An addict’s furious
because he didn't get his way.
"I'm a grown ass man and
I'm tired of people telling me what to do," he said.
Then someone in the group
pointed out that the reason he's in a halfway house recovery program is because
he can't manage his own life. In
essence, he pays TLC to tell him what to do.
And some of the time he doesn't like what he's told.
This is a common theme in our groups. Clients are with us
for three or four months and they start becoming resentful when managers tell
them how to behave. How to clean their
room. How to dress. How to seek employment. Sometimes, how to talk to another human
being. Sometimes, to just slow down.
After the pain subsides and
addicts get a little clean time under their belt they tend to forget how rough
it was out there. They forget what brought
them to TLC. They forget how demoralized
they were, how unmanageable their lives were.
We can always tell when
someone is growing in the program. When
they're given advice they welcome it.
They appreciate the idea that another human being cares about their
welfare enough to talk to them about how to live.
When we addicts get to that
point, and become teachable, then we have a chance.
