Chopra: Media Frenzy Hurt Jackson

Says Star Suffered From Poor Body Image And Isolationism; Was "A Delicate Soul In A Cruel World"

(CBS)  Dr. Deepak Chopra, one of Michael Jackson's close friends for over 20 years, says the entertainer was not only a genius and extraordinary, but also "a delicate soul in a cruel world," surrounding himself with "enablers."

Appearing on The Early Show on Monday, Dr. Chopra told Harry Smith Jackson was "a beautiful, compassionate, loving but vulnerable soul who had a lot to offer. He was a genius. He was extraordinary when he was in his ecstatic states. But he was also troubled, and he surrounded himself with people who were enablers and frequently avoided people who were trying to help him."

"Michael used to come and stay with us. He would make his own bed after the night was over. He would offer to help my wife with the cooking. And he was part of our family," Chopra remembered.

At one point, Chopra said Jackson even turned to him for prescription drugs.

"In the year 2005 after the trial, he came and stayed with us for a few days, and during that time he asked me for a prescription for OxyContin. I was very surprised, and I said, 'Why do you want that? And he said, 'I have back pain.' And I said, 'You don't need that narcotic for back pain.' And then as I probed, I found out that he was taking a lot of narcotics prescribed by different physicians," Chopra said.

"How does somebody live if their entire life is clouded by a constant cocktail of these kinds of narcotics?" Smith asked.

"Well, somebody like that is obviously not in a normal state of consciousness. After a while, actually, they actually believe that, if they didn't get their fix, or the drug, or the narcotic, they might die. So they go into a panic. There's also a condition called hyperalgesia, which means as the person becomes more tolerant to the drug, they actually have more pain with the drug than they had before the drug, and they cannot believe that the pain is not being suppressed. And when they're told that actually cutting off the drug would help the pain, they don't believe you. So when you're prescribing narcotics, you need to be with very competent doctors," Chopra explained.

Chopra also talked about Jackson's troubled childhood, and the entertainer's relationship with his father.

"He did complain about the stresses of his childhood and the verbal and at times physical abuse, and there's a paper in this year's February issue of "Psychosomatic Medicine" that linked accumulated childhood stress with autoimmune disorders, including lupus, which he had, and vitiligo, which he had. He had huge patches of discoloration. He had a very poor image of his body. And he had a lot of shame about it, a lot of loathing about it. And his compulsion with cosmetic surgery is part of the self-mutilation that occurs as a result of this body image. He became an isolationist. He hid from people. And the more he hid, the more cruel the media frenzy about his hiding and his covering up, You know, he used to wear clothes to cover up his disfiguration. That really actually hurt him a lot," Chopra said.

"He was a delicate soul in a cruel world," he added.

[sam-kiley]

bonjour,
avoir autant de talent que michael jackson, on ne peut qu'etre délicat
et attentionné, je ne suis pas particulièrememnt fans, cela n'empeche qu'il est unique en son genre, autre chose les problémes de michael jakson ont commencé aprés la prémiére opération,quand il a voulu changer de couleur,et s'il afait cela c'est que lui et sa communauté ont du souffrir du racisme, et ils souffrent encore, donc... merci

[whatsup49]

aaaahhhhh well, so now we know, mj had a penchant not only for little boys, but for narcotics as well. the doctors who ministered to him have to take some of the blame in this, if indeed drugs played a part in his death.

i have to agree with gangesdak about doctors. one of my docs gave me two blood thinners for a blood clot. within weeks, my platlets dropped to dangerous levels. i asked if either drug could be responsible. he said no. i looked it up on the internet and found out that yes, the injectible i was prescribed could indeed cause a drop in platelets. rather than taking me of the drug and doing repeat blood tests, my doc sends me to a specialist, who, after the second visit, said the injectible caused the problem. my complaint is that my own primary care doctor should have known this, or investigated this, and saved me the 200 bucks i spent with a specialist.

i am no fan of michael jackson. i think many people in general subscribe to "hero" worship and that is why we see so many people "grieving" over a man they never knew. michael jackson was no hero, he was a talented, sick man who died an untimely death. but i'll shed no tears for him.

[gangesdak]

I am no fan of Michael Jackson. I believe that many doctors are responsible for his sorry state. Doctors have become pill prescribing machines; they prescribe without knowing anything, definitely not knowing interaction of drugs. After all, they are doctors; they are supposed to be what oracles used to be.

[formrusmcsgt]

Another sympathy story.....

This multi-millionaire had all the resources in the world to correct his issues but chose to be a drug addict instead.

[docpeter1953]

Lets get off MJ. Billy Mays death is much more significant.

[stn_sage]

My comments are as follows:

First, it wasn't a 'media frenzy' that hurt MJ! It was his personal addictions: to narcotic pain-killers, to an unhealthy fascination with little children, and an equally unhealthy self-image concerning his body.

Second, he needed help with ALL these things! But, he never got it!

Third, his family and friends talk about how much they loved him, but
it seems few really made the effort to do it! I think Elizabeth Taylor
tried to help him at least one time if not several.

Fourth, he WAS a troubled soul! But, he's not that UNIQUE! America is
full of troubled souls! The difference is he had the financial resources
to go "off the deep end with" most people don't! Most people either go out "in a blaze of glory" or silently alone!

Fifth, evidently it didn't dawn on Mr. Chopra that MJ was so nice because he wanted that OxyContin prescription. He should have gone to Rush Limbaugh, I hear in the past he keeps thousands of tablets on hand!

Finally, I'm betting MJ's at peace now! The rest of us should be so lucky!

[rushlimpdrug]

So much for the doctor-patient relationship.
Deepak Chopra, the enabler, will next begin working on
his next book to "help" people that are in similar situations as
Michael Jackson -even though he could not and DID NOT
help Michael.

It's all about the $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $.