Jamal sat alone in his small apartment, staring at the bottle in his hand. He wasn’t even sure why he drank anymore. It was not about the taste. It was not even about getting drunk. It was just something he did. Something that made everything feel a little less heavy.
His phone lit up with a message from his sister Layla.
"Haven’t heard from you in a while. Are you okay"
Jamal sighed. Layla always checked on him. She had been doing it since they were kids. But what was he supposed to say. That he was tired. That getting out of bed felt like a battle most days. That sometimes he wished he could just disappear for a while.
He thought back to their childhood. Their father had been a tough man who never talked about feelings. If Jamal ever cried he would hear the same words. "Toughen up. Real men don’t show pain." So Jamal learned to stay quiet. He kept everything to himself. He carried his pain alone.
And now at thirty two that pain had become part of him. Drinking was the only thing that made it fade for a while.
That night Layla showed up at his door. She did not say much. She just sat beside him on the couch.
After a long silence she spoke softly. "Jamal I know you are hurting but numbing the pain won’t make it go away."
His chest felt tight and for the first time in years he did not try to hold back the tears.
Layla squeezed his hand. "Addiction is not about the substance it is about the pain it numbs. As Dr Gabor Maté says don’t ask why the addiction ask why the pain. Behind every addiction is a story of loss trauma or unmet needs. Let’s approach it with compassion and understanding."
