darklachrymosa
Posts: 7
Joined: 12/16/2007 Status: offline
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I'll be 4 years clean from heroin in another month. April 22. That's the day. I have my own rocky history of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and suicide attempts, and I can promise you that absolutely and without a doubt she will choose her drug over you. I did. Humans are comfortable with what they know, and there was not one time when the alcohol or drugs failed to deliver for me. Hell, sometimes it was more than I expected. People, on the other hand, will let you down again and again. She knows this. She knows that there will be moments that you inadvertantly break promises, or say something that is unintentionally hurtful that will slam her back into whatever memories she's trying to forget. And that's why she'll choose the alcohol. When I went clean, my best friend in the world was a user. Actually, he was the one that had got me on smack in the first place. He was the other half of my soul, a relationship that almost transcended sexuality, my lost twin. You get the idea. I tried to hang in for awhile, because after all, he was my best friend and I am intensely loyal. Everytime I would make an effort to see him, he would score or use, right in front of me. Finally I had to cut it off - there's no way I would've stayed clean around that. I took him out for coffee, and I told him that I cared deeply for him, and always would, but I had to do this. His pupils were pinned, his thoughts distant. I cried for days. I saw him not long ago. I heard through the grapevine that he was in jail, and I went to see him. It was the first time I'd seen him in years. His eyes are broken and hopeless - domestic violence and possession - even while he laughed with me about old memories. I cried for days, wondering if it would've been different if I hadn't walked away. He's in jail, with a record that will prevent him from ever having a life, and I'm in my last semester completeing a B.S. in management. You can't help but wonder what if.... It might tear your heart in pieces, but the best thing you can do is walk away. Have the talk and explain why, and dont' buy the empty promises and jagged lies, which every substance abuser will have ready and waiting. They have to lie to themselves to exist, so you better believe they'll lie to you and tell you exactly what you want to hear. You can't make the decision for her to get better, to get help. Only she can. I told my friend that when he decided to go clean, he'd always be able to contact me. Leave that door open. Make sure she knows you love who she is without the alcohol propping her up. Understand that it's really fucking scary for an abuser to even imagine living without their drug, and if she decides to go clean, you'll be there and help her as much as you can, but she must take that first step...
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