Anyone who is in a relationship with a practicing addict knows that there can be unexpected pitfalls around any corner. As we start picking up the pieces of our own lives, it’s important to be gentle and patient with ourselves. … [Read more...] about Be Gentle with Yourself
Addiction in the family
Trust Your Inner Guidance
We all have what I like to call an “inner GPS” that tells us when we are on track and when we aren’t. We can know this by the way we feel inside. It’s important for us to listen to this inner voice so that we can build up both our self-trust and our self-respect. … [Read more...] about Trust Your Inner Guidance
Overdosing on the Job? Naloxone to the Rescue! Part Two
Enabling vs. Helping My simple definition of enabling is when we do for others what they can – and indeed should – be doing for themselves. In my view, what’s happening on some of these worksites is enabling at its worst. At a deeper level, addicts know exactly what they’re doing – they know they’re crippling their own lives and continually hurting the people who love them. Show me an addict who doesn’t know that they now risk dying every time they use because of the toxic supply, and I’ll show … [Read more...] about Overdosing on the Job? Naloxone to the Rescue! Part Two
An Addict’s Manipulations Will Stop When We No Longer Allow It to Happen
The only way that an addict (or anyone else) in your life can continue to use and manipulate you is with your permission. Many loved ones of addicts are terrified of having to deal with conflict – so they say “Yes” when they really want to say “No.” But when they learn how to deal with conflict assertively and effectively with healthy boundaries and consequences that mean something to the addict, they will no longer put themselves in a position to be manipulated. … [Read more...] about An Addict’s Manipulations Will Stop When We No Longer Allow It to Happen
How Can I Make My Son Go to Rehab?
D.H. Asks: My son has been using drugs, as well as stealing and lying to us, for a lot of years now. We’ve tried to help him in every way we can because we don’t want to see him on the street or in jail, but we are feeling really tired of all of it now. How do we make him go to rehab and change his life? Hi D.H., Unfortunately, there is no way to “make” another person do anything, no matter how hard we may try. That’s because: (a) We are powerless over other people and (b) We live on a … [Read more...] about How Can I Make My Son Go to Rehab?
