It was not always pills or alcohol that prompted people to take action this year. There are many issues that can present enough of a challenge that an individual, famous or not, decides that extra help is needed. Here are a few well-known cases from 2006.
Leif Garrett
The singer, who is invariably tagged as "a former teen heartthrob," was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years probation in May 2006 after he opted out of a court-ordered drug treatment program. He was being taken into custody March 30 after a Superior Court commissioner determined he failed several drug tests while staying in a live-in drug diversion program.
Wynonna Judd
The country singing star has spent time at the Shades of Hope rehab center for food addiction and also has shared her struggle with viewers of Oprah Winfrey's talk show. She remains close to her mother and former singing partner, Naomi.
Ashley Judd
It is not always substance abuse that sparks a celebrity's decision to enter rehab. Ashley Judd entered a program in February 2006 at Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas. She reportedly tackled personal issues such as depression and isolation. By May, she was out and about again, serving as world ambassador for the Washington-based Youth AIDS group.
Boy George
In March 2006, in a plea bargain deal that spared him possible jail time, the singer agreed to enter a drug rehabilitation program and perform community service to resolve his 2005 arrest on a cocaine charge. (In addition to rehab, he spent five days working for the NY Dept. of Sanitation.)
Rush Limbaugh
The conservative radio commentator was arrested April 28, 2006, on prescription drug charges, with his attorney saying he had reached a deal with prosecutors that would eventually see the charges dismissed if Limbaugh continues treatment for drug addiction.
Pete Doherty
In June 2006, Doherty, the lead singer for the rock group Babyshambles, checked himself into a detox clinic in Portugal following several arrests in London for drug possession.
Patrick Kennedy
Rep. Patrick Kennedy entered rehab for addiction to prescription pain drugs in May after a nighttime car crash that he claimed not to remember. The Rhode Island Democrat was re-elected easily in November.
Ron Wood
In June, the publicist for the Rolling Stones guitarist confirmed that Wood was being treated for alcohol dependency. He had checked into a clinic in London and was in need of rest. Wood has been in rehabilitation before and has long battled drinking problems.
Mel Gibson
The director and actor, seen here posing backstage at the 31st Annual People's Choice Awards in a photo taken Jan. 9, 2005, went right into rehab after his arrest and subsequent reckless behavior July 29 in Malibu. But alcoholism may only be part of his continuing battle to reclaim his career.
Robin Williams
Robin Williams sought treatment for alcoholism in August. The 55-year-old comedian had been sober for 20 years but then "found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family," said his publicist, Mara Buxbaum.
Bob Ney
Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio resigned late in 2006 after pleading guilty in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation. Apologizing in September, he said he'd checked into an alcohol-abuse program.
Keith Urban
The Australian singer checked himself into a rehabilitation treatment center for alcoholism in October 2006. The previous June, he had married movie star Nicole Kidman in a lavish ceremony in Australia. In November, he released a new CD titled "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing."
Mark Foley
Rep. Mark Foley, the Florida congressman forced to resign over his sexually explicit computer messages to congressional pages, announced through attorneys that he had alcohol problems, was gay, and had been abused by a priest as a teenager. He completed about a month in treatment for alcoholism in October.
Rev. Ted Haggard
"There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," the Rev. Ted Haggard wrote his congregation in November amid allegations he consorted with a gay prostitute and snorted meth. The former president of the National Association of Evangelicals is now on a course of rehab.
Miss USA Tara Conner
Conner was spared dethronement by Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization, in mid-December because, said Trump, she had agreed to go into rehab and he was giving her a second chance. "I've always been a believer in second chances ... Tara is going to be given a second chance," Trump said. He said later that the Miss USA organization will be doing periodic drug testing.