A MESSAGE FOR ADDICTS
AND ALCOHOLICS
WITH CHILDREN!
Can you handle the Truth ?
Many can’t, and are paralyzed by it’s painful bite!
They retreat into denial, often hiding so deep in some type of closet they’ve created to hide in, they’re never heard from again. The Truth can be so painful that millions of innocent victims will turn from it, hide from it, and run from it, mentally, spiritually, and physically, rather than face it. Many spend their entire lifetimes running, and hiding, building false identities and lives around ones that have been shattered by events or circumstances beyond their control. Some will run great distances to get away from God, family, or friends, or other circumstances, not realizing that they’ve brought their own baggage with them. Not realizing that the Truth isn’t going anywhere’s until it’s faced and dealt with.
And still far too many others will turn to addictions to numb the pain, and hide from the reality of Truth. For many of these victims, this is how it all started. They’re children of adult addicts returning to a roost of their own to begin the cycle all over again. While this is a Truth, it’s not always the rule. There are many exceptions where the children grow up un-scathed, turning into model citizens and often far better off for the nightmares they were exposed to growing up in the homes of addicts. But this is rare, and most children growing up in the homes of addicts end up deeply scarred, spending the rest of their lives healing. If you’re an adult addict, you probably need to go no further than the nearest mirror for proof. Which takes us back to the title, “Can you handle the Truth”?
If you’re an adult child of an addict, whether 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, generation, and a parent, whether finished, or still parenting, this information is for you, and was written to get your attention. It was written within a few days after the Black Friday of Dec. 14th , 2012, while the reality and pain of this tragedy against innocent children, by unspeakable evil and violence is still fresh in my mind, and before it vanishes into a distant memory, soon to be overshadowed by the next unspeakable tragic event.
At this point there is no evidence that recreational drugs or alcohol played any meaningful or direct part in this tragic event, and the only reason I mention it, is that when I’m done writing this I will be sharing it on social media to reach as many of the millions of parents who struggle with addictions while the pain and sorrow is still wide spread around the country and fresh in many minds. So that it might open the eyes of a few who “Can handle the Truth,” and who might recognize the great tragedy of abuse to millions of innocent children everyday in this country, in the homes of addicted parents. A parent who “Can handle the Truth,” will recognize and admit that whenever they are drunk or high, their children are being abandoned, or neglected, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. You can’t conduct an intelligent conversation with your child when you’re stoned! You can’t teach them how to tie their shoes, or the alphabet, or how to read or write when you’re so drunk you can’t stand up! You can’t help them with their homework if you’re hanging out at the bar with your pals, and they’re home alone or with a babysitter glued to a TV.
This, and so much more abusive behavior that we’ve tagged over the years as “dysfunctional,” is merely sugar-coating the “truth”, which is, that this is child abuse! Plain and simple! Abandoning and neglecting a child, leaving them home alone to raise themselves, forcing them to fend for themselves is child abuse. Depriving them of a normal childhood for the sake of ones selfishness is child abuse. Destroying their sense of self-respect, security, and dignity is child abuse. Refusing to believe this as the truth is denial. The same denial that leads millions of alcoholics and addicts to years of addictions and relapses, which will eventually drive their abused children away, and far too often create so much insecurity in them, it causes them to follow in their parents footsteps.
I’m sure that many who just read this, who thought they could handle the truth, are retreating or cowering into the shadows, saying, “am I really guilty of “child abuse”? “Could my drunkenness or drug addictions be so grossly affecting my children? I’ve spoken to hundreds of alcoholics and addicts in recovery over the years who've admitted that their habits were so bad that they denied their children basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, medical attention, or medicine, toothpaste, etc., for the sake of another fix or a bottle of vodka! Stone cold child abuse! Plain and simple, no sugar-coating, nothing but the bitterly painful bite of the Truth! You can face it, accept it, change it, or deny it and suffer the consequences, and live with the guilt of knowing you’ve destroyed the life of your own child!
I hope I have your attention, and that you can face and “handle the truth.” My prayer is that you’ll get up from reading this and go pour your drugs and or alcohol down the toilet, and never use them again! Then go give your child or children a big hug and tell them that you Love them, that you’re sorry for hurting them, and promise them that you’ll never use drugs or alcohol again. I can guarantee you that they will hold you to it! There is nothing in this world more precious than the innocence of a child! Depriving them of that is child abuse!
