In his latest book, Boom, Voices of the Sixties, Tom Brokaw focuses his famous journalistic lens on the 1960s. Future business and political leaders came of age, and the youth energetically began to forge new rules and new civil rights. The Vietnam War was defining and divisive, shaking the nation and Baby Boomers in particular. Millions protested the war and the conscription. A counterculture and a rebellion against social mores and “the establishment” was reflected in “acid” music and psychedelic art. Woodstock featured big names in music, but it turned into a drug festival. LSD was a drug shamelessly promoted by 1960s guru Timothy Leary, who convinced young followers to “turn on, tune in, drop out.”
Tom Brokaw interviewed the greatest singer of the sixties, Judy Collins, now in successful recovery from alcoholism and drug abuse. She recounted that there was a lot of chaos and many drug addicts and alcoholics in those days. Those who recovered and those who died. Judy herself finally received the treatment she needed in 1978 and has helped many others by telling her story of hope. Brokwa also describes a San Francisco physician, Dr. David Smith, who started and ran the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic for youth who had nowhere else to turn for necessary medical care. Dr. David Smith took LSD himself.
What happened to Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendricks was a tragic comment on the times. Others are on the mend, like Jefferson Airplanes singer Grace Slick. Singer-guitarist James Taylor overcame his heroin addiction, but his marriage to Carly Simon did not survive. Drug culture was vividly depicted by Tom Wolff’s famous The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, as it follows the trail of Ken Kesey and his “Merry Band of Pranksters”, and the Grateful Dead’s early “Acid Test” music. .
At the same time, most children who tried marijuana and grew their hair later shed both. The Baby Boomers became the richest generation in history. Energetic optimists, individual, entrepreneurs, the Boomers, however, experienced divorce at a rate of one in two marriages. It was a youth culture. They felt that they would naturally stay young and healthier than the precious generation. Looking young has taken a lot of effort for Baby Boomers in plastic surgery and cosmetics, but what is the illusory definition of attractiveness as we age? Aging seems somewhat reversible to many in this generation.
We know that the incidence of late-onset and long-term addiction among people over the age of 50 is increasing. Many Baby Boomers self-medicate for chronic pain, becoming addicted to pain pills, which they get from “doctor shops” or the Internet. And many suffer from a late-onset addiction to their previous drugs of choice. Some never stop drinking to excess and/or using drugs.
Baby Boomers understand the value of therapy and self-help. They want to choose and participate in decisions. These factors can help Boomers in successful treatment for those struggling with alcohol and chemical dependency. Participating in one’s treatment is key, and an individualized care plan begins with assessing the person physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Therapies within a holistic program are based on the 12-step philosophy and may include motivational interviewing and expressive and experiential therapies such as movement, art therapy, writing and music, as well as wellness, nutrition and spirituality. . Menopausal and postmenopausal women also find assessment of hormonal change helpful. Both men and women renew the connection with themselves and with others.
Recovering Baby Boomers are like so many of their generation finding a renewed purpose in life. They ask themselves: “What do I want my relationships to be like, my work? What can I do to make a difference to others and to society? What does vitality mean to me?” Exploring healthy aging, even if we use the dreaded word “aging”, really is a step towards vitality for those who are on a recovery journey or who want to make meaningful decisions in the “second half of life”.