Surviving addiction

“Risin’ up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet…”

--Eye of the Tiger, Survivor, 1982

            What happens when a trusted partner, colleague, or family member becomes an addict?

There’s really not much ambivalence about it. As time goes by, they’re either written off or smart enough to join the minority who recover. Yet, for the longest time, they’re watched … very carefully and warily watched.

But here’s a wake-up call to any boss, spouse, child, or parent of an addict or alcoholic who has recovered – it doesn’t matter much what you think.

The committed, the diligent and the successful recovering alcoholic or drug addict know it’s what you do that counts.

Unfortunately, absent qualified professional help, reactions of those close to an actively addicted person may be tepid and ambivalent – like people walking across a room carpeted by eggshells with a little ground glass mixed in. That  plus the ever-popular denial can escalate to  new levels of dysfunction.

The Staunton (Va.) News Leader recently published the story of an addicted nurse and the difficult road she has traveled. This is not an unusual story at all. What is unusual is The News Leaders’ very-well-done story about Bonnie Zientek. The story is exceptional, and you can read it here.

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a story also. Find out more about it here.

And remember….  

Sometimes drug and alcohol problems show their worst during the holiday season. There is the subtle yet powerful pull of letting the good times roulez.

I know that feeling, and it is a lot like spitting in the eye of a tiger.

Sock Management

You are a business man. So you wear suits or carefully curated “office casual” attire, key factors in your success. But know that socks can mess that up.

Ever show up wearing your $295  leather-soled and -heeled shoes, and half way through the meeting with your boss she notices that one of your socks is black and the other Navy blue?

Depending on the environment, that could look like a lack of attention to detail. And leaving that impression could later come out sideways.

Believe me. It happens.

The pettifoggery of some bureaucracies – corporate or governmental – can be astonishing in its breadth, reach, and stickiness.

“It’s the little details that are vital,” said the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. “Little things make big things happen.”

My answer to this potential career-busting threat was Sock Management. I would only buy black cotton-polyester blend Goldtoe brand socks. Always.

But, there came a Christmas when …

… the spirit hit and I resolved to become more flexible, creative, and cheerful by getting out of my sock-buying rut – a portentous decision that threatened  my Sock Management program and had an immediate effect on my corporate persona.

Suddenly I was washing, drying, and sorting all manner of sock designs, the most conservative of which were new Navy blue cotton-polyester-blend Goldtoe socks.

But as we all know, washers – or maybe it’s dryers – will occasionally eat a sock. And that just kills Sock Management, because the sorting exercise starts looking like a committee of 16 squirrels chasing 15 nuts.

And, as sure as Santa, the day came when I’m sitting in the CEO’s office discussing world-changing possibilities when I looked down, and one sock was black, the other Navy blue.

So that’s how I came to be a free-lance writer, editor, and raconteur.

Sock Management. Keep it simple.