News / Health & Wellness
Celebrating the Life of Betty Ford, Treatment Pioneer
The former First Lady paved the way for modern treatment programs and methods, and she made talking about addiction less taboo.
Mrs. Ford was initially an unwilling spokesperson for substance abuse. She was reportedly very angry in 1978, when barely a year after leaving the White House, her family staged an intervention. They had decided it was time to confront Betty about her growing alcohol and prescription painkiller abuse (the pills were opioid analgesics, originally prescribed a decade earlier for a pinched nerve). Despite her negative reaction to the confrontation, Mrs. Ford agreed to enter the Long Beach Naval Hospital to seek treatment, taking part in what would turn out to be a hardcore, rigid, military-style program.
Upon completing treatment, Betty began opening up, publically baring her own pain and struggles in an effort to remove the stigma from the disease of addiction. As a result, she made it easier for all of us to talk openly about the issues of alcoholism and substance abuse and for those who are afflicted to more easily seek help.
Her legacy laid the groundwork for modern-day treatment methods and made the subject of addiction less taboo. To have a well-respected, high-profile person put a face to the often misunderstood disease of addiction was a game changer. While we’ll never be able to get an accurate count of the number of lives saved by her honestly addressing the topic of addiction, there’s no doubt many would have succumbed to the disease without her example to follow. A former First Lady couldn’t have used her position and power for a better purpose.
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