This is a personal story, straight from my heart, something I’m dealing with as I type this post. I am a mother of a 24 year old son, who is an addict. This afternoon I had to watch as he was handcuffed and hauled off to jail. This isn’t the first time he’s been in jail for substance abuse either. The only difference is this time I am the one who made the call to the police.

Early this afternoon, my son called his girlfriend, who is pregnant by the way, and told her to bring him his anti-anxiety pills. She refused because he has been abusing them and he was already slurring his speech. She ended up hanging up on him because he was getting belligerent with her. Half an hour later, he called back and said his boss told him he could go home. I don’t know for certain, but it was probably because he was drunk.

I went with his girlfriend to get him because he’s been violent to her in the past when he’s been drunk or high. I also wanted to talk to him to tell him he either has to go get help or get out of my house. He lives with me because he’s on probation for his past violations, doesn’t have a driver’s license and is supposed to only work at places that don’t serve alcohol. Well, back in April he got a job at a pub in a town about 20 miles from ours. His girlfriend just informed me that he’s been sneaking alcohol from the basement of the pub. So, not only is he abusing his anti-anxiety meds, he’s also drinking on top of it.

To make a really long story short, he was slightly pushing me around, trying to get his pills from me. I told him to get his hands off of me or I was going to call the police. He kept pushing, so I called 911. The officer came, we talked, he gave my son a breathalyzer, called his probation officer, and a few minutes later my son was in handcuffs, riding off in the backseat of a Sheriff’s car to jail.

How did we get here? My son began drinking, unbeknownst to me, about the age of 11 or 12. He was shown by his father that alcohol is a part of life, that’s its okay to drink and smoke pot.  My now ex-husband is an addict as well, but most people don’t know it. He is a “functioning” addict, meaning he lives high and can still maintain a job and other daily functions. Is his life fulfilled? Not in the least. But, without getting further into that, I just wanted to share with you, parents of teenagers, my story.

It is my hope and prayer that I can somehow help you or support you if you’re son or daughter is an addict. It’s a tough road to go down and it helps to know there are people out there to help you and give you much needed support.

As for advice, if you suspect your teen is drinking or doing drugs, please, do everything you can to stop it now. Seek help, intervention or whatever is necessary. Even if you think your teen’s partying is just a phase they’ll grow out of, please reconsider. Some teen CAN’T grow out of it. Addiction is a very strong disease and the longer you let it go, the harder it will be to overcome.

My Out Of Control Teen: A online parent-program for those who are struggling with their out-of-control teenagers. learn cut-to-the-chase parenting strategies that work immediately rather than months or years down the road.

Honest Parenting: is truly helpful information that is easy to understand and absolutely works to help you build (or RE-build) a positive, pleasant, and productive relationship with your child or teen.