Facing the Dragon

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What works for one, may not work for another.
There are many paths to recovery.
My recovery is my own.
My way is not the only way.

These are a few things I'm glad to have learned on my journey.

I know it's late, but I'd like to thank Alabama Juvenile Probation and Parole and Chief Joe Fluker for inviting to speak at their conference again this year in Orange Beach on Sept. 2nd. The officers, administrators, and all involved with this department are very caring and dedicated. I first spoke at their annual conference 5 years ago and it was truly an honor for them to think of me and get invited back in 2022.

While for many people, the decision to use is a choice, it usually isn't an educated decision. Most people (including adults) don't fully understand addiction until it affects them, if ever. Kids standing around a bonfire sharing a drink, don't first stop and think about alcoholism nor would most be able to comprehend the full impact of the disease if they did. They don't run the statistics, figure what their chances are, and then roll the dice. Their brain is not mature enough, and they don't have the life education.

It's difficult for an immature brain to understand and appreciate consequences of what a few drinks, a friend sharing their pill, or what a trusted, educated physician prescribes them could lead to. (And yes, that is why continuing education and prevention efforts are so very, very important.)

And as far as it being a choice a to use in the first place, sure, it often is, but not for everyone. What real choice does an 8 year old being prescribed medication have? Or an 8 year old being given drugs by older siblings? Or an 11 year old being given drugs while she is being molested or prostituted? Or a child who has grown up in generations of addiction and it's all they know until they themselves are getting high with mom and dad by their teens? Or even the person who has suffered an agonizing injury or illness who needs their pain managed?

The real choice factor comes in choosing recovery or choosing to stay in active addiction. What led to addiction in the first place does not make one person more deserving of judgement than the other. No once chooses to become an addict.