Band-aids for your soul…

When someone you care about is hurting themselves, how do you fix it?  In today’s news, singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at age 27.  It is so sad to me that someone with so much potential would drown herself in drugs and alcohol.  But this isn’t about her.  This goes deeper than that.  Why do we feel these deaths are unavoidable like Cobain, Hendrix, and Joplin?  What if they weren’t famous?  What if they are your best friend or family member?  Stripping them of everything they have until they are standing there naked facing their addiction.  Would that help them?

I bet you didn’t know that Alcoholics Anonymous has been around since 1935.  In only two years, the founders of AA helped 100 members, including the first woman to join.  If you are interested in finding out more about the program, you can read The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions online.  There is lots of information online and it is all free.  However, they do say this “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.”  I think that could be the heart of the matter.

I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t been affected by some type of alcohol problem in their family.  The biggest step ever if realizing that you have a problem, and once you come to terms with that, the next step is trying to fix it.  If you do not know how to fix it, please seek help.  According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 85 percent of adolescents (ages 12-17) do not drink, and adolescent drinking has declined 16 percent since 2002.  This was based on a survey taken in 2009.  Start with a band-aid and work up to the stitches.  You will get there.  I have faith.

I think once I made up my mind that I was allergic to alcohol, and that’s what I learned, it made sense to me. And I think it was kind of pointed out that you know if you were allergic to strawberries, you wouldn’t eat strawberries. And that made sense to me.  ~Betty Ford

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