Like most people I was very sad to hear of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. For a 46 year old, with children and a stable relationship and a hugely successful career, the thought that drugs could mean more to him than family, fame, fortune, it boggles the mind. Russell Brand, a comedian and writer in the UK (known mainly in the US for having briefly married Katy Perry) wrote this really moving piece about addiction, and his feelings, despite being 10 years clean, that it really is a day at a time.
Recovery from anything - addiction, death of a loved one, the loss of the future you planned for yourself - can be brutally hard and often involves relapses (that's my years as an addiction counselor speaking.) But by slogging it out, one simple, single day at a time, recovery can build, and then feel firmer.
I spoke to a client the other day who was battling with being bipolar. She said she would feel better and then think she no longer needed her medication and then stop taking it and spiral out of control. Recovery is sometimes understanding our limitations as well as our strengths, and staying on course, even though we think we might not need it any more.
My best wishes to Philip's family, and Amy Whitehouses' family, and your family, if this is an issue you are dealing with, and my blessing, to take it one day at a time, and let the time grow.
