ICanDoBetter

Does anyone watch the show Intervention?

I've thought of the show lately and my inability to watch it. Several years ago I watched it frequently. My guess is it gave me comfort because I would compare myself and think, "I don't have a problem. I'm not that bad."

But for the last probably two years something switched and I couldn't watch it anymore. I'm think it started to feel too close to home and like it could be my reality if things kept going the way they were.

I've realized it's similar to certain shows and movies I can't watch since I became a mother, shows that show bad things happening to children, because it feels too close to home.

Was curious of others' thoughts...

Lonelywombat67

I've never watched it because it's too scary for me. I used to watch that sad Dr Drew Celebrity Rehab show. That was awful. Those people were sad and were way worse off than most of us.

ICanDoBetter

I used to watch that one as well. Now I can't fathom watching any of those.

Fancave

Heh. I use to watch and think "I'm not that bad" too.

The thing was i was probably just as much as an addict as anyone on that show but i was a very functioning one who worked an supported himself. Where the people on the show seemed to have their lives in a mess and dependent on other people to enable their habits.

Soberwolf

this is why SR regularly says watch out for trigger warnings

much much better to build your sober muscles gradually a weightlifter in his/her first training doesn't decide to start on the heaviest weights the gym has would you ? it's the same thing when it comes to sobriety & the topic you brought up for discussion x

So things like this that know trigger you avoid at all costs sobriety isn't about proving you can be around alcohol it's about learning how to live being in acceptance of your addiction to alcohol/alcoholism and trying to make the best out of life for everyone (for me anyway)

Get building your sober muscles & keep putting a stone in the jar x

ICanDoBetter

I am and I definitely don't watch it. Much like shows or things that trigger me regarding motherhood, my plan is to walk away from alcohol/addiction triggers as well.

And speaking of the gym, I'm off for a swim/bike/run workout :-)

ICanDoBetter

Was this question a no-no for me to post? If so please feel free to remove, admins.

Mountainmanbob

Only rarely and I can't seem to get through the whole program lately.
It's usually pretty sad because even for the ones they get into treatment
at the end of the show they tell us how they are doing
and many if not most relapse within a short period of time.

Bob

Soberwolf

Awesome x

Lonelywombat67

Maybe the thing about the Dr Drew show was those people had the money to mess themselves up so much faster than the average person and had multiple addictions. If I had unlimited income I shudder to think of the damage I could have done. Not just TV shows but movies are tough to watch. I recently thought I could watch Clean and sober with Michael Keaton, big mistake.

Mountainmanbob

See absolutely nothing wrong with it.

What we may think while watching that program.

By the grace of God there go I.

Keeps me humble.

Mountainmanbob

BlissWithin

I used to binge watch that show, especially in the first months of my recovery, nowadays I can't stand watching people intoxicated on TV.

strategery

I always watched it and still watch it. It's interesting to see if they turn their lives around.
However, my perspective on watching it has changed. When I was still drinking, part of me wished that I could be like them and get sober. Part of me also watched it to show when I was drinking to give myself some assurance that I wasn't "that bad". Now that I've been sober for some time, I still watch it since it is a good reminder of where I could be if I continued to drink.

BBQBOY

Can't watch those shows anymore. If there was a show purely about recovery, I might just watch. But I'm sure it would be boring to most normies!!

Venecia

Mixed feelings, but I'm pretty aligned with Strat.

I used to watch it from time to time and it fed my denial like a buffet. "Look, I'm not crawling around in a garage looking for booze!" "Hey, I'm not prostituting myself to feed my addiction!" So I must not be that bad.

Now, in sobriety, I have watched it sporadically and a few things strike me.

- There are good endings, for some. And that's really inspiring.

- I like the interventionists.

- The stories often end with "so-and-so left treatment" or "so-and-so relapsed and is no longer in contact with family." That seems to reinforce that we have to be the ones who want to get better, not consenting to treatment because the cameras are rolling.

- It's formulaic and kinda boring. The stories are pretty indistinguishable from one another. I'd love it if they intervened with people *before* they've reached the point where they're crawling across broken glass for a drink or prostituting themselves for their next hit, but I suspect that wouldn't be voyeuristic enough. In real life, though, not all of us are the people the producers would even remotely consider for their show because we're nowhere near as dramatic.

It kind of goes to why I have a personal stance against posts that seek feedback from others to detail just how bad it got or how much they were drinking. I think they can have the same consequences for those dipping their toes in the SR pond as "Intervention." (Frankly, they also seem to take on a tone of one-upsmanship.)

I was one of them. I was here six months before I joined and convinced myself I wasn't as bad as "those people" -- my alcoholism was still calling the shots -- and didn't come back until two months after I'd gone sober by myself, recognizing I needed support from others.

I recognize others have differing perspectives.

bunnezjp

I love this show. Intervention Marathon on A&E every Sunday.

Although I do get tired of the "Pink Elephant Cloud" endings.

~Bunnez

thomas11

My thoughts on the show will be unpopular. I think its fake. Just like all reality shows are fake. But that's just me.

ilovedogs666

I love the show. I couldnt watch it in early sobriety, watching people drink alcohol was a big trigger for me. Now I like it, it reminds me exactly where my life can go if I decide to pick up again. Also, I find it very useful to hear the justifications/manipulations/excuses/rationalizations used by those in active addiction. I just to be just like them. It helps to keep the AV in check for me.

Irnldy001

I also used to think it was formulaic (well, it does roll out following the same formula every week,) and fake. Until someone I know went on it. Not for alcohol/drugs but for anorexia. The family signed up because they truly could not afford the treatment that their daughter needed so badly. They felt such shame and humiliation airing their dirty laundry. The sister was humiliated as she was portrayed as a haughty and arrogant perfect person. It was sad, and jarring to watch people I know degrade themselves knowingly just to get the help she needed. They portrayed the girl unfairly - made her seem like a horrifically selfish person and also portrayed the family as non-sympathetic. The truth was so much stronger, and there was so much more love than was shown. Ultimately she went to a rehab facility but did worse there then she did at home. 7 years later she is still battling and still not receiving help that works for her. I think I also have a hard time with anorexia being defined as an 'addiction'.
In general I have stopped watching. The odd time I do, and I just don't have the interest.
The thought that stops me in my tracks is the following:
I used to watch Intervention religiously. Every week. I drank. Every night. Therefore, I drank while watching Intervention. Every time. I drank and judged what others were doing on screen. That scares me. It's not a trigger, but it just shows me how very insane, INSANE, my thinking was.

Outonthetiles

I used to email regularly with Jeff VanVonderen, just as a fan. Little did I know I would develop my own alcohol problem a couple years later!