Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Relapse

"I relapsed again," she told me. "I could barely bring myself to tell you."

"Unfortunately, it happens. But what's the plan now?" I try not to show any discernible emotion when hearing the news so that she doesn't feel judged.

"Well, I haven't used in two days. I feel like shit, though." She wrings her hands as they rest in her lap.

"Two days? That's great! every day is a new chance to make a new choice. What do you think?"

"Yeah, today's a new day, but that doesn't help me feel less like shit."

"I know, but you'll feel physically better sooner if you can just forgive yourself and let go of what happened. You can learn from your mistakes without beating yourself up about it."

"That's true. I just hope I can do it."

"You have choices every day. You made a good choice to come in today and talk to us. Let's plan on some good decisions tomorrow, too, OK?"

"OK. I'll be back next week. I think I'll get some exercise." We both stand up and shake hands.

As the door closes, I take a deep breath. Addiction must be such a weight to carry. I give thanks that it doesn't have a hold on me, and feel a swelling of compassion for those for whom it is a daily---or even an hourly---struggle.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Keith,

I couldn't find your e-mail address so I'm posting here.

I was wondering if you'd be interested in posting any articles from the Nursezone.com website. There are lots of relevant articles for todays nurse. The great news is that using nursezone content on your site is no cost. We'd just like to have a link back to our site for those of your bloggers interested in finding a community of nurses, CE opportunities, travel nursing and other relevant nurse aids. A partial example of a nursing article is below:

Nursing Schools Lauded for Male Student Efforts

By Susan Kreimer, MS, contributor
Excelsior College in Albany, NewYork, has much to be proud of. It garnered the 2006 Best Nursing School or College for Men in Nursing Award.
Impressed by the caliber of entries, The American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN) also bestowed the award upon the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia.
Ben Eithun, president of the Male Association of Nursing at Penn (MAN-UP), recently accepted the honor on behalf of the school at AAMN’s annual conference, held this time in Portland, Oregon.
The award recognizes the co-winners – Penn and Excelsior – for success in recruiting and retaining male nurses, providing them with a nurturing educational setting, and informing faculty, students and the community about men’s ongoing contributions to the profession. (more article to come)

© 2007. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Let me know what you think.

Tracy (nursezoneportal@earthlink.net)