Addiction itself is a problem that has plagued mankind from the very beginning. This problem is often seen as a choice by it's user, but at what point does it stop becoming a choice and start becoming an illness?

When you're living with someone who is addicted to drugs, living begins to feel tiring. What most people fail to realize is that addiction affects more than just the user, it affects their families and friends as well.

Being addicted severs your connection to the outside world and you don't see what you're doing to people. While I was never addicted to drugs myself, someone very dear to my heart was.

Living in this situation leaves you with huge responsibilities, in a way you evolve from a teen to an adult in a matter of moments. You could be left watching your brothers or holding down the house and working because they've unbound their ties to their surroundings. Many people don't talk about their home lives, especially when they know that they have to hide what lies behind their front door. One thing I've learned from my experience is that there's always something you can do. I learned this the hard way, but it has opened my eyes in many ways.

I watched my loved one suffer for a very long time, but I sat and chose to think that they were being selfish. I was narrow minded and I believed that they could stop any time they wanted to. Well, I was wrong. I didn't see the underlying problems that resulted in the drug use. Me being a young teen, I didn't think I had to. Again, wrong. I was not educated until after the fact. The fact is that I watched my loved one, my parent, suffer to the point where they could not come out of this downward spiral they were sliding down and my negative view as well as lack of compassion drove them further down.

At a certain point, using drugs no longer becomes a choice or a way to feel okay. You become dependent on these substances and you are no longer in reach of reality. Sometimes you are blind to that fact and you treat those suffering differently, you belittle them, but, who are we to shame people for something they can't control? While in the beginning it was their choice to partake in these activities, no one thinks they will get addicted until they are. According to the C.D.C, over 14,000 people died from opioid overdose in 2014 alone, while over two million other people were dependent on opiates. Addiction is a rising epidemic and we can't sit around and do nothing about it. Too many people are dying due to overdose, we can't continue to push these people into a corner and forget about them. People make addicts out to be monsters (I know, I've done it before), they are great human beings, but they are being held down by their demons. So, if you see your loved ones struggling, try to help. Don't ignore it.