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Charlie Sheen: Zone defense

As Charlie Sheen’s awkward and bizarre rantings are in full bloom-courtesy of the ever accommodating media-I’m left with the nagging issue of whether he is or is not in the midst of a psychotic breakdown fueled by drug abuse.

I don’t know if he is abusing drugs, but I recognize his behavior. No, I’m not a psychiatrist or a drug abuse interventionist. I am a criminal defense attorney who, as a teenager, wasted my years abusing most drugs-from herbs to chemicals and shoot -dope-punctuated by stints in juvenile and adult “correctional” facilities.

As I struggled to free myself from the shackles of chemical dependency, eventually completing a prison sentence followed by a govenor’s pardon and law school, I remember three incidents that I cannot forget. The first occurred while in prison at St.Cloud Reformatory for Men in St.Cloud, Mn. A person I’ll call Lenny approached my cell one day.  I’d known Lenny on the streets and we’d gotten high a few times together.

I’d noticed in the joint that Lenny was starting to act bizarre so I avoided him. One day I could not. As he approached my cell,  he looked up and down the galley and then said, “Hey, you got any speed?” I told him I didn’t do drugs anymore. He then said, “You ain’t got to do any or have any. Jus’ lemme touch your hand. I can get high from that!”

I simply dismissed Lenny as crazy and let it go.  Until it happened again. This time it occurred while I was attending the University of Minnesota working on my B.A. in political science. I had come out of prison through a community-based therapy program to attend college. While there I ran into an old partner who I had run with in the streets and had been locked down with  in the joint. Larry was going to the U of M as well, but now when I saw him his personality had changed dramatically. It was a warm summer day and Larry stood off the sidewalk, on the grass. He was wearing a judo uniform and his hair and beard were flowing down his shoulders.

When he saw me looking at him,  he asked how I was doing. “Fine,” I replied. He then asked if I wanted some energy to help me study.  I said no, believing he was referring to dope. He wasn’t. Instead, when I rejected the offer, he stated that he wanted me to reach to the sky with him and we could absorb the sun’s energy together.

The last encounter occurred when I bumped  into an old friend.  Michael had moved out of state, but now he was back. When I saw him, and after superficial talk,  he said to me, “Barry, you ever feel like you’re standing over there when you’re really standing over here?” He then  accused me of standing on his feet.  I abruptly ended the conversation and left Michael standing by himself.

All three persons  shared two traits. They all had been long-term drug abusers.  And  they tenaciously clung to their Zone where they had developed and nutured their alter ego-the hip, slick-talking , easy-go-lucky player living on the edge, while their loved ones died a little each day as they watched  him/her descend  into chaos and personal torment.

Intervention may or may not work. Charlie Sheen needs to get out of this Zone to survive. Hopefully, someone other than the media can reach him and he can wake up from what appears to be a drug-induced state.

Until someone connects  with Charlie Sheen, all one can do is wish him and his family well.

114 thoughts on “Charlie Sheen: Zone defense

  1. Honestly i am in two minds on whether to take stand for or against. you are simply sharing your own point,i appreciate it. For some it will ring true for others it may not resemble their experience at all. I’m simply encouraging dialogue in the hope others will get the support they need.

  2. Outstanding! When something works, just reinforce it,right? Point out how well everything went when they chose a certain action and how if they choose that again they can have a similar result. but i dont understand why the viewpoint changed drastically.

  3. Have you ever thought about who posts most of this stuff that you simply hit upon? Cyberspace never formerly was such as that, not too long ago though it has turned around. What’s your opinion?

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  8. Outstanding! When something works, just reinforce it,right? Point out how well everything went when they chose a certain action and how if they choose that again they can have a similar result. but i dont understand why the viewpoint changed drastically.

  9. i had to go through it again since i could not grab the entire escence of the post in one go.That was a very articulate and logical point you make there.I appreciate you letting me know your thinking on this.

  10. If you really want you can look the other way and not talk about it.but you talked.thanls.Don’t give up your morals for anything. This will lead to a sad and unfulfilling life.

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  12. your site ranks high on yahoo and i must say your consistent writing style deserves your blog to be such high in rankings.i relished your writing style.keep it up.

  13. Hello, I accidentaly found your blog!I am trying to get ideas for proper writting style for my own website and what you write definitely gave me some ideas. You have a cool website so keep up the good work!

  14. Actually after reading this article, i am against you on this. I do not blame you,and am actually thankful for bringing this up on your blog. I am just conjuring up a dialogue here,no hard feelings.

  15. Actually after reading this article, i am against you on this. I do not blame you,and am actually thankful for bringing this up on your blog. I am just conjuring up a dialogue here,no hard feelings.

  16. A fine post by every standards, but i had exptected a more personal interaction on your part, as in where you express your detailed opinion as well, but each person has a different style of expressing,hence its fine.

  17. Not a bad post,in fact really fine.but I really miss that you didn’t express your opinion in detail, but its ok you just have different approach to writing.

  18. Outstanding! When something works, just reinforce it,right? Point out how well everything went when they chose a certain action and how if they choose that again they can have a similar result. but i dont understand why the viewpoint changed drastically.

  19. Interesting point of view. Wondering what you think of it’s implication on society as a whole though? There are times when things like this begin to have global expansion and frustration. I’ll check back to see what you have to say.

  20. Great points altogether, personally I’m gonna have to bookmark this and come back to it. I’m curious if you have any follow ups to this post?

  21. Interesting point of view. Wondering what you think of it’s implication on society as a whole though? There are times when things like this begin to have global expansion and frustration. I’ll check back to see what you have to say.

  22. It’s pretty interesting that the mainstream media has changed the way it looks at this recently dont you think? What once seemed like a never discussed issue has become more prevelant. It’s that time to chagnge our stance on this though.

  23. This is a good subject to talk about. Sometimes I fav stuff like this on Redit. I think this would be the best to submit though. I will be sure to submit something else though.

  24. Have you ever wondered who posts some of this stuff that you come across? The internet never used to be like that, recently though it has turned around. What do you think?

  25. your site ranks high on yahoo and i must say your consistent writing style deserves your blog to be such high in rankings.i relished your writing style.keep it up.

  26. i had to go through it again since i could not grab the entire escence of the post in one go.That was a very articulate and logical point you make there.I appreciate you letting me know your thinking on this.

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  29. Not a bad post,in fact really fine.but I really miss that you didn’t express your opinion in detail, but its ok you just have different approach to writing.

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  31. A fine post by every standards, but i had exptected a more personal interaction on your part, as in where you express your detailed opinion as well, but each person has a different style of expressing,hence its fine.

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