Posted by gracie2 on September 27, 2001, at 1:03:05
In reply to Re: Elvis Presleys Depression, posted by PaulB on September 19, 2001, at 12:32:30
Sorry, I would have posted sooner but have had technical problems.
Elvis did not intentionally kill himself. Why would someone contemplating suicide go to the dentist? This is the action of a person who plans to be around for awhile.
Elvis died due to polypharmacy. He had a number of drugs in his system, none of which, by itself, would have been fatal. The interaction of all these drugs caused his death. Elvis became an experienced drug-user because his personal doctor was afraid of losing contact with his celebrity patient if he did not prescribe whatever drugs Elvis desired. An experienced drug-user develops tolerance to medication, and requires more and more of it to achieve the desired effect. Despite this tolerance, there is a point where the body can simply handle no more. The result can be one or a combination of the following: coma, seizure,
aspiration, and death.
Although I was born after Elvis' heyday, I recognize his talent. He was a ground-breaker and the true king of rock-n-roll, and the reason for his death does not diminish him in my eyes. He was under enormous pressure; to stay young, to lose weight, to continue making music and money.
The tendency to self-medicate is common in people under stress - with proper medical intervention, Elvis could be with us today. In the long run, he is only guilty of being human.
-Gracie
poster:gracie2
thread:11539
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010915/msgs/11795.html