Disclaimer: This is theory. By no means, am I an expert in the field of addiction recovery. If you are, feel free to chime in. My opinion is based on what has been reported in the media.
First and foremost, I’d like to send my condolences to the family and friends of DMX. May his faith, humanity and music continue to inspire generations to come.
I didn’t watch the Verzuz battle between DMX and Snoop Dogg in its entirety, but I saw the liquor bottles and the weed. DMX was also on Drink Champs, where the environment was pretty much the same. Although I didn’t know DMX personally, my first thought was about his sobriety. I questioned whether those environments were safe for him, since he was early in his sobriety journey. Now that he is no longer with us, I wonder if those who organized these events took his sobriety into consideration.
I am not bashing Verzuz or Drink Champs, because I am a huge fan of both platforms. However, I believe it opens the door for a conversation that needs to take place. Should we create sober environments for recovering addicts? While addicts are often given tools to manage their sobriety during rehab, the people they return to are not equipped to support a recovering addict. As a result, recovering addicts are often invited into environments that have the potential to trigger a relapse.
Now, some of you may say that it’s the addict’s responsibility to make that call. I do believe that holding the addict accountable is very important. I also believe that sobriety is too sensitive and addiction is too destructive for one level of security. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to support sobriety. The village acts as another level of security, in an effort to protect the recovering addict from common relapse pitfalls. I believe that a recovering addict should be in a cocoon of sorts, until he/she feels ready to venture out on his/her own.
How do you do this? In the case of Verzuz and Drink Champs, they could have created a dry environment. Liquor and weed were not essential to either situation. While it may have called for an exception to what fans are accustomed to, it would have been worth the change. We can do the same in our everyday lives. We can host dry parties and still have fun. We can go out to dinner, enjoy a great conversation and not order alcoholic beverages. Yes, it requires sacrifice, but I think the sobriety of your loved one is worth it. Don’t you?
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