I was out Christmas shopping yesterday, (with all the rest of you) and met some wonderful people. Lines-ups at this time of year seem to be easier to take for some reason. People are more polite and forgiving, and they are just more willing to talk. I had a great conversation with a lady that was in front of me in a line to purchase our presents. After the usual chit chat, she asked me what I do for a living. After a brief explanation, she immediately started talking about all the people in her life who had been affected by drug abuse. Some had sought out treatment at a drug rehab center and others had dealt with it in different ways.
What was truly interesting was how little she actually understood about addiction, even though she was literally surrounded by it. I gave her a mini lesoon in stress and self medication and it was as if someone had told her about the world for the first time. It was obvious she really wanted some way to understand what people in her life were doing and why. She also said she never really understood the purpose of drug rehab, and thought people who went there were just weak, because they didn't stop on their own.
The five minutes we spent together in line disappeared in a blink. She thanked me and wished me a merry Christmas, took a few steps away, then stopped. Whe came back and said, "Don't stop what you are doing, and I am glad there are rehabs, and thank you for telling me why they work." I laughed and thought to myself, everyone is touched by drug rehab, even when they don't know it.
