Breaking Addictions
Several years ago I ran into an old friend
with whom I had once used drugs. He, like my
wife Susan and I, had used drugs our entire
adult lives, beginning around the year 1972.
Susan and I had broken free in 1996; however,
my friend Randy was not so fortunate.
When I saw him he appeared to be at
death’s door. After a long embrace I looked into
his eyes, which were sunk way back into his
head. I watched tears welling up. He told me
how good I looked, and how proud he was that
I was clean and sober. I looked him squarely in
the eyes and said, “Randy, you don’t have to live
like this.” He looked back at me with a perplexed
look, cocked his head a little bit and said, “I
don’t?” No one had ever told him that before;
Randy knew no other way. But here’s good
news—no one has to live with an overpowering
addiction, including you.
For some people their lives are a lifelong
search for pain relief. Pain comes in many forms
(emotional and physical) and often for humans,
so does pain relief (addiction). Believe it or not,
an addiction is often a coping mechanism. The
coping mechanisms which people use to get