Life with an Addict

Addiction, unfortunately many of us are to familiar with the term. Addiction comes along and ruins our families, destroys our homes and like a thief in the night robs us of a functional existence that we may have had prior to its arrival.

Having a love one that is struggling with addiction is a difficult relationship indeed. For the addict themselves never understand nor try to comprehend the devastating toll that his/her behavior is affecting those around them. Speaking from personal experience, once a love one engages in mind altering substances in a desperate attempt to quiet their demons or escape their past, their lives now become your burden. Their neurotic state of mind, along with their crash and burn life style weakens the love one to their core. Which is harder to cope with? The fact that your love one is now living a life that has commingled with yours despite your disapproval, or the realization that he/she as you've known them is no long with in view. You no longer recognize this person, their frame of mind their outer appearance, every thing you've known this person to be is gone. You constantly hold on to your relationship with them no matter how heart broken or distort your soul has become, you believe that one day the power of your love along with your constant devotion will prove to be stronger than that of addiction. But what happens to you in the mean time. I tell you what happens, you stop living your life. You are now so consumed with this love one and your hopes of their sobriety that you now become the one in which your love ones can no longer recognize. Every overwhelming negative feeling that this parasite (addiction) has brought to you is now showing evident in your life.

STOP IT!!!
Don't take on others burdens as your own. Yes you love this person, yes you want to see them as you've once known them, yes there is some guilt that comes along with tough love. But you must live your life and stop allowing this other person (addict) to snatch you of your essence. Direct your love one towards the help that they so desperately need. Once you have done so, step back. Step back and allow that person to deal with their own destruction, allow them to make the choice of sobriety or loneliness because you will no long be there to witness their self inflected mental and emotional deterioration. Its not easy but extremely necessary . I am not a professional of any sort, but it doesn't always take a professional to understand how to terminate an unhealthy and dysfunctional existence. If you are not able to make steps towards rebuilding yourself after living with hurricane addiction. Here are some resources that may help
THE CANYON
THE COLEMAN INSTITUTE
CHOOSE HELP