07/13/2021
The first time I saw Heath Journal, it was by accident. My date and later to-be spouse, Nick, took me to see 'The Intuition', lastly catching peer pressure to guess 'the huge surprise ending. By now, 'The Intuition' was off the major theater chain circuit and just screening in small rural independent theaters, which led us to experience one of those now unusual occasions: a double-feature matinee. The very first motion picture was '10 Things I Hate About You'. Well passed 'teen films, even those with Shakespearian-based scripts, we shyly admitted to liking 10 Things. Wow, I truly like the male lead, what was his name? 'He's Australian, you know', replied Nick. And in typical Aussie-fashion, I was two times as satisfied and now stupidly filled with national pride. Another fantastic Australian up-and-comer to join the quickly increasing queue to grace Hollywood screens. Years later, I would often grab the DVD to fill a cheerless afternoon and find myself watching and rewinding the same scene. Over and over and over again. My guilty secret satisfaction. Heath sliding down the pole, microphone in hand, singing 'You're simply too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you ...' The brass band kicks in. Which charmingly bold half-run, half-prancing across the school steps. The scene is brilliant. It's mysterious. He simply has that old-fashioned 'it' element. I'm not a star-struck fan and was never ever among those teens with movie-star idol posters plastered all over my bedroom walls, however this kids got talent. And after that came those scene-stealing roles that completely blew us away. The Patriot. Monsters Ball. And finally leading-man status and an Academy Award nomination. By now, we were just used to having another famous Australian up there with the rest of the world's fantastic talent churning out an endless selection of varied, yet illustrious movie roles. We had no concept. It was not unlimited. It was not what we anticipated. When individuals who I have actually never fulfilled however significantly admire die, I'm unfortunate. But I have actually never wept prior to. I have never ever prior to felt that heart wrenching frustrating shock that lasted for days after I heard the news. This time it was somehow more individual. As quickly as I check out the breakdown of the very first report of his deathbed scene, I intuitively knew how he passed away. 10 days later on the final medical inspectors report verified my suspicions. Hollywood is 'Xanax-city. Feeling down, pop a Xanax. Feeling stressed, pop a Xanax. Need to perform at your very best, pop a Xanax. A-list stars feel the pressure to provide A-grade performances when dealing with multi-million dollar movies. There's too much cash at stake. The intense stress, both internal and external, is immeasurable. The studios are running the risk of billions, paying the stars millions, and the stars are unnaturally subjected to more pressure than we simple mortals can imagine. Heath Journal, himself, admitted that after the around the world release of A Knight's Tale with its instantaneous paparazzi-bulb-flashing stardom, his tension levels increased ten-fold. Xanax is the brand name of the generic anti-anxiety/tranquillizer prescription drug, alprazolam, noted in Ledgers toxicity report. The other anti-anxiety drug was diazepam or more commonly known as Va**um. These drugs are from a class of commonly recommended tranquilizers called benzodiazepines or just described as benzos. According to the latest National Health Study, around 10 million scripts of benzos are composed yearly in Australia alone with its meagre population of 20 million compared to 300 million in the US. Many doctors will write a script for benzos much faster than a speeding bullet. But the real risk is that a lot of them do not understand the long-term impacts these drugs have on your system, how to offer their patients the correct recommendations when administering or keeping track of the dosages, and-- more frighteningly - how to handle their patients benzo withdrawal program. Firstly, this is how benzos impact your body-- or more notably-- your brain. Benzodiazepines increase, or rather, enhance your brain's primary neurotransmitter, typically referred to as GABA. Ultimately, and this can be as quickly as 3 to 4 weeks if taking an everyday dose, your brain will stop producing its own GABA and rely completely on the synthetic bench. GABA is the most important neurotransmitter because it affects almost everything else. Mainly it enhances the brain's other neurotransmitters such as Serotonin and Dopamine. All of the brain's neurotransmitters have crucial functions such as, voluntary movement of the muscles, wakefulness, sleep, memory function, sensory transmission - specifically pain, and much, a lot more. The issue is that from this point on your brain needs more benzo as tolerance starts the down spiral, and the brain needs higher and higher dosages to obtain the exact same result. If the patient is not given the proper dosage or management recommendations, that perilous and often-undiagnosed condition referred to as Benzo Withdrawal Syndrome (BWS) will begin its ugly and possibly hazardous descent. BWS is known by professionals in the field for its severity and prolonged nature. It might take years to completely withdraw from benzos, even with correct care and guidance. Without this knowledge, the unwitting client can experience over 30 signs, the most common being relentless sleeping disorders, severe pain and state of mind modifications. Individuals who have actually been taking benzos for a fairly short time can experience withdrawal symptoms even whilst taking the drug. In addition, if you have been taking them for an extended time, and then unexpectedly stop, dire scenarios may take place. Or, at the very least, more pain, more depression and relentless insomnia. When we now check out Heath Ledgers complaints, does this noise familiar? Whatever points to extreme Benzo Withdrawal, but no-one are exclaiming its risks? In truth, many GPs and even healthcare facility doctors admit they know extremely little about Benzo Withdrawal. Some even refer their patients to drug rehabilitation centers-- an absolute no-no according to benzo therapists. Benzo withdrawal is the specific opposite to alcohol or street drug reliance. You don't want to quickly get rid of the benzo from your body, as they frequently perform in drug rehabilitation. The brain requires the bench. One must gradually withdraw the artificial benzo till the brain can eventually increase its own GABA. Abrupt cessation of benzos can trigger serious issues such as seizures and blackouts. When in BWS, the counselors recommend against taking any medication or drugs whatsoever. Paracetamol is probably the only thing the body can cope with for discomfort relief. Nothing else. Even codeine is prohibited. Also, one must completely avoid alcohol, caffeine, and all stimulants. There is a strong protocol to be followed and without this knowledge, the client is quickly put at excellent danger. The Ashton Handbook, the acknowledged benzodiazepine 'bible, alerts: ' Drug interactions: Benzodiazepines have additive results with other drugs with sedative actions including other hypnotic's, some antidepressant's (e.g. amitriptyline [Elavil], doxepin [Adapin, Sinequan], major tranquilizers or neuroleptics (e.g. prochlorperazine [Compazine], trifluoperazine [Stelazine], anticonvulsant's (e.g. phenobarbital, phenytoin [Dilantin], carbamazepine [Atretol, Tegretol], sedative antihistamines (e.g. diphenhydramine [Benadryl], promethazine [Phenergan], opiates (he**in, morphine, meperidine), and, significantly, alcohol. Patients taking benzodiazepines must be alerted of these interactions. If sedative drugs are taken in overdose, benzodiazepines may add to the threat of casualty.' The genuine issue is that there are incredibly few specialists in treating BWS; they will not include your local doctor, medical facility, or drug center. Nevertheless, there are good BWS specialists that can be incredibly handy, however they are generally found in specially moneyed tranquillizer recovery centers. One must ask, why do not medical professionals know about this? The issue is, they merely don't. Is it their fault or the pharmaceutical companies that profit from these addictions? There is little or no dissemination of info within the community, the medical fraternity or from the pharmaceutical business about benzodiazepines. And, according to BWS therapists operating in the field, there is inadequate research or empirical research studies on the effects of benzos and BWS management to help them with their extensive workload's. Why? Who is at fault? Who is responsible for correcting the scenario? Why are individuals who compose the scripts uninformed about the after-effects and prospective risks associated with benzodiazepines? Can our precious Heath Ledgers death be at least one catalyst that will draw this devastating travesty to the general public's attention to demand more information? I hope so.
