09/29/2025
Dear Mom and Dad,
I know you’re tired. Your child’s addiction is tearing you apart. You avoid people who ask too many questions because, honestly, you don’t have answers.
How does one explain what it’s like to watch their precious child struggle with addiction?
You’ve kissed their face a thousand times. You’ve watched them sleep and held their hand when they learned to walk. You taught them to look both ways before crossing the street. You made sure they wore their helmet and buckled their seatbelt. You’ve been their number one cheerleader, and no one in the world will ever love your child like you do. Once upon a time, you could fix it all, and now, you can’t.
Your inability to help hurts on an indescribable level, and you're so, so sad. Only you don’t tell people this. You don’t want your friends to feel sorry for you or judge your child. So you suck it up, put on a brave face, and carry on.
While other parents are sending their children off to college, you’re waiting beside your phone, praying it will ring. All you hope for is to hear your child’s voice again.
Looking back, you tried to do everything right. You wonder where you went wrong. You search your mind for any telltale signs that you may have missed. You try to make sense of how you got here. Maybe addiction is in your DNA? Maybe grandpa passed it on? He liked to drink. Or perhaps it was the neighbor’s kid, the one who introduced your child to smoking w**d?
You did your best to protect them. You clothed and fed them. You kissed their scraped knee and checked under their bed for monsters, but you couldn't have guessed the monster lived INSIDE your child.
This monster lies in your child’s voice, moves your child’s body, and has taken over your child’s mind. You call this monster addiction. You fear this monster will kill your child. You wonder: how does one go about slaying a monster that dwells inside their precious child?
You’ve tried to help. You’ve lied for them, given them money to cover their debts, been their ATM machine, housekeeper, counselor, police officer, and undercover cop. But nothing you do works, and worse still, your child doesn’t appreciate your efforts at all.
Your child isn’t the only one with a monster. You’ve changed, too. You feel drained and empty. You drag yourself through the days, longing for bedtime when you can finally seek release through sleep. Your mask is starting to slip. You’re mad at everyone. While friends and family move on with their lives, you seethe. Anger, frustration, and worry are suffocating all that is good in your life.
Dear Mom and Dad, hold on.
Stop beating yourself up. You didn’t cause this disease, but there is much you need to learn about it. First and foremost, please reach out for help. Do not allow your child’s addiction to destroy you. Instead, learn how to love your child without enabling their illness. You will need safe people in your life who have walked in your shoes and can provide you with emotional support. Feelings that remain hidden become a toxic wasteland of resentments and self-pity. You won’t help your child by becoming sick, too.
Dear Mom and Dad, your child’s addiction isn’t about you.
Substance Use Disorder has nothing to do with the love between a child and their parents. Addiction is a brain disease that leads to changes in the structure and functioning of the cerebral cortex. The initial use of alcohol or other drugs, for most people, is voluntary. However, over time, the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug or alcohol abuse impair a person’s impulse control and their ability to make critical decisions.
Dear Mom and Dad, one of the hardest things you will ever do is let go.
Not of your child, but of their illness. Let go of how you thought things should be and accept what is. Let go of the urge to fix, control, and rescue them. Let go of over-functioning on their behalf. Allowing your child to feel the consequences of their actions will encourage them to seek help.
Dear Mom and Dad, it’s natural to feel a little broken.
But please be kind to yourself. Erase the old negative tapes and insert new positive ones. No matter how many times you hear it’s not your fault, your heart will not believe it. Guilt is normal, but try and believe anyway.
Dear Mom and Dad, addiction is a family illness.
You can’t cure your child, and you can’t control them, but you can influence their outcome. Someone has to make the hard choices. Be open to learning and doing new things. Don’t wait for your sick child to ask for help. Lead the way. Involve professionals. They will help you navigate the pathway from addiction to recovery.
Dear Mom and Dad. Please don't lose hope. Instead, go to a meeting.
23 million families across North America are living in recovery and leading beautiful, productive lives. Although it may seem like the heartache will never end, it can and does for many!
Lorelie Rozzano
www.jaggedlittleedges.com
