Exclusive! Owen Wilson Suicide Update: His Pill Popping Past
Owen Wilson is said to be in good condition Monday, just one day after he was hospitalized following a suicide attempt, sources tell Star magazine.
Star has learned Owen has a history with substance abuse. A source who befriended Wilson in AA meetings in 2003 tells Star that the Wedding Crashers star used to attend meetings on a regular basis.
"Owen was very dedicated to AA and to living a clean life," the source explains. "I knew him when he was sober and to see him slip back into his disease was tough. We attended AA meeting at the Café Tropical in Silver Lake twice a week for several years. However, once Owen's career took off he put his sobriety and AA on the back burner. He started coming less and less to meetings. When I would see him I would ask him how he was doing, he would act like everything was fine, but I could tell he was struggling with alcohol and drugs, mainly prescription pills. He looked haggard and his face looked puffy. In January of 2006, he stopped coming to meetings all together."
"I ran into him in October of 2006 at an art opening in West Hollywood and he completely avoided me," the source goes on to say. "Even though it seems like Owen should be on top of the world with all of his fame and money, this obviously doesn't buy inner peace. Untreated alcoholism and drug abuse manifests into depression, anger, rage, isolation, suicide attempts and suicide. This is a deadly disease that if left untreated only gets worse, not better with time."
Dr. Harold C. Urschel III, a Dallas, Texas board certified addiction psychiatrist who is also the Founder and CEO of the Urschel Recovery Science Institute tells Star, "If you have an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol that can lead to depression and anxiety. As a result, the person will have a higher risk of suicidal thoughts because using drugs can make you feel hopeless."
In fact, the early warning signs emerged in June when the troubled actor was rushed for the first time to L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center by his older brother Andrew. "Owen was tired and thin. He looked really lethargic," another source tells Star. "He was dehydrated. He hadn't slept for days. He wasn't taking care of himself — too much partying. His brother Andrew insisted he go to Cedars and brought him there. The doctors wanted to admit Owen, but Owen didn't want to stay. The doctors told Owen to take time off and enjoy life."
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