Losing a Loved One to Drug Overdose: Quotes of Support

Healing Quotes for Those Who Have Lost a Loved One to Addiction

Is there anything more painful than losing a loved one to drug overdose? Quotes can help you put your loss in perspective and give you something hopeful to cling to when the sadness feels like it may break you in half. Whether you want a quote from someone famous or obscure, there are options to inspire you.

Changes Healing Center can help your loved one take the first steps toward addiction recovery before it is too late. We offer comprehensive care for drug and alcohol misuse in both residential and outpatient settings, conveniently located in Phoenix.

Keep reading to see some of the quotes that might spark hope for your grieving process and give you the push you need to seek help for your own mental health if you need it.

Addiction Recovery Quotes to Guide Family Members in the Right Direction

When you have lost a loved one to a drug overdose, there’s nothing that can take away the pain. But there are a few mindsets you can adopt to deal with your grief in a lifelong process toward healing. If this describes you, some of these quotes about losing loved ones may resonate.

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. – Unknown

This quote from an unknown author is certainly true when it comes to substance use disorders. While you may not have always had good times with your lost loved ones, you likely hold onto a few positive memories that remind you of who they used to be before addiction took hold.

Grief is itself a medicine. – William Cowper

Don’t try to rush through your feelings for the sake of getting past them. You may not grieve forever, but take the time you need to process your loss. You’ll find that grief does serve its purpose and allows you to feel the love you had for them more acutely.

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. – Chinese Proverb

This old proverb can be an excellent addition to a collection of quotes around healing and recovery. You can’t control the drug use or life that your loved one had. You also can’t prevent them from overdosing, but you can put measures in place to ensure that this grief doesn’t swallow you whole. You have a life to live in honor of your loved ones.

Grief is the price we pay for love. – Queen Elizabeth II

The truth is that you would not grieve if your love were not sincere and overwhelming. It brings more pain to you when your addicted loved ones are lost forever, but the true meaning of grief is that you loved them to the best of your ability during their time here on earth.

You may never understand addiction and what it did to them, but you can understand your love for them.

All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. – Helen Keller

Almost everyone will eventually lose someone they love, whether due to this disease or some other cause of death. But the good news is that they are not truly lost, as the old adage goes. Helen Keller highlights that the people we love will become so deeply a part of us that we can never root them out.

Substance Abuse and Addiction Quotes Most People Relate to Their Loved Ones

Maybe you need to think about a loved one’s substance abuse in a new light after your loss. Some of these quotes will give you the inspiration to see how hard and valiantly they fought this disease before their drug abuse took them from you.

I avoid looking forward or backward and try to keep looking upward. – Charlotte Bronte

There’s no way to think about what might have been different in the past, and thinking about the future might require more emotional bandwidth than you have right now. Instead, look upward and focus not on the linear progression of your grief but on the memory of your loved one.

No matter how dark the night may get, your light will never burn out. – Jeanette LeBlanc

The reality is that the darkness of night has arrived, but remember that you hold the power to remember them and keep their light from extinguishing. Don’t let their death keep you from advocating for others, from preserving their memory, and from living your own life. It might be dark now, but light comes again.

Sometimes, you can only find heaven by slowly backing away from hell. – Carrie Fisher

While you’re going through this period of loss and grieving, you might lose hope for the future. But there will be brighter days again, and Carrie Fisher’s quote reminds us of that. You can find joy again one day when you back away from your loss and look at the positive things in your life–and theirs.

If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them sorrows know how to swim. – Ann Landers

This is a great reminder that the person you loved was trying to cope with a difficult situation in their own life. They didn’t know that their sorrows would follow them and ultimately cost them everything when they were no longer able to control their addiction.

Addiction recovery is one of the hardest things to survive because it means facing your pain day in and day out.

Mental Health Quotes for Loss of a Loved One

Oftentimes, someone with a substance abuse issue also struggles with mental health. You may even find that you have your own mental health issues as you cope with your grief. These quotes will give courage to anyone who is thinking about pursuing help so that they don’t grieve forever.

The advice I’d give to somebody that’s silently struggling is you don’t have to live that way. You don’t have to struggle in silence. You can be un-silent. – Demi Lovato

Remember that if you’re dealing with grief or mental illness in the wake of your loss, you don’t have to suffer through it in silence. You can talk about it with your family members, friends, and a trusted and experienced grief counselor. You might need that professional support to help you heal.

There is hope even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green

Whether your loved one died of cardiac arrest, an overdose, or some other cause related to their addiction recovery, your brain might be telling you there is no hope. But there will always be hope. Maybe that looks different than you thought it would, but you have a future opportunity to make a difference.

My dark days made me stronger. Or maybe I already was strong, and they made me prove it. – Emery Lord

This moment is going to require you to prove your strength. It might feel like your heart will break in two at the thought of living without your loved one forever. But you can and will survive this loss because you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Struggling isn’t a sign of weakness.

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves. – Henry David Thoreau

The truth is that you are likely feeling unmoored right now, uncertain about what you should do to move forward. This is a normal feeling when someone close to you passes, especially when substance use disorders are the cause. But you can take this moment to truly understand yourself and your strength.

The only way out is through. – Robert Frost

While it may not be what you want to hear when you’re hoping for a magic pill to heal, the only way through the turbulent waters is simply to swim through them. You’ll find that you can make it through even the darkest days one minute at a time.

Self-Care Quotes: The Only Person You’re Responsible for is You

Eventually, you’re going to come to the end of your grief and realize that you haven’t been taking care of yourself well. These quotes are a reminder to prioritize not only mental health but spiritual and physical health. You can’t take care of anyone else until you take care of yourself.

Here are a few compelling reasons to prioritize your self-care in the midst of your grief and healing.

When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives. -Kristen Neff

Have you been beating yourself up over why you weren’t able to stop your loved one from overdosing? This is a common situation, but you need to have compassion for yourself. You did the best you could with the tools you had available. Give yourself a break and see how your life and grief can transform into something powerful and meaningful.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. – Jack Kornfield

Chances are you feel so much compassion for the people around you, including those you may have lost. You likely give them grace and understand that their substance use was outside of their control. Now, it’s time to extend that mindful compassion to yourself and take care of yourself to the best of your ability.

Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment. – Stephen Covey

There’s no need to rush yourself through this process of grief and transformation. As Covey says, it is a time to be tender and gentle with yourself. The time you invest in your healing right now can have major ripple effects for decades to come. Take your time, and remember you’re doing your best.

The greatest wealth is health. – Virgil

The best gift you can give yourself right now is to prioritize your mental and physical health. Do one small thing that’s positive for your mind and body today. It might feel like an indulgence that doesn’t move the needle forward on your healing, but you’ll be clearer and more focused on the other side of this time invested.

Let Changes Healing Center Help Your Loved One

If your loved one is ready to pursue treatment before all is lost, let Changes Healing Center offer them the comprehensive care they need to start the path toward addiction recovery.

We offer both inpatient and outpatient programs while working with your insurance provider to make care affordable.

Our enrollment team is happy to answer your questions about the world of recovery and how you can give information and resources to a loved one. We even offer same-day admissions so that they can get the help they need the moment they’re ready to surrender their addictions!