Amy Winehouse found dead today.

[LSN80]

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/23/singer-amy-winehouse-found-dead-uk-press-says/?hpt=hp_c1

Singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her apartment in London Saturday, the UK Press Association reported. She was 27.

The "Rehab" singer had a history of battling drugs and alcohol and recently left a British rehabilitation program that a representative said was intended to prepare her for scheduled European concerts.

But she cut short the European concert tour in Belgrade, Serbia, last month after she staggered around the stage and stumbled through several songs.

The troubled British singer was known for a stirring, soulful voice that was considered a through-back to the Motown days of music.

She had a breakout year in 2008 when she won several Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year for her hit “Rehab.” Her album “Back in Black” garnered Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year.

But there was trouble.

Winehouse's volatile marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil took a toll on the singer's career. The couple divorced in 2009 after a stormy two years filled by drug addiction and arrests.

Winehouse’s parents went public with their efforts to help their daughter, telling the London Telegraph in 2009 that she was on the road to recovery.

"A gradual recovery, which is good,” Winehouse’s father Mitch told the Telegraph. “With slight backward steps – not drug backward steps, more drink backward steps if you follow my drift. I think that will be the pattern of recovery."

Regardless of one's feelings toward Winehouse, and the easy way of finger pointing that her self-destructive lifestyle caused her own death, it's always sad to see a young life end so early. Winehouse was younger then me, so this hits close to home. The fact that she was supposedly on the road to recovery makes this even more sad, even if that road was filled with mishaps. It didnt come as a shock to me, but it does resonate.

Life can end at any second. Im a year older then Winehouse, and it makes me take a long, hard look at my own mortality. Have I had the daliances that Winehouse did? No. But that doesn't make it any less real or change the fact that my life, or any of ours, can be taken from us in an instant. We all have our demons somewhere, and whose to say our vice of choice couldnt take our life in a flash in the same way Winehouse' was taken. The story just saddens me. I don't know how hard she fought to overcome her demons, and it doesn't really matter to me. Its just a sad tale of another life lost too early.

I look at it as a way to truly cherish life, and those around us. We truly have no clue how long it will last, as life can be lost at any second. It makes me appreciate my own life, and cherish the life of those around me. I feel so saddened here that a person so filled with talent has lost her life, and it's irrelevant to me how much her lifestyle affected this. The bottom line is, another person died too young.


Does the death of Amy Winehouse resonate with you in any way on a personal level? Does it make you consider your own life, and the very realness of your own mortality?

When you look at her death, how do you view Winehouse? Do you feel empathy, or do you look at her lifestyle and believe she brought this upon herself due to her on again, off again battle with drugs and alcohol?

Any other thoughts on the death of Winehouse, or issues surrounding it, are welcome.

 

[sikkbones]

Amy Winehouse dies of an overdoes and we all get sad. A crackhead od's on the street, and we shrug and think 'what a bum'. Double-standards are alive and well. Thank you for the power, world."

 

[HBK-aholic]

If she died of anything due to her drug or alcohol problems, I don't feel sorry for her in the slightest. In fact I was annoyed when I clicked on my Facebook page to see so many 'RIP Amy, such a waste' comments on my news feed. Where were all those comments when some piece of scum was killing 90+ people in Oslo? When one of our servicemen or women are killed fighting for our rights, and the human rights of people in countries thousands of miles away?

No, I definitely don't feel sorry for her. Everyone has problems, I've had my own that I couldn't help - and that's the point. All my problems, I could do nothing about at the time. Amy Winehouse CHOSE to drink excessively, and take every drug under the sun. Did I want her to die? No, of course not. But now it's happened, I'm not going to waste my sympathy on her when there are many more deserving causes.

Also, if you all read in your national paper 'Drug addict alcoholic dies after overdosing on Heroin' none of us would sympathise. Yet because she was famous her death was 'shocking, terrible, a waste'. Why is her life better than all the other addicts out there? Because she sang a few songs?

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Does the death of Amy Winehouse resonate with you in any way on a personal level? Does it make you consider your own life, and the very realness of your own mortality?

Not really. She died of her lifestyle, I live a pretty contrasting lifestyle to her. She went in and out of rehab, I have never even seen a rehab center. She had problems, and I feel for her, I really do. She probably couldn't help herself, she had issues; wasn't her husband or ex a former drug dealer or something? She was surrounded by the wrong people, but I have to say as a singer and as a musician she was very talented, but she destroyed herself and this was the ultimate finale that most saw coming.

Doesn't make me consider my life, because I life a very different life, never done drugs and never plan to, I don't hang around bad people either, infact I find ways to isolate myself from people like that and fakes/tools. And as for my mortality, I can die any moment, and if I do - at least I got to see Money in The Bank.

When you look at her death, how do you view Winehouse? Do you feel empathy, or do you look at her lifestyle and believe she brought this upon herself due to her on again, off again battle with drugs and alcohol?

She had problems, she was an addict, a druggie. I feel a certain amount of empathy for her, but only the amount I would for anybody who died under any circumstance. When Eddie Guerrero died, when Benoit died when say a person I admire died due to complications with drugs, I cried and felt like I lost a "hero." But she was a serious addict. I just can't respect her.

I feel sorry for her, I feel sorry for her family, RIP and all that but this isn't shocking and I really don't take it with any kind of force.

 

[LSN80]

Amy Winehouse dies of an overdoes and we all get sad. A crackhead od's on the street, and we shrug and think 'what a bum'. Double-standards are alive and well. Thank you for the power, world."

Im saddened anytime anyone dies, whether they be a celebrity or a crackhead off the street. Noone forced them to turn to that lifestyle, but I always try and consider genetics. Sometimes all it takes is one drink, one pill for a sore neck, and it can escalate quickly. I dont understand personally myself, but Ive seen it happen with people. Youre right, it is a double standard when people are mourning her death because she wrote a few popular songs(one about her refusal to go to rehab, ironically). I just look at these situations when young people die and think "could that possibly have been me if I was in their shoes?" And its a question Im unable to answer.

 

[H33LTurn]

Does the death of Amy Winehouse resonate with you in any way on a personal level? Does it make you consider your own life, and the very realness of your own mortality?

A couple of people around me have had problems like alcoholism but nothing as serious. But being someone who has their eyes on the music business and has friends trying to get in it I do feel sympathy for her. The music industry has become nothing more than greedy people exploiting others' talents for their own personal gain. The enablers receive too much money from people like Winehouse or Michael Jackson to give 2 shits if they drop dead or the loved ones they leave suffering behind. I dont think that anyone with millions of dollars at their disposal should lose their life over a bottle or a pill. And yes, it does make me consider my life, it should make everyone consider theirs too. Drug addiction doesnt discriminate, and I could see those same people who have bashed Winehouse over the years suffering her exact fate if they slip up.

When you look at her death, how do you view Winehouse? Do you feel empathy, or do you look at her lifestyle and believe she brought this upon herself due to her on again, off again battle with drugs and alcohol?

People dont bring things like this on themselves. Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides to become addicted to something. All kinds of addictions are hard to quit, even if they're not as serious as substance abuse. We've all tried to change something about ourselves at one point or another and we can all agree that it was difficult. Well imagine how much more harder it would be if your brain and your body physically and chemically depended on certain substances to keep working. I honestly dont understand people who cant feel sympathy towards her. She was merely 27 and was battling with something that claims lives everyday. That isnt something to joke about, that isnt something to get smart about, a young lady is dead because something in her life proved too difficult to handle. Regardless of her attitude towards her addiction in life, I bet she wouldnt want to be remembered as a junkie. Thats a human who just breathed their final breath, if that doesnt make you feel the slightest bit of sympathy then there is something wrong with you. Sorry if I went off a bit, its just sad to read around the net and see adults acting like kids in such a serious situation.

 

[Sinister Shadows]

Well since it didn't specifically say how she died, it's hard to say how I feel, because if she died of natural causes, things out of her control then I feel for her, and those that she left behind. But if she died of overdose, I find it near impossible to feel sorry for her, because if an addict truly wants to quit, they will find a way. either way I feel for her family, for fate taking someone close to them, or if she died because of her addictions, I feel for her family for someone close to them literally killing themselves and leaving them behind to mourn her death.

 

[H33LTurn]

Amy Winehouse dies of an overdoes and we all get sad. A crackhead od's on the street, and we shrug and think 'what a bum'. Double-standards are alive and well. Thank you for the power, world."

Its not about a double standard towards drug users, its just a shame to see a woman with so much TALENT and wealth fall victim to something that people like bums fall to. People get sad after hearing the news because she touched their lives and dared to follow her dreams. Her death was probably the result of enablers playing the role of "yes man" and giving her whatever substances she asked for in order to keep her generating money. The saddest part about celebrity deaths is that such smart and strong people fall victim to others who take advantage of them. Bums most likely have nobody to blame but themselves and people walking by a bum dont get an emotional connection to him/her. They get an emotional connection to Winehouse because her life is publicized and her experiences live through her music.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Amy Winehouse dies of an overdoes and we all get sad. A crackhead od's on the street, and we shrug and think 'what a bum'. Double-standards are alive and well. Thank you for the power, world."

Or how about some junky dies because of said OD while some psychopath is in Norway and killed 91 people in 2 days... like really?

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Does the death of Amy Winehouse resonate with you in any way on a personal level? Does it make you consider your own life, and the very realness of your own mortality?

I felt about her that she was on that point right on the edge where one of two things would happen. She's be forced to work through a very difficult recovery from her addiction OR end up as she has today. It does make me see how fine a line it can be between ruin and recovery.

When you look at her death, how do you view Winehouse? Do you feel empathy, or do you look at her lifestyle and believe she brought this upon herself due to her on again, off again battle with drugs and alcohol?

Absolutely I do. Everyone grows up as a product of their upbringing. Yobs and miscreants are born from depravity, neglect and broken homes. It's always too easy to blame the individual solely for their mistakes, the fact is if you grow up knowing little but negative emotions you'll come to emulate them. That's not set in stone, you can grow up to be a well-adjusted individual with a poor upbringing with the right amount of attention and care. That relies on some sort of intervention, though, and that's not always possible.

The reason I bring this up is because, quite frankly, her father comes across as a complete buffoon. One of those types too busy looking for problems all around them to look closer to home. I remember him openly criticizing Cheryl Cole's choice of boyfriend in the serial cheater and all round bad egg Ashley Cole. The man who's daughter's boyfriend led her down the road to drugs and addiction, notoriously difficult to recover from. In fact, an exert from one of Winehouse's famous hits, Rehab:

"They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, "No, no, no"
Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know
I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine"

I think he could, he ought to have been her intervention. Once again, far too easy to brand someone as a vile drug addict, far less often to do wonder what drove them to it.

So yes I do find it very sad. One, for the fact that many people got enjoyment from her music and she doesn't have the chance to continue that endevour. But two, it's not entirely her fault, it's far less her fault than people skimming over might notice, or want to. She could have been a happy, successful lady, she ended up as a pitiful girl. Rarely do normal, well-adjusted people sabotage their own life so greatly.

 

[Unsold Bacon]

Another member of The 27 Club. It very tragic. Her music wasn't my cup of tea but I could tell she was a very talented signer.

I could of swore somewhere I heard she was sober for 2 years though. Not sure if it's true or not but whatever. The autopsy is being preformed today, will see.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Amy Winehouse dies of an overdoes and we all get sad. A crackhead od's on the street, and we shrug and think 'what a bum'. Double-standards are alive and well. Thank you for the power, world."

It's a point. People of wealth, fame and power have the wherewithal to afford legal representation and "people" who keep them from suffering the same penalties those of us regular folk would have to deal with.

It reminds me of Robert Downey Jr. during the years he couldn't get clean from drugs. The police tried to throw him in jail but his celebrity, money and fans kept pleading: "You've got to stop trying to punish the poor man and instead, try to help him." Meanwhile, he stayed out of jail (where the rest of us would be tossed for the same behavior) and kept going back to his addictive behavior.

But you know what? If after one of his many successful escapes from responsibility, he had gotten in a car and killed someone while in a drug-addled haze, I'd wager that the same people who pleaded for leniency for him would be the first ones shouting: "Why didn't you throw him in jail before something like this could happen?"

So now, we have Amy Winehouse. Could it be that her money and fame were deterrents in getting her clean? Could it be that someone without her celebrity would have been jailed or committed if they showed up in the state Amy did after her last concert? Were people so blinded by her "fabulous talent" that they didn't handle her the same way they would have handled one of us in the same condition?

So yes, we're sorry to hear this. If there's one thing that seems to feature as the greatest thing a person can display, it's sympathy. We feel so damn sorry for people we've never met and never will meet. We burn with sympathy for people whom are actually just stories in the news to us; the next day we'll forget them and start feeling sorry for someone else.

But while we're terrific at showing sympathy, I would think some empathy would be a more useful quality. Empathy is asking: "What would I do if it were me?"

Seems to me Amy Winehouse could have used more of that from the people who were close to her.......then, there might not be as much need for all the sympathy we're giving her now.

 

[abraxasdeux]

I'll be honest here

I was never TOO particularly fond of Whinehouse

She was just a one hit wonder who's fame only never wavered because of her constant appearance in tabloids

Sure, like with any death, it's dishearting

But with her's, she was made out to be the next MJ, and she didn't even have that high of a popularity level

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

If she died of anything due to her drug or alcohol problems, I don't feel sorry for her in the slightest. In fact I was annoyed when I clicked on my Facebook page to see so many 'RIP Amy, such a waste' comments on my news feed. Where were all those comments when some piece of scum was killing 90+ people in Oslo? When one of our servicemen or women are killed fighting for our rights, and the human rights of people in countries thousands of miles away?

No, I definitely don't feel sorry for her. Everyone has problems, I've had my own that I couldn't help - and that's the point. All my problems, I could do nothing about at the time. Amy Winehouse CHOSE to drink excessively, and take every drug under the sun. Did I want her to die? No, of course not. But now it's happened, I'm not going to waste my sympathy on her when there are many more deserving causes.

Also, if you all read in your national paper 'Drug addict alcoholic dies after overdosing on Heroin' none of us would sympathise. Yet because she was famous her death was 'shocking, terrible, a waste'. Why is her life better than all the other addicts out there? Because she sang a few songs?

I agree. Winehouse was always going to end up killing herself through drink or drugs, it was plain to see and she clearly wasn't strong enough to control her demons, that is if she ever wanted to. There were enough opportunities for her to get help and try and get healthy but she obviously didnt take them, or didnt have the willpower to say "No".

There are far more serious problems in the world than Amy Winehouse. If I liked her music, if I didnt think she was disgusting mess, then I would have sympathy for her. It's a shame that such a unique talent has been wasted, but it's entirely her own fault. Personally, I have no sympathy for drug addicts like her, her decisions to spend time with addicts and users and repeatedly go back to her druggie husband were always going to catch up with her.

I prefer to mourn the real tragedies, such as the terrorist attacks going on, or the loss of soldiers in Afghanistan.

I have no sympathy for Amy, but I do feel sorry for her family who have seen their child publicly killing themselves for years. That must be a horrible thing for any family to go through, and I would not wish that on anyone

 

[LSN80]

There are two ways to look at this, in my eyes. Sympathy is feeling bad or sorry for the person. I understand people who don't, because as has been pointed out, Winehouse has brought much of this upon herself. But there's the empathic side of me that feels compassion. Compassion that her life took the direction that it did. Compassion for her family, who seemed to be trying to help her. Compassion for Ms. Winehouse, because I don't know her background, genetics, or metabolism. Who the hell am I to judge her? Or any of us? I pointed out earlier that nobody forced her to drink, do drugs, smoke. But there could be addictive properties against her control that went into overdrive the first time she took a drink. The first time she took say a painkiller or anxiety medication after a long show or tour. My point is, we don't know. How many of us have had something to drink, or have overdone it? Thank GOD that it didnt escalate for us. Our genetics and the way we're wired determine so muuch of what happens thereafter. This could have happened to any of us. Should she have worked harder to get help? Sure. But addiction is an incurable disease. Even if someone gets clean, they never get over the craving, fully. Why do you think people who go to AA or NA start with "My name is _____, and I am an alcoholic."? Not was an alcoholic, am. Amy made bad choices and Im not defending her. Im just feel compassion that her, like anyone else who dies from the disease of addiction, didnt have the strength or desire to get help. That's where I feel such a large sense of empathy. Because at the end of the day, whether it be Miss Winehouse, or a bum on the streets of Pittsburgh, it's a needless death. And that saddens me.

 

[The Big Gunnzbowski]

Does the death of Amy Winehouse resonate with you in any way on a personal level? Does it make you consider your own life, and the very realness of your own mortality?[/B]

When you look at her death, how do you view Winehouse? Do you feel empathy, or do you look at her lifestyle and believe she brought this upon herself due to her on again, off again battle with drugs and alcohol?

Any other thoughts on the death of Winehouse, or issues surrounding it, are welcome.

No.Why and the hell would the life and death of a known addict, who obviously had no regard for herself affect the way I look at my life? I think it's disgusting that this death got so much attention, if not just for the irony behind it.

Guess she shouldn't have said "Noooo, Noooo, Noooo..."

Oh, and I'd like to congratulate Amy Winehouse on 6 straight days of Sobriety! (aww, too soon?)

 

[LSN80]

[QUOTE="The Living Legend" Johnny Gunnz;3305476]No.Why and the hell would the life and death of a known addict, who obviously had no regard for herself affect the way I look at my life? I think it's disgusting that this death got so much attention, if not just for the irony behind it.

Guess she shouldn't have said "Noooo, Noooo, Noooo..."[/QUOTE]


She didn't. She may have written a song about it, but she went to Rehab in 08, 09, and earlier this year. Im not going to go over this again in detail, but some people simply are incapable of living the ordinary, every day life that you and I live, having gotten help or not.

Oh, and I'd like to congratulate Amy Winehouse on 6 straight days of Sobriety! (aww, too soon?)

Not to me. I wasn't personally affected by this. You realize youre only the 257th person to make this joke in the last hour or so, right? Fail.

 

[The Big Gunnzbowski]

I am also a firm believer in Natural Selection and it's place in nature. It's for reasons like this story that I chose to pursue a degree in Psychology... I want to know what in the hell compels people to do the things they do and feel the things they feel, so that someday I may be able to help somebody like Amy Winehouse.

 

[LSN80]

[QUOTE="The Living Legend" Johnny Gunnz;3368170]I am also a firm believer in Natural Selection and it's place in nature. It's for reasons like this story that I chose to pursue a degree in Psychology... I want to know what in the hell compels people to do the things they do and feel the things they feel, so that someday I may be able to help somebody like Amy Winehouse.[/QUOTE]

Allow me to answer your question about what compels people to do the things they do, especially regarding the psychology aspect of it. I didn't go to school to be a psychologist for no reason. In short, some people have a genetic disease which makes them virtually incapable of functioning without their drug of choice. I say choice purposefully, because there is a choice aspect in deciding to pick up the pipe, inject the needle, or pick up the bottle for the first time. But sometimes, that's all it takes for an addict.

Other then a select few who've never drank, smoked and/or injected, whose to say who would, and how long it would take for any of us to, get addicted? I know I drank alot during grad school to cope with the stress of school, and I find myself fortunate not to get addicted. However, I saw several friends get addicted, and even wanting to stop, they couldn't. That compelled me to stop drinking, and I did so with no difficulty. But whose to say I couldnt have got addicted and ruin my own life, or detract me at least? I was fortunate it wasn't me, as for two of my friends, it seriously derailed their careers, and I drank as much as they did for a year.

In short, Ill tell you the secret of what compels people to do the things Winehouse does. It starts with something small, like a drink. And their body might tell them "nice buzz, but I want more", even after one drink for some. Before they know it, they're shooting up, popping pills, and having ten drinks in the same night. Because their body requires "that fix." The best way to help them? Show compassion and empathy more then anything rather then judging or condemning them. If you don't show those first and foremost for the "Amy Winehouse's" of the world, you'll never be able to establish a repoire to help them. And that empathy and compassion will allow you first and foremost to move on to challenging them regarding their addictions. Being judgmental? You'll never hold their attention, and they certainly won't respect you enough to even listen to what you have to say, be it good or not.

 

[The Big Gunnzbowski]

I can totally see it from that perspective, even on a personal level. In my younger adult years, I dabbled here and there in things like Weed, Meth, Coke, etc... It was all about the "high" as you said. You do just about anything you can to keep it going, because the psychological feelings and emotions of coming down are destructive and terrifying. I was lucky to get away and put it all down before I crossed the point of no return as were you. It wasn't too difficult for me at all... but that's not to say for everybody. I publicly apologize for coming across as heartless and judgmental in a previous post, and thank you LSN80 for giving some personal insight. It can make all the difference for people when you have your own personal experiences that can relate.