Addiction changes people for ever but recovery brings a new start
“I want my son back.”
It’s the understandable yearning of a broken-hearted mother who has seen her child slip into the trap of addiction.
To believe that is never going to happen is neither as hopeless nor as cruel as it sounds.
Addiction to drugs or alcohol or any behaviour that takes over a person is life changing. They are never going to be the same again. In the short term they will certainly be damaged by the experience, possibly physically, certainly emotionally and maybe psychiatrically too.
But “recovery” is, and should be, a positive word. It will never mean “going back to where you were” but it is about moving on and climbing to a level of higher function, better health and restored relationships. If you think about it, “going back to how things were” is not a very good idea – for in that former life and lifestyle were all the seeds of looming disaster.
People in recovery need to be stronger and wiser and, with all the support they need, better able to deal with and rise above the challenges than they were before their lives were destroyed by addiction.
So the programmes for recovery offered by organisations like Addictions UK do not promise to give you back the child or the spouse or the friend that you had before they became addicts. They offer a better hope and the potential for a safer future than that.
Maybe that anguished mother needs to be able to say “I want my son better”, with everything that means.
Please contact us now if you need help with recovery from any addiction and especially if you are seeking home-based treatment.
