Listen Linda

Addiction/Alcoholism is a vicious cycle. Some would argue that it’s hereditary. Or that when you’re raised in an environment where addiction, instability, and disfunction is all that is shown. You grow up thinking that is how life is. And once you’re shown a different way of life, it flips life upside down.  And sometimes it’s hard to deal with. And if someone hasn’t been there, living in addiction, disfunction, and instability…no they wouldn’t understand. But why would they?

Addiction/Alcoholism is a relentless, consuming force. It’s the monster under the bed, a shadow that often lingers in the quiet moments or corners in someone’s mind and life. And it’s so much more than just a ‘bad habit’. It’s a tangled web of emotional, psychological, and sometimes genetic factors that pull a person deeper into its unforgiving grasp. And for those who grow up surrounded by addiction, dysfunction, and instability. It can feel like the very fabric of their reality tethered together in chaos and pain.

And all the noise of the arguments, uncertainty, and survival—convinces themselves that life couldn’t be any different.

Once a life is shown that it can offer stability, compassion, or even a glimpse of hope, it can be overwhelming for starters. It’s like a foreign land, and foreign language that one doesn’t understand. And the rules are unknown. To make light of a better life might feel unreachable. And when triggers of their past life tug them back. As if to whisper that they don’t belong there. And once again, change, even for the better, is often unknown, uncomfortable, and frightening.

Someone who has never struggled with addiction or alcoholism. And have never walked a path of just that and instability, understanding this battle may seem impossible. And naturally, why would they? Without living through cycles of longing and loss, deep scares of trauma, or the even heavier chains of dependency, it’s hard to grasp the layers of pain, guilt, and complexity. It’s like trying to imagine the depth of the ocean, while you are standing on the shore.

What emerges from this struggle is a painful truth: breaking free from the chains of addiction/ alcoholism requires more than just willpower; it’s unlearning patterns, healing deep wounds, and rebuilding one’s entire life’s perception of oneself and life. It’s a journey that requires empathy and patience from others, even when they cannot fully understand the depth of what it means to live with—and fight against—addiction and/or alcoholism.