Dr. Estes is one of the top addiction to sobriety coaches in the country and has been called the female Doctor Drew, but being in love proved to be a blind spot that kept her from seeing her own husband’s drug addiction as it spiraled out of control. Dr. Estes is the founder of the Addictions Academy. She and her husband Tim Estes, share their personal and painful story in a new book titled I Married A Junkie.
Estes said, “It’s actually very easy to miss it because [addicts] are very manipulative, and as a loved one, you don’t want to believe that your child or your husband would lie to you and do these things, but they do because they’re trying to get their drug of choice. ”
“Our story is about me being a professional in the industry and missing the signs because we were passing in the night at times, we weren’t even in the same room or the same dinner table. So I didn’t see some of the things. When we had met, he wasn’t really using. He was sober and he switched drugs of choice.”
Jessica Holmes questioned, “I’m sure many people would say, well, the fact that you are a professional, how could you fail to see this? How could you be married to someone and miss the signs?”
“It’s actually very easy to miss it because they’re very manipulative, and as a loved one, you don’t want to believe that your child or your husband would lie to you and do these things, but they do because they’re trying to get their drug of choice,” responded Estes.
When host Frank Buckley asked, “Your husband was saved by Narcan? Correct? And recently we heard that the surgeon general said, everyone should have Narcan to help people who are overdosing. What do you think of that?”
Estes answered, “I was against it until it was happening to me, until my loved one was the one that overdosed, and then I said, maybe this is a good thing now. I don’t think everybody should have Narcan. I think you should be trained appropriately so that if you’re going to administer [Narcan] to someone you do know what you’re doing.”
During the Interview Estes was asked, “Are there are signs that that one should look for in a loved one? The fact that that it can be missed, that you can be married to someone and not see some of the signs. What should people know?”
Dr. Estes explained, “The first thing you want to look for is flu-like symptoms. Somebody is always sick or they have a runny nose. They don’t attend events. The second one is not doing their passion. Things they used to do, they don’t do anymore. A third one is going to the bathroom. Spending large amounts of time in there when you should actually be with your family and another one is pawning. You’re looking for high dollar items in the house that I’m missing.”
“And the most important thing, if you’re not sure, because these are also signs that can mimic depression or some other things, you should get a third party mental health or an addiction specialist to come in and give you an unbiased opinion,” she continued.
In addition to authoring I Married A Junkie, Dr. Cali Estes is The Addictions Coach and founder of The Addictions Academy, the nation’s premier Recovery Coaching training center.
The interview concluded with Estes asserting that sometimes love can blind us to what’s happening with the people around us.
She stated, “It’s important that you call a professional. If you’re not sure what you see, ask, always call and say, hey, I’m seeing these signs. What does this mimic? Or what is this like? Is it drug use? Isn’t mental health? How do I help my loved one?”
To listen to the full interview on KTLA Morning News, visit http://ktla.com/2018/06/04/tell-tale-signs-you-may-be-living-with-a-junkie/.
To learn more about Dr. Cali Estes, please visit https://imarriedajunkie.com.
