 The Umbrella Academy is a superhero-ish movie, or not even movie, it's a series over on Netflix and in this video we're specifically going to be talking about the way this show depicted addiction in the character Klaus. What is up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And if you're new to my channel, my channel is all about mental health and what I like to do sometimes is pull different movies or TV shows, kind of look at a mental health topic like addiction and just talk about how accurate was it. So if you're into that stuff, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And before we get started, I want to introduce today's sponsor. And who is that sponsor you might be asking? It is the Science of Addiction course. Alright, so over on my website right now, go check out the Science of Addiction course. It is absolutely 100% free. Working in a drug and alcohol treatment center, I taught this course to clients to help them better understand why they became addicted, the risk factors and, you know, new solutions to helping to overcome addiction. But I also taught it to family members of the people trying to overcome addiction in that rehab center. So this entire course is up over on my website. It'll be linked down in the description down in the pinned comment. It's 100% free. And even if you don't think it'll benefit you to learn more about the actual science of addiction, we need to end this stigma. So please do me a favor and just spread it around. Let's share with other people so they understand what addiction really is and how we can help more people. All right, but yeah, anyways, let's get started. Let's talk about the Umbrella Academy. Okay, and those of you who have not watched the Umbrella Academy yet over on Netflix, there will be spoilers. All right, so go check it out. Come back, watch it. Or if you're not planning on watching it, just watch this video. We're going to have a good time. All right, so those of you who don't know me, I am a drug addict and alcoholic in recovery. I've been clean since June 23rd, 2012. No drugs, no alcohol, my substances of choice. Started with alcohol, went into prescription medications, specifically opioids, all right? So in the Umbrella Academy, you have the character Klaus, all right? Klaus is somebody who struggles with addiction. So I'm not exactly sure. I'm not entirely sure if his addiction was to opiates or benzodiazepines, okay? So I was a prescription pill addict and mine was opiates, but they never really say which drug Klaus is using. But I'm assuming it's one of those two, most likely opioids because opioid is the major problem. So first, let's talk about why Klaus became addicted in the first place. So in the show, Klaus's superpower is that he can talk to the dead, all right? And his father was trying to help him overcome that fear, but locking him in like, what is that called, a mausoleum? Like at a graveyard. So all of the dead people would come and talk to him, scared the crap out of him. Well, what he found was the only way that he can kind of turn that off was through self-medicating with drugs, right? And this is very real. This is very real. This is how so many people become addicted. So the two leading causes of addiction are untreated or undiagnosed mental illness, right? And what happens is, is people start self-medicating. And what we do is we wire our brain into believing that the best way to deal with those voices is to take drugs. That's actually how my addiction started. From a young age in middle school and high school, I started developing severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. And at the end of high school, when I started drinking, that became my way to self-medicate. Like the first time I got drunk, I was like, oh my God, the voices in my head stopped, like all the self-doubt and the self-hatred, or hatred towards other people, or my social anxiety, all these things went away. So this is why certain people become addicted. So what we have to do, especially when it comes to the next generation, like Generation Z, our children, or even ourselves. Because I know I have an audience like in the millennial era and stuff like that, we have to find better ways to cope that do not involve drugs and alcohol, because first it becomes substance abuse, then it becomes dependence, then it becomes a full-blown addiction, all right? So in the show, they depicted withdrawal quite a bit with Klaus. So this was done moderately well, I would say. So again, I'm not sure which substances Klaus was using, but when it comes to something like opioids, I did a cold turkey detox, which you should never, ever, ever do, always get the help of a medical facility, or a qualified detox facility is usually your best bet. But with opioid detox, you have flu-like symptoms, you can have restless leg, you have a lot of pains and aches. I remember I felt like a 90-year-old man, I could barely move. There's a lot of vomiting, there's a lot of stuff coming out the other end, there's all sorts of stuff. It is brutal. Now, when it comes to benzodiazepines, this can be similar. But one of the risks of benzodiazepine withdrawal is having seizures, all right? So Klaus didn't experience any seizures in that. But you can see how even when he wasn't using for a period of hours, he would start to feel the symptoms of withdrawal. That's why he was constantly on the hunt for substances until he got sober later, which we're gonna touch on. But for a lot of people who have an addiction, you're no longer drinking or using in order to get high or get drunk. You're simply doing it to feel well, right? Because our body is always trying to maintain equilibrium. And as soon as the substances start to metabolize in our system, our body starts to react in both psychological as well as physical ways. So we start to do whatever it takes to get more. And this is one of the reasons why people start to do crappy things. Like you saw Klaus steal his, his, his dead father's box, right? To go sell it. And that's why, and it's not an excuse, but it's a reason why a lot of addicts do a lot of really shady things in order to get their fix. Because they fear withdrawal that much. And that's one of the reasons why addicts don't stay clean is because of how harsh withdrawal can actually be. Oh my God. So as Tristan and I were watching the Umbrella Academy, this scene right here where Klaus was being held hostage by Chacha and Hazel, and they're trying to get information out of him. And they're just beating the crap out of him. And he's just laughing, just like, all right, whatever. And he wasn't giving up any information. But then when Hazel and Chacha realized that he was a drug addict and found his weakness, just all of the information came out. Just all of it came out and just, you know, yeah, my brother. And here's what I know. Here's him. He's like crying. He's like, please just give me my drugs. You know what I mean? I'm like, I could definitely, definitely relate to that. Now, you know, I've never been like held hostage and been asked to give up, you know, information about my brother with superpowers or anything. But yeah, like when when we're fiending, like we will do all sorts of things. Like I just talked about, you know, stealing and things like that. But we will do just about anything like our morals go out the window. Logical thinking out the window, right? Like before they had that, you know, as leverage against Klaus, he was like, what are you going to do? What are you going to do? And in reality, like if I put myself in that situation, like the withdrawal that he was experiencing was probably a thousand times worse than getting punched in the face, right? Like getting punched in the face was probably something to take his mind off of the withdrawal. So he knew the only thing that would really help him, you know, get rid of his symptoms of withdrawal would be more drugs. All right. So this is something where it's like it gets easier over time. I know a lot of people are afraid of withdrawal, afraid of getting clean. It gets easier over time. Like right now and for years now, I'm not like intensely craving, right? I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. I walk past alcohol, drugs all the time. Weed is legal here in Las Vegas. I'm constantly surrounded by drugs. Every time I walk in the store, there's a pharmacy, but I'm not freaking out. OK, the longer you stay clean, the longer you break any habit, the easier it is to overcome it even longer because you're not craving as much. Like in the beginning, I was obsessing. It was a constant struggle hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, trying to stay clean. But today I just have a routine set up and it's not even really a second thought. So the last thing I want to talk about, the last thing I want to talk about, which was completely inaccurate, was pretty much the last few episodes where Klaus had been clean for, I don't know, 24 or 48 hours, right? Like while he did like try to make an excuse to not go chase after their sister, Vanya, and it's like, oh, I'm not feeling too good and stuff, right? Like other than that, he was like lively and energetic and like helping out the team and getting involved and all these other things. Like within 24 to 48 hours with the amount of drugs that dude was using, he would be absolutely a miserable and completely useless. Like the like the amount of withdrawal that he would be going through, especially without what they call medically assisted treatment or Matt. Like he would be so useless. Like they would be like, dude, you need to stay home. But like I just kind of got a chuckle out of that because at the end, like he's just like, hey, everybody, hey, team, I'm here. And like, you know, acting all great. Like after a while, you feel that way. But that's not going to happen after 24 to 48 hours. All right. But anyways, anyways, if you are somebody who's in recovery and you have watched the Umbrella Academy, let me know what your thoughts were. Like, how do you think they did showing addiction in the character of class? Let me know down in the comments below. I will be doing some more character breakdowns and plot breakdowns. If there's anything you want me to touch on specifically that you think would make for a good mental health topic. Let me know down in the comments below. All right. But anyways, anyways, don't forget that the the science of addiction course is free over on my website. The links are down in the description as well as in the pin comment. Check it out. Spread the word. Give it to as many people as you know, let's start ending the stigma around addiction and help fight this thing together. All right. But anyways, if you like this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're new, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell and a huge, huge thank you to everybody supporting the channel over on Patreon. You're all amazing. And if you would like to become a patron and get exclusive videos and perks get involved in our monthly Q&A, thinking about starting a book club. Go ahead and click or tap on that icon right there. All right. Thanks so much for watching. I'll see you next time.