Four Reasons Why the Best Person to Help an Addict is Another Addict

Lot’s of really good people tried to help me get sober. My family tried. My friends tried. Professional therapists, doctors, even lawyers tried. Still, I just kept getting loaded. It wasn’t until I got connected to a bunch of recovering addicts that I was finally able to stop drinking and using for good.What made the difference? Why are untrained strangers able to help addicts when everyone else had failed?1. Language – Individuals entering recovery have typically been functioning within a small subculture of addiction, separate from everyday society. That often means that the language they use includes a lot of addict jargon that is incomprehensible to the non-addict. We also tend to cuss a lot. So we like other people who cuss a lot.2. Humor – For lack of a better term, addicts tend to have “gallows humor.” I used to really love telling this one particular story about getting robbed at gunpoint at the dope-house. I thought it was hilarious, but most people found it horrifying. However, other recovering addicts were able to see the humor in the situation. Sharing a laugh like that can be one of the quickest deepest ways to form a bond.3. Empathy – When a newly sober addict shares what they’ve been through and are met only with an understand look that says, “Yep, me too.” It can be a truly profound experience. Realizing for the first time that there are people who completely understand the powerless terrifying experience of addiction is like finding water in the desert.5. Hope – Seeing another addict who has risen from the depths of addiction to become a happy fully functional member of society is a living-breathing billboard that shouts, “There is a Solution!”