"Intervention" on A and E

I admit that I am a huge nerd and that I watch alot of A&E Channel and they have a great original series,"Intervention".Each episode is basically a documentary abouta person who has an extreme addiction and desperately needs intervention.Although the show focuses mainly on alcoholics and drug addicts,they have also done episodes with people addicted to shopping,plastic surgery,gambling and people with eating disorders.There is an update on the featured patient at the close of the program.The show its in its season and airs a new episode every Monday at 9pm.
Tonights show is about Lawrence,a successful young enteprenuer who owns a chain of tanning salons in Vegas.He is also recovering from surgery for testicular cancer and his friends and family are concerned because not only has he not started chemo as planned,he is drinking very heavily and going downhill rapidly.He has had 3 grand mal seizures,which were caused by alcohol withdrawals and tonight he faces an intervention.Like many other of the featured addicts,he has personal demons that precluded his addiction-his mother left him when he was young with a violent abusive father.A recurring theme in the show seems to be sexual,emotional or physical abuse of some kind in the addicts past.Lawrence is drinking about a half gallon of straight Skyy vodka DAILY.
Maybe I am just making blind assumptions here,but I am sure each and everyone of us is familiar with addiction on some level.We either have had one ourselves,or known someone who was addicted.I grew up with an alcoholic stepfather and unless you have a been affected by a family members addiction,you cannot begin to fathom the totally dysfunctional lifestyle it entails.My stepfather was known to drink at LEAST a half-gallon of cheap Canadian whisky a day.After us kids left home we were clear of it,but our late Mother still put up with alot.I love her dearly,but she did enable him.Oh yeah,I know all about co-dependents.I read alot of Al-Anon literature in my lifetime.
The positive thing about it all is that I have a healthy respect for the dangers of alcoholism and As a result,I rarely imbibe.About twice a month,on the weekend,I will either have a cold shot of Grand Marnier or Knob Creek Bourbon-thats all!All it does is make me sleepy so drinking isn't really a big "thing" for me.I sleep enough!At an age where other kids tried to outdrink one another with illegally-gotten booze,I knew that it wasn't the "good time" I needed,because of the things I witnessed.Its tough for a kid because its hard to bring friends over from school when you dont know what kind of day it is going to be at home.
I am not anti-alcohol,far from it.I just believe in moderation-in fact,I have a fully stocked "bar"cabinet at home.No cheap swill-just a few bottles of really nice stuff for guests.
"Intervention" takes the viewer inside the world of an addict and sees up close the effect it has on those around them.Critics call it exploitive,but its REAL reality TV and it really packs an emotional punch.