We know how addiction impacts all dimensions of life — medical, emotional, vocational, family, recreational and financial. We have experienced countless times the reluctance of addicted people to take their situation seriously (or to admit that a problem even exists) until it strikes home in ways that simply can no longer be ignored. Addicted people feel like they’re facing something that came out of nowhere — that they can’t really even begin to understand — and hijacked their lives. 

Yes, we get it. 

Addiction can’t be cured any more than COVID-19 can be eradicated. But each can be contained — in similar, if not identical ways. And, in fact, our lives depend on it.

There is more to containing this illness than adhering to the expertise and recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control. The solution to fighting coronavirus, just like addiction, starts with and depends on a grass roots movement of people who understand that supporting each other is just as important as taking care of themselves, that we can only get through this together. 

We must understand that we are not alone and that others know our suffering — that we must reach out and be there when others reach out to us. The isolation required by a coronavirus is anathema to a recovering person, who depends on the company of fellow addicts, so we must be creative in finding ways to connect.

And we must remember that those who falter or fall short of our notions of proper behavior deserve not to be shunned, but to be helped and welcomed back into the flock. None of us are perfect.

We know that this pandemic will get worse before it gets better, and that the longer it continues, the more our patience wanes and our carelessness increases. It will sorely test our powers of resiliency.

People with addiction are the most resilient people I have met in life. As their world fell apart, as they lost so much (if not all) of what they cared about, they somehow found hope that there was a way out of the darkness. The lessons those recovering addicts learned, and which serve to keep them clean and sober, can serve us all well today. There is hope. Take things one day at a time. And perhaps above all, this too shall pass.