Intervention A and E Show Review
I really should take at this time to watch more of A&E’s Intervention, a show about people needing drug rehab intervention. After scrolling through several episode reviews, I have decided to just give my thoughts on this for now. Believe me, I’m sure I have enough comments to fill more than blog post.
Having just an interview today, I have found common threads among many of the drug addicts and alcoholics. By no means is this list comprehensive, just my first impressions from what I’ve seen.
Exceptionalism and Drug Addiction
Drug rehab intervention
A number of people featured on the show were described in traditional way. They were on track for success in real estate, the beauty industry, acting, athletics, and college. Some were even labeled as genius and high achievers. I couldn’t help but wonder if these people, success made for a lonely life. More being famous and supremely talented, most people truly want to feel like they belong somewhere. And if something makes them feel like they are left out or less than what they used to be, they may face a real identity crisis.
Who are they without this reputation of success? Some of these men and women used their achievements to cover emotional pain. Some have difficulty handling the ups and downs of their career. One brilliant young woman suffered a brain injury from a car accident and turned to alcohol to deal with her life. I imagine for folks on the fast track of success, the prospect of going to drug rehab could feel like the ultimate insult, even if they understand how it could help.
Drug Addicts Didnt Recover Well From Tragedy
Some of the stories on intervention, highlighted a personal tragedy in someone’s life is counselors for their drug addiction. Things were going well until a grandmother died, a devastating accident, a sibling’s death, and so on. Makes me wonder how well things were really going before that happened. Perhaps the family was living in somewhat of a fantasy world with some of their problems.
Of course, many people suffer from a death or significant life changes without developing a drug or alcohol addiction. It’s important to remember that several ingredients need to get together before this becomes a reality. However, I was struck by the number of traumatic or painful incidents . That seemed to push things in a bad direction.
Childhood Trauma and Addiction
A traumatic childhood was also a common factor in several stories. Compared to the single devastating event, the traumatic childhood seems more like a slow burning pit of coals. Both things, if not handled well, will burn up a person from the inside. Many people had a father who was distant or hard to please. More than one had an alcoholic parent.
For these situations, it can be a little harder to pin down the moment everything began to fall apart. Since the emotional pain still lingered, it may not have taken much to set things off. Anyone who married an abusive person perpetuated their childhood trauma (and emotional pain) in their adult life. Almost like a ticking time bomb waiting for someone to light the fuse.
Drug Rehab Can Help
So many people on this show have said the didn’t need to or didn’t want to quit what they were doing. Fortunately, many people have also gotten better because they relented. They may not have been willing at first, but something took enough hold during their time at drug rehab to help them get over some big hurdles. It is really gratifying to see the follow up stories when people have made such a positive change.
Tags: drug treatment, drug-rehab, Intervention A&E Show Review
