sunshinebluesky

i struggle all the time with the debate of addictions being a disease that cant be cured, or maybe even helped......to maybe it is just up to the person to take some responsibility early on and quit doing things that endanger themselves,other people,hurt themselves and other people.

one of my good friends was supposed to come here last sunday, while she was vacationing in myrtle beach,which is a couple hours away. her son is a heroin addict who grew up with my kids. he was brought up strict, he had everything a kid could want,cuz she worked her butt off for her family, and this happened. now, she is in constant stress. at a time when she should be enjoying her life, she is constantly faced with rehab after rehab, one financial crisis after another, constant worry every time he disappears, and constant fear of what is gonna happen to him.
so she went to m.b. but called me on sat nite to say she wouldnt make it here because she had not had much sleep the night before she left, because he was missing yet again, she was totally stressed by that and traffic from the airport to the hotel. i can tell she is just a mess.

i thought i had gone thru alot with my son. i remember praying and praying, crying and crying, and nothing was working. i even became an athesist for a short (very short!) period of time.

my neice sent me some family pics the other day. her mom,my sister has been an alcoholic for almost thirty years. we are not close because of it, though she does have a good heart.
this was the second time in the past few years, i saw a picture of my sister and cried..............she looks absolutely awful.

it is all just so sad.

Savana 54

Yes, this disease is so very sad... And to think I wasn't that educated about it a year ago; I wish I would have gone to Al-Anon or something back then, as I kept banging my head against that brick wall constantly.

I'm sorry about your family and friends.

(((((((((hugs))))))))

cloudy

((Sunshine)) I'm going up blank right now, but just wanted to give you that hug. All I guess I can say right now is reach out for any and all support you can...and when an opportunity comes remind your friend of that as well

FriendofBill

I always find it interesting how people have such a difficult time accepting the concept that addiction is a disease. Its in all the medical "books" that it is, yet we dont want to accept it.

I suppose its cus we dont understand how a medical condition is responsible for people acting out in emotional ways, rather than physiological ways.

Well, bi-polar, schistophrenia (Sp?) and depression are diseases that causes people to react emotionally, but they dont necessarily have physical syptoms. They dont bleed as a result of thier disease, yet they have a disease.

It seems we sometimes want to "blame" the alcoholic for thier behavior, as if they had power over the obession that drives them to behave compulsively. Though they are certainly to be held responsible for the actions they take, we must remember the disease has driven them to a form of insanity of which is cunning, baffling and powerful.

Get educated on the disease so you can find acceptance and even compassion, ESPECIALLY compassion.

Contempt prior to investigation is ignorance.

nocellphone

My guess is that every alcoholic/addict on the face of the planet wishes it were that simple. Unfortunately, for millions of people who suffer from addiction, it isn't. When you truly want to stop but the overwhelming cravings won't let you........... welcome to the disease.


Yes, it can be sometimes. Other times, hope peeks through.