The recent death of entertainer Whitney Houston has many glancing at her 18 year old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown.
Bobbi Kristina was spending time with her mother the day before she was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel room from an alleged overdose of prescription pills. Hospital reports show Bobbi Kristina was hospitalized twice in the days following her mother’s death. She needed aid from the overwhelming effects of anxiety and panic attacks. Loss of a loved one at any time of life is traumatizing, but for loss for a child of an addict is even more so.
Whether a parent has died from their addiction or not, the children of addicts are often left with trauma for the rest of their lives. Addicts can not only be physically abusive to themselves but are known to emotionally and physically abusive to their families. Trauma is often what leads to the cycle of alcoholism repeating itself in families. The use of substances for its numbing effects blocks out disturbing memories.
We can only speculate the extent of Bobbi Kristina’s trauma, no two families are alike. Though there is a vast amount of books, therapists and support groups to help her through her pain we can’t help but wonder how her mother’s death could have been prevented? We only wish recovery could have happened for Whitney. At no fault of the addict, sometimes it takes multiple stints in rehab for them to surrender their addiction. We can only hope that the story of Whitney Houston’s death is a wakeup call to all addicts and their families to get help NOW.
