Drug Addiction Stories & Info

Little girls only understand the black and white.  Things like alcoholism and disease are foreign concepts to little children and I was no different.  On alternating weekends, my parents and their friends used to go over to each other’s homes.  One Saturday they would come to our house and the next, we would go to theirs.  My sister and I were the same ages as their two girls.  Oh, we had great fun almost every time.  We kids would play.  The women would talk (and drink) and the men would play cards and drink.

He was a good man, a family man…but he was an alcoholic.

My favorite times were when we were allowed to spend the night over there because the alternative was riding home with Dad driving.  It terrified me.  I would crouch down in the back seat and try not to look at the way he was driving.  Back in the 60’s, there was an advertisement billboard, which had what appeared to be the back end of a car sticking out of the sign.  We called it the “Car in the sign”.  My father, in jest, said “Oh, someone had too much to drink and missed that turn!”  That was all it took.  I was a child, of course I believed him.

Those memories are still so very vivid to me even years after my Father is gone.  He was a good man, a family man…but he was an alcoholic.  Even as a young girl, getting into a car when he had been drinking literally terrified me.  I’m sure that affected who I was and who I became in many ways.  The blessing was we never did get into an accident.  I can’t account for that because there was so many times that my Dad was blind drunk and could barely walk.

I can remember being all of 7 or 8 years old and having the courage to tell my Father; “Daddy, when you drive and have been drinking, I’m scared.”  My Father held me tight and said something I’ll never forget.  He said “I’m sorry, kiddo.  I’m being the only kind of Father I know how to be.”  The alcohol was so much a part of him, he could not distinguish the fact that his drinking scared me, he didn’t.  And so, it continued and I knew that on alternating weekends, my friends had to deal with their Dad driving drunk.  Then there were the camping trips…

My Mother and Father would get into horrendous arguments and we were just little girls.

I don’t like people to judge my parents simply by the fact that they were alcoholics because for the most part, they were great people.  I really didn’t realize my childhood was any different than anyone else’s until I got older.  My parents both worked, and worked hard.  They very rarely missed a day of work.  I can probably count on one hand the number of times they missed work.  On work days, the drinking started right after work.  On non-work days, the drinking started somewhere between 11AM and 2PM.  They had a lot of parties and people were over a lot.  We also went camping often and the beer and booze came right along with us.  There actually were some funny stories that came from the events that happened, but the good stories don’t outweigh the bad.

I can remember the most vivid memory I have is of hiding behind the bed or in the closet.  My Mother and Father would get into horrendous arguments and we were just little girls.  My sister and I would hide behind the bed or in the closet.  We weren’t really afraid that they would hurt us, but the whole ordeal was so very frightening.  It happened more and more often as time went by.  Even as teenagers we would retreat to our room and turn up the music to drown out the yelling.  By the time I was a teenager, my Mother’s frustration must have reached its peak.  There were times she pushed me down the stairs, threw food hot from the oven at me and other such things.

Alcohol does strange things to people.  I can remember being called stupid, crazy and a host of other things while I was growing up.  This no doubt had a result on what kind of parent I became.  Although I escaped the alcoholism, one of my daughter’s is an alcoholic.  I look at my grand children and I want to hold them close to prevent anything hurtful being said to them.  I want to protect them from having an alcoholic mother, but I cannot.  I can only watch and observe.  I know that so far, she does not seem to show the animosity toward her children that my Mother did.  I also hate to think that my little girl is going through that.  Hopefully I can stop her before alcohol ruins her life, her family, her future.

Alcoholism can be stopped without being a continuous struggle for the rest of the person’s life. The Narconon alcohol rehab and drug rehab program has been designed to accomplish just that: complete and unconditional end of the addiction. To learn more about how the Narconon drug rehab program works call 1-877-782-7409.

Similar drug addiction stories are unfortunately not uncommon in our current society:

Alcohol changes everything about a person. Their demeanor changes, their personality changes.

Having grown up with an alcoholic father and an alcoholic/pain killer addicted mother, I was lucky enough to have escaped the cycle myself.  I never did get addicted to any drugs or alcohol.  However, my story doesn’t end there.  My own daughter was not quite so lucky.  It has been hell watching this sweet little girl I raised become someone I don’t even know.  She is cold and unfeeling.  She is self centered and basically concerned about one thing; when she will get her next drink.  Our relationship came to a mind bending change when I confronted her about drinking while pregnant.

She moved out, took my grand kids with her and now I rarely see her.  Would I do things differently?  No.  As much as it hurts to not see my grand children and even my daughter, I knew I could not stand by and watch her destroy not only her life, but her unborn child’s.  The next thing I did was contact her doctor.  Even though she was giving the baby up for adoption, I hoped there was some way someone could intervene and save the little life growing inside of her.

Alcohol changes everything about a person.  Their demeanor changes, their personality changes.  Every relationship they have ever had is altered because of the alcohol.  What’s worse is alcohol addiction can lead to drug addictions as well as it did with my Mother.  Many alcoholics simply will not stop what they are doing.  There are times when intervention is necessary.  Everything about alcoholism is painful for everyone involved.  The alcoholic does not really want to live like they are and their loved one’s certainly don’t like seeing it happen.

To those who have loved ones who are drug addicts or alcoholics, it is important to stay positive but never deny they have a problem.  Don’t browbeat them with it, but don’t avoid mentioning it either.  The alcoholism should not be hidden any longer.  Get it out there in the open and remain upbeat about it because it can be overcome once the alcoholic decides to get help.  It is not an easy road, but it is one that many have traveled before and successfully beaten addiction and/or alcoholism.  The more alcoholism stays hidden, the worse it becomes.  Refuse to hide the truth and refuse to cover up for your alcoholic loved one.  They will not get the help they need if everyone keeps denying there is a problem.

For immediate help with someone battling alcoholics or drug addiction, please call a Narconon alcohol and drug addiction rehab consultant at 1-877-782-7409.