Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:45 am Post subject: Is it normal....
Hi everyone I'm not nor have I ever taken Meth. Of course we all have our 'crutch' but I've not been down the road of meth. I respect all of you here after reading most of the posts and I can appreciate the difficult and sometimes lonely road to recovery.
Anyways, the reason for my post is I have a freind that has been clean for about three years, yippie! The probem is I'm having a hard time with her past and I'm finding it difficult to accept that part of her life. She turned her life around and is very successful which I'm thankful for. The hardest part is knowing she had other people in her life that claimed to be her frineds but never gave her a solution to her addiction. It seems to me that her 'teenage' years we stolen from her, I'm pretty bitter about that!!
That's a good question. To answer, feeling bitter is only one reaction this terrible addiction brings about -- and anyone indirectly and directly affected by the drug will agree feeling bitter is completely understandable.
You need to know many things play a part in who we are today. Our experiences (especially the dark stuff), and how we process those details, play the greatest role of all. While some can afford to "blame" for lack of support or whatever (the list is actually endless), for the addict, blame (resentment etc) is poison - just as toxic as the familiar drug of choice.
An epiphany occurs through recovery - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. The clean addict comes to realize their recovery is no longer dependent on what people do or say... Recovery becomes a personal responsibility... In fact, recovery becomes an attitude (and a priority). No longer are we apart; rather, we become a part of a greater whole.
And so, that "glass half full" attitude paves way to forgiveness; perceptions change and we grow to become the person we were meant to be. If you think of your friend's experience this way, it's easier to appreciate that if anything had been different, anything at all, your friend would not be the same friend you know and love today.
Your friend is blessed indeed, with three years of clean living! Many die dreaming of this gift - don't waste an instant of your precious lives in bitterness. Life is way too short.
Thank you very much Helen, that really puts things into perspective for me. I guess what I need to do is concemtrate on her excellent progress. I'm very proud of her and where she has come from, she's doing fantastic.
I'm thinking about introducing her to this site just because I think she can help others to understand what she has done and where she came from. From all the posts in here I feel she is an excellent canidate to be able to share her experience.
There are many ways to participate in the solution. The CrystalMeth initiative incorporates a multi-leveled approach to education and advocacy. Feel free to contact crystalmethbc: http://crystalmethbc.com/modules.php?name=Contact_cm_bc to learn about ways you can be a part of this amazing initiative!