The author was recently in the presence of two friends, both former drug addicts, who were discussing a third friend, let’s call him Bob, who all three parties knew quite well and who had screwed many of their family members and friends over repeatedly during their drug addiction before their practices landed them in prison for several years. Bob’s two friends talked about how much they loved him and how much they hated him at the same time. Their feelings ran quite strong on both accounts, and they believed that they should tell him what they thought of him, both positive and negative. However, they were stumped by the perceived barrier between where they are now and their friend, who is currently sitting in prison.
The barrier was most likely not caused by the prison setting of their friend, but by the time which had passed between the last time they were on speaking terms and now. Their formerly addicted friend, who they obviously love and cared about, had been extremely popular followed by being extremely infamous.
Sometimes, talking face to face is too much. It is nice to be able to select your words carefully, and tell the person you are writing to that even though they hurt you, you cannot help but love them and that you will always find forgiveness in your heart for them and that you hope that they find the strength they need to overcome their addiction and to keep fighting it from day to day, one day at a time.
When you are writing to a formerly addicted friend, refrain from giving them the brunt of your anger. After you have sent off the letter, the anger can die rather quickly, and then you must deal with their reaction or thoughts about how you lashed out at them. On the other end of the spectrum, it also best to not completely avoid the subject. It cannot be avoided. They know what they did, and if they are recovering, they have learned how to forgive themselves and they have hopefully learned how to talk about what they have done to their past victims.
In the meantime, protect your family, your coworkers, and your professional life by implementing drug and alcohol testing for all of your employees. Stay strong, and more importantly, be consistent. Call Mediscreen today: (+61) 1300 79 70 40.
