This has been the most difficult of graduation seasons. As you have made attempts to attend the parties of friends and families you have hit major emotional roadblocks along the way. While you are certainly happy for the other families who are enjoying the graduation accomplishments of those who are celebrating the end of their high school careers, you are in a different place. Your son, who should be among the graduates this year, is not. After two years of struggling with addiction, your son has recently graduated from a drug and alcoholism treatment clinic, but his progress comes with no diploma that will allow him to go on to college. His experiences are not the kind that will serve as a way for him to get a good job. In fact, his recent accomplishment is certainly a step in the right direction, you do not even have a guarantee that he will be able to stay clean through the next month, the next week, or even the next day.
You want to celebrate and smile with your friends and family members who are ready for the next step in their children’s lives, but you simply cannot ignore what is going on in your own home.
Your Family Doctor May be Able to Recommend the Kind of Treatment You Son Or Daughter May Need
Although alcoholism and drug addiction are not the kind of things that people like to talk about to everyone, they are often problems that are so pervasive that many parents and loved ones simply cannot find a way to step away from the challenges they are facing.
Fortunately, there are treatment centers and counseling locations that your family doctor can recommend, but the reality is the road to recovery is long and hard. As the nation watches a major drug company being taken to court over whether or not they understood the addictive quality of the pain relieving medication that they have been selling, it is sometimes easy to forget the individuals who are suffering from addiction. The latest research indicates that of the 20.5 million Americans 12 or older who have had a substance use disorder in 2015, 2 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers, while another 591,000 had a substance use disorder involving heroin.
Many families search for a fast detox solution, and while this approach may work for many, the fact of the matter is on average, alcohol addiction patients receive treatment eight years after the age at which they develop the condition and the recovery process is rarely immediate.
During this graduation season as you enjoy the accomplishments of your own children, remember that there are many others who are not able to enjoy the parties quite as much. Hopefully, with the help of your family doctor and other resources, however, if you are a parent of an addict you will be able to find at least some small milestones to celebrate.
