AINYF SHORTS

Are You Shocked That Sweet, Confident John Stamos Had a DUI? — I Am

No matter who we are — celeb or everyday people — addiction is out there waiting.

…It makes me sick to my stomach. I’m spinning around the streets, out of my f — — — mind. I could have killed a kid, wiped out a family or a grandmother coming home from Bible study. I’m jeopardizing everything in my life: my career, reputation, and worst of all, the kid my parents raised, a guy I kind of like.

That is what John Stamos said about his drunk driving incident.

Thank God those awful things didn’t happen. What did happen:

By the time I’m back in my body, I’m waking up in heaven, ‘John?’ God? No, it’s not my maker but someone pretty close in my eyes, Bob Saget is by my bedside. No judgment, just concern and love…Bob sits with me for a while. I learn he and my sisters, Alaina and Janeen, have been going crazy all night trying to get ahold of me.

John pulled over, and the police found him “blacked out, slumped in my seat like a scarecrow.” He then got transferred to a hospital.

How many of us stupidly got behind the wheel when we knew we were past the stage of being able to operate a vehicle but did it anyway?

That is one of the evils of ethanol. It diminishes our capacity to judge our level of intoxication. At times, it gives us a false sense that we are perfectly fine. Other times, we simply don’t give a damn and just want to have fun.

While he was driving that night, Stamos said he thought about dying:

I don’t want to kill myself, but there’s a selfishness in death that I flirt with. I’m faded in my car. It’s okay if I die. Fine. I've done it all; crossed everything off my list. Got the fame, got the girls, got the sitcom, got to play with The Beach Boys. The end. I’m good to go, in the literal sense.

John Stamos is best known for his time on the T.V. series “Full House,” but he also was on “E.R.” and “General Hospital” dating back to the 80s.

His mother died — she was the rock he depended on. His dad was gone, his marriage was over, and Stamos reports that he went “off the rails.”

About his mom, he said:

She kept me anchored, solid, and straightened out for most of my life. I’m feeling adrift and alone without her. Empty.

The reasons for alcohol abuse are numerous.

We use it to erase our pain from childhood trauma, bullying, spousal abuse, loss of a job or marriage.

We use it to smooth out the edges of a rough day at the office or bussing the children to school, sports, and play dates.

Some of us employ it as a means of boosting our confidence (false as it may be) or to be more social or fit in with the crowd.

John Stamos has recently released his memoir, “If You Would Have Told Me”. The writing of this book unearthed memories he had buried for decades.

He writes that when he was little, ten or eleven, a babysitter — then 18 or 19 years old — touched him in inappropriate ways that caused him to freeze. This is a typical, defensive response to trauma.

I took all of the weird and uncomfortable feelings and packed them away, like so many people do.

John realized that talking about it and writing about it in his book would not only help him to understand what happened and to work through it, but he could be helping others who experienced the same trauma.

Could that incident also have been a catalyst for his alcohol abuse?

Stamos admitted that he realized he was asking for trouble while drinking too much:

Proclivities can lie dormant within for a while, but I’m pushing my luck, drinking a bottle of wine every performance (including matinees). I can stop if I want. I’ve got this under control. I'm fine. Although it feels like I might be awakening a sleeping monster.

Who hasn’t thought they “had it under control, I’m fine, I can stop if I want?” I sure did.

Stamos did stop with the help of his younger sisters, who suggested a rehab facility. He entered a center for treatment for his alcohol abuse.

After receiving the DUI, Stamos felt he had “made a mockery” of himself and the characters he’d played on T.V. He also discovered how many people were cheering for him to find sobriety.

He said:

I can’t believe I have so many loving people in my life trying to help. I need to get better for them. In the moment, I don’t realize that’s not how this works. Healing starts with the self.

The most crucial sentence in this article is, “Healing starts with the self.”

No one can do it for you. You can have all the support in the world — family, friends, children, clergy, therapists — but in the end, only you can sober up.

You can do it John Stamos’s way — enter rehab, or your way — whatever that may be.

Millions have sobered up with Alcoholics Anonymous. Others with therapists skilled in alcohol abuse.

Some quit cold turkey.

Others, like me, read every sober book I could get my hands on.

Some had an intervention by family members. All of it works if you believe in yourself. That is a must. You can do this.

Remember John’s words: “Healing starts with the self.”

For help in quitting drinking, call your local alcohol abuse hotline, Alcoholics Anonymous, or SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration at 1–800–662-HELP (4357).