Pop Psychology, Addiction, and A Way Out

[TroutBaseball]

I've got my guesses what kind of things drew Hamilton to relapse and what might be taking place behind the scenes.  It's going to be "a couple of weeks" before we find out what kind of discipline will be handed down.  We also know that the league conditions on Hamilton playing are undisclosed.  Which means that the union contract is probably the bare minimum when it comes to Hamilton and this latest relapse. The consequences are probably much more complicated than we can imagine.  My guess is that he might have already been told he's on his last straw.

 

Let's back up to his first relapse in Arizona that Deadspin publicized.  In their story the bartender said that Hamilton on his way out asked where the nearest strip club was.  In Hamilton's biography he stated that strip clubs were a place he always knew he could score cocaine.  Whether or not he made it to a strip club or found himself some cocaine is unknown.  We've been told that it was only an alcohol relapse, but he's shown himself to be a VERY determined addict so I'm speculating this is not the first time in the last ten years he's used coke. 

 

Fast forward to this offseason.  Two very mediocre years. A lot of pain. A home crowd that doesn't love him. A manager that doesn't hold him close with Biblical encouragement on a daily basis. An area of the country that he doesn't plan on living in unless baseball is being played.  All these things culminate at the end of last season with an arthritic shoulder that he willingly pumps a ton of cortisone into on multiple occasions just so he can hold a bat up.  After all that effort and pain he gets booed in his final at bats by his home team. Josh lashes back that he only cares about his teammates and he doesn't really care about the fans (probably an immature reaction to a lot of frustrations).

 

So he goes into the offseason still in pain and with the threat of surgery hanging over him.  The last couple of weeks of December roll around and the Angels pick up Matt Joyce to play LF/DH. "Hey wait, those are my positions, what are they doing?" questions Hamilton; not to mention all the speculation surrounding a potential trade.  He knows he is on his last chance with the league.  He knows that if he's caught with cocaine he's done. No more.  Addiction is almost always about finding an escape.  Cocaine isn't just a good feeling, suddenly this seems like a way out. "And I've worked hard, I deserve it, I can handle just a little," says the inner voice inside every addict. Finding someone who can admit to that sort of self-sabotage is very rare.

 

We're at the end of December or beginning of January and somehow he finds the cash and the means to find cocaine. . . .  But being loved and surrounded by people holding him accountable, this isn't the end.  He repents.  He starts working the steps again. He renews his commitment to his God, his family, his sobriety and to baseball.  

 

Playing baseball means getting the surgery.  Being sober means making amends, so he contacts the Angels and MLB to let them know that he's failed them and needs forgiveness. He is "rehabbing" at a "friend's ranch" outside of Houston. But it's for drug addiction as much as it is for surgery.  Those pain medications are being closely monitored by professionals.

 

Hamilton has done his part. Whatever is going to happen with baseball is no longer in his hands. The story is now about Rob Manfred.  A new commissioner with his first real disciplinary challenge and a dictate that if Hamilton fails another drug test he has already accepted a lifetime ban.  But this isn't typical behavior from an addict.  This is someone confessing and accepting the consequences that follow.  This looks more like a medical issue than bawdy behavior.  Not to mention all of Hamilton's relapses have happened during the off-season.  He needs baseball. This isn't just about keeping drugs out of baseball, this is about keeping drugs out of a really good man with a serious problem. . . and baseball might be the one thing that can really help him.  

 

 

[TroutBaseball]

acknowledging relapses and asking forgiveness is indeed typical behavior a for an addict in recovery. 

 

that's not pop psychology.  

 

I'm the pop psychologist in this thread, not Hamilton or his recovery specialist.

Edited February 28, 2015 by TroutBaseball

[Ohtaniland]

It's a nice write up TB but Hamilton will never be trusted again by the Angels, fans or Major League Baseball. History continues to repeat itself with Josh and remember that he doesn't play for the people in the stands.

 

I'm waiting for the Angels public relations apology press conference.

 

He can pretty much use the same speech he used in Texas.

 

 

http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/7537732/texas-rangers-outfielder-josh-hamilton-relapse-alcohol

[Jay]

He's a grown man now not a kid.  He needs to man up and make good decisions, set a good example for his kids, and do his job.  No excuses.  No "inner voice" telling him it's ok to do a little blow.  That's BS.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

As someone who has dealt with countless addicts and has been involved in too many detoxifications to count, I can tell you that there is nothing earth-shattering, groundbreaking or insightful about Hamilton's confession. Addicts often minimize what they have done by saying that it was only "a one-time thing" or a "temporary relapse". The confession often serves to absolve them of any public guilt for what they have done - even though it may have happened many other times and not been detected. They may also gain public sympathy and undeserved "credit" for coming clean, giving them a secondary gain. The only thing that has really changed is the public spin that they put on their continued drug use.

 

When things get tough, they retreat to their old escapes. The coping mechanisms that they have been taught have accomplished nothing. Drugs are an easy (if temporary) escape from what bothers them. They also stimulate pleasure areas in the brain, so the escape itself is only part of the equation. They go from feeling terrible to feeling great in just a few minutes. The downward spiral it creates is of no concern to them because the disincentive pales in comparison to the feeling it creates.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Jay]

Poor Josh.

[Angelsjunky]

I've got to say, that's some pretty good pop psychology, Trout Baseball. Well done.

[Hollyw00d]

I hate pop psychology

[shellback]

As someone who has dealt with countless addicts and has been involved in too many detoxifications to count, I can tell you that there is nothing earth-shattering, groundbreaking or insightful about Hamilton's confession. Addicts often minimize what they have done by saying that it was only "a one-time thing" or a "temporary relapse". The confession often serves to absolve them of any public guilt for what they have done - even though it may have happened many other times and not been detected. They may also gain public sympathy and undeserved "credit" for coming clean, giving them a secondary gain. The only thing that has really changed is the public spin that they put on their continued drug use.

 

When things get tough, they retreat to their old escapes. The coping mechanisms that they have been taught have accomplished nothing. Drugs are an easy (if temporary) escape from what bothers them. They also stimulate pleasure areas in the brain, so the escape itself is only part of the equation. They go from feeling terrible to feeling great in just a few minutes. The downward spiral it creates is of no concern to them because the disincentive pales in comparison to the feeling it creates.

this is a great post

if i may add that addicts deal with a truly life and death condition that can only be arrested through self honesty

[yvangelfan]

TB, I have to disagree.

 

I think for Josh, this was about escaping baseball. We might think the game is good for him because it keeps him busy and healthy during the season, but I think Josh

was dreading spring training and coming back to the regular season and critics.

 

Unfortunately, I think he's burned out and doesn't want to come back.

 

Poor Josh, Arte and us.

[TroutBaseball]

TB, I have to disagree.

 

I think for Josh, this was about escaping baseball. We might think the game is good for him because it keeps him busy and healthy during the season, but I think Josh

was dreading spring training and coming back to the regular season and critics.

 

Unfortunately, I think he's burned out and doesn't want to come back.

 

Poor Josh, Arte and us.

 

 

I think that's exactly what I was saying (perhaps poorly). When he relapsed, cocaine was a way out of baseball.

Edited February 28, 2015 by TroutBaseball

[yvangelfan]

I think that's exactly what I was saying (perhaps poorly). When he relapsed, cocaine was a way out of baseball.

 

I think when he contacted MLB he wasn't wanting forgiveness.

[TroutBaseball]

He could retire without telling anyone about the relapse. No one can make him play baseball. Seeking forgiveness and accepting consequences is part of the 12 steps. Meeting with MLB seems to be in line with that processes.

[Ohtaniland]

Try this one.....

 

http://centraltrack.com/Culture/3771/The-Many-Excuses-of-Josh-Hamilton/Its-Not-Him-Its-You-

[Hollyw00d]

I kinda think they should just let Hamilton booze it up and do blow. At least he'd be happy.

Mantle and Ruth partied like rock stars and they're in the HOF.

Actually that's my positionon this now, as long as he's not driving, everyone get off his back, that includes you MLB.

The difference is Hamilton isn't capable of functioning on a daily basis when he's "partying"

[howie]

Josh needs to go see this guy

[jsnpritchett]

Try this one.....

 

http://centraltrack.com/Culture/3771/The-Many-Excuses-of-Josh-Hamilton/Its-Not-Him-Its-You-

Wow. Hadn't seen that before. Amazing to see all of his excuses and blame-shifting in one place.

I just want him gone at this point. I'm not sympathetic to what he's going through. I feel bad for his family, but not him. He's had chance after chance to get his life together. It has to stop at some point.

[Angels Never Die]

Who says being a recovering addict means you can never make a mistake and slip up along the way? The point is to stay the course despite challenges and bumps in the road, the ultimate goal is to not spin out of control. In fact, I'd say it's encouraging for him to experience failure and quickly bounce back from it, it can show him that just because he may screw up, it's not the end of the world and he has the strength to recover from it.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I'm less sympathetic, because Hamilton has made a personal pastime out of explaining away his repeated failures - and none of it is ever his fault. When you don't accept personal responsibility for your failures, you are doomed to repeat them. He has no insight whatsoever.