In the sporting world in Tampa Bay, the subject of Substance Abuse has risen to above a mere curiosity. One of our sports heroes is now being speculated as having a substance issue of some kind, and most people simply do not understand how.
Or Why.
How can you give up a career so promising to get high? The answer is…complicated.
THere are several stages to an abuse problem, such as most people have always heard Denial is the first stage. It's not always, but it explains the concept, that there are stages a person goes through as they sink further and further.
But how can someone not see their career is sinking into the tubes? Because once a person really starts to get into several stages into his/her addiction, the drug becomes more important than anything else. The drug becomes your love, and as human beings, we seldom can love more than one thing. So nothing else matters, the only thing you care about is your drug, getting more of it, maintaining a supply of it, eventually, its the only thing on your mind.
It's almost impossible to determine who is an addict, and what stage someone is in, because unlike on TV, an addict is usually able to hide his problem. Especially with today's drugs of choice, narcotic pain killers have taken over the realm from Pot or Booze as they were in the old days when you were probably in high school. Check the headlines, its an epidemic, especially here in Florida where Pill Mill factories have established themselves in alot of the northern most counties in the state.
This is not to speculate what drug anyone is involved in, but people should understand that an addict does not think like you or I do, not once they are deep into their new love. An addict with take from their family and friends, and their lives will slowly spiral out of control as their drug becomes more and more powerful in their lives.
No one is immune from this, drug addiction does not play favorites or exclude anyone based on their race, or sex, or education. If you think your too smart to ever get hooked, as yourself if your REALLY smarter than Rush Limbaugh. If you think you have great will power, as yourself if you REALLY have more will power than Brett Favre.
Their friends and family were clueless as to their issues back then, just as all families are when they find out the bad news. But its not the end of the world for either party.
There are places to go for help…even for family members. Al-anon and Narc-anon are two such places, that offer support to the family or friends of the addict, not the addicted themselves.
But before any kind of healing can happen, before anyone can get back to normal, and it is possible to get back to normal, you have to admit there is a problem. You cannot fix something that is not identified as a problem. And then there is the courage to find the solution.
I know… I speak from experience.
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