I live in a pretty rural area and there are no groups closer than 60 miles which makes it very hard for me to attend which sucks. As a teenager I attended Alateen and it was a positive experience for me.

I couldn't get into Al-anon, because most everyone was married to and alcoholic. All the women were my Mom's age. I did learn that it is ok to take care of myself and not worry about him constantly, so it did help, but I would rather have talked with parents who's children were using drugs. I mean alcohol use is legal in most areas. It's like there is a stigma even among addicts and families. I had to attend a family program the first time Gary was in rehab. It was so helpful in teaching me about addiction. The only bad thing was you could tell that people looked down on him more, because they had been abusing drugs a doctor had given them, or they had abused alcohol. The teacher would remind them that it is all the same, but there is still some prejudice among them. You wouldn't think there would be.

I have not had a great deal of success with Alanon. I am not saying it isn't a good group. I believe for many it is a great source of sympathy and support. My purpose was to learn as much as I could about addiction and what were the successful responses to having an addict in your life. I suppose it has to do with my lack of patience - I take accountability for that - but I tired of hearing the same thing over and over again from the same people. The lesson for me was, "nothing changes until I change."... and it made it crystal clear.
I wanted so much to hear "success stories," inspiration and hope... not so much about the addict but how they survived and did not fall victim to the disease of enabling, depression and drama. Perhaps it was the particular meeting... I don't know. After a time, I chose to join DS and continue my research on my own.

I'm hoping to get a job in drug rehabilitation. It is on my mind so much and something I am passionate about, so I want it to be my work. I hoped I would be happy just working with the kids here at school, but I feel I'm being called to drug rehab.
That is great that you can spend time researching the issue.

EthelM... I hope you get your wish. For me, I am not sure I would be able to separate my job from my
feelings of helplessness. I am afraid I would take on their problems just as I for so long took on our sons.

As a nurse that is something I have struggled with and it didn't matter if it was an Alzheimer's patient or a teenager with depression. I have noticed that the more patients I have, the better I do. At my school I have about 1000 students, so I don't worry about them for very long. In Alzheimer's I had the same families weekly, and it was so hard. You and I both know that in rehab it would be many, many different people, but I know what you mean, and I am considering that. :)

I attended a naranon group for the first time this week and it helped me a whole lot. The people were awesome and I liked the concept that I have to set my own boundaries that protect me. My oldest daughter has been the spiraling vortex in the center of my whole family for quite some time. I can't control her...she's not interested in my "plan" that would fix things for her. So, she's going to have to figure things out. She'll be out of her 6 week treatment program in 2 weeks...I have no idea what will happen then. Thanks Ethel for inviting me to this group.