““We recognize that you've used substances to try to regain your lost balance, to try to feel the way you did before the need arose to use addictive drugs or alcohol. We know that you use substances to alter your mood, to cover up your sadness, to ease your heartbreak, to lighten your stress load, to blur your painful memories, to escape your hurtful reality, or to make your unbearable days or nights bearable.””
![“What [my patients] care about is my presence or absence as a human being. They gauge with unerring eye whether I am grounded enough on any given day to co-exist with them, to listen to them as persons with feelings, hopes and aspirations as valid as mine. They can tell instantly whether I’m…” quote by Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d98/gabor-mat-1410_addiction-and-recove_what-my-patients-care-about-is-my-presen_644472.jpg)
