Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew

[Larissa Kelly]

Has anyone else seen this series? My husband and I are hooked.

[sandy]

I saw it once and I'm not sure which segment it was. It was one where that actor that was in the wheelchair decides to leave. I can't wrap my brain around the pyche of a substance abuser. Its so hard for me to relate how hard the battle of good vs. evil must be. On the same not I just watched the movie Sherrybaby last night (fiction) about a young woman (Maggie Gyllenhall) who is an addict and just gets out of prison and her struggle to bond with little girl she left behind, and her struggle over her past of drug abuse and having been abused.

[Larissa Kelly]

I have trouble realting to the alcoholic/substance abuser mentaility, too...maybe that's why I find it so interesting.

I also recognize some of the same behavior in a family member. That's probably the biggest reason we watch. It's wild to see the same behavior patterns in our own family.

Now:wink: that I think about it, maybe it makes me feel better to know that the behavior of the addict is his fault. Sometimes I feel guilty about not helping this person...but often times, helping turns into enabling. So...maybe I'm getting my own therapy by watching?

[Pink]

Haven't seen this one but I am becoming hooked on HBO's new one, "In Treatment."

Is there any of us who haven't been touched in some way by addiction -- either personally or peripherally?

As far as "it's the person's fault" -- I'm not sure what I believe. True, we all have freewill, but doesn't addiction change brain chemistry? I don't think that people with addiction tendancies are necessarily weak-willed. I've watched enough very strongwilled, accomplished people try to quit smoking to know that's not the case. My grandmother was an alcoholic. She quit drinking when she 'found' religion and became a devout Jehovah's Witness. Many would say that she just changed one addiction for another. Food for thought.

I've often thought that I'm too darn stubborn to become addicted to anything...but I've some family members who may point to internet forums and raise their eyebrows. :rolleyes:

Larissa, you may have started a very provocative thread...

[Larissa Kelly]

As far as "it's the person's fault" -- I'm not sure what I believe. ...


I've often thought that I'm too darn stubborn to become addicted to anything...



Maybe I shouldn't have said that "it's the person's fault." I didn't mean to sound harsh...The point I was trying to make was that it isn't the fault of the supporting family member, no matter how much fault the addict wants to assign to the family member. I feel guilt when my addict brother-in-law says he has no $$ for food (I know that's what he wants to me feel). I have to stop and ask how he bought his last six-pack if there was no $$.

Maybe we're all addicted to something. I spent several days on the sofa last week recovering from a respiratory illness and I thought I would go out of my mind. I was itching to get some kind of exercise. Am I addicted to the workout high? Maybe. Good addiction vs. bad addiction...still an addiction.

[Pink]

Maybe I shouldn't have said that "it's the person's fault." I didn't mean to sound harsh...The point I was trying to make was that it isn't the fault of the supporting family member, no matter how much fault the addict wants to assign to the family member. I feel guilt when my addict brother-in-law says he has no $$ for food (I know that's what he wants to me feel). I have to stop and ask how he bought his last six-pack if there was no $$.

Oh, I absolutely agree! We cannot take on the responsibility of another's addiction. And it's a fine line between being a source of support and an enabler. This is not east stuff.

Maybe we're all addicted to something. I spent several days on the sofa last week recovering from a respiratory illness and I thought I would go out of my mind. I was itching to get some kind of exercise. Am I addicted to the workout high? Maybe. Good addiction vs. bad addiction...still an addiction.

I quess it comes down to the definition of an addiction. Does it interfer with your life? I don't think any of us are there, even though we all have a healthy obsession with exercise.