He's Been to Rehab?!

Every day in the news, a celebrity makes headlines for their bad behavior. In some circles, agreeing to enter rehab is a way to stay out of jail. However, there are those who enter rehab for treatment because they truly want help. 

Alcohol Addiction and Rehab

After treatment in Nashville, Tennessee for cocaine abuse in 1998, Keith Urban returned to treatment at the Betty Ford Center in California on October 19, 2006. Upon his admission to treatment, he publicly issued an apology to his wife, Nicole Kidman. He has remained clean and sober since completing the treatment on January 18, 2007.
Considered by many to be one of the top stand-up comedians of all time, Robin Williams has never made a secret of his rampant cocaine and alcohol addiction in the 1980s. After learning of the death of his good friend, John Belushi, he got clean and was widely ruled a success story. After things unraveled in his personal life, and after 20 years of sobriety, Robin announced he had started to drink again. He re-entered treatment on August 9, 2006. He has successfully remained sober since treatment, which may be partially attributed to the heart surgery he underwent a few years ago.

Drug Addiction and Rehab

In 1997, Matthew Perry was one of the stars of the most popular television sitcom on the air, ‘Friends’. He found himself overusing his prescription to Vicodin and checked himself into rehab for the first time. All seemed well for Matthew, until a painful case of pancreatitis found him using painkillers once again. This time, along with Vicodin, he was abusing alcohol and amphetamines. He entered rehab again in February of 2001 and since completing that treatment, Matthew continues to live clean and sober.
In August 2009, Burt Reynolds was discovered semi-conscious and bloody at his home in Florida. While he was not happy about it, Burt voluntarily checked himself into a 30-day rehab program to be treated for addiction to alcohol and prescription narcotics. Sources close to him say that he continues to have his addictions under control and is living a sober life at this time. 

Famous Rehab Failures

Clearly, celebrities live under a very bright spotlight. Unfortunately, there are cases of stars that burn too bright and burn out too soon. Many try to find sobriety, some cannot keep it. Frequent relapse proves too damaging for intervention to save them, and they end up a footnote on why drugs are bad. Why didn’t rehab work for Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, River Phoenix, Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith or Elvis Presley? There is no way to know. Fans will always speculate on what went wrong. People will ask why they did not get a handle on their addiction issues. Sadly, no amount of speculation will change their fates. However, perhaps their stories can serve as a warning. Drugs can kill, so get help while you can.

Peter Wendt writes about addiction recovery and more. His interest stems from a stay at Origins Recovery Center in Texas.