Intervention to Recovery

Michael started his new job last Monday and we're getting used to all the newness. His work his much less hectic, which means he can call me more during the day. His schedule is very different - no more just 9-5 days. Two nights a week he'll work until 9pm, but that comes with outpatient therapy territory. That also means he won't have to go in until noon on those days. Feels weird.

He's now working with various clients, instead of in residential treatment with just substance abusers. Since he started work with addicts, we've been watching a lot of Intervention. He's been interested from a clinical standpoint, and I find them fascinating. It's like watching a train wreck - you just can't look away. I see a lot of myself there... my personality is highly addictive.

We always do two things while we watch. In the beginning, we guess what they're addicted to, just based on the short snippets of the person we get before they tell us. Nine times out of ten, Michael's right on. It's amazing. Then, we predict whether or not they will stay sober, which we find out at the very end of the show. Both of us have a 50/50 shot at that one most of the time.

It's funny, but there doesn't seem to be a way to really predict who is going to stay in recovery and who isn't. Addiction is strange that way. What does it take for someone to get there and stay there? It seems like a complicated thing...

I imagine we'll watch less of Intervention now that Michael's not working primarily with addicts. I'm gonna miss it. I root for every single one of those addicts, and hope they're going to find recovery and peace and really start living their lives fully. And I know some part of me wants that for myself, too, in certain areas of my life...