My first exposure to huffing

A recent episode of the “Intervention” series on A&E highlighted a young woman who was addicted to huffing. Since we’re accustomed to seeing needles, powder and pipes or massive numbers of bottles on this program, it was strange to see her affinity for everyday aerosol cans.

Although her drug of choice was different than those I’m more familiar with, the resulting chaos in her life looked just the same. As her loved ones watched her life waste away before their eyes, they experienced the same pain as does the family of an alcoholic or meth addict.

They felt there wasn’t much time left, and they had to take action if she were going to stay alive. It’s the way most families feel when a loved one’s addiction to alcohol or illicit drugs has deepened and the addict’s life has become a train wreck.

It was truly a case of “life or death.” Thankfully, we saw this young woman move from a position that was seriously resistant to going into treatment, to a patient who was learning and growing, more committed to the next steps in her recovery.

It gives me hope when I see the transformation that can occur. I trust you’re encouraged by these programs too.

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'Life is kinda cool'

It’s been a few weeks since I saw an article in a California newspaper that I found inspiring.

A young woman is working hard to overcome her meth and heroin addiction and be a good mother to her two young daughters. Now a role model for other recovering women, she’s been clean for 16 months and is enjoying the little things in life—goofing off with her kids and clean, sober friends, drinking a soda at the movies.

What a great reminder when I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself. Despite all she’s had to overcome, she expressed it so well and so simply: “You take away the drugs, and life is kinda cool.”

Thanks for the inspiration, Mariah.

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http://www.theunion.com/article/20070901/NEWS/109010151

Wise words from a rocker

Rocker-star-idol, that is—not the kind you sit in on the front porch down south.

It’s National Drug & Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month. And I never thought I’d take seriously anything the founder of the rock band Motley Crue might say. But former heroin addict Nikki Sixx spoke recently on Capitol about addiction and recovery, and I was impressed.

Check it out for yourself. Do you agree with his comments about the family in recovery?

I liked his final words: “Close the door on destruction and celebrate recovery.” That's where my family is today and it's a good place to be.


http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/?s=nikki+sixx

http://www.recoverymonth.gov/

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Detachment, anyone?

Everyone knows that addiction to drugs or alcohol affects not only the addict but also the people in their lives. It strains, stresses and often breaks relationships with those who care for and love them deeply.

Spouses and other family members often find themselves in the midst of chaos, as if a storm were swirling around them. New problems surface, old issues read their ugly heads once again, and everyone assumes their places for act 3 (or 4, 5, or 6) of “Here We Go Again.”

But it’s so tiring to re-live the same scenes, over and over again. Alanon and other 12-step recovery programs teach that changing the patterns of a relationship starts by changing ourselves. Usually we are required to step back from the situation, untangle our emotions and take care of ourselves.

That may not be easy to do, and since change doesn’t happen overnight, it can start with small steps.

In her book Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People, Elizabeth B. Brown writes:

Detachment is releasing someone to be responsible for himself and to bear the responsibility of his own actions. Detachment gives us the objectivity necessary to look at our situation and glean from it the possible good, the lesson that can make the next steps in our walk more steady and focused, and move us toward our goal. Detachment is ceasing to worry and changing our focus, perhaps heroically, from the other person to what is good for us in our life.

Some days, I feel my efforts to detach have been fairly successful. Other days, I'm not so sure.

I wonder how other people have done it. How have you detached from your situation with the addict you care about? What helped? Was it something someone said, something you read, or something else?

Share it here. I would love to know how you’ve done it and how you are doing.