TLC’s Addicted chronicles the lives of people who are addicted as they seek help from former junkie turned interventionist, Kristina Wandzilak. This season premiere focused on a 31 year old woman struggling with alcohol and heroin addiction.

Amanda started drinking at 15 and got pregnant at 18. She married her daughter’s father but when the marriage went south so did she. Amanda started with Xanex then moved on to cocaine, morphine, and heroin. Her addictions caused her to resort to prostitution and stripping to support her habit.  Consequently she lost her visitation rights to her daughter and any personal processions.

Kristina was called in to help and Amanda went to stay with her parents until a rehab bed was available.

Her parents put locks on their bed room and bathroom and locked up all the liquor in a refrigerator. When the parents went out of town for a weekend, Amanda took the doors of the fridge and stole the liquor. Then she called her friends over to party. She also conned her granddad out of $20, to by heroin.

At the intervention, Amanda admitted she had a problem and Kristina told her, “If you do not go through with the rehab or quite, I will do all in my power to make sure your daughter is not affected by your addiction.” Amanda went to a detox center for five days before rehab. She was doing ok until the last night there some other girl had some drugs and Amanda reported her but was kicked out of the center because no one knew who really had them.

Amanda tested clean for drugs and was accepted into rehab. She had some bad days, but , in the end she pulled through. She is doing much better and is petitioning the court for visitation rights for her 12 year old daughter.

The show was a real eye opener for me, seeing the desperation in Amanda’s eyes as she tries to open the refrigerator and the fear going into the detox center. I can only thank God that I have not had to deal with that.