A drug addict will try by all means to blame others (it is the nature of addiction).
One of the most frustrating aspects of addiction is the effort of the drug addict to blame somebody else for his problems.
Loosing of jobs, broken marriages, arrests, illnesses, bankruptcies, injuries and the addiction itself, all of these is somebody else’s fault. Do not go into the tap of believing the large list of stories about how other people caused the problems that the drug addict has.
On the other hand, try to reason with the addict rarely works. His reasoning is buried in months, years and even decades of self-destruction and damage to other people that now he cannot face.
The drug and alcohol abuse decrease the awareness of the person. To return the responsibility to the drug addict must include a gradual process to relieve the guilty charge so the person doesn’t feel overwhelmed to a point that he can relapse. This is the work of a good rehabilitation program.
But, in the meantime, do not accept that nobody else will be the cause of the drug addict problems. As soon as this pattern of behavior appears, find out the facts yourself. If it is not possible, at least, do be trapped by the dishonest tactics of the drug addict. There are injustices in life, but in the majority of the cases, a person creates or at least contributes to the situations in his own life. And even when life may play a dirty trick, it is one’s own responsibility to get up and solve it. Something to take in consideration, the efforts of the addict are the ones that can overcome his problems in a responsible way. If there is not effort on his side whatsoever, the possibility of hiding the truth increases.
Wrong way to do it: A father comes home after losing his job. This happens after some months when his mood and personal relationships got worse. The wife noted that he doesn´t spend time with her or the kids anymore and that the quarrels increased. He explains by yelling how his boss is a jerk and that everything what he does is wrong, and as a result he lost his job. He even does some threatening comments of “how he will get revenge”. The wife could make one of two different errors at that moment: either to believe the whole story and feel sorry for him, or try to reason with him to make him to see how he could avoided been fired “for the kids”. The first attitude will make her husband to live a lie and it will make things to be worse. The second attitude, no matter how true it may be, it could lead to a violent argument.
Right way to do it: The best solution in this case it is similar to the one showed in the earlier rule, “Refuse Lies and Manipulation”: seek for the help of family members to go to the bottom of the problem. Specially, when there are kids, do not try to face alone a stronger and more threatening person. Also, do not let your shyness or embarrassment to stop you from seeking help. If the persons you asked for help refused helping, continue asking until you find somebody that wants to help. When you are fighting against addiction, it is common to require the support of a group to solve the problem completely.
The Foundation for a Drug Free-World focuses its efforts on educating youth. The Foundation operates on the premise that no one, especially a young person, likes to be lectured about what he or she can or cannot do. Thus, all of its initiatives are designed to provide the facts that empower youth to choose not to take drugs in the first place.
The Foundation for a Drug Free World is a non-profit organization actively involved in education programs in schools and in the community. The program is primarily addressed to youth.
And for the person with a drug problem, there are real solutions to addiction. Narconon, a drug rehabilitation program that utilizes the methods of L. Ron Hubbard, has a success rate of more than 75% (www.narconon.org). The best solution, however, is to not begin using drugs in the first place