Determined Mother Helps Children Overcome the Psychological Trauma of an Addict Father

When Love Isn't Enough: A Mother's Escape from the Destruction of Addiction

After four years of silent suffering, watching addiction transform her loving husband into a stranger who brought violence and chaos into their home, an Emirati mother made the painful decision to seek divorce—not as an act of abandonment, but as a desperate bid for survival. Her story illuminates the devastating ripple effects of substance abuse on families and the impossible choices faced by those who love addicts unwilling to seek help.

The Gradual Unraveling of a Perfect Life

The woman describes her life before addiction invaded their home as "more than wonderful"—a house filled with contentment and security, shared with a kind and affectionate husband. The transformation began subtly: unexplained absences from work, explosive anger over trivial matters, and a complete shutdown of communication replaced by harsh dismissals.

Initially attributing the changes to work stress or financial pressure, she offered to sell her gold jewelry to support him. But the money would disappear without any improvement in their situation, deepening her suspicions about his increasingly erratic behavior and physical deterioration.

The Night Everything Became Clear

The truth emerged during a terrifying incident when her husband disappeared for an entire day without warning. He returned late at night wearing only underwear, his body covered in beach sand and bearing visible signs of violence, laughing hysterically and speaking incoherently. When his father confronted him directly about drug use, they discovered narcotics in his vehicle, confirming their worst fears.

Descent Into Chaos: From Marijuana to Intravenous Drugs

What began with cannabis and cigarettes escalated into a dangerous pattern of experimentation. The husband progressed to pills, then to intravenous drugs, losing control of his faculties and often sleeping on streets or beaches, unable to remember where he had left his car the previous day.

The financial devastation followed quickly. After losing his job, the family's economic foundation crumbled. The wife sold her jewelry and car, borrowed money from siblings, and eventually found employment herself to support the household while her husband remained trapped in his addiction.

A Home Transformed Into a Battlefield

The family home, once a sanctuary, became a place of fear. The mother would hide her children in locked rooms during her husband's violent episodes, sometimes forcing the entire family to take refuge in the bathroom for hours. The situation reached a breaking point when he began using drugs in front of the children—a moment of clarity that forced her to recognize the immediate danger to her family's future.

The Fight for Recovery That Never Came

Despite the chaos, the wife refused to give up without a fight. She contacted specialized treatment centers and enlisted their daughter's help in attempting interventions, viewing her husband not as an enemy but as a patient in desperate need of assistance. However, every overture was met with adamant refusal, as if addiction had sealed off all channels of communication and hope.

The mother's words capture the impossible position of loving an addict: "I never saw him as an enemy, but as a sick person who needed a helping hand. But his hand was clenched around the needle, refusing salvation and clinging to the abyss."

The Impossible Choice: Love or Survival

The decision to seek divorce came not from a desire to escape her husband's condition, but from a recognition that protecting her children had to take precedence. She emphasizes that addiction is a disease, and those who accept treatment can recover—but her husband had closed every door, making firm action necessary to secure her children's physical and psychological future.

Long-Term Consequences

Thirteen years later, the trauma continues to affect the family. One of her daughters still receives psychological treatment, demonstrating how addiction's impact extends far beyond the user, creating generational wounds that require ongoing healing.

A Message of Painful Wisdom

The mother's advice to other women facing similar situations reflects hard-earned wisdom: "Try every avenue of treatment, but don't let your children pay the price of addiction." Her story serves as both a cautionary tale and a beacon of hope for families struggling with similar circumstances.

This account highlights a broader social challenge facing families across the Gulf region and beyond, where cultural stigmas around mental health and addiction often prevent open discussion of these devastating personal crises. The woman's courage in sharing her story provides crucial insight into the impossible choices faced by those who love someone consumed by addiction.