Is there anything I can do?
A little background...my AH drug of choice is crack/cocaine and he is "trying to quit on his own" for the umpteenth time. He has been to a few NA meetings over the many years he's been an addict, but never enough to shake a stick at, and certainly has never worked a program. He last used on Monday (maybe a rock or two), and decided to go at the quitting thing again. He was home all day yesterday and then when he went to pick up his girls from his ex's house yesterday evening for his visitation, sent me this text message:
"I am going to start going to meetings again. I am crawling out of my skin. I am having withdrawals and want to kill myself and I can't get the thought out of my mind. I need to talk to another addict, but I erased the numbers out of my phone. I don't know what to do. Please know that I love you. I have been fighting my addiction all day and I'm exhausted. I can't think, and I'm in real trouble. I think I have lost my mind. I am going to curl up in a ball when I get home."
I know there is really nothing I can do as far as getting him to quit, but what worries me is the statement about his wanting to kill himself. I really didn't know how to respond, so I just said "I love you". He was indeed curled up in a ball in the bed when I got home. I reminded him the phone numbers from the NA group are in pamphlet in his console in his car. Is there something else I should do or say? I'm at a loss. Should I be encouraging him to seek help from a doctor or pyschologist, or is this normal? He has mentioned killing himself several times in the last few months.