By Christian Taylor-Alexander
It starts off like any other relationship. A friend probably introduces you and before you know it, there’s magic in the air. A feeling of happiness … the stress and mundane details fade into the background as you and your new acquaintance get to know each other.
There’s music in the air, dark smoky lighting encompasses the room … people seem to be more friendly with you now that you are with your new companion. You might find that although you are usually kind of shy at the nightclub/bar, you are now talking to complete strangers. And, you are having the time of your life!
A little time passes and that feeling of bliss seems to be fading and your boring old self is coming back to the surface. Ah, but it’s early, and so and so said it was ok … so you and your new “friend” make your way through the crowds to the rest room. There, you and your new “acquaintance” can be alone for a moment. You probably stand there nervously for a few moments, wondering if anyone knows what you are really doing in that bathroom stall. Since you are new to this particular situation, you may not know what to do.
In this case, I am speaking of cocaine. Our character dips his car key into that little plastic zip-lock bag (point to ponder, I understand why they make sandwichsized baggies, but what else did they have in mind for those oh-so-perfect-for-carrying- drugs bags?), pulls out a pile of white powder, carefully balanced so as not to spill any, and inhales some in each nostril as he watched his friend do earlier. Within seconds, he can feel the numbness descending into his body. Within minutes that feeling of bliss begins to return. Maybe a little more so this time, because he did twice the amount as before. Not on purpose, it’s just the way it happened.
There are also countless persons who are introduced to other seductive strangers. These people were properly introduced by a trusted doctor. Who would doubt a stranger that promised to help your problems or take your pain away or better help you cope with the things that keep you up at night or make your mind race all day.
This new stranger seems perfect.
Our doctor’s convince us that if we take this little pill or that little tablet, we will feel better. Our friends coerce us into trying this substance or that, because it will make us feel better. This begs the question, how bad did we feel in the first place?
Before you know it (I can’t give you a precise time frame), but your new “friend” becomes a constant companion. Kids getting on your nerves? Take a pill. Tennis elbow annoying you again? There are pain pills in the cabinet. Going out for the evening and don’t have much energy
? Do a few lines. Want to really take a break from reality, drop some acid. It’s OK, everyone else is doing it. “My doctor prescribes them.” “All my friends are doing it.” (Given enough time we can rationalize anything.)
As time passes, one of two things can happen. For roughly 8% of the people I have known in my personal life, they are able to put down that drink, flush that cocaine or crystal meth, special K (no relation to the cereal), ecstasy, GHB, acid, Quaaludes (for you party boys in the 70’s) and the rest of the drug alphabet and walk away. My hat’s off to you.
The other 92%, don’t always fair so well. I am one of them. As time went by, I found myself growing ever more dependent on anything that would let me forget my life for a while and let me live in my imaginary little world where I actually was happy with who I was (ironically enough, the way I felt before I fell into the pit of addiction). Money started to get tight, I found myself falling asleep at my desk, I started losing contact with people whom I deeply cared about who genuinely cared about me.
Everything, however slowly or quickly, WILL fall apart.
Addiction is nothing short of a type of cancer. A cancer of the soul. The saddest thing is, all the people who really care about you (who stuck it out) can just stand by and watch you slowly killing yourself. So, with a nod to Nancy Reagan, “Just Say No.”