Drug addiction counselor and author Oscar Bamuhigire, has this to say about Michael Jackson’s drug addiction to pain killers."Michael Jackson suffered from one of the worst forms of mental illness, referred to in psychiatry as alienation of the existential self. It was primarily because of this mental illness that he became a drug addict. The root cause of this mental illness, which affects a large number of blacks, making them succumb to addiction and self destruction, is centuries of conditioning as a result of the slave trade and oppression.
These facts are well explained by Oscar Bamuhigire in The Healing Power Of Self Love:
Due to the effects of alienation of the existential self, some blacks have even gone as far as changing their skin color from black to white, in an attempt to deny their “Africanness”. Many African women today apply skin lightening creams, and wear wigs of white women’s hair, in an attempt to deny their “Africanness”. It is considered fashionable by many African women to wear a wig of a white woman’s hair. Many Africans break their backs trying to imitate the
accents of Europeans or Americans. These are symptoms of the psychiatric illness which Frantz Fanon aptly labeled ‘Alienation of the existential self ’. It is a severe form of self hatred which often leads to self destruction, physical and mental illness.Oscar Bamuhigire provides new insights into the nature of addiction. In the field of alcoholism and drug addiction treatment, there have always been questions for which there were no satisfactory answers: Is substance abuse a problem of discipline or a disease? Why is it that most alcoholics/ drug addicts do not seek for, or receive treatment? Why is it that only 5- 10% of alcoholics/ drug addicts respond to treatment? Why do untreated addicts have a better chance at breaking the bond of addiction than addicts who get treated? Why has the incidence of recovery without the help of formal treatment continued to rise? Are the successes of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A) nothing more than spontaneous remission?
Why are some people able to quit their addiction without treatment, while others only get worse after treatment? Why does treatment have a negative effect? Why are some treatment programs more effective than others? Why has the world continued to experience a steady increase in the rate of addiction and self destruction? Why is it that 1 in 2 Americans has a diagnosable mental disorder each year, and 81 Americans commit suicide every day? Why do non-Hispanic blacks bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, death, and disability? Why do the most successful treatment programs for addicts have a spiritual component? Why do non white people suffer from a high rate of substance abuse and self destruction? Why does Africa have the highest rate of suicide, poverty, and disease in the world?
In a unique blend of psychology, psychiatry, metaphysics, medicine, orient and western religions, Oscar Bamuhigire provides answers to these and many more questions. In making his revolutionary contribution to the scientific world, he also explains how addicts can enhance their chances of recovery from addiction through the treatment programs of their choice, by utilizing the ancient tools of discipline, lateral thinking, and insight from the life experiences of the world’s greatest leaders.
Even though this book was initially designed to meet the needs of alcoholics and drug addicts in treatment, it may be of great value to people who are struggling with other types of addiction, and those who are faced with major obstacles to their self-realization or self actualization."
Oscar Bamuhigire has more than 12 years of experience as an alcohol and drug addiction counselor. He has a degree in Psychology from Makerere University, and training in the Therapeutic Community model from DAYTOP International, New York, U.S.A (America’s oldest and largest drug treatment program). In 2003, he represented Africa at an international symposium on alcohol and drug addiction held in Rome, the Vatican, organized by the Vatican and the Italian Federation of Therapeutic Communities. During his stay in the Vatican, he personally met Pope John Paul II. He is one of the founders of Serenity Centre, which is Uganda’s only residential treatment center for addicts. He has also worked as an addiction counselor in other countries like Bangladesh and Kenya, authored more than one hundred newspaper articles on addiction treatment, and featured several times on Ugandan Television and radio talk shows. Early in his career, he received a vocational Award from the Rotary Club of Kampala South in recognition of his work with addicts. Oscar Bamuhigire suffered from alcoholism for ten years, but recovered in 1995 after he joined a 12 step group. He currently lives in Uganda, where he works as an addiction counselor in private practice. Contact Oscar Bamuhigire at Tel: 256-0772927955 or email: obamuhigire@yahoo.com. Link to Oscar Bamuhigire's blog here.
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