Cynthia Giocomarra, PsyD.
Psychotherapy and Life Coaching

Today, the Los Angeles County Coroner sent a message to all would-be physicians hoping to make a small fortune as the go-to Doc for prescription medications for sleepless celebrities.  The message was this; prescribe irresponsibly and you just may end up being charged with homicide should your paparazzi-dodging pop star end up unable to survive the pharmaceutical cocktail you administered.  Apparently, the LA Coroner has determined that Michael Jackson's physician committed a homicide (at best manslaughter, I suppose).  This has got to be a frightening idea for many physicians that cater to celebrities, and the like.  But what strikes me as sadly ironic is the fact that the King of Pop may have had sleep elude him for not months or years, but decades.   Here was a man that  had access to resources into which the average mortal would never be able to tap in a million life times.  But, BUT!, the one thing that is free of charge to all of us as human beings and animals alike on this planet, is sleep.  We NEED sleep, physiologically, psychologically, and in the opinion of many, spiritually.  In order to for us to thrive, we require rest, we require REM-the restorative sleep that offers us the wild, complicated, vivid dreams that have us scurrying for our desktop dream analysis guides. Without this stage of the sleep cycle, the chemical sin our brain go haywire (to use a really technical term) and our bodies express symptoms that are not pretty.  There is a reason why telling someone they "look tired" is not a flattering comment.
In our culture, it is all too easy to combat a night of sleeplessness with the aid of a few prescription (or over-the-counter) medications.  But this doctor seemed to have been prescribing medications, that when researched on the internet, seem to be used mostly, if not solely, for general anesthesia!  Doesn't that seem outrageously extreme?? 
When I work with clients, the topic of sleep and sleep habits is discussed.  Knowing how one sleeps lends great insight as to their way of life (ever talk to a cocaine addict that hasn't slept for a while-not very coherent!) and their symptomology.  If someone is sleeping too much, or too little it speaks to something inside of themselves that they are often unable to face alone.  As a coach and counselor, it is important for me to get a sense of the client's sleeping life, as well as a portrait of their waking life. 
I am not surprised that the LA Coroner has found Michael Jackson's death to have been avoidable.  It only bewilders me that with all the resources available to him, and the myriad specialists in sleep and healthy life choices accessible to a star living in Los Angeles, he didn't get guidance from somebody that could see the writing on the wall, what a tragic irony.