# Artie Lange Suicide Attempt **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026 "2010-01-07T14:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/41 "2010-01-09T16:57:22Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Yeah, because nothing helps an addict more than being unemployed. Beats giving him more money to put up his nose or pump into his veins, as his work performance becomes more erratic and less satisfactory. One of the motivators that finally helped keep me clean and sober was the knowledge that if I screwed up and relapsed _again_, I’d be fired. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/42 "2010-01-09T17:13:25Z")
Dr. Drew can have a new patient on his show next time. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/43 "2010-01-09T17:24:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > One of the motivators that finally helped keep me clean and sober was the knowledge that if I screwed up and relapsed _again_, I’d be fired. And of course your experience is universal. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/44 "2010-01-09T17:54:24Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > And of course your experience is universal. The idea is to help an addict in every way possible _except_ ignoring or minimizing the problem. Support is very important, but it has to be the right kind of support. And there has to be very real consequences to failure. Addiction can be a very selfish thing, and believe me, I know whereof I speak, both in my own experiences, and those of other addicts. That being said, there’s never any guaranteed way to “cure” an addict. What works for one person might drive another past the breaking point. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/45 "2010-01-09T17:55:24Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > And of course your experience is universal. Of course it is! 🙂 I get so frustrated with Artie because he so strongly reminds me of myself. I too tried for a long time to avoid taking responsibility for my addiction, and my outcomes were disastrous. Besides, there is a solid body of medical evidence showing that having to face consequences for their behavior improves the recovery rate for addicts and alcoholics. The American Society of Addiction Medicine alone has a lot of data in this area. This article [The Case for Chronic Disease Management for Addiction](http://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Abstract/2008/06000/The_Case_for_Chronic_Disease_Management_for.1.aspx) explains it fairly well, and cites the primary evidence on outcome improvement when enabling is reduced. Essentially it boils down to: Make sure that the addict’s behavior results in logical and appropriate consequences. Or: Don’t shield them from the shitstorm they’ve stirred up, nor minimize the good things that may come their way when they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/46 "2010-01-09T20:15:43Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Of course it is! 🙂 > > I get so frustrated with Artie because he so strongly reminds me of myself. I too tried for a long time to avoid taking responsibility for my addiction, and my outcomes were disastrous. > > Besides, there is a solid body of medical evidence showing that having to face consequences for their behavior improves the recovery rate for addicts and alcoholics. The American Society of Addiction Medicine alone has a lot of data in this area. > > This article [The Case for Chronic Disease Management for Addiction](http://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Abstract/2008/06000/The_Case_for_Chronic_Disease_Management_for.1.aspx) explains it fairly well, and cites the primary evidence on outcome improvement when enabling is reduced. > > Essentially it boils down to: Make sure that the addict’s behavior results in logical and appropriate consequences. > > Or: Don’t shield them from the shitstorm they’ve stirred up, nor minimize the good things that may come their way when they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. That’s pretty much how it works on “Intervention,” although I don’t know what their success rate is. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/47 "2010-01-10T02:21:19Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I think they’re too entertained and fascinated by this slow-moving, recurring train wreck to take actual positive action. > > A positive action from Howard would be to tell Artie that unless he successfully completes a long-term rehab (and not his usual brief detoxes which he then skips out on after a couple of days), staying in compliance with his physician’s directions and aftercare program, he won’t have a job to come back to. Yeah, I suspect that’s the best course of action too, although of course there’s no guarantee it’ll work. I really enjoyed Artie on _The Norm Show_ and the few times I’ve heard him on Stern. Hope he can get through this, clean up his act and have a much better life. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/48 "2010-01-12T17:24:55Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_RYPXnBm-E8/maxresdefault.jpg ""Hurt" (Johnny Cash)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RYPXnBm-E8) Montage with Hurt playing. He was a different guy when he was going out with Dana. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026/49 "2010-01-16T16:09:43Z")
So…any news on how Artie is doing? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artie-lange-suicide-attempt/524026.md?page=2)