NEW YORK (Reuters) - For David Sheff, there is nothing worse than the sheer terror of witnessing your own child slip away into a life of drug abuse.

The San Francisco writer felt helpless as his son Nic became addicted to substances like methamphetamine and heroin over the course of a decade, beginning in 1997 when Nic was around 15.

Nic eventually triumphed, and has now been clean for more than five years, to his parents’ great joy and relief. But his lengthy struggles with addiction had another long-term victim: Their family budget.

Prior to herapparent drug overdoseon Tuesday, Demi Lovato‘s friends had a strong suspicion an incident like thiswould occur.

“She and her ‘friends’ were on a binger the entire night,” an insider tells PEOPLE of the house party that continued after the group leftSaddle Ranch. “They keep Narcan on hand for such situations – they were prepared for this. The people she has been hanging around lately aren’t her real friends – they don’t have her best interests at heart. She’s pushed her true friends away.

"Our disease always resurfaced or continued to progress until, in desperation, we sought help from each other in Narcotics... Anonymous."

  - Basic Text, p. 13

When we think of being desperate, we envision an undesirable state: a poor, bedraggled soul frantically clawing at something sorely needed, a desperate look in the eyes. We think of hunted animals, hungry children, and of ourselves before we found NA.

Yet it was the desperation we felt before coming to NA that compelled us to accept the First Step.

The cause of death for Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" star Joel Taylor has been revealed. 

On Friday,TMZ reportedthat the reality star died from an ecstasy overdose, citing toxicology results obtained by the outlet. 

The Bureau of Forensic Sciences of Puerto Rico confirmed that the 38-year-old died of MDMA poisoning and added he had traces of ketamine in his system.

Taylor'ssudden death occured in Januarywhile the star was aboard the Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas cruise.

Very, very, grateful to be here today and get to share a little bit of my story with u. Its come to my realization that my selfish pride is what's been keeping me from sharing it with u, coupled along with some shame and embarrassment. In February i relapsed and after about 6 wks my body had started to shut down. My liver, tormented from drugs and alcohol over the yrs, along with Hep C couldnt process anymore poison. On 3.21.18 i ODed and was taken to the hospital unable to b...reathe on my own...without a pulse. They called my mom in from Phoenix, told her to hurry, they didnt know if i was gonna live. After 4 days on life support i came out of it. Unable to walk or feed myself, i knew i had really fucked up this time. After a month i was released still unable to function without meds and even then im still learning and fighting to do basic normal everyday functions. I lost oxygen to my brain and now i have the fight of my life staring me square in the face in the form of rerouting the signals from my brain to my limbs and core. I know why im here today and it's to help. Im here to help other addicts and i hope my story will give anyone having any doubts some hope. Im not giving up! I have a purpose and i aim to see it through! The spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self discipline.-Timothy Ch.1 v7

I didn’t know Anthony Bourdain, but felt like I did in one small important way. In him, I saw a drinking alcoholic with a front-stage vigorous attempt to do it successfully. His was a fantastic life-embracing show, with drinking taking a prominent role in the joie de vivre, and sometimes that made it hard for me to watch.

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/article213372539.html#storylink=cpy

“Some things we must accept, others we can change. The wisdom to know the difference comes with growth in our spiritual program.”

Basic Text, p. 95

 

It’s relatively easy to accept the things we like—it’s the things we don’t like that are hard to accept. But remaking the world and everyone in it to suit our tastes would solve nothing. After all, the idea that the world was to blame for all our problems was the attitude that kept us using—and that attitude nearly killed us.

In the course of working the steps, we begin to ask ourselves hard questions about the roles we ourselves have played in creating the unacceptable lives we’ve lived.

Anyone who’s gone through addiction, or cared for a loved one with addiction, knows firsthand the devastating effects it has on a person’s life. Addiction disrupts all areas of your life, and sleep is no exception.

According to one estimate, individuals with addiction are5 to 10 times more likelyto have comorbid sleep disorders.

Sleep and addiction are intricately linked. Many people use alcohol or other drugs to help them fall asleep and treat their insomnia, and accidentally become addicted as a result.

Many know the answer to the question “what is dry drunk syndrome?”, but sometimes the family members or close loved ones do not.

So what is dry drunk syndrome? It is when an alcoholic is not drinking, yet they are still exhibiting the same behaviors they did while drinking. For example, a dry drunk can be someone who is a violent person while drinking, but remains violent even after the drink has been removed. Though the alcohol has been removed,the family is still experiencing chaos, if not even more so than before.

A lot of people don’t know, a lot of people can’t imagine. I have a disease that you can’t see. Some people don’t think it’s a disease. Some people think it’s u...sed as an excuse. Some people think I had a choice or could just STOP. I fight stigma every day. I experience death more than the average person. I also experience compassion more than the average person. I am insecure and fearful more than most. I have a past due to animalistic behavior and survival. I have a future due to finding freedom from my disease.