Addiction: Understanding an Addict

Addiction, it is a trickey subject.  Most people do not understand addiction and yet, so many people are addicts.  Well, I am here to clear up any questions you may have about addiction and what you could do about your addiction if you are an addict.

Let start with the most common form of addiction, drug addiction:
Who is a drug addict?  A drug addict simply is someone who cannot stop using drugs at any costs.  Cannot live free of drugs and cannot enjoy life without drugs.  Because the addict is constantly putting drugs into their body, they begin to numb their concious and do things like steal, rob, cheat.  Infact, a drug addict will do just about anything to get "the next one".  This becomes very painful for the person, their lives become shatterd and usually wind up in jail's, rehabs and unfortinitly death.  This is why drug addiction is such a problem, because it could kill you! It could lead to others being killed because a drug addict will do just about ANYTHING to get drugs. 

Society tends to look down on drug addicts but they shouldn't.  As humans would should all be willing to understand that they just have a problem.

Now I am not here to promote anything and I am not a spokes person for anything, but the easiest answer for the drug addict who is just about ready to die, is Narcotics Anonymous.  In that group they welcome everyone, help everyone that walks in and offer tools to make your life better, if you are a drug addict. 

For the family:  Many of you do not accept the fact that your husband, son, daughter, cousin, neice is a drug addict. How do I know this? because I work at a drug rehab and it takes a long time usually for the family to come to terms with this.  "Why can't they just stop?"  "Why can't they just be cured?"  Well the answer is very simple: because they are drug addicts.  They have a little switch in their head that tends to pull itself automatically and when that switch is pulled, the person is going to used.  The reason why I suggest Narcotics Anonymous to any drug addict is because the people in that program are just like you.  They offer tools so that you can manage that switch in your head and to make life more valuable and beautiful.

Why can't addiction ever be cured? Well addiction is a funny thing.  When a drug addict stops using drugs, first they go onto a pink cloud usually.  They feel that everything in life is perfect(because anything is better than using everyday) but they are still somewhat in a fantasy world.  This is not a completly bad place to be in because this means the addict is gaining confidence back, self esteem.  But eventually life is going to kick back in, things are going to start moving forward and this is why the addict must be prepared.  After months of abstinence from drugs the addiction begins to kick back in.  But it may not flick the drug switch, it may come at the addict in other ways.  Maybe the addict gets a job and becomes obsessed with money, or obsessed with porn, obsessed with hookers.  ANYTHING LITERALLY, the addiction will literally do ANYTHING to make the addict suffer.  You have to remember, the disease of addiction wants you dead.

Tips for family members:
If your addict family member has a little clean time and you both get in a fight, do not bring up past incidents when the addict was using.  The past is the past, its time to move forward.
You don't have to be overly protective or overly sweet to your addict family member.  I know it is hard to trust them again so it is ok to take everything they say with a grain of salt, but don't over due it, let them recover.
This one is ONLY a suggestion but suggest your addict family member to go to a self help program, preferbly Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. This is so that they get the tools to help them in their recovery.

I am in no way a spokes person for any self help group, for any drug rehab, these are just things that I've learned, I've seen them work, I understand how they work and I have compassion for every single drug addict and every single family member of that drug addict who walks the planet.  This advice is up to you to take and I hope you learned a thing or to.  Don't forget to smile.