Gene Duffy, founder of Duffy’s, consistently used to say that “Duffy’s was a family business for a family problem.” Addiction doesn’t affect just the addict or alcoholic–it affects his or her entire family and circle of friends. The following are a collection of blog posts and articles designed to help you understand the disease of addiction, so you can better support and encourage your loved one during this difficult time.
“If you loved me, you’d stop!” How many times have you said, pleaded or screamed these words at your husband, brother or daughter after a particularly nasty bout of drinking? How many times has your wife, sister or son promised to stop or cut down…drink no more than two a day…smoke pot only on the … Read More
It’s a little different than the TV Show We’ve all seen the shows on TV. They spend all of their time following an addict in the middle of their addiction and an incredibly short amount of time on what they are going to do to help them. The process of an actual intervention is very short, lasting … Read More
I was an upper-class, soccer/PTA super mom. How could I possibly be an alcoholic? Well, I was an alcoholic. The Grip of Addiction By the time I checked in to Duffy’s, I was a two-bottle-a-night wine drinker. Most nights ended in a black out (although I preferred to call it “going to sleep”). My kids … Read More
In Part 1 of How to influence an addict to enter treatment, we talked about how to detach ourselves form the problem to become part of the solution. Here, we talk about how you can use your relationship with the addict as leverage during an intervention. If you realize that you’ve been enabling your loved one, then you need to use this … Read More
When you love someone who is struggling, you want to do anything you can to wipe the hurt away. However, we often enable a loved one’s destructive behavior without realizing it because we think we’re helping them. Enabling is facilitating the progression of a problem by protecting others from the consequences of their own actions. That … Read More
Substance abuse affects everyone differently, which is what makes addiction an unpredictable disease. One person may become addicted after using a drug only one time, while another occasionally uses the drug for years without developing a dependence. Environmental and social factors play a big role in whether or not a person will form an addiction, … Read More
Who does addiction hurt? You would think that using drugs and alcohol is purely a personal choice. You may not be doing the healthiest thing for yourself, you understand, but at least no one else is affected by your pleasure trip. And maybe in the beginning that was the truth. But when that chase for … Read More
“I can’t stand back and watch them throw their life away, but I can’t make them change. I want to love them, but I don’t even know how right now. Is there anything I can do?” Loving the unloveable It’s not that your loved one is a completely unlovable person. But let’s face it, they are doing things that … Read More
There’s so much pressure surrounding the process of finding a treatment center for alcoholism and drug abuse. People often think they have to find the one—that there’s just one perfect treatment center for them out of the more than 11,000 in the United States. Perhaps people think that the best treatment center is the one that will … Read More
Bringing your loved one home after rehab is a bit like bringing home your newborn baby from the hospital—you’re making sure the room is just right, you’re getting congratulations from friends, and you’re preparing for a completely different schedule. Here are some steps you should take to help your loved one integrat back into life … Read More
