Addiction

Addiction is REAL and it is SCARY. It grabs people quick and NEVER lets them go. People watch documentaries about how all these people are evil low lives that will put you at gun point for money. They have the most extreme perception of what an addict is and 9 times out of 10 it is nothing like that. Until you experience addiction yourself or have someone close to you, you will NEVER fully UNDERSTAND. Addiction can get ANYONE. The girl in your class, the boy that goes to your church, it doesnt discriminate. Some addicts have the best hearts and are honestly doing the best they can with their lives. Some you would never even know were even using. Addiction is THE most frustrating topic to me because there is only a handful of people that will think it through. Most people write them off and never give them another chance. What if that was your son? Brother? Father? Daughter? Sister? Mother? I understand it is “their choice to start using” so “I dont feel bad that they are addicted”. But what kind of thought process is that? Why dont people stop to think, I wonder why they started using. I wonder what they were going through in their mind for them to think that escaping reality is the only option. Why don’t people care more about the person behind the drug, than the drug itself?

People think its easier not to care because then you wont be disappointed. I can understand that. Ive been there. Ive been there screaming in the face of an addict with tears running down my cheeks. Ive woken up in the middle of the night to an empty bed and a locked bathroom door. Ive found burnt spoons and syringes hiding in areas I never would have even thought to look.  Ive been there with blankets and ice water, and a puke bucket during withdraws. Ive been there in the court rooms and lawyers offices. Ive been there. And it does suck and it does drain you. It does feel IMPOSSIBLE at times. But you cannot give up. You may be the only person that gives a shit about them. Whats going to happen to them when you do give up? God only knows. You cannot change an addict. You cannot out smart an addict. You cannot force an addict. What you can do is be there. Provide guidance, do not enable. Do not condescend. Do not get frustrated. They will only try to change when they are ready. And when that time comes you take full advantage. These are people who are lost, hurt, and confused. People that, in their mind, have no hope for happiness, a future, or a change. Be that faith. Be that hope. Remind them everyday that they are better than what they are going through. Show them a different side of life. Plant the seed and water it everyday. It may take a week, a month, 5 years, 10 years but eventually it will grow and they will want better.

There is nothing harder than losing a person to these evil drugs. Nothing worse than waking up everyday and not being able to snap or text your friend. Not being able to hear their laugh or see their smile every day simply because they thought that this drug would feel better than how they were feeling at that certain time. There is nothing worse than wondering what you could have done to prevent this crisis. That this can be preventable. That she didnt have to die. She didnt have to use. But she did and this is where we are now.

So youre right an addict makes their own decisions. And yes sometimes their actions are awful and wrong. And yes you have the right to have your own opinion of them. I just wish more people would realize that these people need help. These people need others and they need hope. And we are able to give them that. We are able to show them a different way. And no, we cannot save them all but even if we save just one, that is one HUMAN BEING. that is one son, one Brother, one Father, one Daughter, one Sister, one Mother. That is making a difference. I just wish more people would think about these things more rather than simply writting them off. Addiction sucks and its sad and scary but it can be BEATEN. and you can help someone do just that.