substance abuse

What a substance abuser needs to do is slow down, take time to be alone, and do an honest study on their daily lives.

Every now and then, I enjoy sharing posts that other blog writers send to my blog www.albertasequeira.wordpress.com. Today, I'd like to send Carly Fierro's article.

Guest Post by Carly Fierro, who is a young freelance writer whose life has been touched by substance abuse. She is extremely interested in health and self-growth and writes about these issues whenever she can.

Excerpt from Someone Stop This Merry-Go-Round; An Alcoholic Family in Crisis


The attorneys continued to hurry in and out of the courtrooms. Many whispered in their clients’ ear while others stood with the client’s married partners. It was a battlefield. Who was going to get what? Who was going to be punished?

An Excerpt from Someone Stop This Merry-Go-Round; An Alcoholic Family in Crisis

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Getting On Tranquilizers

Richie’s drinking began to change his moods and personality. He started coming home wanting to fight and would follow me through the house saying things hoping to upset me. I knew he was looking for an argument when he did this. I wanted to scream at him, but because of my fear of scaring the girls, I kept quiet.

An Excerpt from Chapter Twenty-Two of Someone Stop This Merry-Go-Round; An Alcoholic Family in Crisis

Trying to Hold Us Together

(a reaction to Richie's drinking the night before)

The next morning Richie got up and acted as if nothing had happened. Instead of sitting down and talking calmly about the previous night, we ignored it. He took his coffee and headed down the stairs to his shop. By afternoon he was on his way delivering the television sets that were repaired. I sat, emotionally drained, with no energy to do anything.

Alcoholism is a disease that affects millions of people along with heart problems, diabetes, cancer, and drug addiction. We hear and read about different diseases that kill people every day and how they leave broken-hearted families behind.

Who is considered an alcoholic and what are they like in behavior? We all have our own personal conception about what a person has to do in order to be considered an alcoholic. Usually, they’re labeled as habitual drunks.

I have been away soaking up the wonderful, warm sun of California for two weeks. I was relaxed and enjoyed life with no rushing with deadlines or stress. How we all need that gift. I guess we have to make the time for it and stop talking about taking that special trip. Life is too short to miss opportunities for ourselves.

Why do people find it hard to forgive themselves or others, especially alcoholics? When I talk to them at halfway homes or rehabilitation centers, most feel the same with the difficulty with forgiving.

I have had numerous people ask me what I talk about to alcoholics and drug addicts when I go to their locations behind closed doors. The first thing I want to do is give them hope and believe in themselves again. Somewhere beneath their habit and actions is the person, who not only enjoyed their families, but life itself. At this stage, getting clean and sober seems completely out of their reach.

If only we could go back and change our mistakes! How many of us wish that same thing? The wrong direction we took or the wrong decision. Depending on the circumstances, some mistakes can be corrected from our bad outcome and start over again.

Choices are lost when we lose a loved one. We go over and over with why didn’t I, if I had, why didn’t I see the signs, why didn’t I do more? The list can go on and on. We had no control if we lost them fast and unexpectedly.