Addiction Story: Mother Of Addicted Adult

Virginia called me in a panic. Her twenty-two son, John, had stolen money from her wallet and jewelry from her bedroom safe. This wasn’t the first time John had taken money from his mother. But this was the first time that John had been hostile, even threatening to his mother, pushing her aside when she tried to stop him. Virginia was in tears. “What should I do? Can you help him? I know he’s stealing not just from me but from strangers to feed his drug habit.” Unfortunately Virginia is facing what hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mothers are facing in this country today. An adult child doing the unthinkable, stealing from others, trashing their own lives and headed for death, jail, or a life on the street. The unthinkable. What can be done? What kind of intervention can be set up to help such a person? If you are lucky you can find an organization that will stage such an intervention. And they can work. Unfortunately, an adult who is so ‘out of control’ cannot generally be helped by psychotherapy. They must be stopped by other more severe measures. Often the consequences of their actions is the only way to salvation from the addiction. Age sometimes brings maturity and the realization that one must take responsibility for one’s actions. This is when psychotherapy counseling, hypnotherapy, AA, and other modes of counseling can help. Meanwhile, short of a planned intervention or reporting her son to the authorities, there is not much that Virginia can do. Perhaps Virginia can see this as an opportunity for her to grow. Such a heartbreaking challenge can be just the right circumstance for her own spiritual and personal growth.