How To Love An Addict

Therese Small

Description

How To Love An Addict provides practical advice for those who love an addict and want to break the destructive cycle of addiction in their own life.

How To Love An Addict is a story of understanding. The most painful lessons in life can be the greatest catalyst for change. Because we are human, we all hurt the same, and we must all heal the same. The day by day principles for healing in this book are timeless and have worked for thousands of years. When we understand the universal elements, the magnificence of nature, and our own essential nature, we can come to know balance and find our place in the world, even in the midst of chaos and heartache.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Développement personnel
• développement personnel
• Self-help
• Personal Growth

Informations

• Publié par: Balboa Press
• Date de parution: 14 février 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781452532028
• Langue: English

Extrait

HOW TO LOVE AN ADDICT
2 nd Edition
Originally published 2011
“How to Love an Addict”
Therese Small


Copyright © 2011 Santico, Inc.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
Balboa Press
A Division of Hay House
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.balboapress.com
844-682-1282
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
www.howtoloveanaddict.life
 
Unattributed quotations are by Therese Small
 
 
ISBN: 978-1-4525-3201-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4525-3203-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4525-3202-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011900875
 
Balboa Press rev. date: 07/11/2023
CONTENTS
Dedication
Prologue
 
Chapter 1:My Story
Chapter 2:Don’t ask why
Chapter 3:Change the relationship
Chapter 4:Step One: Understanding Who We Are
Chapter 5:Step Two: Creating a Routine
Chapter 6:Step Three: Eating Right
Chapter 7:Step Four: Exercising Right
Chapter 8:Step Five: Creating Harmony Within
Chapter 9:Step Six: Relief through Release
Chapter 10:Step Seven: Understanding Who We Really Are
Chapter 11:Conclusion
 
Dosha Quiz
Kapha :
Pitta :
Vata :
Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous
References
About the Author
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my son and all those who struggle with addiction. Whether you love someone who is addicted, or if you are addicted, the trauma is the same for us all because we are all human. You aren’t alone; there is hope, never lose hope.
PROLOGUE
A ddiction is complicated. This book is not intended to interfere with or replace programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 steps, or other programs. These programs play an important role in recovery, as do counseling, healthcare and properly prescribed medications.
Even addicts who are experiencing periods of sobriety may have cravings, whether it’s gambling, sex, eating disorders, hustling or a variety of other addictions not related to drugs or alcohol. These addicts can be just as volatile. Addiction triggers can still cause the peaks and valleys of euphoric and depressive states of mind that can have an effect on behavior.
If you feel your life or general well being are in danger, please seek physical safety, legal or mental health assistance. Sometimes addictive behavior can be unpredictable and dangerous, so assess your individual situation properly.
Everyone has a story and a unique experience. We can know someone else’s story if they choose to share it with us, but we can never understand someone else’s experience. Our lives and opinions are shaped by our experiences, and our experiences are created by our senses; they are as unique as our thumbprint. As we create better experiences in our lives, maybe our perceptions and opinions can change. This is my story and how changing the way I respond and creating new, better experiences in my life helped me heal.
Everyone is worthy of love, and everyone is worthy of respect. We are all just a work in progress, whether we’re an addict or someone who loves an addict. At the baseline of our humanity, we all want the same love, acceptance, respect and security. Sometimes when people are affected or afflicted, they just can’t accept any of these things at that moment. It doesn’t mean they don’t want them; it just means that they’ve changed the chemistry of their brain and body, and they aren’t in their “right” mind. Practice non-judgment and learn to look at human similarities, rather than our differences. I know how hard this can be; that’s been one of my most challenging experiences. But, one thing I have learned without question is that sorrow and trauma, and happiness for that matter, are the same for us all.
The Law Enforcement Officer experiences the same trauma as the felon. The Physician experiences the same trauma as the patient’s family. The person who loves an addict experiences the same trauma as the addict. Because we are all human, our emotions are the same and the process by which we heal those emotions is the same. The suggested healing principles in this book will work for everyone, but only if they apply them. It’s not enough to learn about something; you have to experience it and come to know that it is true.
I would like to recognize the exposure to addiction in my life as a gift and for teaching me so many lessons about acceptance and unconditional love. I respect the suffering of the addicted as part of the process, and I’ve come to respect my own, as well. There is a lesson in all suffering, crisis, and conflict, if only we become conscious of it, and once we’ve done that, well then everything can change.
The only way to love an addict is to love yourself first. The only way an addict can recover is to love themselves first. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what your story is; we are all the same when it comes to digesting our traumas and grief and starting the healing process. It’s always and only about love.
The principles I share here, I have experienced for myself. They transformed my life entirely. Now I teach others and help others shift their experience toward a more fulfilling, healthier, more spiritual existence. Each of the pragmatic steps has a dual purpose for creating real transformation physiologically and spiritually. There are literally thousands of qualified studies to support the conclusions of science regarding this information, and there are Physicians who teach it and apply it in their practices. With new technology, we are beginning to see that what used to be perceived as “belief” is now being paired with science. Technology can now be used to measure things like changes in energy transference, changes in human biology when someone is thinking about or practicing their faith, changes in the brain and biology when someone is meditating, changes in energy when someone is in the final stages of death. This is so fascinating and in and of itself provides hope! Where there was room for argument in the past regarding the effect of faith, prayer, meditation, and other mindful activities, the room is getting smaller leaving less room for argument! The effects are now measurable!
If you are like me and question everything, pubmed.gov or the Integrated Studies Health Archive & Research website (ISHAR) are good places to start to find some of these studies. This is not a research project; this is my story and this is a story of healing; it is a story of my experience. These healing principles are originally of Hindu origin and according to the Vedas. My own Native American culture has similar principles in honoring the Five Elements of the Universe, the Earth and the Four Cardinal Directions. Some well known Philosophers who have studied and written about these principles include Schopenhauer, Spinoza, Haggle, Decartes and Emerson. This is only skimming the surface of the depth and beauty of these principles, and I am only including here the pragmatic, immediate, day to day practices that can help you begin the healing process and help you find your faith; whatever that is and however that works for you. This is step by step instruction for how to find your higher power.
I wish these principles were mine and that I could take credit for their development, but I cannot. I simply know they work through application and experience. These principles are timeless and will work just as well for you as they have for thousands of others for more than 6,000 years. It is my hope that you will use the wisdom herein to enrich your life first, and then the lives of others. This is a consciousness-based approach to living that provides greater well-being, a sense of peace, awareness and joy, even under the worst of circumstances.
CHAPTER ONE:
My Story
I have witnessed and been affected by addiction in many areas of my life and have teetered on the edge myself. I had a very charmed childhood and when I was around 8 or 9 years old my parents took in a foster child. They had a few other foster children before, and a few after, because they were just good people like that. But this particular child was only 3 weeks old and had been taken from his biological parents. The child had been found alongside the road in an automobile full of people who were passed out drunk, and also high from huffing fumes; the child was also unconscious.
This beautiful baby boy had been born