An A&E Marathon

Yesterday, I stumbled across the A&E show "Intervention". It's about individuals who are addicted to alcohol, illegal drugs, or food and their families and friends who can no longer watch the person slowly die. After 30 minutes of watching the addict live his/her daily life -- which depends on frequent daily substance abuse -- the family stages an intervention with an addiction specialist. The most disturbing part of the program is what happens at this meeting because in every case, the addict is in complete denial about how bad the situation is. [One guy in his twenties, who was homeless and estranged from his family, was shooting heroin 8 times a day and had been doing so for a few years, but felt that he hadn't hit rock bottom.] I can't believe that individuals who have to have a drink/hit right after they wake up in the morning, who pass out in some form of undress on their front lawn, who are unable to care for their children, who steal money and lie to their friends, can think that they have everything under control and can quit whenever they want to. Amazing!

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"The abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people, and entombs the hope of the race." (Charles Bradlaugh)