How to deal with friends or family members with a substance abuse issue

This week is Red Ribbon week, a week to raise awareness and prevent use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. When you or someone you love has a substance addiction it can be scary. Watching their entire personality change with one pill or one bottle of alcohol is tough. Not only is it hard to watch, it’s also hard to understand why they do it and why they can’t stop. I have quite a bit of personal experience with this so I hope to teach whoever has dealt with this how to cope and possibly provide some comfort for this scary situation because you are certainly not the only one.

1. Learn from their mistakes by avoiding drugs and alcohol. Especially if they’re your family, addiction issues can be hereditary. It’s best to steer clear of any substances you might get addicted to.

2. Don’t take whatever they say while they’re under the influence to heart. When a person is under the influence of a substance, it has a huge effect on their decision- making skills. They say things they don’t mean, so keep this in mind no matter what you hear them saying while they’re under the influence.

3. Don’t be forceful in trying to change them. For someone to truly kick their addiction, they have to make the change themselves. They must really want to stop and have an extremely strong will. Being pressured into stopping might result in more drugs and more alcohol, so just remember you can’t change them yourself.

4. Be supportive and helpful of their problems when you can. When they say they’re going to quit, be supportive. If they don’t end up quitting, be supportive the next time around they try to quit.. If they’re trying to make the change, it can be a difficult struggle and they’ll need all the help they can get, so just be there for them.

5. Realize that their behavior is not your fault. You didn’t cause them to start drinking or doing drugs. Much like you can’t make them stop, you didn’t make them start either. Many people blame themselves which is an awful thing to do. You couldn’t have caused any of it. It was their decision, so don’t feel guilty.

I know it’s tough to deal with a situation like this, but you just have to hold your head high and use it as a learning experience. Be the bigger person by realizing that you can’t change anything and you can only support change. If you ever find yourself with this problem, whether it be a friend or family member, feel free to talk to me or find someone you trust and confide in them. They can’t help the situation but they can listen and talk to you about it. Be open and try to understand. Also, a big thanks to jagPRIDE for putting on an amazing and meaningful Red Ribbon Week.