ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: WHAT COULD SLAY THE PROMISING STAR'S DEMONS?

Some news stories fascinate the public because they relate a
compelling human fable.

Consider the sad life of 35-year-old actor Robert Downey Jr. He could
be great but for his addictions ­ so great, in fact, that one wants to
shake him and shout at him to stop so that his talent could freely
rise.

Anyone who saw a recent episode of Ally McBeal tasted Mr. Downey's
extraordinary abilities. Since he joined the television show this fall
after serving one year of a three-year prison sentence for
drug-related offenses, viewership has increased 11 percent. That's not
surprising since Mr. Downey nearly won a best actor Oscar for his 1992
portrayal of Charlie Chaplin. Yet he keeps getting into trouble. On
Nov. 25, police found him with cocaine. If a court finds that he
violated his parole, he could be returned to jail.

Couldn't Mr. Downey just stop? It would seem simple enough. No human
gene forces one to lift cocaine powder to one's nose and to swallow
amphetamines. His choice could not be starker: Imprisonment on one
hand, fame and prosperity on the other. Most people would have no
difficulty eschewing illegal drugs for the kinds of privileges that he
could enjoy.

But addictions are powerful, complex things and kicking them is not
always a question of desire. Many addicts genuinely want to quit but
can't. No one knows this better than members of Alcoholics Anonymous,
who say that only about one-third of the people who seek the
mutual-support group's help wriggle free of their addictions.
One-third fail completely, and another third drift in and out,
deriving only marginal benefits.

Mental illness often complicates or is an underlying cause of
addictions. Such would seem to be the case with Mr. Downey, who is
said to have bipolar disorder, also called manic-depression. Treating
a mental illness often helps to cure an addiction. Yet a patient may
resist or deny the need for treatment because of the stigmatization
that may result from the diagnosis, among other reasons. The method of
a person's upbringing may complicate matters further. For example, Mr.
Downey's parents gave the actor marijuana to smoke when he was a small
boy, a shameful act for which Mr. Downey's father expresses profound
regret.

How far must Mr. Downey sink before he has the moment of clarity that
enables him to turn his life around? Sad to say, neither the loss of
his family nor of his liberty nor the peril to his life has been
sufficient, such is the power of addictions.

Recovering alcoholics like to say that they owe their sobriety to a
higher power. Perhaps Mr. Downey should seek such intervention. Given
the intractability of his addictions, it may be his only hope.