My child's decision to recover
Your child?s sobriety is a work in progress for the rest of your lives. My daughter is a recovering Heroin Addict. She has only been sober 18 months at this writing and is 17 years old. I?m very proud of her. It is very true what AA says that sobriety is up to the addict. She is very determined to be sober. I watch her struggle with her addiction I realized what her focal points are to maintain her sobriety. So first I will tell you her tips from a parents point of view. It could apply to help your child in their struggle.
First and foremost she gave up her using friends. This is the most difficult she spent many hours alone after she was released from rehab during the summer.
Secondly she focused on her education and looked to the future to graduate high school. She is very fortunate in that she only missed six months of school. She put herself behind only a little in school. She focused on her education while in rehab. The teacher appreciated her efforts. I feel she didn?t give her any extra help but kept her busy. When she graduated from rehab she went to summer school in what should have been her junior year in order to graduate on time.
Thirdly, she joined the support group at her school for addicted teen-agers. She went to those group meetings. They usually meet once a week at school during school hours. Oddly enough most addicted kids who are not interested in being sober will not attend these meetings. She also developed a bond with that counselor and went to him whenever she needed help. We also called him when we were concerned about her and he tried to help her out without letting her know we called him.
Finally she got a job and renewed her friendships with her non-using friends. She chose her new friends wisely once back at school. She first listened to what they talked about at school. She says she never realized how much drug use is in school until she came back to school. To this day she has a small circle of friends.