Originally Posted by
Elana 
In reading all of the responses to the original post I think the reason you don't walk is money. You really cannot see yourself getting second hand clothes for your kids at GoodWill and canceling their cell phones and not letting them have iPods, computers and all the rest. You cannot imagine not having a car and using public transportation and living in a cheap apartment in a not real nice part of town. You cannot see your kids going to a public school in that part of town. trust me on this. It ain't so much the school that teaches your kids as it is your insistance they learn.
I think you are really afraid to go to social Services and ask for assistance.. After all, how could you ever take a step down from the life you have with a lawyer's income, status and societal standing?
I really think that you are so afraid of living poor... and your kids living poor.. that you just won't move forward.
I agree with Elana. In most of your post it appears that the biggest fear that holds you back is the fear of going without some of the finer things in life. Honestly, are things and money really worth your sanity and well-being? Or the well-being of your children? I don't think so. In the big picture, it's all just STUFF. It doesn't mean sh*t, and it certainly isn't worth what you are having to go through. So what if you have to take that step down? I think you'd find it to be well worth it in the end.
I'm sorry if I seem harsh, but if its the money that keeps you there that is very sad. IMHOP. Eventually all that STUFF and $$$ will be gone anyways as your husband's addiction progresses. I also agree with the others... you are in denial just as much as he is. Nothing is going to make this all magically disappear for you and life isn't going to return to what you've become accustomed to and until you realize that you're going to stay stuck in the same spot. He IS an addict, he DOES know what he's doing, and he DOESN'T want to change. YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM, nor can anyone else.
My AH has been clean for three weeks now and he just told me something the other day that totally opened my eyes. He said the reason he didn't stop, the reason he always lied was because he didn't think I'd ever do a damn thing about it. He didn't believe I'd ever walk out the door so he had no intentions of changing because.. HE HAD THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! Pi**ed me off when he first said it, but then I realized my lack of action, my unwillingness to accept that he was in fact an addict, and the fact that I constantly allowed him to overstep my boundries had alot to do with that.