How best to deal with the loss of a brilliant friend to heroin?

Question

An extraordinary friend of mine, IMO a genius of a rare sort, struggled with addiction for much of his life and recently passed from an overdose. He had an overfill of talent to share with the world, eaten by this horrific disease. I know this is not uncommon, so hoping for some pithy advice on making sense of it, which at the moment I'm struggling to do.

surprisetalk · Accepted Answer

I'm so sorry for your loss.I've been surrounded by substance abuse my entire life, and narrowly escaped it myself. Feel free to schedule a call with me, if you think talking to a stranger will help:[1] https://calendly.com/taylor-town/30minYou may also want to talk to a professional:[2] https://www.betterhelp.comIt's not specifically about grief, but The Anthropocene Reviewed is a collection of essays that have really helped me navigate my pursuit of happiness and meaning. It was published as both a podcast and a book:[3] https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed[4] https://www.amazon.com/Anthropocene-Reviewed-Essays-Human-Ce...

anenefan · Answer

My condolences on your friends passing. I often don't think there's any making sense of such things, at best coming to terms with the path they've chosen and for the many varied reasons a person despite knowing will continue use such drugs. My only real encounter of the drug using culture was a crowd I lived beside many years ago, who were mostly meth addicts and the many varied visitors. Some drugs are safer than others ... or should be safe is more often the problem when some industrious person is trying to cut the product for resale. More often I was left with a feeling that their drug taking was an affordable solution for their undiagnosed or untreated depression, but I do hear many find relief from their torment from the unpleasant things life has handed them.

pestatije · Answer

It doesn't make sense...i know people who struggled with alcohol their whole lives, and it doesn't make sense either

brudgers · Answer

I lost a dear friend in 1984.My condolences on your loss.It might be worth talking to a licensed clinical therapist with experience in grief therapy.