A functioning herion addict is someone who manages to lead a normal life during a heroin addiction. So someone who manages to hold down a job or keep it secret to some extent. This is normally because they take drugs outside their work time, away from their family; not because the drug has no visible effect on them.
A functioning heroin addict is NOT someone who does not show outward signs when they are actually high on the drug. When you take heroin although you will have awareness of the sensations you are going through to all intents and purposes to the rest of the world you might as well be unconcious.
Someone high on heroin would certainly not be capable of meeting even the basic minimum needs of a child of 11 months. It would be physically impossible, they wouldn't have any awareness of what was happening around them and would normally be barely stand let alone change a nappy.
For a comparison, someone who is actually high on the drug having just taken it would appear to be like a dead drunk.
They would only be like a dead drunk if they were on the nod, I know two heroin addicts in my in laws family that long for the day they get a nod, it barely happens once someone is addicted. These people cannot generally afford to take more heroin than they already do though, being on sickness benefits. That isnt the case for these rich people who usually end up ODing after a rather short (in my experience) addiction, probably because their wealth means they can buy as much drugs as they want.
Your reference was about Peaches' complaint that she was sent to school, the day after the funeral.
Bob Geldof was not the 'messed up parent' - IMO, he has always done the best for all his girls.
I suppose it's all his fault now ;-)
She was sent to school the day after Paula died, not after the funeral.
He isnt, nor ever was a saint, Paula said he was more like a dad than a husband and even his long term partner has said she has to go to her retreat in France now and again to get away from him and his demanding ways
Why did he not lay down any boundaries for the girls? Seems he only gave them to Tiger and not his own children.
I'm not saying it was his fault but he has to take some blame in it all. He got custody of the kids and then stopped their mum seeing them. everything between them was one big public fight.
Nice article & as another poster said, I also haven't lost any sympathy just because of the way she died, if anything it makes it even more tragic to know she'd slipped back into using drugs, such a sad waste of a young life:(
It any have been said, sorry as I have not read all the comments, but with a young child, just taking any major illegal drug, let alone one that might and did kill Peaches leaving a young child on it's own with her dead body, makes her a really bad parent, and dare I say, it might be the best thing in the long run, as her child won't see years of their mother stoned on drugs, and follow this fine example. Sorry I have no time for parents who do drugs around children, if you do drugs, don't have kids simple as that.
And finally Bob may have tried to save Africa, but he should have looked closer to home and also been a better parent.
And I am not whiter than white, as I took Acid in the 70's but before I got married gave up as being a good husband, father was more important.
My Brother and Sister were heroin addicts. My brother became an addict to block out the memories of his his childhood when he was abused my priests in Dublin. He sued and won a large compensation payout against the irish state for the whole cover up. Sadly he died 3 years ago when he had a fall just as he had got himself clean.
My Sister also became an addict. While she was high she would clean the house from top to bottom. Her house would be sparkling and she would buzz around at lightning speed. Without the drug she resembled the walking ressurection. she would fall around, slur her words, she once left her young son alone in the bath. she could not function without the drug. she tried to get herself clean many times. She had another child a few years ago. Drug abuse showed up in her pre-natal tests and her child was born addicted to heroin and taken into care. she is now off heroin but she cannot function without methadone so she's just replaced one addiction with another.
I know that social services have to be informed if drug or alcohol abuse is discovered during pre-ntal tests. If that is the case with Peaches then she would have visits from the authorities. The fact that she breastfed both her babies makes me think that it could have been a one-off hit that killed her. Maybe her demons came back to haunt her on Mothers day.
So very sad.:(
Someone very close had a baby last year and smoked cannabis throughout the pregnancy, she never had any involvement off social services, no mention of it showing up in pre natal tests either.Thought that was an american thing (drug testing in pregnancy?). Or was it that your sister was a known user so had specific tests for heroin/drugs during pregnancy? Just seems odd given I know several people to have done similar things (not heroin but cannabis and drinking alcohol) and theres never been any social services involvement and infact nothing to say hcp even knew about it?
Hmmm did he? Or did he just remove them from their mother who took drugs.. Seems he still hung around with other people who took drugs.
I'm not blaming him alone its never one persons fault. Its always a mix of reasons.
The person to blame for Peaches death IS Peaches herself.. She was aware of what devastation drugs can do from a young age.. She chose to still do drugs.. And by the looks of it even whilst with her son in the house.. How is that anyone else's fault?
I just do not understand someone who saw their mother struggle with drugs and die young would go down the same road. Peaches obviously was NOT taking heroin when she was pregnant with her two babies! I do not understand someone who has a loving father and sisters, a great husband and two healthy children getting involved with drugs. Peaches was terribly thin, especially when you consider she had two children very close together, I suspected a heart attack. Quite honestly, I just think she was an idiot to throw away her life like that. Especially as she had two beautiful babies and a supportive husband and enough money to get any kind of support she needed. Senseless. The person I have sympathy for is her Dad and her husband!! I would be furious if she had been my partner. So ricidulous to write articles about the joys of motherhood then take drugs when you are supposed to be looking after your baby son. Appalled. Peaches obvously lied to everyone! Motherhood did not "save" her from being a "wild child"!! It was all lies.
The person to blame for Peaches death IS Peaches herself.. She was aware of what devastation drugs can do from a young age.. She chose to still do drugs.. And by the looks of it even whilst with her son in the house.. How is that anyone else's fault?
I so agree with you but today nobody is ever held responsible for their behaviour, it is always somebody else's fault. Easier to blame her Dad her childhood, her teenage years, mixing with the celeb set etc and find excuse after excuse for Peaches appalling' behaviour. The fact is she knew what drugs did to her mother, she was 11 when Paula died yet she chose to go down this road of lies, drugs and selfishness. She had no consideration for her children, husband, father etc. She had opportunities to change and just pretended she had to the general public!! How could she take drugs while looking after her baby son???
Bob Geldof was not the 'messed up parent' - IMO, he has always done the best for all his girls.
I suppose like lots of divorced parents, he was trying to balance what he thought was lacking with Paula's parenting.
You often see divorced dads being 'the fun parent' because they only get to see the kids on the (alternate) weekends, I can imagine with Bob he wanted to be more strict and show his girls that there's rules you need to stick to.
Peaches complained that there was no room for her to mourn, that she didn't get the time soon after her mum passed away to even cry about her. She had to go back to school, back to 'normal'. I don't doubt that Bob decided on that because he thought it was for the best, but it turns out that it wasn't for Peaches.
Whether or not that has a direct link to her early death is a completely different story.
I think it is clear that Paulas death left a big hole in Peaches life (why it seemed to affect her more than her other sisters I have no idea). I think the marriage, children etc were an attempt to patch up that hole but try as she might it just didn't work. It really is very sad and the former nannys tribute was heartbreaking 'you nearly made it'. I think Peaches did try and change things and straighten her life out. I am sure lots of people on here will say 'well she didn't try hard enough' but I would put that down to lack of understanding regarding addiction/depression etc.
I so agree with you but today nobody is ever held responsible for their behaviour, it is always somebody else's fault. Easier to blame her Dad her childhood, her teenage years, mixing with the celeb set etc and find excuse after excuse for Peaches appalling' behaviour. The fact is she knew what drugs did to her mother, she was 11 when Paula died yet she chose to go down this road of lies, drugs and selfishness. She had no consideration for her children, husband, father etc. She had opportunities to change and just pretended she had to the general public!! How could she take drugs while looking after her baby son???
I really don't know why she would be so selfish... What if her son had fallen,or picked up her drugs and died..would so many of those sticking up for her be still doing so.
There is no excuse.. Peaches killed Peaches ..no one else..
I think it is clear that Paulas death left a big hole in Peaches life (why it seemed to affect her more than her other sisters I have no idea). I think the marriage, children etc were an attempt to patch up that hole but try as she might it just didn't work. It really is very sad and the former nannys tribute was heartbreaking 'you nearly made it'. I think Peaches did try and change things and straighten her life out. I am sure lots of people on here will say 'well she didn't try hard enough' but I would put that down to lack of understanding regarding addiction/depression etc.
Sorry don't buy that, she was a terrible mother just for the reason she took the drug when she was on her own with her young child, and also,if that was the case that she had a young family to patch things up, but fell back into drug taking with no,thought of that young family,,thane she had no right to be a parent, many addicts have kicked the habit, she on the other hand was a spoilt rich kid, who did not give a thought for anyone around her.
Sorry don't buy that, she was a terrible mother just for the reason she took the drug when she was on her own with her young child, and also,if that was the case that she had a young family to patch things up, but fell back into drug taking with no,thought of that young family,,thane she had no right to be a parent, many addicts have kicked the habit, she on the other hand was a spoilt rich kid, who did not give a thought for anyone around her.
Everything about this post is wrong.
Just because some addicts can kick the habit doesn't mean everyone can
Jane Tomlinson had cancer and cycled across America
Therefore everyone who has cancer can do the same, right?
She could and should have chosen it herself. Millions of people in their 20s don't have kids because they know they want to go out partying and get drunk so they put it off. What makes Peaches the special one who is entitled to neglect her kids because she wants to take drugs and have kids?
I think Peaches probably thought it'd be good to have.kids to get away from the lifestyle she had. But that'd the problem- you shouldn't have kids to solve your own issues. Having kids brings its own stresses, seems she over idealised parenthood & tried to live up to an impossible standard, felt guilty when she couldn't live up to it & got high as either addiction or stress relief.
Having kids isn't a way to heal yourself of emotional problems. It sounds like she was too young to have them IMO
You do if you keep taking it until you are addicted. We are responsible for our own actions.
At 25 you are barely grown up. It's too easy to be black and white and rational about it. Humans are not rational beings, we're emotional beings. If we were rational we would all be the perfect weight, wouldn't drink, do drugs, or eat too much sugar.
I fail to see what useful purpose all these recriminations will serve. Peaches is dead so won't be affected. The only people that will be hurt are her grieving family, including her sons when they are old enough to read about their mother online. Perhaps those that feel the need to sound off about the effect of what Peaches has done on her boys may want to consider this.
That is a good article and one I wholeheartedly agree with. My sympathy hasn't switched off now the heroin has come to light, some of the comments on this forum are shocking.
They are. I'm shocked at the ignorance and lack of understanding on here about the nature of addiction.
I've always been led to believe that it's not possible to use heroin recreationally on an 'as and when' basis as people get hooked after the first hit. Perhaps this was her first time using? Wasn't Paula a relatively new user when she died?
No someone earlier in the thread said she ODed in 2008 & had to be revived.
Is it possible she could have disposed of it herself somewhere before losing consciousness?
LOL heroin highs take SECONDS to hit. she'll just have drifted off & not woken up. Yes, leaving her son exposed OD or not.
And the removal of the drugs items?? Looks like its pointing one way to me??
Comments
Exactly that !
She had everything - which may well have been the problem.
They would only be like a dead drunk if they were on the nod, I know two heroin addicts in my in laws family that long for the day they get a nod, it barely happens once someone is addicted. These people cannot generally afford to take more heroin than they already do though, being on sickness benefits. That isnt the case for these rich people who usually end up ODing after a rather short (in my experience) addiction, probably because their wealth means they can buy as much drugs as they want.
Bob Geldof removed his children from a 'drug scene'.....thankfully, for their sake, he had the clout - not many fathers do !
The only child that she was able to keep - was left playing around her body for hours...
Why are you blaming him ?
She was sent to school the day after Paula died, not after the funeral.
He isnt, nor ever was a saint, Paula said he was more like a dad than a husband and even his long term partner has said she has to go to her retreat in France now and again to get away from him and his demanding ways
Why did he not lay down any boundaries for the girls? Seems he only gave them to Tiger and not his own children.
I'm not saying it was his fault but he has to take some blame in it all. He got custody of the kids and then stopped their mum seeing them. everything between them was one big public fight.
Hmmm did he? Or did he just remove them from their mother who took drugs.. Seems he still hung around with other people who took drugs.
I'm not blaming him alone its never one persons fault. Its always a mix of reasons.
Nice article & as another poster said, I also haven't lost any sympathy just because of the way she died, if anything it makes it even more tragic to know she'd slipped back into using drugs, such a sad waste of a young life:(
And finally Bob may have tried to save Africa, but he should have looked closer to home and also been a better parent.
And I am not whiter than white, as I took Acid in the 70's but before I got married gave up as being a good husband, father was more important.
Someone very close had a baby last year and smoked cannabis throughout the pregnancy, she never had any involvement off social services, no mention of it showing up in pre natal tests either.Thought that was an american thing (drug testing in pregnancy?). Or was it that your sister was a known user so had specific tests for heroin/drugs during pregnancy? Just seems odd given I know several people to have done similar things (not heroin but cannabis and drinking alcohol) and theres never been any social services involvement and infact nothing to say hcp even knew about it?
The person to blame for Peaches death IS Peaches herself.. She was aware of what devastation drugs can do from a young age.. She chose to still do drugs.. And by the looks of it even whilst with her son in the house.. How is that anyone else's fault?
I so agree with you but today nobody is ever held responsible for their behaviour, it is always somebody else's fault. Easier to blame her Dad her childhood, her teenage years, mixing with the celeb set etc and find excuse after excuse for Peaches appalling' behaviour. The fact is she knew what drugs did to her mother, she was 11 when Paula died yet she chose to go down this road of lies, drugs and selfishness. She had no consideration for her children, husband, father etc. She had opportunities to change and just pretended she had to the general public!! How could she take drugs while looking after her baby son???
I suppose like lots of divorced parents, he was trying to balance what he thought was lacking with Paula's parenting.
You often see divorced dads being 'the fun parent' because they only get to see the kids on the (alternate) weekends, I can imagine with Bob he wanted to be more strict and show his girls that there's rules you need to stick to.
Peaches complained that there was no room for her to mourn, that she didn't get the time soon after her mum passed away to even cry about her. She had to go back to school, back to 'normal'. I don't doubt that Bob decided on that because he thought it was for the best, but it turns out that it wasn't for Peaches.
Whether or not that has a direct link to her early death is a completely different story.
I really don't know why she would be so selfish... What if her son had fallen,or picked up her drugs and died..would so many of those sticking up for her be still doing so.
There is no excuse.. Peaches killed Peaches ..no one else..
Sorry don't buy that, she was a terrible mother just for the reason she took the drug when she was on her own with her young child, and also,if that was the case that she had a young family to patch things up, but fell back into drug taking with no,thought of that young family,,thane she had no right to be a parent, many addicts have kicked the habit, she on the other hand was a spoilt rich kid, who did not give a thought for anyone around her.
Everything about this post is wrong.
Just because some addicts can kick the habit doesn't mean everyone can
Jane Tomlinson had cancer and cycled across America
Therefore everyone who has cancer can do the same, right?
This is another family's grief - I have no idea why you are blaming Bob Geldof...
The only reason Peaches Geldof died was, very sadly, because of Peaches Geldof.
The end....
I think Peaches probably thought it'd be good to have.kids to get away from the lifestyle she had. But that'd the problem- you shouldn't have kids to solve your own issues. Having kids brings its own stresses, seems she over idealised parenthood & tried to live up to an impossible standard, felt guilty when she couldn't live up to it & got high as either addiction or stress relief.
Having kids isn't a way to heal yourself of emotional problems. It sounds like she was too young to have them IMO
And where she was getting it from.
At 25 you are barely grown up. It's too easy to be black and white and rational about it. Humans are not rational beings, we're emotional beings. If we were rational we would all be the perfect weight, wouldn't drink, do drugs, or eat too much sugar.
Nice to read some rational and compassionate perspective. And input from experts in the treatment field.
They are. I'm shocked at the ignorance and lack of understanding on here about the nature of addiction.
No someone earlier in the thread said she ODed in 2008 & had to be revived.
LOL heroin highs take SECONDS to hit. she'll just have drifted off & not woken up. Yes, leaving her son exposed OD or not.
And the removal of the drugs items?? Looks like its pointing one way to me??