i am a little bundle of cheer with this post, sorrie but just wonderring if its global.
the sucicide rates rocket at this time of year, as dose drug addiction alcohole, violent incidentes within the familie spured on by some substances. Also and a bit cheerier we get manie more people turning to rehabes and also 12 steap fellowships, churches, or other peer support groups to help with the increas of drugs and drink being used and going disasterise at this time of year, is this global thing.
i am fairlie sure its not just scotland, ireland or the uk??Is it??

could you possible rember in prayer the addicts themselfs and all their familie that are or have been darkend by addiction at this time of year.

ps sorrie it aint a cheerie one again

Yes, Celtic, it's global, as far as I know.

The winter blues, shorter and darker days, and the feelings of being let down prevail in many households. Drinking, drugs and violence increase up here in the northern part of the US as we get "cabin fever" (our turn for not getting out and about enough).

Yes, prayers are a wonderful thought. How precious of you to remember the ones that we often blame for misery.

Thanks, celtic. You are a wise woman.

Celtic.
You are so right! I had not realized what a hard time it can be for those who have addiction problems. It's very kind for you to think of this. It's important too!

I'm tired of those who have addiction problems being treated as criminals instead of as people with an illness which is what they are! Recently, L.A. released a lot of non-violent offenders from prison and jail who were just addicts and who needed help for the addiction. I call this a good start! If we had more treatment programs and more shelters connected to therapy programs, we would have less addicts and non-violent offenders.

It is so miserable to have an addiction, why would anyone choose it? They wouldn't, that's the fact! It's a disease, pure and simple and a hard one to fix. We need to fix the disease and if it's a mental illness one is self medicating, we need to treat that mental illness!

On a soap box again,
dancer...

My son missed Christmas the last two years in a row due to being high and sleeping it off on a bench somewhere or on someones couch.

He came over later stinking of alcohol in a mood that was not appreciated. Opened his presents then slept on the couch for the rest of the day. Then off into the night he went.

He has been sober for three months and is coming home from his treatment centre for a week over Christmas. It will be so nice to have him home this Christmas.

Your so right about the addicts being treated like criminals although many are criminals and violent ones at that. My son being one of them. The drugs did that to him and he stole to feed his habit.

We need a different facility to house addicts. Sending them to jail is not a great idea. Many of them are skinny from the drugs, have mental health issues and get picked on big time.
My son was on suicide watch and put into isolation as he was assaulted so many times. Plus they are on forced withdrawal without any help at all. It's a nightmare for them.

Still, he spent one too many times in jail and it made him turn around eventually. The last time was the worst and he knew he had to make some changes. Plus I was doing the tough love thing.

I pray for addicts and their families every night. Addicts are hurting big time. The pain of dealing with their issues is just too much to bare. They do drugs to avoid their reality and it is sad, really sad.
Kate

yea in uk one dosen't get inprisend for taking drugs its more if cought with (possesion) or dealling drugs that you end up in jail for, i had hear that in some states the jail time was just for being an addict, i never knowen how it was supposed to help them off durgs. Arguable they be clean while in prison. Over heer being in jail is no garintee of not being on drugs, theirs loads smuggled into prison. Onces out temptasion or life starts again and bang! straight back into old coping methods ie drugs.
Gottie be some type of rehabe or peer support such as 12 steap programe for just support of other clean recoverring addicts other wise the chances of getting and staying cleans not verie high, (no pun)

i not condoning pot, but why stop their. A paket of cigarets is way expensive heer so why pot and not cigarets....if its solie just about kids being deprived financiallie. Why pot cigarets and not drink? legalised pot or not is it reallie less physicallie harfull than alcohole? Or is it just more taxes get paid on alcohole so for government coffers sake lets not make a fuss about that, couldn't loss the revinue on that one now.
I am getting cynical, or is it paronoid, or is it just realistick regarding my government.

Celtic,
We can take it further: If cigarettes are taxed so much because they are bad for you, why not McDonalds food, it has been proven to be bad for you and can even be fatal! Why not sugar? Sugar is addictive! Pot is not addictive and is natural but they don't make it legal, why? I don't smoke it but it doesn't make sense! There are the large vehicles that put out enough stuff to kill us too,buy no higher taxes on them either! I'm dismayed to see OUR government making "sin tax," only count on alcohol and cigarettes, (as an Italian raised with wine with dinner,) but not these other things! I don't drink now, with my medicine it can be dangerous but if the government wants to protect MY children, I want them to get rid of poisen food!
dancer, strange feelings!

katebcca, I admire what you've been through with your son. I know it is SO hard. You must be so happy he is coming and he is off any sort of drug! How great for him and for you!
You are a strong woman to have faced all you must have faced in watching and at times, probably, being involved in the hard life of an addict. As I said, it's not a crime, who would CHOOSE to suffer so? They can't help it and it needs to be worked on and worked on and, etc... right?

A mother has to be strong and I admire your strength. I'm also sorry that you've been through what you have and that your son has been through what he has!

Have a wonderful holiday and again, I'm happy for you that your son is "straight," and ready to come home for a holiday!
I hope you hold on to these nice things, they are so sweet.

dancer9

Katebecca, I'm so glad that your son has stuck this out for at least three months. I hope and pray that he continues down this road.

There are no easy answers to any of this. We can have the programs, and yet, the addict/alcoholic has to WANT to change. Putting them in jail doesn't help, except to stop them from stealing for the drugs. They can certainly get drugs in jail. My son used to tell me that it was the easiest place to get them.

I'm totally convinced it has both a genetic component and a situational component. Many of these young men and women are among our brightest and most sensitive. It's sad to lose them.

Thanks, Celtic, for reminding us to extend the heart of compassion and hope for these lost ones.

What I have learned from my son is that he is impulsive,
wants instant gratification and is over sensitive. I also think that he has limited coping skills.

I'm not comparing him to my younger son.....but. My younger son has just as severe ADD but has much better coping skills. He is much more grounded. He was such a socialite as a young boy. If there were a group of kids he would go right up to them and join in. My older son would cower and wait to be asked to join them but they never did. He was always the odd person out.

A friend that I new as a young person ( who did quite a few drugs in his youth) explained to me that some young adults use drugs to party it's a social thing. It was for him. Others use drugs to party at first but then it becomes an escape. It is just hard to know which young people are which type, not that we can stop it.

I think in my son's case because he is so sensitive he thought he could not handle reality, the pain of it so he had to numb himself in order to avoid it. He couldn't see his way through it.

My younger son feels pain too, but he works through it. Perhaps it is genetic. I knew from a young age that my older son was extremely sensitive. He could not take any type of teasing from his school friends not even in fun. He couldn't seem to distinguish what the difference was. This put him into a state and he didn't let it go easily. My younger son got teased in school too but it didn't bother him at all, when it was in fun.

I also know that kids have to fit in, they just have too. It's #1 in school. If they don't fit in with the jocks or the brainy kids or the athletic kids, there is nothing left but the bad, acting out kids. And that is where my son felt accepted. Too bad it got to the point it did.

We really have to be aware of who these loner type kids are in school. The kids that are bullied. My son was bullied constantly in elementary school. He was a prime target because he reacted when kids teased him. The more he reacted the more they teased. I actually worried that he would be one of those kids you hear about in the news that do terrible things. Thank God he didn't go that route. But how do we know which kids will snap? And drugs only exaggerate what they are feeling inside.

My son now feels totally accepted where he is at Christian half way house and that is a wonderful thing.
Kate