Dr. MacAfee, our beloved addiction therapist, wrote: Allowing addicts to stand accountable for their behavior and consequences is difficult for families in the beginning; staying close and out of the way is often reported as feeling “unnatural.” However, complaining, threatening, and hand wringing rarely succeeds. Staying close to the addict and out of the way of the insanity is encouraged. For families dealing with active addicts, I recommend offering them roads to recovery, not more money or bailouts. Watching a loved one who’s failing is terrifying, but enabling them to avoid the consequences of their actions only prolongs the sickness.
My reflection: Our family did a whole lot of ‘complaining, threatening, and hand wringing.’ As Dr. MacAfee mentions, these never worked with our son. It wasn’t until Jeff had to face the natural consequences of his addiction that he made a decision to change his life.
Today’s Promise to consider: I can’t force my addicted loved one into health, but I can allow him to face the repercussions of his addiction. For fourteen years I feared Jeff would die – the single most horrifying outcome for any parent – but in the end I could only offer roads to recovery, continue to love him, and pray for a better future.
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