Nearly all of us who have been touched by addiction have some things in common. Whether we are a family member or loved one of a person dealing with addiction, or whether we are the one struggling, that last sentence may bring up some unusual feelings. It could be anger. Or fear. Or grief. Or outright rejection. Or something else. Any or all of those are OK.
Learning about addiction and how it affects us makes it easier for us to better understand each other. When we understand each other, it makes it easier to communicate. And, as we’ll discover together, addiction is in many ways a disorder that, at its root, both causes and is caused by emotional pain, which leads us to feel alone, ashamed, and unhappy.
When we begin to understand the pain, we can begin to see things in a different way. We understand each other better. We can talk more clearly with one another. And we can begin to heal the pain. Gabor’s hope, as we work through this series together, is that each of us will come away with some new insights and perhaps some different perspectives. But most of all, a sense of curiosity, and a mind open to possibilities. When we explore things with the mindset of possibility and curiosity, it’s easier to find common ground, which leads to better understanding of ourselves and our relationships.
