A few months ago, a member of my family made the very difficult decision to ask for help for an addiction problem. Needless to say, I was thrilled that this person had finally realized the need for help.
Fortunately, we were put in touch with a facility that offered state of the art care for our family member. I realize that rehab can be a so called "crap shoot" meaning that relapse is always a possibility and that all members of the family live with that every day.
However, I also discovered that the underlying cause for the addiction can often be more devastating and more difficult to deal with than the actual addiction. Depression is a terrible disease - mostly because it is a "hidden" illness. It does not show when you look at the person and, most of the time, they do not talk about it for fear of being judged.
Do not tell them to "put a smile on your face" or "just get a grip and get over it." It is not that simple. It is an illness that they live with day in and day out. They wake up with it in the morning and it is there when they close their eyes at night. It is a REAL illness - not an imagined one.
If you have a family member or even know of someone who is fighting an addiction, please, please pray for them. They need to know that someone cares.
Do not judge them because there - but for the grace of God - goes you.
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