Thoughts on "Intervention"
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 101
Sugarbear...I used to live in Fairfax! I was definitely an Alkie up there as well :P I did AA for a little while, felt better, got busy and went back out!
I now live in Richmond, I just havent changed my profile. I'd say it was one of the few geographical solutions that has helped! In that, I'm not living in a one bedroom apartment, with none of my friends near by, and an addict/alcoholic who kept a constant flow of wine in the refrigerator.. I moved back in with my parents once I graduated undergraduate at GMU.
I now live in Richmond, I just havent changed my profile. I'd say it was one of the few geographical solutions that has helped! In that, I'm not living in a one bedroom apartment, with none of my friends near by, and an addict/alcoholic who kept a constant flow of wine in the refrigerator.. I moved back in with my parents once I graduated undergraduate at GMU.
Last edited by RunnerMD2be; 04-03-2012 at 09:22 AM. Reason: Incorrect Information
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Meditation
Posts: 1,300
Ive always liked the show. I think it has pushed me both directions. Years ago I said 'Im not as bad', but now I think it helps keep me focused on recovery. I really enjoy seeing the stories where people get sober and seeing the change in them.
Did anyone else notice the lady from last nights show take the breathalyzer?
She blew a .40?!
I thought youd be dead at that point...
Did anyone else notice the lady from last nights show take the breathalyzer?
She blew a .40?!
I thought youd be dead at that point...
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 142
This is an entertainment show--it's not meant to portray seriously the program, or the disease of alcoholism. I've never heard them talk steps on this show and I don't even know if the rehabs featured are program--it all seems very new age.
~sb
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,967
jojoba, those people and their lives are real. Yes, it is meant to keep us sitting there and watching, but it's not made up nor is it truly entertaining. This is what can happen and does happen to many of us.
I once had a roommate whom we took to the ER. His tolerance was high--he blew a .61 and was standing without wobbling and telling jokes. The interns kept saying, "Dude, you should be dead" with unbelief at what they were seeing. Yeah, alkies and their tolerances...
I once had a roommate whom we took to the ER. His tolerance was high--he blew a .61 and was standing without wobbling and telling jokes. The interns kept saying, "Dude, you should be dead" with unbelief at what they were seeing. Yeah, alkies and their tolerances...
Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 588
From the friends and family side here. I started watching intervention to learn about alcoholism. The show scared me! Pain everwhere! A huge collection of the saddest eyes I've ever seen, both the alcoholic/addict and the friends and relatives. I especially felt sorry for the children, not only living this nightmare, but reliving it in re-runs ad infinitum.
I was watching a "catch up" show where they were showing how the people featured had fared. (The "sober since" tagline can be misleading - I saw one show where the "sober since" date was 3 weeks prior!) One of the wives of an AH, who was a wreck during the original broadcast, looked fantastic and sounded great. She credited Alanon and counselling. I went to Alanon for the first time two days later and still attend. Thanks to that show.
I know it has its limitations, but I am grateful I watched it.
I was watching a "catch up" show where they were showing how the people featured had fared. (The "sober since" tagline can be misleading - I saw one show where the "sober since" date was 3 weeks prior!) One of the wives of an AH, who was a wreck during the original broadcast, looked fantastic and sounded great. She credited Alanon and counselling. I went to Alanon for the first time two days later and still attend. Thanks to that show.
I know it has its limitations, but I am grateful I watched it.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 142
Originally Posted by sugarbear1 
jojoba, those people and their lives are real. Yes, it is meant to keep us sitting there and watching, but it's not made up nor is it truly entertaining. This is what can happen and does happen to many of us.
I once had a roommate whom we took to the ER. His tolerance was high--he blew a .61 and was standing without wobbling and telling jokes. The interns kept saying, "Dude, you should be dead" with unbelief at what they were seeing. Yeah, alkies and their tolerances...
I once had a roommate whom we took to the ER. His tolerance was high--he blew a .61 and was standing without wobbling and telling jokes. The interns kept saying, "Dude, you should be dead" with unbelief at what they were seeing. Yeah, alkies and their tolerances...
Faithful viewer Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Northeast
Posts: 441
I find the show to be informational, however I do think that it exploits the addicts. Even if they "agreed" to be in a documentary, aren't they completely inebriated? The people they get for this show tend to be in really dire shape. Many of them do get the help they need though, so I guess its a toss up - intervention gets rating via exposing the addicts very personal struggle (which will always be available- how embarassing once one is sober and trying to move on in life?), but it very likely saves their lives, too.
~sb
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,967
AA isn't the only program of recovery. There are also Traditions which "Intervention" respects. See pages 563-566 of the 4th Edition of the AA textbook for the Long Form of the Twelve Traditions.
I haven't seen lying on that show, and I have spoken with at least one person who was on the original show, who claims to have given full consent to be on that show.
How many of us were "completely inebriated" when we were highly productive and functioning during the day, before we indulged in drinking? I wasn't always out of my right mind. I accomplished a lot before I opened my drink later in the evenings.
Many people in SR and in all recovery programs relapse in early recovery, don't they? I keep reading about them on here. Many of us stay stopped, too. Take a look around! Many people relapse before they truly work a program of recovery, no matter which one they commit to. I know I have.
I haven't seen lying on that show, and I have spoken with at least one person who was on the original show, who claims to have given full consent to be on that show.
How many of us were "completely inebriated" when we were highly productive and functioning during the day, before we indulged in drinking? I wasn't always out of my right mind. I accomplished a lot before I opened my drink later in the evenings.
Many people in SR and in all recovery programs relapse in early recovery, don't they? I keep reading about them on here. Many of us stay stopped, too. Take a look around! Many people relapse before they truly work a program of recovery, no matter which one they commit to. I know I have.
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,722
Originally Posted by sugarbear1
AA isn't the only program of recovery. There are also Traditions which "Intervention" respects. See pages 563-566 of the 4th Edition of the AA textbook for the Long Form of the Twelve Traditions.
I haven't seen lying on that show, and I have spoken with at least one person who was on the original show, who claims to have given full consent to be on that show.
I haven't seen lying on that show, and I have spoken with at least one person who was on the original show, who claims to have given full consent to be on that show.
HOWEVER, even if the show did a better job of informing the public about the variety of recovery options available today, the way they go about getting their "stars" is to lie. Each show contains a blurb at the start specifically stating that the addict has no idea that they are about to experience an intervention. That's because they have been lied to, and told they are doing a documentary. This is further made clear on the "release" form that the FAMILY MEMBER who has submitted the addict's name to the show is asked to sign. An excerpt of that release follows (Note the irony here: informing the addict that he or she is being lied to is considered a "deceptive and dishonest act" with respect to the show!):
"I am making the representations, disclosures, and agreements described below in this Form so that Producer will continue to consider me to become a participant in the Series. If any disclosure or representation is false, misleading or incomplete, or if I breach any agreement made in connection with the Series, Producer may remove me from further consideration as a participant.
I agree that I have not made, nor will I ever make any false or misleading statements regarding the Program, my participation in the Program, or the person that I am submitting for appearance in the Program ("Subject"). I agree that I have not, nor will I engage in any deceptive or dishonest act with respect to the Program, including but not limited to informing the Subject about the intervention or offer of treatment, the intended outcome of the Program, or any confidential knowledge I have with respect to the Program."
The more I think about it, the more I really see this not so much as a recovery issue but as a civil rights issue. We were talking on another thread about the stigma of being an addict....apparently that stigma has progressed so far that we, as a society, even those of us who once suffered from addictions ourselves, will accept the spectacle of an addicted person being openly deceived for purposes of entertaining the public and enriching the coffers of television networks and advertisers. Really, it's nothing less than appalling.
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 142
Originally Posted by sugarbear1
How many of us were "completely inebriated" when we were highly productive and functioning during the day, before we indulged in drinking? I wasn't always out of my right mind. I accomplished a lot before I opened my drink later in the evenings.
It was simply not my experience.
12-Step Recovered Alkie
Join Date: May 2010
Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Posts: 5,797
I think it's a great show although I don't watch it all that often and don't necessarily enjoy it myself.
I don't see it as exploitative at all nor do I have any prejudices about what treatment facilities they take the ppl to. It's just doesn't matter to me in the slightest. They could take the ppl to "Willpower is the Answer" meetings (I made that one up) or to frickin' church for all I care.....better to try something rather than nothing.
What's more "loving" - doing nothing and letting someone who's obviously sick and delusional kill themselves......or bs them and possibly wake them up and help them get on a path to save their life? Given that everyone has to sign a release, there's no exploitation in my book and even if it IS exploitation in action......I personally know ppl who's lives were saved by interventions. What, better to let them die rather than trick them into an intervention? Sorry...that doesn't compute with me. I've read more than a few posts here on SR by folks who's eyes were opened to their own demise BECAUSE of that show. Don't like it....don't watch it. If it's helping a handful of ppl, that's a great reason for it to exist.
Most alkies I've come to know were in pretty big denial/delusional tunnels about their drinking, alcoholism, hurting others, etc. I was one of 'em. I had to kinda get "side-doored" into recovery cuz I wasn't going down without a fight.
That opinion though, wasn't the one I've always believed. Before I was willing to really open my thinking up and consider things other than just my current beliefs, I would have said it's a crappy show, serves no purpose, and is just another bs attempt to strike it rich on the backs of helpless victims.
I don't see it as exploitative at all nor do I have any prejudices about what treatment facilities they take the ppl to. It's just doesn't matter to me in the slightest. They could take the ppl to "Willpower is the Answer" meetings (I made that one up) or to frickin' church for all I care.....better to try something rather than nothing.
What's more "loving" - doing nothing and letting someone who's obviously sick and delusional kill themselves......or bs them and possibly wake them up and help them get on a path to save their life? Given that everyone has to sign a release, there's no exploitation in my book and even if it IS exploitation in action......I personally know ppl who's lives were saved by interventions. What, better to let them die rather than trick them into an intervention? Sorry...that doesn't compute with me. I've read more than a few posts here on SR by folks who's eyes were opened to their own demise BECAUSE of that show. Don't like it....don't watch it. If it's helping a handful of ppl, that's a great reason for it to exist.
Most alkies I've come to know were in pretty big denial/delusional tunnels about their drinking, alcoholism, hurting others, etc. I was one of 'em. I had to kinda get "side-doored" into recovery cuz I wasn't going down without a fight.
That opinion though, wasn't the one I've always believed. Before I was willing to really open my thinking up and consider things other than just my current beliefs, I would have said it's a crappy show, serves no purpose, and is just another bs attempt to strike it rich on the backs of helpless victims.
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Meditation
Posts: 1,300
Originally Posted by onlythetruth
I realize that AA isn't the only program of recovery. But you'd never know it from watching "Intervention", since ALL of the expensive rehabs to which they send the addicts they've set up use the 12 step model.
The more I think about it, the more I really see this not so much as a recovery issue but as a civil rights issue. We were talking on another thread about the stigma of being an addict....apparently that stigma has progressed so far that we, as a society, even those of us who once suffered from addictions ourselves, will accept the spectacle of an addicted person being openly deceived for purposes of entertaining the public and enriching the coffers of television networks and advertisers. Really, it's nothing less than appalling.
The more I think about it, the more I really see this not so much as a recovery issue but as a civil rights issue. We were talking on another thread about the stigma of being an addict....apparently that stigma has progressed so far that we, as a society, even those of us who once suffered from addictions ourselves, will accept the spectacle of an addicted person being openly deceived for purposes of entertaining the public and enriching the coffers of television networks and advertisers. Really, it's nothing less than appalling.
Nobody is forcing them into treatment or taking their rights away. They are simply offered treatment. The ultimate goal is not the deception of the addict for profit it is to save their life!
Sounds like the fact that these centers are 12 step based is the biggest gripe here.
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