The Problem with One Beer and Controlling Behaviors - Blogophilia 37.5

"Life is a system of half-truths and lies, opportunistic, convenient evasion." 

I'm just going to have this one beer..... 

He doesn't have a problem - he only takes pills occasionally for his headaches....

My problem was with methamphetamine; I can drink a beer and be okay.

I don't have a problem with addiction. He just won't listen to me when I tell him what to do...

There's nothing wrong with smoking marijuana. I only do it when I need to de-stress.

You can only be addicted to drugs, not people.

I don't have an addiction problem, because I don't use needles.

If he would just change his ways and stop using drugs, I would be happy.

Alcohol is legal, so I don't have to stop drinking. 

Addiction

It's wrapped around your heart, your mind, your body, and soul.

It hurts loved ones physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

It has no conscience. 

It does not know between right and wrong. 

It cannot love. 

It is selfish, demanding, and controlling.

It is the uncle who has to have a drink before and after work.

It is the mother who calls her daughter every morning to wake her up for work because she is too hung over to hear the alarm clock. 

It is the wife who demands her husband report every where he goes and who he talks to on a daily, if not hourly, basis. 

It is the abusive boyfriend who batters then blames in order to deflect his own inner turmoil onto someone else.

It is the child who is taking prescription pills to numb his emotions. 

It is the father who uses marijuana daily to calm his nerves, because this is all the coping skills he knows.

It is the single mother who uses methamphetamine to stay awake during her third shift job to support her family. 

Many of us think we have not been provided with an owner's manual to get through the tough times in life.

We stumble around, trying to grasp onto something that makes sense. 

We fall to our knees and reach for the easiest and quickest thing to make the pain stop. 

We unintentionally damage relationships with our friends, family, co-workers, employers, and most importantly, our children by intentionally taking that first pill, drink, hit, or line.

We only took that first pill, drink, hit, or line thinking it would help us get through the pain one night, and then things would be better.

We think we are only helping and doing the right thing by trying to control those who are chemically dependent and who may or may not have accepted that fact. 

We lie, or only tell a portion of the truth, with the mistaken belief we are protecting ourselves or someone else.

We think that just because we are physically present with our children, it means we are good parents.

In reality, our children are growing up without parents. 

A lie is a lie, and it hurts rather than protects. 

Chemical dependence is not the only form of addiction. 

There are other things that make sense and will help the pain stop. 

That first drink, pill, line, hit only leads to the next and ultimately worsens the pain through numbness.

We do have an owner's manual. There are other options.

Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable. 

Step 2 - We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Step 3 - We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 12step.org

Blogophilia week 37.5 - Wrapped Around Your Heart

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts):  Quote Langston Hughes or include a line from his poetry

(Easy, 1pt):  Mention an owner's manual