Welcome to "A Long Journey Ahead".
In this group, we hope to share our stories with one another, and to help others deal with the pain that they have experienced by having someone in their lives that at one time was an addict, or perhaps still is an addict. Most of us may have felt that we were all alone, and that no one could ever understand what we are going through. When the real truth is, we are not alone. Unfortunately there are many of us out there that know just how the other feels, because we have experienced it.
From my personal experience, I have learned that no matter what I was to say to my husband about his addiction to crack, my words were not going to stop him from using. I couldn't understand why he couldn't just say no, and avoid those places (because to me that would have been the easier choice to make). I had no idea how powerful this addiction really was. I could repeat myself over and over with him, but it did not matter. The only thing that could ever make him stop, was his realizing that he needed help, and his decision to get help for himself.
A crack addict can not see that his children may be at home with no food, they can not see that their bills are not being paid, and they will sacrific anything they have to fulfill their addiction. While they disappear for days, they are not thinking about their families or loved ones clearly--they are thinking about the drug that takes them from the real world--and they don't realize that it is only a short trip from reality, and by then, they have hurt their family and friends, they have depleted all ways to purchase crack, and they have gone into a financial ruien. Some of them may have even lost all their friends and family at this point, while others are lucky to still have their family and friends in their lives, willing to stick by their side and help them get through this bad time in their life. But, they have to want the help, they have to make that decision on their own, otherwise, we can't help them. This has been my experience in watching my husband do this not only to himself, but to his family as well.
As I told my husband several times, he may be the one putting the drugs into his body and hurting himself, but his doing so hurts his family too. I would get so mad at him and tell him over and over, "if you can see your kids need food, then why don't you start helping to support them, rather than continue to support the drug dealers family?"
It's a long process, recovery and healing, but we don't have to go through it alone.
Hightideatseasc
"Taking one day at a time, bringing us one day closer to Recovery"
Finding your inner peace.
