Dear Andreus,
A few months ago, my boyfriend was in a car accident, and he was left dealing with a lot of physical pain, which required pain management and lots of prescriptions to address different things. At some point, he started to abuse the medications, and has formed a serious addiction problem. I don’t want to leave him, but it is a trigger for me since I have already had a very traumatic relationship in the past with someone that had a very serious addiction. He does not think he has a problem and says that it is only to address his pain, although he is taking the medication more often than prescribed. I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?
Sincerely,
Connor S.
Dear Connor,
It is always difficult to watch someone you love making bad decisions, and even more difficult sometimes to get people to take responsibility for them. Addiction can be as hard on a loved one as it is on the addict themselves. The choices that you must make at this point are more about your own self-preservation. If he is not willing to stop, you must think about how far you are willing to go on his journey with him, and if you truly think he will ever seek help. Otherwise, you may have to cut your losses. One suggestion though, is maybe to talk to his doctor (keeping in mind laws surrounding privacy) and see if any of the medications can be switched out for a placebo. I wish I had a better solution for you, but addiction is a disease that only the addict has the power to treat.
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