For a person living with a family member or friend who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, life can be a living hell. Too often, people around you will say that the problem with addiction lies with the person who has the addiction and not with the family. Unfortunately, nothing can be further from the truth.
When a loved one is battling addiction of any kind, it is hard to ignore the destructive behavior associated with the addiction. After all, you are the person who has to watch the one you love get high or drunk and ruin their lives in ways they're not even aware of. Such is the nature of addiction.
It is easy for someone who's not living with someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol to just say ignore it, let them handle it, or just make them stop. If it were that easy, then no one would be addicted to anything. The truth is no one has the power to stop a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol except the addict himself.
Many times a family member will try to help; a friend will reach out to another friend who is battling addiction, only to be sucked in to a never-ending web of broken promises, disappointments, and lies.
Does that mean that if you have a person in your life who is addicted to drugs or alcohol that you are powerless? The answer is no. Not everything is out of your control. You can't stop the person who is drinking or using drugs. But you can control how you respond to them and how you cope with their addiction.
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