Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion -On Addiction

Dear Friends,

       Do you have a friend or relative that quit smoking? Maybe you know someone who is a recovering alcoholic, Addict, or gambler? How happy are you for them? Are you proud of them? Addiction of any kind is a hard thing to deal with, not only for the one addicted but their family, friends, co workers, just about anyone involved in their lives. Addiction steals from everyone, it controls you, consumes you. There are functioning addicts, they hold jobs, have families, are members of the community, they may even quit for a while, sooner or later they lose control, can no longer conceal the demon as the need drives them deeper and deeper. Their moods begin to swing, their personalities change and not for the better. Their eating habits change, they may begin pulling away from friends and family, they often borrow money, come up short paying bills, arguing with loved ones over money, odd behavior, even things missing from the house. They will deny even the most obvious changes. You reach out to them; you want to help them but how? Doctors, councilors, at some point the law, sometimes there is help that works, too often not. They lose self respect, they become depressed, angry, withdrawn making any attempt to help all the more difficult. Understanding what they are going through is all too often an impossible task. The pain, the embarrassment, and the sadness suffered by those loved ones who try to help and become hurt and frustrated is harsh but nothing compared to the emotional agony that manifests when the addicted loved one becomes self destructive, drinking to the point of passing out, over dosing on prescription pills or street drugs, or a more direct attempt.

Yes, those who are able to come back from addiction deserve respect, they have experienced a side of life that needs to be understood, studied, and that knowledge used to help others recover and used to one day prevent others from becoming a victim of addiction. Imagine what would happen if the families, friends, hospitals, clinics, legal system all denied that these addictions and the atrocities that come with them ever existed. How can you make something better if you sweep it under the rug, deny that it ever happened? Education comes from experience and research, history, no longer repeating what doesn’t work. If we put up statues to honor our addicts would we tear them down? History is experience, learn from it! This is knowledge. Apply it and use it, knowledge put to work is wisdom.