Addiction

I would look into support groups, they don't cost anything except time and it seems like there is a support group of some kind for any kind of addiction these days. They first have to have the mind set of wanting to change, to inprove their life and the way they live and do things. I would have an honest, sit down chat with a friend or loved one.

I am a recovering addict/alchoholic and there are some things you can do. The age old statement that "You can only help someone if they want help" is very slippery. While it is true that the person suffering the addiction, whether it be with alcohol, other drugs, food, sex, gambling, other self defeating behaviors, must truly want a better way to live, more often than not, the person engaging in the addiction is too sick to see that it can be different--that their life can be so much less painful. People who are healthy in body and soul don't normally turn to addictive behaviors--they are desparately trying to escape pain, stuff feelings, don't like who they see in themselves and use the "high" from their addiction to fit in, etc. Eventually the addictive part of their brain takes over and acting out in the addiction is necessary to feel o.k., it becomes the only way to face life. While this process is happening the body is severely damaged as is the brain and its normal functioning. So someone affected by this disease is not capable of making rational decisions, and loses sane judgement. When this happens things such as intervention by family and friends often is necessary, but should be only carried out by knowledgeable and trained people who deal with intervention. Hazelden.org is a great place to find resources.

I apologize if I tended to go off on a tangent there, it's just that I have lived through this by watching it growing up and surviving it myself.

At the very least, AA is a truly wonderful program in my opinion. If alcohol is not the drug of choice, there are NA (narcotics), GA (gambling) OA (overeating) SA (sexual addictions) and the list goes on and on. AA resources and meetings are available online and there is usually always an AA listing in a local phone book. Anyone involved in any 12 step program such as AA would be happy to direct you to the area that pertains to you. \

I truly hope this helps.

I am a former addict and I know some things that you can do. first there are no magic fixes and they do really need to want this for themselves. you can help them see this by doing an intervention of sorts. you can also actively help yourself by getting into al-anon which is for people dealing with the addict or alchoholic. if you can get others to support your efforts then all the better. there are places to go for starts that help people that don't have insurance. call your local social service offices or the local law enforcement for their imput as well. i just read peggysue's post and she is totally correct in what she's saying.

Good advise from Charlie,peggysue and Tammy Lynn and always worth repeating, AA, Al-anon, NA and on and on . We are very fortunate to have all these groups that are free and work when you work them. That is the problem for most of us and I speak for myself when I say I never wanted to admit to being 'one of them'. Twenty-five years later and I have a better life than I would of had if I kept drinking.

Peggysue hit it on the head, the person must want to stop really. Not just want to want to stop. Two totally different things. Still blows my mind when I think of the first time my councilor made that statement to me.

We can have the want and thats where it stops,just wanting.

Changing people ,places and things are very important and extremely hard.

It is work and the people who have been able to do this are rewarded by something higher then ourselves that may take years to realize.

May your efforts be rewarded also.

fittyspent said something else that is very true and that is you have to also be ready to walk away from EVERYBODY that was a part of that type of life that you are ready to get out of. What took me longer to get on the right path was admitting that even my spouse was someone that I had to admit was not going to benifit a positive outcome. I was introduced to meth and after one time I became hooked. I tried to quit and told myself that maybe after I got clean then my husband would follow thru un support. He didn't and I had a slip up and that's when I knew that the only way to get out of that hell was to walk away from even him. The ending to this story is that after I left him, he ended up getting busted 4 months later and is serving 7 yrs. in prison for a felony. I thank GOD for mmy life and all he has blessed me with and I know that I'm one of the lucky ones.

based on my experience -- I too don't have "one ounce of addictive personality." But (it takes one to know one) you don't need an ounce to be a massive co-dependent or enabler. So if it's someone close to you, and their addiction is affecting your life, I would recommend Al-Anon or another support group for the loved ones of addicts.

Good for you, Tammy Lynn

Follow your gut.....