We’ve all heard the news.  Lindsay Lohan, a famous Hollywood actress and the target of media scrutiny, reported to jail this week to serve her 9o-day sentence for probation violations on two DUI cases.  At the age of 21, Lohan has suffered with substance use disorders throughout the past several years, largely in front of the country, in the public spotlight.  And she’s not the only celebrity that the public has watched live through this - the list is lengthy, including Drew Barrymore, Whitney Houston, Keith Urban, Courtney Love, Kate Moss, Amy Winehouse (who sang a hit song, “Rehab,” about her experience), and most recently, Mel Gibson.  The new apparent rehab “trend” has also led to the production of several television shows, including “Celebrity Rehab.”

Does this new celebrity “trend” and behavior impact the stigmas associated with addiction?  I hate to think that seeing this would influence younger audiences to follow the behavior of their idols, but it is possible.  On the contrary, however, the recent publicity around those suffering from untreated addictions also brings the topic into the mainstream, public dialogue, which, in many cases, is great for the cause.  By forcing the public to see and acknowledge the reality and pervasiveness of substance use disorders, we are helping to change public perception.  By advocating for those with untreated addictions, those in treatment, and those in recovery, we can further help to influence public perception that addiction is a disease.

While shows like “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” chronicle the lives of celebrities who enter treatment, other recent shows, such as A&E’s “Intervention,” which showcases “normal” folks’ lives as their loved ones, with the help of trained specialists, hold an intervention in order to encourage them to seek treatment, have also received significant air time and public interest.  This can only serve to make addiction and substance use disorders the subject of public discussion and consumption, and will hopefully help tear down some of the century-long stigma associated with this disease.