“Art imitates life,” is an old expression. We find this statement to be obviously true when it comes to movies that depict real-life people or events. Of course, people often debate whether these movies accurately depict these real-life people and events too.

One movie that allegedly depicts real events and people is the 1991 movie The Doors. Oliver Stone directed and cowrote the film. Critics have argued that Stone does not accurately portray reality in his movies, which also include JFK (about John F. Kennedy), Nixon (about Richard M. Nixon) and Born on the Fourth of July (about war protestor Ron Kovic).

People do not dispute the fact that there’s a lot of drug and alcohol abuse in The Doors—and that a lot of this substance use disorder happened in real life. The Doors is about the rock band of the same name. The lead singer of the group, Jim Morrison, used substantial amounts of drugs and alcohol.

In fact, Jim Morrison’s heavy drinking led to the heart attack that killed him when he was only twenty-seven years old. Prior to that, Morrison had been arrested for public intoxication and indecent behavior after a 1969 Doors concert in Florida.

Clearly, Morrison’s substance use disorder problems created professional problems for him and his band. It also caused him to pay the ultimate personal price—his life.

If you are struggling with a substance use disorder problem, you can definitely take steps to avoid ending up like Jim. You don’t have to sacrifice your career. In fact, if you choose to go to drug rehab, you can stay at a treatment center that allows you to seek treatment and work at the same time. Your life doesn’t have to mirror art or copy Morrison’s life. You can find treatment and write your own story.