I pray that I may be rid of the anxiety which I have equated in my mind with really caring about people. ~ Quoted from the app A Day at a Time, Hazelden.

Living or working with an addict “in his cups”
as the old AA folk described it
(a descriptor for heavy drinking
as old as the Apocrypha) although
the self-numbing applies to
many substances and addictions…
Living or working with an active addict
can make you cringe nearly constantly,
live trembling, fear speaking,
try to keep from irritating him,
try to calm or placate him,
but that is not really caring about him,
no matter whether love is involved.
To really aid the addict,
find your own Recovery and live in it!