Support for Drug Addicts

One French-Fry Is Never Enough

The reasoning is simple
and easy to understand. One french-fry isn’t enough. We want more. After
all, that one french-fry was so good, so surely two has got to be
better. That’s how Steve, the associate pastor of our
church explained it, adding, “soon I eat the entire super-sized
serving.”

Steve’s, french-fry example was included in his sermon
“Going Against The Tide In Your Pleasures,” in which he offered several
illustrations of how we get into trouble by indulging in pleasure, only
to wind up becoming addicted to that pleasure to the point of doing
harm.

It’s simply human nature.

We take a drink and
enjoy the release we get, or as so many alcoholics have described, we
experience the “click” and so we want another. The reasoning is the same
with alcohol addiction. If I fell good after one drink, then surely
three or four will make me feel even better. That’s how alcohol
addiction gets its start.

Steve used another example to illustrate
his point. If you boil water and try to throw a live frog in is, it
will bounce out of the pot immediately. However, if you put the frog in
cold water, it will swim around. As you turn on the heat, the frog
doesn’t know it’s in trouble until it’s too late.

We drink to
receive the effect of the alcohol, not expecting to become addicted. As
we swim around our pot, we don’t know the alcohol addiction is coming,
and soon we are powerless over that addiction.

Potentially Addictive

So
many pleasures in life are potentially addictive—food, money, alcohol,
sex, fame, entertainment, social standing and even fitness. Something
that is good in moderation turns against us if we over indulge. We can
reason that out, but in the moment, when the urge to indulge in the
pleasure is upon us, it’s difficult to resist the temptation. That
becomes even more difficult once the alcohol addiction has taken hold.

It’s
far too simplistic to say “Don’t take a drink.” It’s like the guy who
goes to the doctor and tells him that it hurts when he raises his arm.
The doctor says, “Don’t raise your arm.” One may be in jeopardy of
becoming dependent for a variety of reasons, while another will never
become addicted. But if we are like the frog swimming in the pot, how
can we get out before the water boils?

One way is to learn from
others. If your father was an alcoholic, chances are good that you will
be predisposed to alcohol addiction. If you are in recovery, your
children need to know that they might be in danger of the same
experience unless they are told to avoid alcohol. It’s a red flag to be
careful.

There is no easy answer to the human condition, other
than perhaps just accepting the fact that we are human and we are
powerless over that. Alcoholics Anonymous says in the second step that
we “came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us
to sanity.”

When we go too far, we need outside help. If you can
see for yourself that the water is getting too warm, we encourage you
to call a treatment center and let them help you. If you see another in
trouble, pick up the phone and seek assistance for how you can best help
your friend or loved one.

We all know that moderation is wise. It just isn’t that simple. If it were, french-fries wouldn’t be so popular.

My brother is addicted!

By Gianna

(NY)

Me and my older brother just figured out last night that our little
brother (20) is and has been abusing Opana for some time. I’ve had a
feeling for a while he was doing something along these lines but could
never prove it.

We finally found out for sure after he took our
mother’s car and didn’t come home for a few days, i started asking
around if anyone had seen him or knew where he might be. Finally i came
across someone who I’m thankful told me the truth.

They told me he’s in deep, robbing people, scaring people with how messed up he gets, won’t stop until he’s out.

Earlier
in the year he had a seizure while he was driving, he wouldn’t tell
anyone what caused the seizure. Now i know it must of been the drugs
he’s on.

He’s not supposed to be driving and constantly does, I’m
so worried he’s going to OD or worse hurt someone else because he’s
driving and has another seizure.

What can I do to help him?

Helping a drug addict comes in many forms.

By Debbie Wicker

Helping a drug addict to quit is often the most challenging part of addiction recovery. You know that your brother is dangerous and is going to continue to harm himself and potentially harm others. But he won’t listen and continues to drive even though he is not safe to drive. You want to stop him but how do you do it?

My response is anyway possible… including calling the police when you know he is driving so that they can stop him. I know this seems harsh but he can’t use drugs in jail and once in jail you can encourage him to begin a AA 12 step program so that he can LEARN how to quit using and to help himself.

Many people call it “tough love”. Taking actions against him when he is harming himself and others may be the only way to reach him before it’s too late.