When You Discover Someone in Your Family Has a Substance Abuse Disorder
Leigh and I lost our son, Mark, June 1, 2019. He was thirty five years old. He had lived with a substance abuse disorder for eighteen (18) years of his life. We lived every minute of this disease with him. So, you discover someone you love has a substance abuse disorder. We are working on changing the language about this disease for ourselves as well. The term 'addiction' may still be applicable to those with a substance abuse disorder, but in our opinion, the term 'addict' is not. This word has so much negative connotation, and stigma, attached to it. This word dehumanizes the person who is sick. We do not make up words for those sick with cancer, do we? Or someone with the flu, do we call them a 'flu-ict'? Of course not, the person is NOT the disease. We love them. So you discover someone you love has a substance abuse disorder. First of all - denial . That cannot be true! Not our son, daughter, cousin, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, mother, father, frien...