Coping with Addiction

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When it comes to tales of addiction, it's the high-profile stories we hear of starlets flitting in and out of rehab as though it's a weekend retreat.

Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears have made headlines for seeking treatment. Robert Downey, Jr. has gone in four times; Daniel Baldwin, nine.

Critics charge their laissez-faire approach makes a mockery of addiction. That the reality of beating drug or alcohol addiction is tough.

It takes more than a stint in rehab to get on the road to recovery. And instances of relapse — among anyone — are a difficult part of getting over addiction.

This hour On Point: the disease of addiction and the process of recovery.

Guests:

Dr. Roger Weiss, Clinical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA and professor of psychiatry at Harvard University

Dr. Martin Paulus, professor of psychiatry at University of California San Diego.;
Wendy Burt. She was formerly addicted to Vicodin and has now been clean for 22 months.