Addict OCD: Obsession, Compulsion, Desperation

A couple of weeks went by. We won our first game by twenty.  Chad started to relax.  Pepper proved his tab was well-earned.  Hardwick picked up the tab “Hard Work.” All seemed to be going well.

Suzanne’s sister Betsy blew through the money she had won and couldn’t pay her debts. Once again the family rallied around Betsy, all except Sam and Suzanne.  Suzanne told Betsy she wouldn’t pay her bills.   A week later Chad stopped showing up at practice.

Another week went by before we found out why. Suzanne had tried to sell the family on cutting off Betsy.  She had used my name.  Betsy told Chad he couldn’t play on any team coached by a drunk, meaning me.  Somehow she had forgotten KC was the coach and he hadn’t had a drink in decades.  On the other hand, her husband was an active alcoholic.  Betsy was deep in a gambling addiction.

“Using her kid like a pawn,” KC said. “What’s wrong with her?”

“One of the ways you tell if someone is addicted is how they react when separated from the drug or activity of choice.  The same holds true for their co-dependents and enablers.  We say addiction is compulsion and obsession.  It’s desperation too.”

Today I will remember addiction and desperation go hand-in-hand.

Life on Life’s Terms II © 2015 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: LOLT II is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)