sojourner

I appreciate the post on the 3-act play but how about this one?

What does the play look like when the characters are in their own recovery and the addict has to bump up against that?

And please let's not end the play with the main enabler saying something like "no I won't call the boss for you." that's really not the end of the play. What behaviors can we expect to see in the alcoholic on a chronic basis with the other characters continuing ongoing recovery? Now, i know in my own life what i'm seeing in AS on a chronic basis - I'm just wondering what behaviors others are seeing in their beloved addict.

Just wondering here....

cmc

Well, in the case of my son he had to 'bump up against' people who would no longer enable him which is exactly what you have requested that we not use as an end to the story. He had to face some consequences that nobody could rescue him from, even if they wanted to. After many years of trying to stay clean for various lengths of time, this time he was more serious and had more at risk.

In my case it was not the end of the story because my son did seek out recovery. He stopped the behaviors that went along with his former life, he was willing to do what it takes to be accountable for his behavior and to get his life back in order.

I will say that what my son decided to do to change his life had nothing to do with my recovery nor anyone else's in our family; he alone can take credit for his accomplishments.

sojourner

Thanks CMC - you could have had the last paragraph say that you and your family ended the enabling which had the direct consequence of your son looking for recovery. But you did not do that and I thank you. Because in reality, an addict never runs out of enabling people. In my experience with ex-husband and now with AS, they just found different enablers. An addict chooses recovery because of something internal....