Where Does an Actor Look for Rehab?

We see it in the media all the time. A celebrity gets pulled over for drunk driving or goes into rehab.  It hits the news faster than Geraldo could draw a map in the sand when the troops headed over to Iraq.  The media loves a scandal but we forget that celebrities are people, too.  So where does an actor look for rehab?  How does he get the help with a disease, an addiction that he deserves just as much help with as any other human being?  This is where a reputable, confidential rehab comes into play.

From the outside it looks like actors have it made.  They have money, they have fame, they have fans.  They also have people on salary who work for them, stalkers and the paparazzi hounding them for pictures every time they step outside their front door.  The grass is not always greener just because someone gets star treatment.  There are two young men in England who would love their mother back but she died in an accident being chased by the paparazzi.  The family of actress Rebecca Shaeffer would love to have their family member back; she was killed by a crazed fan.  There are mothers in the U.S. thankful that former President Bush did not make his Thanksgiving 2003 visit to Iraq a public relations stunt because the unit he visited would have been in even more danger, yet the media did not care about that, complaining only that they had the right to know.

Actors and celebrities have even more stress because they are hounded and any hint of scandal is blown up and out of proportion.  The fact is, thanks to some wonderful confidential rehab centers, there are more actors and other celebrities getting treatment than we are aware of and that is JUST FINE.  Because in the end, it is the fact that they are making a successful recovery that is important.  It is the fact that they are getting a chance to be themselves again.

Relapsing is easier when you give in to stress.  So how does an actor get the support he needs in a group setting if the media is lying in wait?  How does he get through an already stressful battle and win it if he is hounded and beaten up in the press?  The media is a wonderful and educational tool when used properly.  Unfortunately, people feed on scandal and forget that the actor being chewed up in the spotlight is in the end, another human being with feelings, fears, and an addiction that can hit anyone at any time.  Where does an actor look for rehab? Sometimes he doesn’t because he is not left alone by the paparazzi.  Let’s pull back and give that actor the room he needs to make a successful recovery.