Dear beautiful being,

I haven't been in your place before, so this might come off as unauthorized ramblings, but I have been a spectator of the cycle; I have watched the spiraling cyclone of addiction plague someone I love. I've seen it trap someone; I've seen it do its devil's dance, its hyena's laugh, its criminal's heist. I've seen drugs swirl into –– I've watched the poisons take over control like a faceless video gamer controlling the mindless players inside the screen. So, even though I haven't experienced what you're going through (I can't even begin to fathom how rugged and scary your journey must feel), I care. And this is what I have to say.

We worry. We –– your family, your friends –– know what you're like when you're not high and we haven't forgotten. But we push it away; we try to forget the distinction between your sober self and your influenced self, because we don't know what to do. We enable you, and we're sorry.

The last thing we want to think about is the worst case scenario –– we push the thoughts of potential overdose out of our minds and end up ignoring the situation almost completely. In this situation, ignorance is never bliss.

Like I said, I don't know what you're feeling. Maybe this grants you some instant euphoria, some temporary escape. Maybe it just makes you forget for a minute -- maybe, it makes you believe that everything's okay. And even though everything might not be okay, trust me, there is so much more to live for, to experience, than the high-speed chase for the perfect high. You have a brilliant mind –– you have a bewitching genius that has thoughts that are yearning to be heard, to be seen, to be felt. We all want to see your intelligence spill out of you and onto the canvas of your life; we're all just anxious to see the masterpiece that awaits.

This battle –– your battle –– is waiting to be conquered. You are the only warrior that can end this stalemate. And while I'm here –– we're all here –– you need to truly want this to be able to defeat the dampening omnipotence of addiction. I'll help you seek out the help, I'll even try to force you into getting help. And though the battle will never truly be over, you need to live your life fighting. When you're clean –– when you're heart is beating a sober rhythm, you are winning. Don't let the temptations trap you.

I want to see the sober version of your complicated, unique, intricately molded soul, again. This won't be easy, but if it helps at all, I'm here, waiting to watch you rise from the ashes.

Love,

Someone who cares