Out of the darkness and into the healing light
Chances are high that you or someone near to you has been impacted by the adverse effects of alcohol or drug addiction. Addiction is the single-most destructive disease facing humanity right now. And this nondiscriminatory affliction is passed down from generation to generation.
In 1966 the American Medical Association classified addiction as a disease which takes place in the brain and can be detected using DNA testing. Even considering the aforementioned medical conclusion, why is it that we still attach so much shame to this affliction? Addiction thrives in the darkness, hidden from friends and families, neighbors and colleagues. Why do we keep it hidden in the shadows, away from those who could offer assistance in arresting the disease?
We do not attach this level of shame to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other deadly diseases. Could this be an area of attention that the world is overlooking, an obstacle that, if overcome, could propel us into a more advanced and compassionate society? What are we being called to do here? Who are we being called to be?
How do we overcome the intense denial that permeates entire families, a denial often driven by the stigma so commonly attached to the label of “addiction”? Family members of the addicted wish for the person struggling with the stranglehold of this disease to “come around” or “see the light” through their insistent prodding; however, more often than not, the family becomes an extension of the illness. Everyone can see that the addict is in distress; his or her behavior is obvious. But what is not so easily seen is that the family, too, is nonetheless addicted. They are addicted to the drama, the confusion, the control, all of which produce naturally occurring chemicals that stimulate the same receptors in the brain as the addict who is actively introducing drugs or alcohol into their body.
When an addict has reached the end of their rope, they reach out and ask for help. It has been written time and time again that there is power in numbers. The Bible states, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Is there someone in your life who is living in the darkness of addiction? Have you been overlooking or possibly even avoiding an opportunity to help someone rediscover who they really are? Could this be the wake-up call in your life that invites you yourself to step out of the darkness and into the healing light and say, “I could use a hand?”
You are not alone. Not now. Not ever.
