When Joe Walsh was ten years old, he got his first guitar and decided he wanted to learn to play “Walk Don’t Run” by The Ventures. From that point on, music became his greatest passion. When he started practicing music seriously, he knew he wanted to make a living as a musician. For this reason, Walsh was a member of numerous bands, including The Nomads and The Measles, before finding success with The Eagles.
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Even though it was many people’s dream, Joe Walsh found performing in front of a large audience at a young age to be incredibly challenging. The only thing that mattered to him was being able to make music, so he had to push through his anxiety and fear to keep doing what he loved. Walsh learned to deal with his issues because neither his parents nor the general public had as much knowledge about mental health issues or children with special needs back then.
Joe Walsh was Diagnosed with ADD, OCD, and Asperger’s
Years after becoming famous, Eagles frontman Joe Walsh was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Asperger’s syndrome. Even as a young child, he felt out of place when he tried socializing with his peers. In a previous conversation, Walsh discussed how his unique personality traits caused him to feel isolated and afraid as a child, which in turn led to a life of destructive substance abuse.
Walsh learned to his detriment that alcohol helped him relax and feel more confident before big performances in front of a large crowd. After downing a few beers, he overcame his fear and played guitar. In subsequent years, the lead singer and guitarist for The Eagles developed a severe alcohol addiction and eventually began abusing drugs. His so-called “higher power” was actually just a potent cocktail of vodka and cocaine.
Joe Walsh eventually realized he’d reached rock bottom, ruining his relationships with his family and friends along the way. He made the courageous choice to seek treatment for his addiction. His attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings was the first step in his quest to increase public understanding of the severity of substance abuse. Walsh and his wife have been active members of the recovery community for some time now, and they were recently recognized for their efforts by the nonprofit organization Facing Addiction with NCADD.
And in a short interview, Walsh and Sammy Hagar, the former lead singer of Van Halen, gave their thoughts and advice on the subject. The legendary musician stressed that people’s problems stemmed mainly from their substance abuse and that they needed to accept and deal with this reality. Walsh argues that to recover and lead an everyday life free of drugs and alcohol, one must first seek assistance from charitable organizations, medical professionals, and government agencies.
Growing up, Joe Walsh was unaware he had ADD, OCD & Asperger’s Syndrome, a high functioning type of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Alcohol & drugs helped as he got older, specifically vodka & cocaine. Joe: “I lost my way. I burned all my bridges.” Now sober 25 years, Its Joe’s B-Day! pic.twitter.com/EoEQgJBej6
— Sean Mcdowell (@dvesean) November 20, 2018
As Walsh explained his thoughts,
“If you have problems in your life that are directly the result of alcohol or whatever substance you are doing, you have a problem, and at some point, you work for it. It doesn’t work for you anymore, and very subtly, without you noticing, whatever you’re on will convince you that you can’t do anything without it.
Then, it’s got you; I chased it for 30 years. It wasn’t working for me, and I thought obviously I was not drinking nearly enough, and that wasn’t it. I needed help, and the hardest thing to do, the phone could weigh 30 pounds. Pick up that phone and ask for help because there’s life after addiction, and it’s good.”
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