Being addicted to drugs and alcohol is the most stressful addiction you can think of. It doesn’t matter if your the one addicted or if your the person looking in, the struggle is felt on both sides. I’m the loved one of an alcoholic. It’s tough to watch and even worse to deal with. You do nothing wrong but are haunted by the horrible things that get said yet not remembered when sober. You become victim of the lashing out because there’s no one else for them to turn to. They know they need help but can’t seem to take the step in getting it. Even worse, the help they need is staring them right in the face and they don’t realize it.
I hear the horror stories of his past. Deaths of his loved ones, multiple car crashes, manslaughter jail sentences, all results of his drinking. I watch him drink six packs of beer in under 2 hours and still look for more. I watch him go from being the loving husband and father to a reckless threat to society as the liquor consumes him. I watch him struggle internally with knowing he needs to stop drinking and be a man for his family yet not know if right now is the time.
Trying to help an addict is an act of courage. You don’t know if the person you are trying to help is going to embrace you or reject you. Addicts are dependent on their drug of choice for some reason or another. That bond of dependency is not always an easy one to break. But as hard as it may be, the best thing you can do is allow them to fall. As huamn beings we often will not stand up and make a change until we reach the bottom of the barrel and get tired of being there. It will be hard to not embrace them and want to assist in order to avoid lashing out. However, giving in will only inhibit their habbit instead of breaking it. Be encouraging, Try to get them to acknowledge their problem and seek help. I do not want to lose my loved one and I know you do not want to lose yours either. Lets join hands in the fight against addiction and take our families back.
Resources:
http://discoveringalcoholic.com/
http://nationalinterventionreferral.org/intervention.php
http://addictionrecoverybasics.com/
