"Carmel"
(not her real name) is a recovering alcohol and other drug addict. She recently
came to see me when she fell off the wagon. We are doing the treatment with EFT
(Emotional Freedom Techniques), chakra balancing, Reiki, and some chakra colour
therapy, and she is responding well. In our session, an important aspect came
up that I want to talk about today. This aspect is an important one for both
addicts and those who care for addicts. I hope it helps you or someone you care
about.
It transpired
that Carmel had recently taken on a new flatmate. This flatmate was vetted very
carefully. Even in the advertisement for the room, Carmel clearly stated that
she wanted someone who did not take drugs and was not a big drinker. But, as
soon as she relaxed into the household, Carmela’s new
flatmate started openly smoking marijuana
and drinking more than the average person. Carmel soon became influenced by
this new friend who engaged in these activities in her own front room (and leas
face it, it is impossible to ignore the smell of someone smoking pot in their
own bedroom anyway). She finally took a token of a joint. This led to another,
and more, and before you know it, Carmel, who was a teetotal, was getting
seriously drunk with this lady.
Part of our
treatment was about the possibilities of looking for a replacement flatmate.
Another possibility we thought of during the treatment was to tell the flatmate
that she must under no circumstances let Carmel have any marijuana or alcohol.
We investigated the pros and cons of different courses of action, so that
Carmel will be better-prepared to deal with this.
It is important
for a recovering drug addict to be in an environment where they are not
regularly exposed to and offered drugs, be it alcohol or any other drug that
they had a problem with. This is why so many addicts in recovery break with
their old drug friends and work hard to make new, clean, friends. The Law of
Attraction also comes into it. Someone said that we are like our 5 closest
friends. So it is important for anyone in recovery to surround themselves by
people who are clean, or at least by people who are doing their best to be or
become clean.
Eventually, I
believe that Carmel has to replace the flatmate, but of course, that is Carmela’s
decision. Right now, she needs the money and needs to become stable, before she
is strong enough again to advertise and interview potential flatmates, let
alone tell the existing one to leave. Our treatment has already resulted in
Carmel going back to her Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and
this is already helping her balance the negative influence from her flatmate
with positive influences from people who are clean or trying their best to be. Carmela’s
challenge is a daunting one, but she can pull out of this, one day at a time.
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