The pressure of being in the public eye can make it harder for celebrities and politicians like Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to recover from addictions, experts say.
Coun. Doug Ford said Thursday that his brother caught a flight to begin "30-day inpatient treatment" at "one of the best facilities in North America."
The mayor was filmed last weekend holding and smoking what appeared to be a crack pipe, and an audio recording of him using offensive language was allegedly taped on Monday, according to media reports.
While everybody is vulnerable to drug and alcohol dependence, the high stress environment and frequent socializing involving alcohol can present extra pressures for politicians, said Dennis Long, executive director of Breakaway Addiction Services in Toronto.
"It's not going to be done in a 28-day stint. It really is something that requires a long-term commitment to therapy and to treatment that probably would last at minimum many months and probably years," Long said.
Dealing with substance abuse while in the public eye poses extra challenges. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
Ford is just starting the rehabilitation process, which involves three phases, said Karen Seward, president of Cira Medical Services. The company offers diagnostic services to industries across Canada.
Treatment for substance abuse involves three phases:
- Detox.
- Rehab therapy individually, in groups and with family.
- Recovery to make the changes sustainable.
Recovery is about learning to deal with substance abuse issues, Seward said.
"There's a strong encouragement as part of the recovery phase around apologizing, making amends as part of the therapy. It is very hard when you are a public figure to do that … so I think that's where you start to see the challenge," Seward said.
Campaigning for re-election in Toronto is a 24/7 job of intense media scrutiny that will be complicating factor, Long said.
Peter Ferentzy, 55, calls himself a recovering crack addict. He wrote about his 20 years of addictions, first to alcohol, then to crack cocaine.
Dealing with an addiction in the public eye is another trial, the Toronto resident said.
"Because of the public scrutiny, there is more at stake," Ferentzy said. "Every mistake he makes is obviously news, so that will cause him to be more guarded. Whether that causes somebody to suck it up and do better or whether it causes somebody to get stagefright and lose their composure and fail, that is person specific."
Ford is just beginning a recovery process that could take months at a minimum and probably years, Long said.
"The real problem that most people experience is they have a peer group that has supported their behaviour and tends to continue to reinforce it," Long said. "They may even say we're trying to help you. But in many cases, reinforcing happens because of the association with these individuals in your life."
Ford joins the estimated 17 per cent of Canadians in the workforce who are dealing with substance abuse issues, Seward said.
An after-care plan could involve going to regular AA meetings, therapy, couple's counselling or urine analysis, said Susan McGrail, director of clinical services at Bellwood Health Services.
"We recommend for anybody going for treatment and coming out, you need to take a look at your life, and if it means cutting off ties with people who are bad influences, whether it means deleting the names of dealers from your phone, driving home a different way not to go by the bar where you used to hang out with your friends, whatever it takes."
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