It is not surprising that alcohol and drug problems show up, at least for many, during mid-life – 30-55. Years of prolonged over-indulging finally catch up and either a drug-related arrest or health issue brings everything to a head.
As a counselor for both in-class and online drug classes I often hear the stories from my students, most of whom are in class due to a serious incident. As reported in www.smh.com.au.
One such student was Shiela, who after years of being a social drinker saw her life begin to disintegrate.
First, her father died, and her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Then, without warning, her husband died of an aneurism.
Her social drinking turned into heavy drinking. Believe me, Shiela knew that from the amount of alcohol she was consumed revealed a serious problem. She just chose to not deal with it and continue to pound the booze. The dark, double life of finding refuge in the booze, punctuated by episodes of getting on top of things.
In my experience, you'd be amazed at how many people who have an elderly relative, either a parent or an uncle or aunt, where they know they have a drug issue but they don't know how to talk to them about it.
So how do we get someone who is middle-aged with an addiction issue to quit? I would like to believe that drug classes could be part of the problem. These drug classes help address a primary question – why do addicts continue to use and abuse drugs when they know it will cost them their life?