Social distancing can hurt addicts. There’s help during the coronavirus outbreak
My name is Tommy Sablan, and I’m 13 years clean.
Ever since I was a little boy, addiction has been in my life. Now, with all that is going on in the world because of this coronavirus pandemic, my heart goes out to the addicts and alcoholics who have made the choice to live a life of sobriety.
The Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that saved their lives is gone. There’s a high probability that statewide stay-at-home orders will lead to relapses, because our world is set up for addicts to fail.
We’re at home. All we have is the reality of the world today and the thoughts swirling in our heads. We’re thinking of reasons to use, and ways we can turn this terrible tragedy into an excuse to perhaps take one more drink or to do that one more line of cocaine.
I think of my family first. I have a beautiful granddaughter. I love my work. This is what keeps me from using.
Addicts or alcoholics who go to NA or AA meetings hear time and time again that if you go back to using, it usually takes you down faster and harder to a depth that you don’t want to see.
I’m the younger brother of two heroin addicts. They’re both in heaven. NA and AA saved their lives and they beat the odds of their addiction because of social gatherings and meetings. But they both died young from long-term heroin use, even though they were clean at the end. The many years of using beat up their bodies, and it caught up to both of them.
Social distancing is the exact opposite of what saved their lives.
My dear mom Rosa was a saint who never touched an illegal drug in her life. She died of a broken heart because she missed my two brothers so much. In a way, my mom died from heroin.
Addiction affects an entire family. You all go through the pain and heartache. There’s a deep ache in my heart from all that I saw as a child.
Because of all that I saw and lived all those years ago, I’m invited regularly to speak to youths in the juvenile justice system with a few of my friends and community leaders.
When you speak at juvenile hall, the kids know within a few seconds if your heart is in the right place. They know instantly if your story is real. The moment I talk about heroin, their eyes lock on me. When I tell them my mom died of a broken heart, the tears fall from their eyes.
A relapse or even the thought of using can be just as deadly as getting COVID-19.
The format of a NA and AA meeting hasn’t changed since it was started by Bill W. decades and decades ago. But it’s 2020, and there are now technological tools that today’s addict can use to take the place of going to meetings, still giving them that inspiration.
MyLifeLink is a smartphone app that caters to people who are struggling. It’s a viral community. You reach out, and others reach back by responding through the app. And it’s free.
The use of online videoconferencing service Zoom has skyrocketed over the last three weeks, and addicts have been part of that. Many want to stay in touch more than ever with sponsors or friends who motivate and inspire.
Sobriety is a beautiful thing. If you relapse, get back into recovery and don’t look back. There is nothing more powerful and meaningful than Day One.
To the addict or alcoholic who is continuing her or his sobriety during the stay-at-home order: You’ve got this. Sobriety comes first, because if you live a life of sobriety, then everything else that you love and cherish will follow.
It was a miracle my brothers got clean toward the end of their lives. You can create miracles just by believing in someone.
If you’re struggling, I need you to know that I believe in you.
I’m Tommy Sablan, and I’m an addict.
Tommy Sablan is a producer at iHeartRadio and KUSI in San Diego, California.
This story was originally published April 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Social distancing can hurt addicts. There’s help during the coronavirus outbreak."