When The Weights Have Finally Been Lifted
The consequences and ramifications of living the life of an addict can be great. They can be so overwhelming that it often makes the prospect of getting clean even more daunting. It’s often the first thing that is on a person’s mind when the fog lifts. All the people that have been hurt and disappointed, the seemingly endless legal problems that often accompany an addict, the physical side effects from the damage that drug abuse has done to the body, and financial ruin are just a few of the things that can cause an addict to want to crawl back into a hole of despair rather than confront the mounting problems accumulated from addiction.
That’s what addiction and drugs do, though. They trick a person into thinking it’s easier to feel nothing as their life crumbles around them than do something about it. The term “vicious cycle” is used a lot when referring to addiction, and rightfully so. Addiction causes so many problems in life while also being the go-to coping mechanism for all of life’s problems that arise for an addict. The vicious cycle certainly applies in this regard, but it is another reason to take a step back and try to regain some perspective. Running away from problems, failing to confront them, only makes them worse as they continue to multiply. It’s exactly what is so defeating about addiction because if drugs are running the show nothing ever truly gets resolved.
On the flip side, one of the greatest and most fulfilling aspects of my job is getting to see how efficiently these problems can and do get solved when a person leaves addiction behind and begins to tackle these problems one step at a time. I’ve seen high school and college dropouts find their drive and ambition again, go back to school and do extremely well for themselves. I’ve seen people saddled with felonies and lengthy probation sentences do everything necessary to fast track their legal situations by hard work and dedication and find jobs and careers that they never thought they would have again. I have seen seemingly irreparable relationships heal and mend over time and be stronger than ever before. I have seen physical transformations that have gone from a body knocking on death’s door to looking like a beacon of health.
What I have witnessed, with numerous people who were once addicts, is the weight of the world that had been bearing down on their shoulders for so many years being lifted and transformed into a blissful peace, the type of feeling that is probably only possible through the satisfaction that comes from overcoming addiction and the problem’s that are no longer dragging them down. This does not happen overnight, it takes work and a dedication to confront whatever problems have been accumulated by addiction, leaving no stone unturned. Once the work has been done, once a person is living in a way that is far removed from the grips of addiction, and once true freedom has been achieved, the weights that once felt too heavy to bear will be no longer. If you or anyone you know is seeking help, please reach out.
