they free of the usual negative influences, they are also in an environment that is not associated with the problems they’ve had in the past.

Will a person who quits drugs under these circumstances be able to stay off them when the new relationship, or the new environment, starts to present the same or similar problems they experienced earlier?

Really, it’s a crap shoot. In most cases it probably takes more than feeling better temporarily to make permanent changes. But, for some, that change may be enough to really enable them to stick to their guns.

Let’s hope Amy’s brief encounter with what she reportedly perceived as a better life will carry her through without the need for further addiction help services.