When I first got high at fifteen, it didn’t occur to me I was self-medicating. All I knew then is that when I drank or used drugs, the pain and turmoil inside me lessened. Long before using, I chose unhealthy roles to cope with my emotions. My first role was the Invisible One. I was
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Addiction is a disease, that if left untreated, can have fatal results. Yet many families still buy into the shame and stigma, fighting their life and death battles alone, in secrecy, behind closed doors. One worried mother recently broke her silence and reached out to me. This mother had never talked to anyone before and
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It’s 3 a.m. and your son has not come home – again. You want to cry, or wail, or pound on the walls until your fists turn bloody. But you know that won’t change anything. Tears well in your eyes, as your husband sleeps beside you. For one crazy moment, you want to reach over
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Addiction comes in every shape, sex, color, and size. It affects every economic class and neighborhood and touches one in seven families across North America. We tend to believe addiction is about drug and alcohol abuse, and it is, to an extent. But drugs and alcohol are only a small part of the problem. The
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The Real Reasons You’re Not Getting Clean And Sober. People think they know you, but they don’t. Truthfully, you barely recognize yourself. Lately, you can’t even look in the mirror. You try not to think about it, but deep down, you know… your addiction is taking a massive toll on you and your family. Money,
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Survival In Families With Addiction. When a family member struggles with addiction, everyone in the family feels it. Living with a substance abuser is intense, scary, painful, and chaotic. To minimize chaos balance is sought within the family system through a mode of dynamics and survival. Family dynamics are the patterns of relating, or interactions,
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Recovering from addiction is both challenging and rewarding. To change one’s life, you must first admit there’s a problem. However, addiction is complicated and denial plays a vital role in this illness. Substance abusers minimize the severity of their problems, and recovery means more than just remaining abstinent. Abusing drugs and alcohol is only 15
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Nicole says her older brother Jim has become a stranger to her. She and Jim were close as children, but all that changed when Jim entered the eighth grade and started smoking marijuana and then moved on to harder drugs. Nicole went on to graduate high school and university, while Jim dropped out of school
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Life doesn’t always go as planned. You stumble, you fall, and for the most part, you pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes. Every experience we go through is meant to teach us something. But what happens when instead of learning from our mistakes, we keep repeating them? For people struggling with substance use
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No more would she live for othersShe stopped putting herself lastShe stopped settling for crumbsShe stopped asking whyIn front of the mirror, she finally understoodIt was time for her to lead the way Who’s Protecting You–From You? It’s not news that addicted persons are dying in their quest to get high. Nor is it surprising
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Addiction is an ugly disease that appears unseeing, unhearing, uncaring and unloving. You’ve probably talked to your loved one about getting clean/sober until you’re blue in the face. But you can’t seem to break through their enormous wall of denial. You’ve racked your brain trying to come up with the right words. You‘ve rehearsed it
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The first time I saw Dave he was black and blue and sporting a broken jaw. The night before Dave had been jumped by the goon squad but he didn’t let that stop him. That day I was on the opening shift. I unlocked the bar doors and there he was! The man of my
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If you’ve never struggled with addiction, you’re lucky. You’ll never know the hopelessness of being addicted, or of wanting to stop and not being able too. Imagine something so powerful that it uses you. It’s like that for those of us who are susceptible to a substance use disorder. We voluntarily take our first drink
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With addiction in the family, the line between helping and enabling is blurry. You might think you’re helping when you do for your addicted loved one, what they could and should, be doing for themselves. But what you’re really helping is the addiction taking over your loved one. Imagine addiction as a monster that’s hijacked
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Grieving The Loss Of Someone Who Still Lives When you love someone who struggles with addiction, an internal battle plays out. On the one hand, you’re grateful they’re alive. On the other, you’re mad as hell at them. Somewhere in the middle, you’re sick and exhausted, and you don’t know what to do. It’s different
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Before you judge, take a walk in their shoes… A Day In The Life Of An Addicts’ Mom The shrill ringing of the phone had me bolting up in bed. As I reach to answer, I remind myself to breathe. I handle the receiver as if it’s a deadly viper. I loathe it. The phone
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When helping turns deadly… Signs And Symptoms Of Enabling Behaviors. Addiction is an insidious illness that compromises every aspect of life. It also negatively impacts the lives of family members. Addiction changes the way people think, feel and behave. These changes can most often be seen through unhealthy behavior patterns such as isolating, disconnecting from
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Dear Mom, I know you’re tired. Your child’s addiction is tearig you apart. You avoid people who ask too many questions because honestly, you don’t have any answers. How does one explain what it’s like to watch their precious child struggle with addiction? You’ve kissed their face a thousand times. You’ve watched them sleep and
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In the last decade, we’ve come a long way towards understanding addiction. Once thought of as an immoral issue associated with weak-willed persons, now most people view addiction as a disease that’s progressive in nature, delusional in thinking, and maladaptive in behavior.Addicted persons are our parents, siblings, spouses, friends, doctors, lawyers, firefighters, pilots, teachers, servers,
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Addiction is finally getting the attention it deserves as a legitimate medical issue and not simply a “problem” associated with “weak willpower.” Today, medical professionals, scientists, and addiction specialists have a much better understanding of how addiction changes the structure and function of the brain. While the decision to quit is ultimately up to
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Does it hurt to be real?’ asked the Rabbit. ‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘But when you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’ ‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ asked Rabbit, ‘or bit by bit?’ ‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse.
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Dear Drugs, I Hate You. You destroyed my life, took away children and left me homeless. Every time you entered my body I risked death. I hated living with you and I couldn’t live without you. I got caught in a trap of my own making. Looking back it’s clear, yet at the time I
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If you’re struggling with addiction, and promised to seek help, later – after the holidays are over, later is here. It’s time to pay up. Making good on your promise is always scary. I felt overwhelmed walking through the front doors of rehab. I was dope sick, homeless, and owed everyone money and yet I
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If this is your first Christmas clean/sober, you can expect to feel overwhelmed, sad and a little envious of your friends who can still use. It seems like the whole world is gearing up to party. You might fall into the ‘poor me’ trap that says your days of fun are over. As your old
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We often assume that money is the biggest barrier to getting help for drug and alcohol addiction—and it is a significant factor for some people, especially those without insurance. Yet, celebrities like Courtney Love and Charlie Sheen prove that money is only part of the equation. Both are financially well off, yet they’ve struggled with
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