At my worst, I even resented Nic because an addict, at least when high, has a momentary respite from his suffering. There is no similar relief for parents or children or husbands or wives or others who love them.
David SheffI'm not sure if I know any 'functional' families, if functional means a family without difficult times and members who don't have a full range of problems.
David SheffThe hopeful part about that is when you do have that help, you will feel better. It still doesn't make this easy. Nothing makes this easy, but you can make better decisions.
David SheffOnce and for all, people must understand that addiction is a disease. Itโs critical if weโre going to effectively prevent and treat addiction. Accepting that addiction is an illness will transform our approach to public policy, research, insurance, and criminality; it will change how we feel about addicts, and how they feel about themselves. Thereโs another essential reason why we must understand that addiction is an illness and not just bad behavior: We punish bad behavior. We treat illness.
David Sheff