The book God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F****d is a true story based on Hammond’s life where it takes him from his life on the Saturday night live to the memories in his past. Hammond is known as a comic genius, and in this book, we get to learn of his rise from the traumatic experiences in his life to the pinnacle in his career in comedy as he comes to become one of the longest-serving cast members in the show. His story tells of a man struggling from childhood trauma that leads him to alcohol abuse. He suffers from alcoholism, as diagnosed with his doctor later on. Not only does alcoholism affect his social life in terms of his relationship with his daughter, but it also leads him to cause self-harm. Rehabilitation is seen as one of the ways to combat alcoholism. Although substance abuse can lead to one not living up to his full potential, Hammond tries to rise in his career as both an actor and comedian with some relapses. In dealing with the struggle with alcoholism, childhood trauma, and self-harm, he gets help from professionals that enable him to get past his childhood trauma that was the cause of his alcoholism. This opens our eyes to the issue of celebrities dealing with substance abuse and even with some even dying from overdoses. Substance abuse is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Keywords: Rehabilitation, alcoholism, substance abuse, childhood trauma
Darrell Hammond’s story in terms of drug abuse and childhood abuse is a topic that is most common in the counselor’s room. Many substance abuse cases are encountered, and counselors have to find a way to deal with them regardless of their specialty as the cases are somehow intertwined. Substance abuse can be triggered by events in childhood, as seen in Hammond’s story, who started drinking in his teens. Child abuse, in most cases, is either caused by a relative or even a trusted adult. These childhood experiences form an important factor in how one grows up and how one responds to certain situations in their life. Most of these experiences will result in trauma experienced in the victim’s life, as seen by Hammond’s story. Counselors have to work with their clients to try and come to the root of the problem that causes or leads to the issues that they experience in their current life. In Hammond’s case, his psychiatrists’ failure in making a correct diagnosis leads him further down the path of depression. His chance encounters with a psychiatrist when he cuts himself too deep, and this results in him being taken to hospital, too, leading him to explain his story. The counselor diagnoses him with trauma that he had experienced some events in his past that could have caused the trauma. The counselor needs to make the correct diagnosis so that the client can be treated accordingly. Substance abuse is a common problem caused by a lot of things, including even child abuse.
The most challenging part of Hammond’s life in this book comes up when he’s forced to remember his past. When Hammond gets to meet up with a counselor who diagnoses him with trauma, the counselor seeks to find the root of his problem. From repressed memories of the past, Hammond remembers significant events that led to his fear and trauma. The trauma is seen to be caused by his mother in his childhood. Hammond’s mother plays a vital role from his early childhood as he experiences psychological torture and even physical abuse from his mother several times in his childhood, even as early as his toddler life. Psychological torture comes up when his mother recites Little Orphant Annie’s poem but in a distorted way that could have been considered traumatic for a little boy as her version entails blood and hair. Physical abuse happens one time when Hammond’s mother forces him to put his hand at the car door, and then she slams it shut. The only time that Hammond tries to relate with his mother is in his mimicry of people that his mother somehow seems to love. In trying to treat Hammond’s trauma, he’s told to communicate with his parents to say to them their part in the cause of the trauma that he is experiencing. The mother absently hangs the phone, and they do not communicate with his father up to his mother’s burial. From this part, several questions come into mind about the state of childhood welfare in the ’90s as no one seems to take note of the author’s abuse that he faces from his mother as a child. The trauma that he has experienced shows how determined Hammond was to overcome his trauma to achieve a pinnacle in his career amidst the alcohol and the trauma from his past.
Addiction is an issue that is seen to affect all people from different walks of life. Hammond, an award-winning actor, and comedian narrates his experience of his fight to get over his alcohol addiction as he has to be taken to rehab. Many famous people deal with addiction, as seen in the case of Hammond. There have been several cases of famous people dying over an overdose. Even with all these addiction cases in high profile people, many have been able to cope up and emerge the victor in the fight to overcome addiction. Hammond’s most significant contributing factor to his addiction is his trauma. Even though Hammond goes on with his life with only a few noticeable events that a few people in his life only know, his condition seems to be spiraling out of control with his tendencies to cut himself. This results in him being hospitalized. The form of self-cutting not only affects teens, but it affects those who deal with cutting as a form of self-harm to distract themselves from the depression that they are experiencing. This depression also comes in when two people in his life commit suicide. Suicide is yet another issue that needs to be addressed as it affects not only the victims but also those close to the victim. Even with years of sobriety, someone can relapse into an addiction that an event in their life has caused. Issues such as child abuse are also a contributing factor to substance abuse as it serves as a coping mechanism. Although most people try to maintain picture-perfect lives, many issues are underlying that even celebrities go through. The pressure in celebrities’ lives can at times lead them to substance abuse, which is a worrying trend. The two are related and are seemed as progressive fatal conditions. The major motivation of Hammond getting better is for his daughter to get a better father. While in the rehab, several other cases not only addiction but victims of rape. One can easily judge a book by its’ cover in the case of Mayor, not her real name. In the rehab, he meets up with all kinds of people and ends up forming a friendship of sorts with the Mayor, who, despite her history, her dealings serve to help those around her. Mayor helps a black girl who had been a victim of rape to overcome her fear and get her to talk. She further helps other people in the sanctuary. Mayor even goes to the extent of reprimanding a counselor for her role in a girl returning to a sixty old man who could supply crack for her in exchange for favors from her.
For substance abuse, in worst-case scenarios, as seen by Hammond, rehabilitation is one way of dealing with alcoholism. Rehabilitation is one of the treatment options dealing with alcoholism as addicts can be treated with medical experts adept at dealing with alcoholism. As a counselor, one of the ways is to ensure that they get proper medical care from professionals to address the issues such as withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal, if not taken into consideration, can lead to the death of a client. Rehabilitation is vital as, through it, one can also be enrolled in local support groups for other fellow addicts. There have been several cases of relapses after several years of sobriety. The process of recovering from alcoholism is thus seen as a process. Several measures have to be taken with checkups to ensure a client doesn’t relapse to alcoholism. The author relapses after five years of sobriety when one of his friends takes his own life. Inpatient rehabilitation has to be taken into account in case of severe alcoholism. This is important as there are professionals round the clock to deal with the patient, and even post-rehabilitation life patients can still be followed up. Even in the case of a relapse, a common occurrence among addicts, one can be advised on the course of action to take. Frequent meetings are essential with a counselor to deal with alcoholism and the triggering factors such as trauma that led to substance abuse. As a counselor, one can go through a client in the delivery process through the highs and lows that a client experiences on the road to recovery. As a social worker, the vital role in dealing with alcoholism using their resources can help a recovering alcoholic with other medical professionals. Issues such as arrests can be dealt with as the client can help address their clients’ sobriety and stability.
A client diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, such as causing harm in cutting themselves, can be treated with counseling sessions. Substance abuse is associated with dysfunctional families in the case of child abuse that can lead to trauma. Childhood trauma affects different people differently. To some, it can lead to self-harm, such as cutting themselves; in others, it can lead to suicide. Several treatments, such as cognitive processing therapy, involve skill development in challenging beliefs such as unworthiness that the client thinks is responsible for his trauma. Another form of treatment modality is prolonged exposure therapy, where a client has to confront the events that caused his trauma. These are essential modalities and can also help address substance abuse issues that reflect childhood abuse.
Several factors cause alcoholism. In the case of this book, Childhood trauma is one of the contributing factors to substance abuse. Childhood trauma leads to self-harm, but if these issues are not addressed can lead to the suicide of the victims. There are several ways trauma can be addressed if detected early through counseling and therapy. Substance abuse can also be treated if the addiction is detected early, too, with less expensive inpatient rehabilitation options for extreme cases.
References
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT). (2017).
https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/cognitive-processing-therapy
Hammond, D. (2011). God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F*cked. HarperCollins Publishers.
Lindberg, S. (2021, March 4). Therapy for childhood trauma can make a huge difference. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/therapy-for-childhood-trauma
Prolonged exposure. (2020).
https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/prolonged-exposure
Recognizing and treating child traumatic stress. (2020).
https://www.samhsa.gov/child-trauma/recognizing-and-treating-child-traumatic-stress
