Rehab for Everyone

Rehab for everyone. A new television show adds to the growing lists of addiction and recovery reality series. "Fame and Recovery," debuted Monday May 3^rd on A&E at ten p.m. It featured, Lawrence Taylor, an ex-Giant football hall of famer who was with the Giants from 1981 to 1993. It also featured, Tara Conner, a beauty pageant winner, a reigning Miss Kentucky who became Miss USA in 2006.

Lawrence Taylor was the biggest and richest football player of his time. He fell from grace when he began his long term ordeal addicted to crack cocaine from the mid 80's to 1998. Over time Lawrence's addictions interfered with his football playing. He retired from football in 1998, turning his once elegant N.J. mansion into a crack den. Lawrence Taylor lost all sense of honor, dignity and respect. He lied, cheated, and had violent abusive tendencies, losing family and friends in the midst of his crack cocaine fueled addiction that included alcohol and sex fueled binges.

Linda Garrett, Lawrence Taylor's ex-wife and mother of his three children attempted to assist her husband during his football playing days, even going as far as to search for him when he was in the midst of a week-end crack binge in a drug house. Eventually she realized she couldn't help him when his addictive rage was affecting their children. She left and moved out of state, leaving Lawrence Taylor to live alone with his addictions.

After being arrested before, in 1998 Lawrence Taylor was arrested once again for buying drugs. He finally hit bottom and a drug intervention was staged by his family and friends. This time he willingly entered a rehab facility, seriously working the drug abuse recovery program. Today Lawrence Taylor reports he's been sober for a decade. He shares his amazing recovery story in a New York Times best seller, "LT: Over the Edge. Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World beyond Football."

Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006 began abusing prescription pain medication when she was a young teenager, only fourteen years old. She started her drug abuse spiral, continuing even as she was entering local beauty pageants. In complete denial she continued, experimenting with cocaine, and indulging in prescription drugs, buying them quite easily.

As Tara Conner continued with her drug addiction, she was still winning beauty pageants, and friends assisted her obtaining drugs. Tara Conner reports drugs are easily obtainable when you're searching for them, even at a young age. Her mother was unable to control her destructive behavior. Tara won Miss Kentucky and entered the Miss USA pageant, assuming she was concealing her massive prescription pain medication addiction from her peers. Some contestants questioned her bizarre behavior though.

Tara Conner won Miss USA 2006 when she was twenty years old, confessing she was so blitzed on prescription pain medication she doesn't recall anything about her win. Her prescription pain medication addiction continued, even dabbling in cocaine, until it affected her public duties as reigning Miss USA.

Donald Trump, the owner of the Miss USA pageant was finally made aware of the urgent situation, agreeing to give Tara Conner a second chance at a press conference if she immediately entered a rehab center and obeyed the reigning Miss USA's rules. Tara agreed and now reports she is three years sober at the time of taping. Tara Conner reports she will be writing a book about her addictive lifestyle.

Rehab for everyone seems to be the latest adventure in life. Fame and fortune may make it easier to feed drug and other addictions, with the number of famous celebrities who've entered rehab centers to start their road to recovery staggering. Television producers have jumped on this band wagon with new reality series based on celebrity and non-celebrity addiction problems.

VH1 television channel screen's "MD Drew's Celebrity Rehab," along with his, "Sober House," and, "Sex Rehab." TLC previewed a new intervention series on their schedule this year. MTV has also screened series based on addictions. We have, "Celebrity Boot Camp," and, "The Biggest Loser." We have couple's rehab series for dysfunctional relationships. Addiction, rehab and recovery are subjects ordinary people can relate to.

Having the pressure of handling fame without giving in to destructive behavior with addictions is something you have to deal with being a celebrity. When you're looked up to as a cult hero, like Lawrence Taylor and Tara Conner, you'll have plenty of enablers who'll do anything to make your life easier.

Ordinary citizens deal with addiction problems everyday. Rehab's offered by many businesses as part of their job criteria, along with drug testing. Rehab's becoming so commonplace, I wonder if the stressors of life are becoming too much? Are we raising children without the necessary tools to deal with the stress of life? Will we continue to blame immoral behaviors on sex, drug, and alcohol addictions, using them as cheap excuses? Will addiction rehab programs be available in school programs? These are just a few questions to ponder as addiction rates soar.

This is Barnes & Noble's link to Lawrence Taylor's book.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/LT/Lawrence-Taylor/e/9780061031496/

This is a link to a website offering addiction rehab center advice.

http://www.drugrehab.org/