Duty
I’m about to say something that will not be popular opinion: It is not your duty to be there for someone with a mental illness or a chemical dependency. Please, hear me out. This post has been a long time coming. If a person needs someone to support them through the process of getting help, then yes, be there for them. Help them. But if a person doesn’t believe there is a problem, if a person does not want help, there is no amount of support that will help them. The saying, “there person has to want to help themselves,” is beyond true. My whole life, I have thought I can fix these people. Fix the ones that need it, even if they didn’t know they needed it. I actually thought that because of my childhood, I was trained and it was my responsibility to be there for adults that can’t help themselves. Like it was my duty. It took me a long time and many mistakes to realize that is not. Let me tell you the story that gave me an epiphany. I will leave out nam