Recovery Thoughts
#105

Love the Addict, Not the Addiction
~ Written and shared with permission
by an Anonymous Mom

 

 

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Although we generally focus on posts that give the reader a message of hope,
this emotional reality-check is a “must read” shared with permission from
an anonymous Mom. 

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If you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t understand addictions because of
first hand experience, I hope you never do. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. But please don’t judge or talk down to someone who does.

It’s not so easy to understand why, if you’re not in that place.

Don’t say you hope “they all overdose and die” –because you don’t understand what it’s like to fight a war with your mind and body.

You don’t know what it’s like to lose sleep because you don’t know where someone you love is, and whether you’ll get that call they lost their battle.

“If you’re one of the lucky ones
who doesn’t understand addictions
because of first-hand experience,
I hope you never do.
Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
But please don’t judge or talk down to someone who does.”

You don’t know what it’s like to witness a mother throw herself over a casket screaming and holding on for dear life because her only baby boy did one too many pills a week before.

You don’t know what it’s like to see a little girl run down the aisle of a funeral home screaming “My daddy, my daddy.”

You don’t know what it’s like to see the look on the father’s face when the doctors tell him “We’re sorry, we did all we could. She’s gone.”

You don’t know what it’s like to have nightmares about never being able to hear your brother’s laugh again.

You don’t know what it’s like to sit and wonder what you could have done, or what you can do to save them.

And i hope you never do.

But for those of us who understand, don’t down us or the people we love.

Don’t wish death upon them. Because someone out there is fighting so hard to find a way to keep them alive, and you just wouldn’t be able to understand that. And anyone who does, prays you never do.

~ An anonymous Mom

Love the Addict, Not the Addiction.

 

Read More Recovery Thoughts:
> #100: “I’m Left-Handed. I’m Also Alcoholic.”
> #101: “AA Just Doesn’t Work for Me.”
> #102: “It’s Okay To Not Be Okay.”
> #103: “I don’t see a man. I see my child.”
> #104: “They tried to make me go to rehab…”
> #105: “Love the Addict, Not the Addiction.”

ASK JOE:
> Do you have to stop seeing all your old friends to recover?
> Is a relapse—failure?
>Should my husband “back off?”
> If someone can stop using drugs or alcohol for weeks at a time, they “aren’t an addict—correct?
>Chronic Pain Management & Pain Pill Addiction: What to do?
>How can I know if my addicted friend or loved one is telling the truth?
>How can I tell if someone is an addict/alcoholic or just a heavy user?
>What is Methadone? What is Harm Reduction?

“Q & A with Joe” is excerpted from
Part 5 of the updated edition:

“Why Don’t They Just Quit?
Hope for families struggling with addiction.”
(click title above to buy)

 

RESOURCES:
> Recommended Books and DVDs for families of substance abusers and addicts
> Low cost, No cost Alcohol and Drug Treatment Directory
> Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Recovery Resources for Friends, Families and Employers

If you found this Recovery Thought helpful:
please see our other posts (above) and consider reading:
“Why Don’t they Just Quit? Hope for families struggling with addiction.”

Available at:
> Paperback
> Audio Book CD (Listen to the book)
> Kindle
> Audible Audio Download (LISTEN TO 4 MIN. SAMPLE NOW)

Got an addiction problem in your family? Read this book. Joe knows his stuff. This book helps you better understand those dealing with friends and family that are addicted to drugs and alcohol. I have read several of these books but this one is the best. ~RJ

I, like many people, have some knowledge of what drugs and addiction are, but are clueless on what the process of recovery entails. This book does a great job in what it would take to help a loved one, who is an addict and is willing to get clean and stay clean. It also gives one hope that your loved one will survive the nightmare they are living through with their family. ~CG

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