Up, Down and Over the Rainbow Posted by Into Action Treatment on July 8, 2015 in Articles, We Do Recover
Judy Garland’s Struggle with Depression, Anxiety, and Barbiturates
So often the outcome of a struggle is remembered more than the struggle itself; but when the struggle lasts a lifetime, to disregard it is to reduce a person to their beginning and their end. Those who struggle with lifelong battles of mental illness, especially when coupled with substance addiction, should earn recognition for the years in which they survived. Judy Garland, most famously known as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” was a survivor of depression, anxiety, and addiction for 47 years. The battle ended, ignominiously, on a cold, bathroom floor on June 22, 1969.Her death was an accidental overdose, from a bioaccumulation of the strong barbiturate, Seconal. It is owing to her lifelong fame that her story can serve as a testament of the fundamental need for self-esteem, selfefficacy, and self-love; for Judy Garland, the true love for herself and from others were always far away, over a rainbow she could never find, but spent her whole life searching.
Judy Garland was a Hollywood actress in the “Golden Age” of Hollywood, with other greats such as Gene Kelley, Fred Astair, Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra. Some of those names became her lovers; all became lifelong friends and witnesses to her struggle. During the filming of “Wizard of Oz”, according to Judy Garland, the management of MGM mandated the young stars, including her and Mickey Rooney to work up to 72-hours on scenes. In order to keep up with the demanding pace, MGM staff provided the young stars with amphetamines, to “pep them up” and barbiturates, to help them maintain sleep off set. Judy Garland, in particular, was encouraged to take a high-dose regimen of amphetamines to keep off the undesired weight she was prone to gaining. Thus, according to Judy, began her lifelong addiction to amphetamines and barbiturates, deep-seeded negative body image, anxiety, and often-suicidal depression.
As Judy grew into a petite, under 5-foot-tall, mature woman, her acting career rode many ups and downs; although she never won the two Academy-awards she was nominated for, she remains the youngest recipient, at 39, of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement (Clarke, 2000). Her personal life, of which her famous quote, “If I am a legend, why am I so lonely?” aptly abridges, is marred with 4 failed marriages and clandestine, high-profile affairs. However, as a true survivor, Judy did not simply lie down under the weight of her insecurities and addiction. In 1951, after three rough years that included multiple reported suicide attempts and several psychiatric admissions, Judy Garland returned to fame off-studio and on a stage for a four-month United Kingdom concert tour that is still referred to as “One of the greatest personal triumphs in show business history”.
In Memory
In 1968, a year before Judy’s death, American legislators passed the “Alcohol and Narcotic Rehabilitation Amendments of 1968, in response to growing awareness and concern for an ever-rising population of alcoholic and substance-addicted citizens. Prior to the amendment, the traditional treatment for addiction was forced “drying out” in a hospital, either medical or psychiatric. There was no established concept of dual-diagnosis, so people who suffered from chronic depressive disorders and addiction had inadequate care. A lack of understanding led to a gross lack of empathy, resulting in a
residual stigma that still negatively affects many struggling survivors of mental illness and addiction. However, it is through remembering the very human qualities of the most extraordinary people, like Judy Garland, that perhaps people will remember that we all share the need for love, acceptance, and compassion.