Posted by garnet71 on February 21, 2009, at 11:38:25
In reply to Re: Bipolar Diagnosis and Drug Abuse » garnet71, posted by Kath on February 20, 2009, at 19:13:27
Hi Kath,
So sorry to hear about your son. It sounds like he has in it him if he sought mental health help-the desire to straighten out his life. That's very important, to not be in denial. Maybe he is in partial denial and that's why he hasn't come clean yet? Do you think, by chance, he has ADD/ADHD, and he was self-medicating to the point where he got too far into addiction? Over 50% of ADDers fall to substance abuse.
I'm soo lucky my son never got that far. He has smoked weed, abused alchohol, and done some other things like take too many percocets when he got his wisdom teeth pulled (I never even knew people used those to get high!), but he had always drawn a line in front of harder drugs. He insists weed is better than alchohol (an aspect of denial, I think, in him stating this), and I agree with him to a certain extent although I also feel it screws up your brain (but so does alcohol), and I still think he does it on occasion. He knows how strongly I feel against it, though, and it has rubbed off on him. He has friendd who smoke it, and my son, in trying to avoid substances, now stays at home much of the time, avoiding friends who are out 'partying'. He's going to the gym and playing basketball and going to college now. He even coooked me a wonderful spaghetti and meatballs dinner last night.
Oh, and my friend--its my sis. I have hope for her, and I want to pass it along to you (if you need some). My son's sister was into all the hardest drugs--has been clean for 3 years now, has a beautiful daughter and family, very productive and absolutely no mental health issues now. When she quit using, she took an SSRI, but only for a few months; it turned out she never needed it after that. She has a great head on her shoulders, very spirited and emotionally healthy, and even after using hard drugs, damaging her body, she is lucky to have regained her phsyical beauty as well--she looks like a movie star. She did quit when she was still very young-20, but started very young as well-11-12 like my sis.
Thanks so much for sharing about your son. I couldn't imagine how painful that is for you. I think when our children are suffering or are self-destructing, we literally feel their pain and destruction, big time. There is lots of hope, though, Kath. You seem so bright and positive; I hope you keep the faith.
(((((Kath))))))
poster:garnet71
thread:880758
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090214/msgs/881492.html