Hey there, fellow travelers on the wild ride of addiction and recovery. I'm your tour guide today - a substance abuse counselor with a credential I earned the hard way: my own years of using and recovering. I'm not here to preach, but to offer some real talk about how addiction crashes the family party and how you can pick up the pieces. Addiction: The Uninvited Houseguest Picture this: you're living your life, and then - BAM! - this unwanted guest named Addiction shows up at the door. At first, it seems fun, even charming. But soon, it's taken over the couch, drained your bank account, and turned your family dinners into war zones. That's what happens when addiction enters a family. It's like a disease that infects everyone, not just the user. Trust me, I've been both the infected and the infected-adjacent. Spotting the Symptoms (Beyond the Obvious) Okay, you might be thinking, "I'd know if addiction was wreaking havoc at my place." But the si...