During a press conference last Friday, boxing legend Mike Tyson admitted that he is on the verge of dying due to alcoholism. This came as a huge shock to many of his fans who believed that he had been free of addiction problems for years. During his speech, he admitted to having done many bad things in the past, but he said that he now wants to be forgiven. He went on to say that he wants to become sober so he can live a better life.
How Mike Tyson When from Public Addiction to Private Addiction
The addiction problems of Mike Tyson have received a great deal of media attention in the past. He was in and out of rehab three times and he is now better known for his bad behaviour than his legendary boxing skills. He became so desperate that he even tried to commit suicide. Five years ago, he publically made the decision to end his addiction problems. In an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show three years ago, he seemed to be doing great. He claimed to have broken away from addiction as well as making many other positive changes in his life, such as turning vegan.
It now seems that Mike Tyson has not been able to break away from his addiction problems. What he has done is become much better at hiding it. It is not clear how long ago he relapsed, but it is likely to have been a long time. It came as a real shock for many of his fans to hear that the person they believed had done a great job of rebuilding his life of addiction was actually on the verge of dying due to alcoholism.
The Strength of Addiction Denial
The process of denial associated with addiction makes it easy for those caught up in alcoholism to live a double life. When people relapse after a period of sobriety, it can be terribly hard for them to admit to this defeat. Mike Tyson is used to winning, but he had already failed at recovery a few times so maybe he felt his pride could not take another hit. He then used the addict’s best friend – denial – to convince himself that he would be able to keep his drinking under control without ever having to admit that he had relapsed.
Mike Tyson is not unusual in his ability to relapse and continue to put on a show of being sober. There have been many examples of ex-alcoholics who made a living helping other alcoholics only for it later to come out that they had relapsed years ago. These people will have probably felt that they had too much to lose by admitting to an addiction problem, but it wasn’t only other people they were fooling – they were also fooling themselves.
The person who relapses and tries to act sober puts himself or herself in a very difficult position. As alcohol once again takes control over their life, they can feel completely trapped. They feel unable to ask for help, meaning that they just continue to deteriorate. Many people have died because they were too embarrassed to admit that they had relapsed.
Mike Tyson Has Taken a Brave Step
Mike Tyson has taken a brave step by admitting to returning to alcoholism. It cannot have been an easy thing for him to do but now that he has done it, he can start again with a clean sheet. He claims to have been sober for the last six days, so hopefully this will be something that he will be later able to build upon. The only way to find happiness in sobriety is through complete honesty; the hope is that Mike Tyson has learned his lesson and will now fully commit to this new life.
