At a young age living with a parent with addiction it can be confusing. The inability to understand the up’s and down’s and why they cannot just stop can be a lot on a child. As an adult it is easier to understand what was going on and to feel sympathy towards your parent for what they are battling with.
Our Battle with Addiction
As the child of a parent with addiction I have experienced these up’s and down’s and felt the confusion that many children do. My Father is an addict. He spent a lot of his youth experimenting with drugs and alcohol. The beginning of his adulthood too was spent mixed up in the addictive effects of drugs and alcohol, landing himself as an addict. As a child this was difficult to understand, causing serious problems within our household. There came a point where enough was enough and he was gone. I did not understand where he went but that he was not at home with us any longer. I was feeling anger and resentment towards him for leaving us.
Seeking Help
Now as an adult I know where he went. He sought out help because he too was at a point in his addiction where enough was enough. Today with over 25 years of sobriety he is working on maintaining his sober lifestyle every day. Attending meetings and sharing his personal experience with addiction. He has even turned his life to helping others with addictions, offering counseling and other services to those who need it.
I am Not Proud of His Addiction but That He is a Recovering Addict
Today I can say I am proud of my Father, not because he is an addict but because he has found a way to overcome his addiction and help others to do that same. He has inspired me to follow in the helping profession as a social worker, helping children affected by addiction. My life’s experiences have shaped the person I am today. If my father had not faced this battle with addiction having such a good outcome I am not sure where I would be in life myself.
Author Bio
As a child of an addict I have unfortunately seen the good and bad that life holds. It has made me a stronger person and greatly affected that way I live my life. Today I am working towards my goal of becoming a Social Worker within NYS, helping children of addiction. I am a writer for Beachway Rehab, reaching out to addicts and the loved ones of addicts to help them find success in their sobriety just as my father has.
-Kristin Nichols