I feel very lucky for a variety of reasons.
I did not experience many of the negatives that can come with living with an addict (no jail, no financial insecurity etc).
I no longer live with a person in active addiction.
I continue to attend Al-Anon. It is for a couple of reasons.
-I have a lot of people in my life who struggle either with addiction or codependency
-It helps me to reduce anxiety (which for me usually means I have some fear about something)
-This is for me only (I don't want to make assumptions) but I feel that I attracted a person in my life with addictions for the lessons I needed to learn. I am terrified that if I don't work these lessons through I will continue to repeat my old behavior until I learn the lessons I need. For me to have healthy relationships I need to look at my part in the relationships
Oh yeah I can relate to the why do I need Al-Anon question. I was pretty angry for awhile at the program. At times I feel guilty too (because I have it pretty easy for the program). Then I realized I was comparing myself again and that always gets me into trouble.
Take care of yourself. I know lots of people (myself included) who did more listening and crying in the beginning.