Much too difficult to watch for me. I'm reminded of a popular TV show that my husband loves, "Prison Break". When it first came on television my son had been in jail and looked the part with ugly prison tatts on his arm, shaved head. It absolutely enraged me to have them sitting there on the couch watching it. I'm not even sure why. I guess I'm really out of touch with my emotions. Anger and grief seem to be right on the edge of my everyday life. I don't need any television show to tip me over that edge.

I think it irritates my family if they see me watching Intervention. I think it's too upsetting for them.
Another thing that has concerned me is the public becoming desensitized if too many of these shows are on too often, but since people are just now realizing about addiction, it would take a while for them to become desensitized. Plus most of them are going to know someone affected.

I remember when I first started watching Intervention and was just becoming aware of my son's addiction, I would minimize his problem, because he seemed better than the ones on the show. He actually was just as bad off.

Ethel - Mike can't watch shows like Intervention or Addicted either - hits too close to home with his own son. In the beginning all parents with addict kids minimizes their addiction. I did with Aarons, heck, me of all people, a recovering alcoholic/addict. It's a hard thing for parents to admit that their child is an addict, then have to admit that they are as bad as the one's on these shows. Sunnie is right, the public needs to be educated, yes the profits should go towards addiction help and education. The general public still has a terrible stigma of what an addict looks and lives like, they can't seem to grasp or understand that it happens to the very poorest of people to the very richest of people, addiction has no discrimination.

You are so right, and I can tell you that I've become much more open because of that very reason.

I wish there was some programming to point out just how widespread addiction is and how many lives it touches.