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What Does It Feel Like to Always Play Second Fiddle to an Addiction?
Do we ever think about the people who stand in the shadows of the addicts they love?
My uncle had been sober for six weeks — ever since the death of his sister — but then he ruined it all by going back to a bar to see a friend. You can probably guess how that story ended.
The anger welled up in me like I was a volcano ready to erupt. I don’t have an addict’s brain, so I can’t understand the mind-set at all, it’s true. But you’d think someone would have enough self-respect to see to it that the work he’s been doing is more important than the one-hit luster alcohol can bring.
Maybe I feel it more deeply because I’ve been watching the effects for over ten years. I’ve had the useless, senseless arguments that tend to crop up with drunk logic. I’ve been at the emergency room when he’s taken a fall and injured himself — everything from broken ribs to deep cuts that required stitches. I’ve felt the useless rage when some well-meaning someone supplies him with a fresh bottle of tequila or a free shot at the bar.
I know it’s pointless to get angry. I know you can’t scream in the face of an addict and make him understand all the repercussions of his actions. I know that I am just wasting my energy with the…
