By Dr. Dalal Akoury Dr. Dalal Akoury May 13, 2015

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Acknowledge When we go wrong

Have we been doing the right things when it comes to bringing up our children as we should? Why is it that today most young people are seriously hooked up in drugs? Time has come for us to choose engaging the right gear in controlling drug addiction and also to acknowledge when we go wrong in some of our actions especially as responsible parents. In the past few articles posted, we have been discussing some of the experiences, many people and especially parents have gone through. The seven lessons listed below are some of the insights we have discusses with the exception of the last two which we want to finish with in this last series of articles about the roles of parents in taming drug addiction. The problem of drug addiction is not new to us and certainly it is not going to be ending any time soon. However, we can pool together to help in reducing the impact of drug addiction from our societies and with the help of professionals from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center this will not be a problem. Now back to the topic of discussion, doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and also the founder of this health facility is one professional of great value more so when it come to her area of specialization. If your children or any of your loved ones are struggling with substance abuse, all is not lost, talking to doctor Akoury will be the starting point for your great recovery from this problem.

Parents are enablers
I cannot fix his
My addict is a liar
My addict is a criminal
Others don’t want them around
Life will not be the same
Homelessness may be the path he chooses

And now to conclude on the lessons and experienced gained from the parents who have been there and are now coming to terms with the addiction of their sons and daughters. We are going to discuss the last two as follows:

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Life will not be the same

This father of three is explaining to us that “at the age of five years old my son thought he was Michelangelo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Running around the house with an orange bandanna tied around his head brandishing plastic weapons fighting evil and the bad guys. When we look at our addicts we see that 5 year old and mourn the loss and try anything we can to get them back. My addict is now a 21-year-old man. He is every bit an adult with at times a child’s maturity. But our world recognizes chronological ages, not maturity levels. Parents must do that too. I believe Michelangelo is lost inside of him. Those that are lost sometimes find their way back, but some do not. I can grieve this loss but it will not help him or us to move forward. An addict does not live in the past or the future. An addict lives in the here and now, if you want to help your addict you must live in the same world he does.

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Homelessness May Be the Path He Chooses

Mom works in downtown Kansas City. When you drive down there you see homeless people with signs and some of them living under the bridges. They are dirty and hungry. They very likely are addicts, alcoholics or suffer from a mental illness. The one common denominator for all of these men and women living alone and homeless is that at some point in their life they had people that loved them. They are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends to someone. That doesn’t change their situation. They made choices that got them to this point. They can make other choices, and there are people and organizations to help them change. The key is, they must make the decisions. If our son makes the decision to live this way, it will hurt me terribly but he will do this until it is time for him to change, I cannot change him or those circumstances. It will not help him for me to give him a bed in my home if he continues to live the lifestyle.

Engaging the Right gear in Controlling Drug Addiction: Why is this Important?

We struggled mightily against these truths, fought with every ounce of strength. We lost our fight. We have accepted what we wished was not true. My learning is: until you understand the truth you cannot find peace within yourself or really be able to help your addict. Accepting the truth is what allows you to help your addict by helping yourself.

In all these seven points we have now discussed in these three articles, I have learnt my lessons and it must be understood that like a responsible parent, I do not hate my son for using drugs and putting all of us through this pain. For sure I can’t pretend that all is well because under these circumstances, all cannot be well and therefore the truth is that I hate the things he does. I hate the lying, the stealing and all those improper things he does. In spite of all these, I still love my son very much and it is only his ways that I hate. As a good parent if you were in my place, you would do the same and it is perfectly okay to separate the two. Finally the life of addiction is not just dangerous to the individual patients or addicts, but also to their loved ones. This even complicates the whole thing further and the sooner you take action the better. Remember that your health is best thing you can have and scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for a more professional treatment approach that will leave you healthy for a more productive life a head of you.