Speak up to get help for addiction

Dear Editor,

Recently I read some statements written by Kevin Theriot of LDS Family Services. He has spent 38 years helping people overcome addictions.

This brought memories of a doctor who had been my physician since I was 14 years old. In 1972, he moved his practice to Eldora, outside of Boulder, Colo.

I was shocked when I learned that his youngest son had killed himself at age 26. There were rumors that the son was a drug addict. At the time, I thought to myself that my children were safe living in McCook away from the drug problems in the Boulder area.

Little did I know that drug addiction is like a relentless hurricane and that McCook has its share of problems with it. I now realize that even in Nebraska, many people are experiencing a heart-wrenching struggle with it.

Families of loved ones who struggle with addiction find that it is almost unbearable They are forced to walk on eggshells around each other. From an initial experiment, the drug addict progresses to a vicious cycle that becomes a habit and the dependence and addiction.

Components of addiction are biological, psychological, social and spiritual. They are a combination of all of these components.

Each person who is addicted requires specific intervention to be freed from negative behavior.

Paths to recovery are difficult. Addicts suffer from behavior that includes obsessiveness, increased craving, secrecy, denial, withdrawal and reverting back to substance abuse.

If you have a loved one who is addicted, there are resources that exist online and hopefully in your community. This includes McCook.

Unless the individual has a desire to change, no form of treatment will be successful.

Unresolved addiction leaves the individual’s life in ruins. Their loved ones are also negatively affected.

Regardless of the lack of receptiveness of the loved one who is addicted, family members should speak up.

Our country has national organizations and websites about overcoming addiction, such as narco.org.

Learn about addiction so you can help a loved one.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Neb.