Grown women do cry. Grown men do cry.
There are times in life when events become so overwhelming, so crushing and defeating, so frustrating and painful, so emotional, that we can do nothing other than cry.
I strongly believe that if addicts would learn to cry, they’d find the psychological relief that comes from it will help them to stay on track. Instead, what many addicts do is try to test their resistance to their addiction by tasting or sampling the very thing that will drive them back into the very thing they wish to most avoid. Instead of having a good cry, they drink that shot of alcohol to test themselves. Or simply give up and reach for the needle for their shot of heroin.
Granted, crying sounds like such a simple solution to such a massive problem as addiction. Yet, those who use this technique, instead of testing themselves, often find that it works in the same way as soap helps to wash dirst from one’s face. Crying can be a great washing of many frustrations that would otherwise result in sliding back into the addiction.
For this to work, though, the addict has to find his or her own private, safe place to cry. It may be a chaise lounge or chair in the far corner of his or her backyard hidden from view of family or neighbors. It may be in the corner of his or her basement, though I recommend getting out of the house, instead. The objective is to find a safe spot to cry in private, as a way to help avoid and diffuse the triggers of the addiction.
A “good cry” includes saying aloud to oneself all the recriminations, guilt, depressive feelings, anxieties, that would otherwise drive the addict to sampling the addiction they are trying to avoid. Repeat as often as necessary by visiting your safe crying spot as often as necessary.
A good cry, done frequently, in a safe, outdoor spot, can cleanse much of an addicts self-punishing feelings and become a powerful force to ward off that evil desire to test and “sample” that can result in descending back into the addiction.
