Intervention: Allison

So I'm sitting here watching this Intervention show on A&E where a girl named Allison inhales chemicals.

The surroundings look familiar and then I realize it was taped in the town where I lived last year and she buys her chemicals at the WalMart I shopped at for about a year and a half.

Normally that wouldn't strike me as weird, but this girl is a special kind of dependent.

Anyone else watching this? Care to comment on the show? Feel it exploits people?

I'm having a hard time sitting through this both A.) because I feel she needs some real help, and B.) because I don't think she should be put on a TV show where asshats like me can recognize her.

 

I think is the most disturbing of all the episodes I watched. For some reason, the idea of inhaling computer cleaner horrifies me. If she doesn't die, she's gonna be brain damaged eventually.

As for the exploitation, ya, I think there's some of that inherent in these "documentaries," but I think most of the families have just run out of options. The ends sort of justify the means.

 

No, I'd definately agree with that. But I mean, she was just cutting herself. How far do you think these cameramen would let their subjects go? It's a documentary so they're not suppose to get involved, but how could you sit there and let this girl inhale these chemicals or let any of these people harm themselves in such a way?

I just think it's got to be one of the toughest jobs out there.

 

Hell, a lot of episodes film these people shooting up. I guess they would say they're gonna do it anyway, so if filming it leads to them getting help, so be it.

 

I've heard the best argument for this show is that it encourages other people with similar problems to get help, but I don't know if I agree with that.

 

I don't know why, but this show gives me a wave of emotions when it's a woman involved.

I know she went to treatment and all, but she stayed with the "sugar daddy" - chances are if she goes back to Newport (R.I.??? It sure looked like her surroundings were in New England), she might be looking up that Wal-Mart again.

I hope I'm wrong for her sake....but she needs to flush all that out completely.

As for exploitation, I don't think if you're helping someone it's exploitative. "Intervention" doesn't exacerbate the fact she was huffing.

 

This episode was just playing awful tricks on my DVR. I was taping it for my wife and it never stopped. Just kept recording, even after the show went off. I just deleted the god damn thing. These things repeat all the time.

I've watched just about every one of these shows, and the only one I couldn't hack was the eating disorder, where the girl puked like every three minutes. No thanks.

 

Yeah, it was Newport, RI. My girlfriend got weirded out because she recognized pretty much all the exterior shots and even pinpointed where they lived.

To me, it's hard to watch these shows and take them seriously. I mean, on the one hand, she had to consent to being filmed so she must have known something was up (How else would a TV crew know she inhaled chemicals). Two, I doubt the people around her acted like themselves around the camera. Three, we all know that these shows are edited in a way that spices things up.

I just don't see how a show like this doesn't hurt people in the long run.

But, again, like someone above said, if it helps this person than god bless it, right?

 

well, gas is getting expensive.

 

The only one I was really shocked by ran a short time back, and the guy, who was an alcoholic, actually died. Was not expecting that.

 

You should have seen it. She walked into Walmart, bought like six cans of the cleaner and said she goes to the same cashier every day. I mean, short of working in a computer repair store, it's hard to imagine the cashier didn't know what she was doing with the stuff.

 

I have seen the crew intervene. When they feel it becomes a life or death situation, they help.