peace
Peace is elusive when we love someone struggling with addiction. Our energy pours into the loved one. We forget about ourselves. We may ignore the overwhelming and nearly constant anxiety in our lives. This ever present stress becomes ‘normal’.
Sometimes we wish for peace. We think the peace will come when our loved one becomes sober or changes.
This was my story and is all too common for those of us who love someone struggling with addiction.
I hit my bottom after years of living this chaos. One significant wake up call for me was my physical health. I couldn’t eat without feeling sick, hence my body became a sack of skin and bones.
My climb out of my bottom included getting help for me. I learned about addiction/alcoholism and I began the hard work of looking at my own part in my loved ones addiction.
I saw that my peace was dependent on their behaviors.
I sought to change that.
There wasn’t one action I took to uncover peace. Overall, it was both an inner and outer journey of self-awareness that required patience and time. Some of the following actions helped (and continue to help) me:
-Alanon support
-Learning about addiction/alcoholism
-A good therapist
-Journaling
-Being in nature
-Eating healty
-Drinking lots of water
We are each a work in process. Honor your process. Be gentle with yourself. And create a healthy support system.
Peace will come, whether your loved one is using or not.
With healing light and love,