For Family & Friends
CMA is a program of recovery from addiction offering the support of one addict helping another.
If you have an addict in your life we recommend compassionately confronting their use and setting boundaries around their using behavior. (i.e., “I find your drug use unacceptable- and I won’t allow you around the kids when you are using,” etc.)
It may help to remember that addicts are suffering from a progressive and potentially fatal disease. Modern medical thinking is that addiction is not a weakness, a lack of willpower or a moral failing. Addicts are sick people who can effectively be encouraged to get well, not bad people who need to get “good.”
Sadly, most addicts do not recover until they become willing to seek help. Our experience has shown that it is nearly impossible to “make someone recover.”
Addiction is a progressive disease that affects the entire family structure. Modern recovery approaches deal with the family and friends as well as the addict. It is important to not shield the addict from the consequences of their using behavior referred to as “enabling.” Not enabling the addict may help them become willing to seek help.
If you are coping with the pain of having an addict/alcoholic in your life we strongly recommend a program like Alanon or Naranon. Both can provide a support mechanism and they can offer strategies for coping with a loved one’s addiction.