I awoke to a short piece on BBC radio about former first lady Betty Ford's battle with prescription drug and alcohol addiction. The show, titled "Witness" gives a quick rundown on what it took for the first lady to eventually seek help for her crisis. The method that seemed to reach her best and convince her to go outside for help and treatment was family intervention.
I myself have been involved with one intervention of a loved one. As with the first lady's intervention, we the loved ones began and ended everything said to our victim of addiction with the words "I Love You." For those who are choosing the intervention method of reaching out to someone in need, it is essential that the one you are trying to help knows and feels they are loved.
Amazing that first lady Betty Ford would not only win her battle but also co-found the residential chemical dependency recovery hospital named after her (BettyFordCenter.)
Imagine the courage it must've taken for this woman, a first lady married to a non-elected President who'd taken over after one of the worse scandal's in Presidential history (Watergate), to come out of the closet and seek treatment in public?
For those unsure soul's out there suffering alone and fearful of what their job, family, friends or strangers will think when they let the cat out of the bag to seek outside treatment for drugs and/or alcohol, I point you to this courageous first lady and all that she had riding on the line.
For Betty Ford it wasn't about position, gossip or doing the politically correct or incorrect thing at the time; it was about reclaiming a healthy life and being able to return the love of family and friends. It was a courageous act by a person under a magnifying glass who probably felt small, scared and anything but courageous.
First Lady Betty Ford, I Salute You!
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