AJ in Rehab
“This February, he[AJ] reportedly told a London newspaper that his depression began in 1999 and would lead him to ‘sit on the bed, open a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and stare at the walls....I thought about leaving the band so many times’”
“A statement from the group added that a ‘key factor causing his depression’ was the April death of his grandmother, who helped his mother raise him in West Palm Bach, Fla.”
“The fact is depression is an illness, just like heart disease or diabetes. And these illnesses happen to successful people, they happen to failures and people in between.”
I’m sure you’ve all heard about AJ being in rehab for depression, anxiety, and his excessive consumption of alcohol. And I’m sure you all have your own opinions. Well, here are mine...
I have been an AJ fan for about 4 years now, and you would never guess that all these years he’s been dealing with this kind of pain and depression. In front of the camera and on stage he always seemed so happy, content, and full of life. Always goofing around and making jokes, he truly seemed happy. When I heard about all this on TRL on July 9, 2001, I was shocked and at the same time saddened. I was shocked because I always knew AJ drank and smoked, but never thought it was this much of a problem. I am very happy for him now. Everyone always says “the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.” Well, AJ’s clearly past step one, and is on his way to hopefully a quick recovery. I am still in shock though, that all those years went by, and I had no idea he was struggling with all this.
“ I was greatly affected by this whole thing, and I’m sure many of you were too. When I first heard, I couldn’t do anything but cry.
I’m happy that the group decided to tell the public about this. It would not have been fair if they didn’t. It just shows that they’re not worried about they’re “image” as a squeaky clean boyband. Like Kevin had said, they could have easily just said he had broken his leg or something like that. That wouldn’t have been truthful to their fans, we have a right to know when something like this is going on. They said they were scared about the response they would get. I think so far, from the fans, it has been a very good response. Everyone seems so happy and proud of him. I know I am. At first I was very sad, but I'm so happy for AJ and I wish him all the luck, love, and support.
There is an address where you can send letters of encouragement to AJ:
A.J. McLean
P.O. Box 691809
Orlando, Florida 32869
This is a tough time for AJ, write him him a letter to show that he has millions of fans out there that care!
We can always know that BSB are here too stay. As Nick said: “I don’t think there is an end to this group until one of us dies.”
Your thoughts:
E-Mail me your thoughts/reaction about AJ being in rehab and I’ll post them here.
