Addiction Sadness
Alcoholism is a disease this is a known fact. But a disease of the brain, the body or the spirit of someone? Addiction in any form can be horrible for the person suffering and needing help, for the friends and family enduring the effects, consequences and grief of this disease. My first roommate out of high school, Randy, passed from this life after many long years of an addiction to alcohol. He was astranged from his family and friends the last 15 years of his life. He stayed with my family for about a month about 15 years ago and was trying to get sober. When he left he had a job and a place to live in Van Nuys, we helped move him in. The last we heard he was going to go to Korea to teach English as a second language, we never know if he did or not we lost touch. Just two weeks ago we got a call from him ex-wife that he was living in a hotel on skid row in LA and the management checked in on him and found him in such distress the paramedics were called he was taken to USC and passed away the next day.
Randy taught me never to be in denial about someone else's addiction. I always tried to help him to live a sober life and I spoke up to his family about his problem. But people either denied his problem or enabled his problem. Randy's passing is not the best end to any addiction story but it is the end to so many like him.
In the middle of all of this sits Dustin. Last week his mom called him just to touch base, he wanted only money, the rest of his SSI, $50.00, he came by and got it when we were not at home. Last night Letty called his place of residence and they said they had not seen him for a week. We checked the hospital, and finally on line to discover he had been arrested three times in the space of two weeks. He is in jail now. Without knowing the circumstances of why he was arrested let's just say that now we know he is "safe", but what he's looking at for a consequence we do not know.
So what is it with addiction as a disease? Is it physical? Is it emotional? Is it spiritual? A combination of these? In Randy's case it was all three, he came in this world from alcoholics, had a propensity for wanting to drink and developed a physical and emotional need for drink. He let drink become his everything forsaking his loved ones, this is the spritual part I refer too. When the addiction becomes your comfort and higher power.
Maybe you think differently, please post your comments and share your thoughts.
wayne
posted by Wayne Baldaro @ 10:13 AM
3 Comments:
Hi, Wayne & Letty,
It's Michelle from Regina.
Addiction is a sin and a sickness.
Sickness is the disease part, only in that everyone who is addicted goes through pretty much the same downward spiral with similar physical responses.
Sin is the part that distinguishes the "social" drinker from the "drunkard." That is, the one living in the filth of his addiction, not actively seeking a way out.
One cannot come out of addiction strictly on the disease model. But those with dual diagnosis, that is, mental illness AND addiction, cannot escape the power of the pull of their drug of choice, until they are on doctor prescribed meds.
They are self-medicating, they are irrational, and their mental disability renders them fairly incapable of quitting.
Don't get me wrong, here. I still believe they are responsible for all their actions while self-medicating with drugs or alcohol. However, it does explain some of the cycle one becomes trapped in.
This is my first visit to your blog and only the second post I've read. I'm looking forward to perusing more of your blog.
Wayne, I found this blog and your post about Randy. So sad. The last time I saw him was in Goleta in 1977. So sad. So very sad.
I saw you once, sometime in the mid 1980s at the Shell gas station at the corner of Verdugo and Broadway in Glendale.
I am glad I found this blog and I am glad to see that you are well. My email is rumberalisa@gmail.com if you would like to catch up. Lisa Hastings
Some are sicker than others. Some of us need a Savior.
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15,16
I may not ever have much in common with the biblical writer, Paul – but I know we have his “trustworthy saying” in common. I found freedom by admitting I am sicker than others and that I need a Savior. I thank God that I found grace even though I was so far gone that I didn’t dare seek it.
My name is LaViva. I am a believer in Jesus Christ that struggles with alcoholism and depression.
After living my sickest, drunken dreams and barely surviving the nightmare of full-blown alcoholism and a life of debauchery, I poured my last 40-ounce down the drain. That was nine years ago by the grace of God. I found a solution to my spiritual, mental and physical malady in the 12 steps. I found a loving and forgiving God through the acceptance and care of people in the rooms.
God has done amazing things since I gave myself over to His care. Today I have a loving husband and a wonderful daughter. I have a job that gives me the opportunity to be of service to others everyday. And God is bringing me to the next level of my recovery: I am coordinating a new recovery program at my church called Celebrate Recovery. In this program we address our hurts, habits and hang ups through a Christ-centered 12 step program.
I personally invite anyone even slightly interested to an orientation on October 13, 2007 at Burbank Seventh-day Adventist Church at 710 S. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502. I can be reached through outreach@burbanksda.com or 818.848.7051. You can learn more about this program at burbankcr.blogspot.com.
May God bless you, especially if you have a feeling you might be “sicker than others”, like me.
Post a Comment
<< Home