The benefit of helping other addicts

Somebody recently asked me why I still think about my recovery from addiction? Why do I still write about it? This is a fair enough question. After all, I don’t belong to any recovery group exactly because of this reason; I don’t want to be constantly thinking about my previous problems. In fact for my first year away from alcohol I avoided anything even connected to the topic. For the last couple of years though, I have spent a bit of time thinking about my former addiction. Why is that?

I now like to stay involved with those involved with addiction problems for two main reason; the first is that I do believe that if we forget the mistakes of the past we are sure to repeat them, and secondly because there is just so much joy to be found in helping other people.

I had a book published a couple of years ago. It was a memoir about my former addiction. Of course it was a great joy to have something I wrote published, and I still get a thrill when I see my book in shops. The greatest reward though, has been when people contacted me to say that my book helped them in some way. Some have even claimed that it convinced them to get help for their addiction.

During the last days of my addiction I spent most of it drunk and wishing that I wasn’t. Most evenings were spent searching the internet for anything that would help me. I felt desperate, but found surprisingly little that worked for me. There were some great sites out there, but just not for me. It wasn’t until I found a web-site dedicated to the treatment of addicts here in Thailand that I got anything that really appealed to me. Maybe something I have to say will work for somebody else. If not, no problem because it doesn’t cost me much; I enjoy pottering around on the computer anyway.

I don’t try to help others because I see myself as some type of Mother Theresa type. I don’t. I learnt years ago that anyone trying to help other people usually benefits from it far more than the person they are helping. Maintaining contact with addicts also reminds me of where I have come from and what would happen if I were ever to go back.

I spent two decades in the midst of addiction. This time does not need to have been wasted if I can use the knowledge learnt from it to help other people.