Saturday, June 28, 2014

Seeing the Signs

A long suffering mother has lived with her son's addiction long enough to know when he's starting to backslide.

He's not working. He's arguing with his girlfriend about custody of their child. He doesn't have a sponsor and isn't going to meetings. He's depressed all the time. Even though he's been clean for a few years she's starting to have anxiety because she sees the signs.

When she writes to ask about what to do she tells me what she thinks he should do. And her suggestions are right on.

She thinks he should get into counseling. He should start going back to meetings and find a sponsor. He should take any kind of a job he can get, even if it's flipping burgers. He should become responsible.

She said finances no longer allow her to help. Yet he makes her feel guilty because he says he's hungry and broke.

I suggest that she forget the guilt because she’s doing what she can. I hope she can convince him to follow through on her suggestions of what he should do.