Ben Cousins again

[Twodogs]

Re: Ben Cousins again

Sure, I think most people agree.

It's possible to hold Ben responsible and also feel sympathy for him.

I do.

When he's using he's not Ben anymore. He's some horrible monster who doesn't appreciate or understand the result of his actions. Jeemak us right most people can have a night on the Persians and then not even think about them for days/weeks/months (that's how I am with alcohol, never had a problem with the grog, I can take it or leave it.) but a certain section of the community just can't walk away (that's me). But in AA we have a saying. If you have hay fever you don't go sniffing flowers, don't put yourself in harms way and you will be fine. Ben just can't stop sniffing the flowers.

[jeemak]

Re: Ben Cousins again

Sure, I think most people agree.

It's possible to hold Ben responsible and also feel sympathy for him.

I do.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm cold towards his struggles, the strong language in my post probably does though.

Do I have compassion for people in Cousins' situation from an addition perspective? Absolutely I do. I feel he's let himself down time and again, I feel many around him have let him down over the years through their mollycoddling and indulging of his behaviour. It's a horrible situation.

[Twodogs]

Re: Ben Cousins again

I don't want to give the impression that I'm cold towards his struggles, the strong language in my post probably does though.

Do I have compassion for people in Cousins' situation from an addition perspective? Absolutely I do. I feel he's let himself down time and again,I feel many around him have let him down over the years through their mollycoddling and indulging of his behaviour. It's a horrible situation.

Bingo. Some tough love at the start would have helped.

I'd hate to be a celebrity addict, the type that is too useful for the people around him to send off to rehab because it's in everybody else's interests to get you in a good enough state to dance but not to fix.

The big mistake most people make is looking for some sense to it all. There is no sense to it , it just happens to some people. There's no rhyme or reason, nobody does it to annoy anybody, it's not a party lifestyle (stumbling from one taste to the next is not a lifestyle) it's barely even a choice. I can tell you now Ben Cousins hasn't had an enjoyable moment in his life for years. Probably all of his post footy life I'll bet there isn't once that he's thought to himself "geez I'm kicking goals" and everybody wants to be kicking goals. Life is barely worth it otherwise.

[Ozza]

Re: Ben Cousins again

A work colleague was in Perth for the interstate game drinking in a pub, looked over his shoulder and a hobo looking guy was sitting at a table having a beer, full beard scruffy hair, on his own , no one talking to him, one guess who it was.
I’m not sure he can ever recover, I wonder who gave him his first taste of drugs and how he was talked into it , because the warnings about drugs were definitely around when he got into them.

According to his book, he was 16 when he first tried drugs (in that case ecstasy). So it started at least on some level, well before he was professional footballer.

[Twodogs]

Re: Ben Cousins again

A work colleague was in Perth for the interstate game drinking in a pub, looked over his shoulder and a hobo looking guy was sitting at a table having a beer, full beard scruffy hair, on his own , no one talking to him, one guess who it was.
I’m not sure he can ever recover, I wonder who gave him his first taste of drugs and how he was talked into it , because the warnings about drugs were definitely around when he got into them.

I doubt he was "talked" into it. Some of us are just like lemmings into the sea.

[Bornadog]

Re: Ben Cousins again

According to his book, he was 16 when he first tried drugs (in that case ecstasy). So it started at least on some level, well before he was professional footballer.

A mate of mine has just found out his daughter is addicted to ice. She comes from a stable family, went to a private school and has had a privileged up bringing. However, she has mixed with people who gave her the taste.

He has been to a number of counselling sessions listening to other parents as well as to other sessions where addicts have told their story so he can learn a little about what he can do to support his daughter.

To his surprise most of the people there, first tried Ice at the age of 14, so not surprised by Ben trying it at age 16.

[Topdog]

Re: Ben Cousins again

damn thats terrible BAD.

[Bornadog]

Re: Ben Cousins again

damn thats terrible BAD.

Very stressful for him, I was nearly in tears when he told me. I have known his daughter since she was about 7 years old, and she is now in her early 20s

[LostDoggy]

Re: Ben Cousins again

Bingo. Some tough love at the start would have helped.

I'd hate to be a celebrity addict, the type that is too useful for the people around him to send off to rehab because it's in everybody else's interests to get you in a good enough state to dance but not to fix.

The big mistake most people make is looking for some sense to it all. There is no sense to it , it just happens to some people. There's no rhyme or reason, nobody does it to annoy anybody, it's not a party lifestyle (stumbling from one taste to the next is not a lifestyle) it's barely even a choice. I can tell you now Ben Cousins hasn't had an enjoyable moment in his life for years. Probably all of his post footy life I'll bet there isn't once that he's thought to himself "geez I'm kicking goals" and everybody wants to be kicking goals. Life is barely worth it otherwise.

Agree fully, it does not discriminate.