Heath Ledger's Overdose

Interventionist's Ken Seeley on Ambien Addiction

It’s very difficult to draw conclusions about why Heath Ledger died before the autopsy toxicology tests come back. Heath had stated that he took an Ambien (sedative) during the shooting of Batman: The Dark Knight. When you have an addictive personality, if you’ve been taking Valium, Ambien, Xanax, you build up a tolerance. If reports are true that Heath was also suffering from pneumonia at the time, then he was exhausted. He’d been traveling all over the world, shooting and promoting movies, and he was physically drained.

If Heath had pneumonia, his body was just over-exhausted. There had been reports that Heath was having challenges with his personal recovery process, that he’d gone through some 12-step treatments and was trying to stay sober.

Heath Ledger: A Functioning Addict

Heath's addiction may have slipped through the cracks because he was what we would call a “functioning addict.” He was still able to show up at work. Addictions are like cancer. In stage one, the doctors offer you chemotherapy and surgery to get that tumor out. In stage four, there is so much cancer in the body that all they want to do is make you comfortable in your last days.

The disease of addiction is a medical condition, whether you’re in stage one or stage four, and they’re all fatal. If you look at video of Heath’s interviews in the past year, you will see a decline in his behavior. There were red flags – scratching the skin, touching the face, the awkward body movements.

Addictions to prescription meds are very difficult. Ten to 20% of people who need prescription pills are addicts, and the doctors who are taught to prescribe medication for pain don’t always know that right away.

The number one symptom of addiction is denial, so the addict will say, “No, I don’t need help.” When the addict doesn’t listen, when they don’t respond to it, there are professionals to get them the help they need. I’m sure some of the people closest to Heath noticed some of the addictive behavior. It’s devastating that someone so talented, had to lose his life due to addiction.