RESTROOM Phobic?
Parents of Addicts will understand the following post.
“I’m going to use the bathroom”
This simple phrase can send chills down the spine of a parent with an addict in early recovery. Does this seem weird? Read on and I’ll try to explain.
After periods of extended drug use where our child vanishes for what seems to be hours into the secrecy of bathrooms both public and private, we become phobic. Sadly we learn that our children shoot a lot of heroin in many bathrooms when they are active in their addiction. The mere mention of the B word to a parent who has a child in early recovery may paralyze that parent with fear.
Mom and Dad, you are not alone. To the parents of an addict new to recovery, fear of extended absences in bathrooms is the norm. It’s truly weird what can trigger the fears associated with having an addict child. It is in our recovery that we learn to rise above the fears. Knowing that you are not alone in your fears brings comfort. The topic of RESTROOM PHOBIA, although rarely written about, is in fact one of the many bonds parents of addicts have.
Eventually as our child’s recovery grows, the fear of our child going off to a restroom subsides. It is then another six words take precedent. They are words that offer others hope:
“It’s nice to have you back”
Categorised as: Coping Skills
I’ve got it!! The bathroom phobia!!!
Bathrooms, tiny orange caps, sleeping late, wandering in the middle of the night, unusual pupils umm…I could go on but all of these things will take me back to such a black panic it is kind of hard to explain. Almost like PTSD.
It is not almost like PTSD It is PTSD and every parent of an addict suffers from it in some degree….That is why it is so important for us to live by the serenity prayer….I still say it sometimes when I am scared and I really dont have a reason to be scared but still sometimes I am……..
Hi MJ …nice to see you found the comment button!
Fear is part of this..is ebbs and flows..it’s how we control it. Do we let our fears consume us? or do we move as our Higher Power wants…helping others and letting them learn from our victories and mistakes…
Bill
I try very hard to live by the latter…It is what I watch Donald do and I try to do that also…..but if I am going to be honest there are still days…..ANd yes I figured out how to find my way around here so watch out…You know how I love to talk….MJ
As a former addict, I can understand a parents phobic response about bathrooms or the mere mention of them. As with most addicts, when I was using the majority of our time was spent in bathrooms either at home or on the road. This is one of many triggers that parents of addicts worry about, and it's these triggers that addicts worry about and deal with everyday in early recovery.
But, the good news is that these triggers eventually go away, the longer your in recovery and as long as practice your recovery everyday and don't become complacent about it.
When an addict is in early recovery they are what's called a dry addict. In other words, you can take the drugs out of the addict. But, you can't take the addict out of the addict.
When a addict is in early recovery they will quite often use the compulsive habits learned from there addiction and become compulsive in other area's. This is not a bad thing as long it doesn't lead to another addiction that's destructive or they'll cause a relapse back into their addiction of choice.
The addicted mind is very complex and hard to understand at time's. However, with that said, if a addict stays strong in their recovery and believes in themselves they can overcome the behavioral patterns learned through there addiction and learn to change them and move forward in their recovery.
Thanks, great post