Drug and Alcohol Usage Affects the Whole Family, not Just the User
/When a family member is struggling with addiction the constant searching for answers and carrying the heavy burden of guilt and shame can feel like the weight of the world. While struggling with addiction that has touched my family, I came across this African tradition that really touched me.
Ubuntu: In many African Tribes when someone does something harmful, they take the person into the center of the village where the whole tribe comes and surrounds them. The Tribe reminds him of all the good things that he has done. The Tribe believes that each human being comes into the world as good. Each one of us only desiring safety, love, peace, and happiness. But sometimes, in the pursuit of these things we make mistakes. The community sees those mistakes as a cry for help. They unite then to lift him, to reconnect him with his true nature, to remind him who he really is until he fully remembers the truth of which he had been temporarily disconnected: I AM GOOD.
The person we love is still here.
It’s the addiction that we hate.
The lies, the pain, and the deceit…. That’s all addiction.
Its necessary to attempt to love our loved ones back. hopefully, they take the steps toward a life of recovery for the whole family’s sake.
Yet, while writing this and knowing this as a truth, I struggle with my own insecurities telling me not to post this, but I know that the true strength lies in people coming together to uplift each other and heal.
