Celebrity Rehab

[susiestar]

I have been looking at websites for some of the tv stations lately. mostly out of curiosity.

I ran across "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" on the vh1 website. I don't know how many of you watch vh1. I like the top 100 shows they do mostly.

This program has Dr. Drew Pinsky (used to be on Love Lines with Adam corrola) an MD and certified "addictionologist" along with some staff members at the facility Dr. Drew runs. He is quite down to earth, and very nonjudgmental. Seven or eight celebrities check in for 21 days. They detox and then show the various group therapies and individual sessions, the entire process (as much as can be shown in a tv show setting).

I found it to be very eye opening. You can watch most of the seasons on the computer, either full episodes or clips. If it is clips, then there are about 6 clips of 5 minutes or so.

here is teh link: http://www.vh1.com/shows/celebrity_rehab_with_dr_drew/season_2/video.jhtml

I thought it might be interesting for some of us.

 

[DammitJanet]

I love that show. Found it quite entertaining. I really dont think many, if any, of the people that they showed on the TV show actually kicked their addictions. I watched both series. The one where they were in the rehab and then the sober house series. It was quite enlightening though.

 

[susiestar]

I would have been shocked if any of them truly kicked the addiction after just 21 days of treatment. But it gave a view of what treatment is like and that is what I found enlightening. Until that point I had only seen interventions, and had no clue how rehabs worked. Well, little idea. I did go hear my brother speak at his rehab on his 1 year birthday. (He is the rare person who got clean the first time through rehab. He never does anything part way. He is an all or nothing kind of guy.).

I haven't seen the sober house part. That looks interesting.

In the rehab, the girl from American Idol, Nikki something, said that statistics show that 1 in 7 or 8 will stay sober after a trip to rehab. That seems so sad. But people can keep going through rehab until they get it. I know my bro's rehab has it in the contract that you can go back and do all or part of it again as often as needed. Few take them up on this, and that is sad, in my opinion.

 

[DammitJanet]

The steven adler or whatever his name is from guns and roses...he was really heavy into it. And oh whats his name...the guy who came in in the wheelchair. Gosh...I cant remember all the names. I know it was mary cary. She seemed to actually be doing well except for a stupid boyfriend. Mary Cary is bipolar.

I found it funny to watch them have fits for their cell phones at bedtime. LOL. I swear...I wanna go live at that rehab center. It is cushy. I will do all kinds of psychotherapy with Dr. Drew. Anything he wants. I will even run his sober house for him. I think it is a 8 bedroom mansion. Oh I so want to go stay there! I have plenty of difficult child experience...lol.

 

[susiestar]

LOL on the wanting to go live there! I am quite sure it costs an arm, a leg and your firstborn child to go through that!

Stephen Adler, from guns n roses was actually KICKED OUT of the band for too much drug use! I find it hard to believe that anyone can live through enough drugs to have them kick you out!

Jeff is the guy in the wheelchair. He is a sneaky manipulative jerk, esp with his girlfriend who is also a huge user. He played Kinicky (sp?) in the movie Grease and was in Taxi.

I think many in the adult film industry are bipolar and/or drug users. Not sure of the source but I read an estimate that said there is a MUCH higher part of the group that is bipolar in that industry vs most other industries. That, in my opinion, is sad. Such a risky, risky business.

I thought the model who's mom did drugs with her and sponged off of her was interesting. It should say something to our young girls when even someone who looks that beautiful, and seems to have everything together flawlessly can fall into drug use. It is a real shame.

Over all I thought it was interesting.

 

[KTMom91]

Along these same lines, I saw an ad last night for a new show on A&E called The Cleaner. It looked like he went out, grabbed you, and did a forced intervention. I'm curious to see how that plays out.

With Celebrity Rehab, I wonder how many of them are doing it for the money. I remember watching a celebrity weight loss show and Erin Moran (Joanie from Happy Days) said she didn't care about losing any weight, she just wanted the paycheck.

 

[DammitJanet]

KTmom...I got addicte (pun intended!) to The Cleaner last season and cant wait to watch it again this season. I saw last nights episode and loved Woopie in her role as BK. I have always been a Benjamin Bratt fan since he played on Law and Order. He is a hunk...lol. This show is based on a real story. I think its fascinating.

 

[susiestar]

FWIW, the entire first season of The Cleaner is on aetv.com . It is quite good. It is when someone contacts him with a loved one who won't get help. They take big money patients and no money ones and yank them out of whatever is going on and take them to detox and then rehab.

The lead guy was an active addict and this is part of his "atonement". THere is also a pretty good picture of his marriage and family life now that he is newly (in the first season) clean and is trying to win his wife back. He lives with his wife and kids, but sleeps on the couch as the show opens. I think it makes the character more balanced to have him facing his own demons and family problems as well as doing this as his life's work.

 

[standswithcourage]

When does The Cleaner come on? I thinnk that would be good for me!

 

[susiestar]

It might be. Benjamin Bratt's character lays it out clear on the line about what does and doesn't help.

I don't know when it comes on tv, but you can watch it online at anytime. The entire first season is available. When you go to aetv.com then put the mouse over the word Videos and it will pop up with the show names. Then all you have to do is drag the mouse to where it says the Cleaner and you can select any one of quite a few episodes.

Sadly, I don't think this kind of intervention in your particular case would be any help. It is hard when our kids want different things out of life than we do, even if that is legal. When it is dangerous and illegal then it is so much harder. But stands, your son truly WANTS to live the life he is living. He thinks he can milk you for money for drugs or for trips to the doctor and pharmacy to get medications he doesn't need.

You have made the situation where he thinks if he says/demands/pleads with you enough that you will give in. So many many many times you have given in and given rides, food, doctors, money, places to stay, whatever that he is pretty dang sure he is tougher than you are and that you will cave if he is pitiful seeming enough.

It is just so HARD when you see the dreams and prayers for him disappear. I truly get that. I also know that with a toddler who screams and whines and wheedles and begs and bargains until you give in that the problem just gets worse. It isn't until you have stuck to your decisions and NOT given in that the small child learns. Every time the child gets their way by begging, tantrums, etc... you just create the situation where the child keeps tantrumming or whatever.

Every time you give in even a tiny bit to your son you have reinforced his ideas that if he works YOU hard enough he will get his way. But he isn't a toddler, and this game the two of you play where he uses, then comes begging and pleading to you until you finally give in, well, this game has life and death stakes. I knowyou didnt' mean for it to get to this point. Each time you think it will be the last time. You get all upset because he doesn't have a car, or rides, or whatever.

Somehow you miss the fact that every penny you spend on him for food, shoes, whatever means that he can use the money he does have to buy more drugs. Every single penny. He is an adult and at his age you were responsible for an entire family. He only has himself - by HIS choice. He is a very capable person - he has proved himself capable of a lot if doing it means drugs for him. If he turned that energy to work getting and staying clean, then he would have those things he keeps trying to get you to pay for.

Please remember that only HE can turn this around.

YOU can only turn around this obsessive focus on him and turn it to YOUR life and the lives of your other children. I commented to you on another thread that you need to see someone to figure out if medication could help YOU break the compulsion to worry and dither about his life. There are VERY effective treatments for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). MAny are the same antidepressant medications that many of us have used or are using, the difference is the dosage. Wiz was on a higher dose of his medications when we were trying to break the hold his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) had on him.

I am only saying this because I care, and because I see hope for a better life for YOU if you can get help for this.

Many hugs, and enjoy the show!