June 6, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Father's drinking became the family secret.

-- Scott Russell Sanders

Few families in this country have been entirely spared the impact of addiction to drugs or behaviors. Fortunately, we're living in a time when the secrets of family addictions are finally being spoken aloud and shared. With sharing, the devastation of secrecy has been diminished, and the doors to healing are open.

If we grew up in a family in which someone suffered from addiction we may have become over-responsible, controlling, secretive, or emotionally shut down. Addiction in the family, even generations back, has powerful, continuing effects, until someone is able to stop the pattern.

Addiction is a disease, not a moral failure. Treatment through Twelve Step programs is a powerful way to break the cycle of addiction. Sharing the language of recovery, we’re no longer required to walk through life alone, bearing the burden of a family secret.

Today, I share my story with others and let healing enter.

Hazelden Foundation