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April 10, 2007

Coping with Addiction

July 31, 2007 10:46 AM EDT

views: 137 | rating: 6/10 (3 votes) | comments: 4

Less than a week after leaving rehab, police arrested actress Lindsey Lohan for driving drunk and possessing cocaine. Britney Spears has also made headlines for seeking treatment. Robert Downey, Jr. has gone in four times; Daniel Baldwin, nine.

When it comes to tales of addiction, it's the high-profile stories we hear of starlets flitting in and out of rehab as though it's a weekend retreat. It’s also put the spotlight on addiction treatment, and showed that rehab itself is not a one-shot deal.

It’s a process, and it takes work. Recovery is something that millions of Americans deal with every year, and most, for a lifetime. And instances of relapse -- among anyone -- are a difficult part of getting over addiction.

Listen to an On Point discussion on the fight to conquer addiction.

Have you dealt with addiction? Has someone in your family? What's that experience been like?

Tags: public radio, drugs, war on drugs, addiction, drug addiction, rehab, news, people, health

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Comments: 4

*LORA* M. Jul 31, 2007, 11:05am EDT

who cares what hollywood does

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Cynthia W. Aug 1, 2007, 4:49pm EDT

There is a real good show on A & E called Intervention. It has to deal with addicts and their families. Addiction is indeed a horrible thing and no one is exempt, celebrity or non-celebrity. I think it's very important to make the right choices and not to get involved at all in the first place.

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Nichole M. Aug 23, 2007, 12:57pm EDT

As a recovering addict with a Master's degree in Substance Abuse Counseling, I see this issue from the side of the addiction and the side of the treatment. I mostly deal with people who are forced into treatment and do not really feel that they have a problem. You only get out of treatment what you put into it! I am sure that these posh celebrity rehab centers do not confront these people about their addictions. They coddle them, give them massages, go kyaking, etc. I know I wouldn't let anyone challenge me if I were paying $30,000 to go to rehab. These celebrities are the meal ticket for so many people around them that the people around them convice them that there really isn't a problem. No one will stay clean unless they genuinely see a problem and have a desire to work on themselves so that they do not go back to that poor coping mechanism. I did not stop using cocaine until I realized, with the help of a 12 step program, that my life was completely unmanagable and I was no longer in control.

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andreea s. Apr 12, 2008, 11:05am EDT

I think that the celebrity`s should be punished very hard. Because they are role models for some children, and if they see that their biggest star is doing this, they will want to do too.

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drug treatment

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