If you have an addicted child, spouse or significant other, they are no longer someone you recognize. In reality, you have experienced the death of a how you saw your family, the hopes you had for your child and life as it was supposed to unfold. Don’t be afraid to tell others that you are grieving, attend support groups and seek counseling. Grieving doesn’t just happen when you lose someone. It happens when you lose the dream of what their life could and should have been.