Word on the street was that Kurt Cobain had a longtime, recurring stomach ailment that caused him a lot of pain, and doctors sorta poo-pood his malady; he began to self medicate because of that, and eventually became addicted to heroin.
But really, if I was married to that wench I'd eat hard drugs by the mouthful too. (Acually he had this problem long before he met that woman. I am just being snarky).
“Word on the street was that Kurt Cobain had a longtime, recurring stomach ailment that caused him a lot of pain, and doctors sorta poo-pood his malady; he began to self medicate because of that, and eventually became addicted to heroin.”
Not that I’d suggest it was psychosomatic to begin with, but for argument’s sake let’s take him at his word. If he was that adamant about it, there must have been a good reason (unless his reason was he was already using and already needed an excuse to continue). People do indeed get hooked while soothing legitimate pain, most commonly involving the mysterious back (actually, I just made that up; I have no idea if it’s most common, but I bet it is).
Most commonly, as well (and this I do know), their symptoms persist as a factor of their disease (addiction, that is). So that we’d never know whether the stomach pain was chronic, since he was never off his emolient long enough to check. Hence his using it as an excuse to keep using, along with his convenient distrust of doctors, all of which contributed to his successful avoidence of treatment.
Not that treatment isn’t generally a crock. But sometimes it does work. In Cobain’s case the stomach thing sounds like a perfect excuse. Again, not to say it was psychosomatic from “go.” Perhaps his gap of care or low quality of care due to his period of homelessness and poverty contributed. Certainly once he got his millions and the gates of quality healthcare opened, he was already adrift on a gentle sea of opium.
The stomach ailment thing is very interesting in light of this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2693478/posts