Rehab

Since when did it become trendy to go to rehab? It seems like everyone is doing it these days from Spears and Winehouse to Wilson. Even people I know are coming and going into rehab. There are even songs about going to rehab and it's played on the local popular radio stations at least once a day!
What bothers me the most is that it's become so commonplace that people talk about it as if it were an everyday occurrance and nothing out of the ordinary. "What have you been up to?" Answer: "I went to rehab, I blah blah blah." Worse, we are actually expected as a society to embrace it and congratulate those who go as if it is a step in a positive direction.
But since when have we become a society that looks up to, or idealizes, addictions and the necessity of going to rehab? What happened? Are people really so bored with their mundane lives that they need to be broken in order to feel alive?
How can we encourage our children, our family, our neighbors, our friends that these are bad things when it's depicted in such a way by the local media?
We scoff and laugh at people like Paris Hilton who "can't make it" in jail, but we forget the point: she went to jail for breaking the law! And by focusing on her as much as we do, we are sending a message that lets everyone know that negative behavior will get you more attention. Drinking will get you attention, but drinking in excess will get you more. Breaking the law will get you attention, but breaking the law and making a scene will give you more.
It's strange to think that instead of focusing on the problem, we actually encourage it. Suddenly, it's the new thing, like the pair of sunglasses that "everyone is getting."
Now just to clarify, I am not desparaging normal people who suffer from addictions and use rehab to their benefit. I am merely noting that suddenly, people going to "rehab" has suddenly become like an epidemic and is getting out of control.
Maybe we should focus on showing more of how dangerous addictions are to the public, rather than idealizing a life in excess. Maybe then, we won't appear hypocritical to our children because we will lead by example and won't just do what's "trendy" but we'll actually do what's right.