Leslie Glass's Blog, page 256

Recovery Activity Book

Need help calming down? This recovery activity book soothes and reinforces recovery principles while you learn a new way to think. Recovery literacy is necessary for the whole family to heal.  Find Your True Colors In 12 Steps, translates early recovery lessons so friends and family can join their loved ones in this empowering new world.

Recovery Is For Everyone

Addiction is a family disease that affects generations. Sometimes, the person who struggles with addiction isn’t the first who seeks recovery. Parents, partners, and children find support and healing in programs like Al-Anon, CoDA, Nar-Anon, and Celebrate Recovery.

Each of these family support programs follow the same 12 Steps of AA and NA. Why? Because they have helped millions. When families all work the same program, they can all speak the new language of recovery. Even if your loved one doesn’t quickly follow you into a program, your recovery will help you navigate the heartbreaking challenges of addiction.

This recovery activity book supplements a 12 Step recovery program with a twist. Many hurt by addiction live in constant fear. Will she get fired today? Will he get arrested? Or what if she drives home drunk again? We can’t sleep, and our thoughts race to plan for our worst fears: court dates, overdoses, and funerals. Our minds can only focus on one thought at a time.

Find Your True Colors gives hurting minds 51 scenes to color and hours of soothing distractions to get out of your worries and pain.

Journaling is another key element to recovery, but it’s an intimidating habit to start. This recovery activity book features 17 writing prompts to help you ease into the recovery lifestyle.

More Than Just A Coloring Book

The relaxing concept of adult coloring books is joined with tools and slogans. Find Your True Colors  has 12 chapters, one for each step. Here’s an inside look at Step 12.

Embarking on the brave new journey to recovery means you’ll learn a new language too: the language of hope. You’ll learn to communicate without fear and blame. You’re basically learning to talk butterfly language. Order your books today, so every person in your family can learn the incredible new language of recovery.

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Safety Is A Quiet Place To Think –

Where is safety in this confusing world with challenging issues all around us? What single thing do we all need to keep our balance and move forward with confidence? A quiet place to reflect and figure things out. Other people to share thoughts come second.

When I was a child and I needed some space to be alone with my thoughts, my haven was a tiny space under the stairs. My mom called it my “mouse house” and respected my need to detach and work things out on my own before having the inevitable conversation that started with, “Mom, I was thinking…” and often ended with a deeper understanding of my concern and myself.

The space, though cramped, was quiet and safe and gave me the opportunity to probe all the angles of what I worried about before I felt brave enough to share. It was a way to tune out the noise of what other people were saying and a chance to tune in to how I was feeling. Sometimes, I would mull a problem over until I realized the negativity was coming from within … and in the safety of my little space I could practice speaking out loud and to myself. Words that sounded foreign at first would take on a more confident air in my mouse house and were easier to take on in the real world after first having spoken them in that space.

When we moved to a bigger house with no niche under the stairs, mom was quick to offer me the room with the walk-in attic. Mom always left a corner of it unladen with boxes so that I would have a safe space to work out my teenage angst. It would be in that same space that years later, I would hole up after my parents died to try to make sense of my feelings of aloneness and to first speak out loud my plan to move forward.

I’ve since graduated to a mouse house encircled by trees like a giant hug. It is in the safety of this place that I have chosen to heal, to find my voice and to begin again. When I reach my own conclusions, then I can share my thoughts and feelings with others whom I trust to ask for help.

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Summertime Depression Takes Its Toll

Summertime depression is real. The heat, the longer days, the vacations, the beach, the relaxation. The expectation that you’re supposed to be having a great time – but you’re not – can create stress and overwhelm.

It’s Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in the reverse, and the CDC estimates that 10% of the population exhibits signs of summer depression such as loss of appetite, trouble sleeping and avoiding social interactions.

Summer Stressors: Things that stress us in the winter differ from summer stressors. The oppressive heat almost requires certain clothing, however, being self-conscious about summer attire can cause embarrassment and keep us out of social circles. The heat can mess with our sleep patterns, too. Being too hot and sticky does not promote restful, rejuvenating sleep. Unlike in the winter when you can just add another blanket, in the summer there’s only so much you can take off and once you’re naked and still hot… sleep can be elusive.

Appetite Loss

The appetite is also affected by the summer heat. When the temperature outside the body soars, metabolism goes into overdrive, eking out every last drop of hydration and nutrient from the food we eat. The result is we get overheated faster … so we lose our appetite in a subconscious effort to cool down. We’re cool, but we’re also exhausted and depleted without the proper nutrition!

Negative Self Talk

Negative self-talk is easy to come by when we have shut ourselves out of social interactions and are exhausted. When everyone else seems to be having a great time and you aren’t, it’s easy to beat yourself up over it and ask “What’s wrong with me?”  These types of thoughts, outside of positive social communication can quickly spiral out of control and become all consuming. Thoughts become beliefs, and when we allow those beliefs to define us, “what’s wrong with me?” can quickly become “there’s something wrong with me.”   

Don’t Ignore Depression

This is why the symptoms of depression should never be taken lightly. Seeking help in the form of a medical or mental health professional can help alleviate the summer stressors. Reaching out to friends and family and making plans around a new activity can create a spark in interest and a gradual return to being social.

Remember Past Summer Pleasures And Repeat

Think back to what you enjoyed doing during summer vacation as a child; did you like to build sand castles? Run through the sprinkler? Eat ice cream? Go fishing after dark? Play putt-putt golf? Lie on your back and make cloud animals? Make silly faces in a photo booth with your friends? Try on that child-like freedom again and jumpstart your summertime fun. By shifting your thoughts, you can shift your whole outlook!

Reach Out Recovery Exclusive By: Elizabeth Viszt

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Children of Alcoholics Search For Normal

Like most adult children of alcoholics, I don’t know what normal is, so I’m often unaware that I’m in an abnormal, unhealthy situation. How can I solve a problem I don’t know I have?

What children of alcoholics learn

Growing up, my parents’ anger played out like a game of poker. My mom’s strategy was to start out small, only mildly angry. I’d match her anger. She’d see my anger and then raise the stakes. This back and forth went for several turns, but my Mom wouldn’t be bested. Eventually the argument was too rich for my blood, and I would fold. Those games cost me a lot.

Unlike my mom’s anger, my dad’s temper was consistently hot. While we were all playing poker for pennies, he’d put a thousand dollars down on the table. We would all fold immediately. We knew better than to call his bluff.

Behavior for children of alcoholics is a competition

When I was 18, I left home thinking everything that happened to me happened to everyone else too. When my first serious boyfriend screamed and yelled at me for the first time, I didn’t like it, but I it was a game I knew how to play. Since my boyfriend and I were “equals” as opposed to the unequal balance in a parent/child relationship, I thought I could maybe win a few hands. I never won anything. He always seemed to win.

It never occurred to me to discuss this with my girlfriends because I thought their boyfriends were yelling at them for the same things. I thought this was normal.

I Discovered It Wasn’t Normal

I started asking co-workers and friends what their relationships were like. I wanted to know how they resolved disagreements. What did their holiday meals look like? How did their family treat them? As I listened to their answers I found myself surprised again and again how different my life was from theirs. I was beginning to see there was another way, and I began to think maybe I wanted what they had.

Would I Even Like Normal?

My quest to find normal seemed fruitless because even if I found it, I was afraid it would be boring. My life was exciting even if it was frightening. There was an adrenaline rush with every screaming episode. There was the apology and maybe even flowers. To me this was how passion looked. If there was no yelling would I even feel anything, but bored?

I Began Searching For Normal

I didn’t see my “normal” as problematic until a close friend began recovery work in Al-Anon. I saw her change. She began to smile and say what she really felt. She wasn’t afraid anymore. She got divorced. This made me wonder what behaviors were unacceptable to me. What did I want in a relationship? I had no idea, but I wanted to find out.

Finding Normal

I began to attend Al-Anon meetings and seeing a therapist. They gave me the much needed confidence to stop pretending I was OK with being verbally abused.

I learned I could leave the room anytime someone began yelling at me
I found I could say, “NO” and without explanation
I learned how to practice telling safe people what I wanted
I started saying baby no’s

It’s not glamorous, but it’s training me for the next step in my recovery – speaking out against the abuse I called, “Normal” for most of my life. These days, I spend much of me free time figuring out what I want and how I feel about things. I’m learning to accept my feelings anger or sadness without judgement. Read Elephant in the room.

If you are in an abusive or “normal” relationship that isn’t working please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 for help.

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5 Ways To Say No To Victimhood

Saying no to victimhood is an everyday challenge for those in recovery. Life in recovery is about moving forward no matter how bad you feel. Addiction wants us to accept being and staying empty. That is what addiction whispers to us every day. Let go of all effort. Just stay in bed with that fog. Whatever yours is, there are ways to say no.

Be Nothing, Do Nothing Is What Addiction Wants Of Us

Addiction whispers to us that we don’t really count and nobody will notice, so it doesn’t matter if I, you, or any of us, stay in a funk. The message is: Who cares about me anyway so why not stay in bed and meditate on my current predicament? It’s a lie, of course. We do matter and people do care. So we can’t let go and fall into the trap of nothingness.

The Five Powers Of No

My recovery has taught me a valuable lesson. I have the power to say NO to everything that holds me back. I have the power to reverse the message and not accept being less than my best. My best may not climb the social ladder and be on TV as a mover and shaker. My best may not captain an industry while I try to figure out how to live on seven figures. But my best is about achieving what I can become, and I will be live satisfied with my best efforts. I can say no to whatever wants to keep me down.

1. Drifting Along Without Direction

I want to live my life quite intentionally. I can be the person to reach for goals and build a plan on how to achieve them. I can be that man with a humongous desire, and I am able to say no to that which wants to divert me from being alive to my aspirations.

2. Acting Like A Victim

Poor me. My past addictive choices created consequences I didn’t like. I acted helpless since I needed my d.o.c. (drug of choice) to survive day to day. At least so I thought.  Now my choices are being made to achieve whole and holy consequences. Choices that advance me towards my truest desires. I don’t accept that everything should be perfect now that I no longer use. I will encounter trouble and challenges along the way but so what? I say no to living under the canopy of victim-hood.

3.  Procrastinating

Procrastination is putting things off. This may involve the inability to control outcomes and maybe we want to be taken care of. Doing nothing at all keeps us bound to living ineffectively and weak. When we procrastinate, we need and demand others to prop us up and do it for us.

4. Risk Avoidance

In the past, I would hold back and not take acceptable risks. Yet it is in the risk zone where personal growth occurs. We all must keep living forward so taking risks is part of the deal.

5. Fearing Everything

What’s so scary anyway? Failing? Being found out to be a fraud? Losing dignity again? Each of these fears are real and not real at the same time. Sure we all can fail. I have and I may in the future. I may not always be the expert, and I might even get embarrassed a time or twelve.  So what? I say No to thoughts that express myself as a victim. We are all of incalculable value, and there is nothing that my performance, or others can say, to diminish my value. I say No to living as an offended addict who must compromise to be alive. If I fail, I will fail forward.

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7 Sneaky Ways Abusive Behavior Controls You

Abusive behavior is a complex dance that controls your every move.  Are you lavished with love one minute and raged at the next? Do you feel you’re on shifting sands all the time. On one side you want to be loved and loving, and those are great qualities. But controlling people who become emotional abusers are not able to manage or understand their feelings. Instead, they use their feelings to manage others.

Abusive Behavior Confuses And Punishes You

Manipulators are often narcissists who believe they are sensitive and good, while the other people in their lives are thoughtless, unkind, and angry and cause things go wrong in their world. If you live with a manipulative person, you may be in constant fear of punishment for something you’ve done wrong, or might do wrong, and are always trying to prevent or fix it. You become controlled by fear that your loved one will hurt or accuse or confuse or punish you. Here are 7 qualities of people who emotionally abuse their loved ones

1. Chronic Anger

Is someone you love seething with rage almost all the time and finds any reason at all to let the feeling loose on you? The abuser controls you by fear that he/she will erupt with anger over absolutely nothing, even a smile on your face.

2. Projecting His Or Her Negative Feelings On You

Does someone say, “You’re always mad at me. You’re so critical, you’re so controlling,” or a dozen other things to make you believe you’re the negative one. The abuser is actually the one who feels these emotions and projects them on you. That way you’re the bad one and he is the good one or the victim in the relationship.

3. Hypersensitivity

Does she/he make you feel you have to walk on eggshells? He/she tells you you hurt his feelings. You did something on purpose to ignore or bother him. This sensitivity makes you wonder if you are unkind, cold, mean and you are on the defensive about every action you make and everything you say.

4. Confusing The Issue

Are you lawyered to death. Does someone twist everything you say into something you didn’t mean? This is actually turning your own words against you. You say one thing, and your abuser repeats these words as something else. It’s another kind of lying, but again puts you in the wrong and on the defensive. You may end up being the one who blows up or feels guilty.

5. Lying About Things In the Past Or That’s Happening Now

Does someone lie to you about what happened in the past, and even set up situations that repeat the same kind of incident over and over, but insist these things aren’t happening? This is sometimes called gaslighting. If you’re abused like this, you can feel you’re crazy. Whatever you think is reality is actually shifting sands. When you doubt yourself, the abuser is in control.

6. The Silent Treatment

Are you given the silent treatment as a form of punishment and have to beg for forgiveness. The silent treatment is withholding and punishing. The is also a common way of controlling someone.

 7. Playing The Victim

Does he/she make you feel you’re the reason things go wrong? Playing the victim means the abuser manages his/her anger by creating a world in which you have consistently let them down, failed them, done the wrong thing. Playing the victim makes you feel responsible for another person’s failures, mistakes and problems in life. This makes you feel guilty and motivates you to work harder at fixing your abuser’s problems.

Troubled relationships are not just love or marriage relationships, you can be abused by friends, family members, siblings, even your children at any age. If you believe that you are in an abusive relationship with a spouse or lover be sure to get legal help and stay safe.

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What Is Setting Boundaries –

Boundaries Are Rules To Follow: We know how the rules work with driving. Here are a few: Keep your distance. Don’t cut in front of a moving vehicle. When a car stops in front of you, you stop, too. It’s common sense to follow the rules to avoid accidents. Rules make life on the road safer, and you just do it without thinking. It’s common sense, and it’s the law.

People Are Moving Vehicles Without Rules

Human beings don’t drive on roads, however. We all have our own personalities and will and expectations. We’re all raised in different environments and different cultures. We don’t have the same ideas about how to treat each other, and often there is also a double standard when it comes to the treatment of women and children. To confuse the issue even more, some people (both men and women) are more forceful than others about getting their way. And some have been abused as children. That means that the person with the most powerful will and unhealthy role models as a child often sets the tone of what will happen in adulthood. The more easy-going people can find themselves in relationships they can’t control, and in which they have no voice. And the situation can get a lot worse over time. It’s also much harder if you hate confrontation or happen to be a people pleaser.

You Don’t Get A Ticket For Bullying or Hurting Others

It’s not fair, but there are no hard and fast rules for fair treatment or showing respect. Family members push you around. Friends can manipulate you. Spouses can get in your face. When you’re a child, there’s not much you can do about it. Fighting back can lead to trouble, and you can even get physically hurt. Marsha had a husband who always took her birthday checks. She had no say in the matter. How can you take control as an adult if you never did it before? Marsha needed help.

Red Alert. If you’re in a really abusive relationship, get help. Trying to establish boundaries by yourself can be dangerous. Check out helpguide.org and women’s law.org.

Setting Boundaries

This is for people pleasers who give away their power by being nice, or people who don’t like to fight back. Boundaries are like putting up fences that can’t be crossed. Some examples you might say include:

You can’t talk to me like that.
You can’t bully me into doing things I don’t want to do.
You can’t torture me with jealousy.
You can’t manipulate me by withholding your love and approval or giving me the silent treatment.
Or simply: You just can’t be the one who always gets your way.

Changing The Status Quo

It’s hard to change relationships that have been working well for one party but not the other. If you start saying no, the response will almost always be anger. It can get nasty.

Shelley’s son left her forever, and later tried to sue her, after she told him he couldn’t call her at 8AM every morning when she was on her way to work to ask for money or to solve some new crisis. She set a boundary and it didn’t go well for the relationship. Now Shelley is no longer afraid of her son, and while it’s sad, she feels more in control of her life.

June, a bullied bride, told her new husband that it wasn’t going to work out unless he started showing her more respect. He was furious. Didn’t he marry her and provide a home? He was mad, but he loved her and was willing to get counseling to work the problem through. Two years later, he’s a different person, kinder, gentler and thoughtful. Love can do that. But that’s assuming the other person really loves you and has the capacity for change. Not everyone does.

Even with good friends and good husbands and wives, asking for something others don’t want to give can end in furious emails, personal attacks, verbal abuse, angry phone calls. You have options. You can back down and keep the relationship. You can ride the anger out and see if both of you can calm down and find compromise and reason. Or, here’s the big one, you can assess the relationship and see if you really want to keep it. Letting go is one solution.

Setting Boundaries In New Relationships

To establish the kind of relationships that make you feel good, and safe, the crucial first step is to learn about yourself. What do you want, what do you need? When you tell people what you can’t tolerate and mean it you are setting a boundary. Lori wanted a man who was reliable. She met Ben who was almost everything she wanted in a partner. Except he always called at the last minute to change or cancel dates. When she told him how much reliability meant to her and he arrived an hour late to their very next date, she didn’t hesitate to end the relationship.

Take Off The Rose Colored Glasses

How people react to your clearly stated need for respect, calm, kindness, or whatever it is that you have to have to be happy, will determine whether they should go or stay in your life. Setting boundaries is hard. Shelley didn’t want a bitter break with her son. She hopes some day he will return, but her happiness doesn’t depend on it. Lori didn’t want to lose Ben, but she knew who she was and that mattered more. A few months later she met Rick, who was absolutely right for her. They told each other what they were looking for right at the start, and their needs and behavior were a good match.

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Quitting Alcohol Set Me Free

Quitting alcohol seemed unnecessary when I decided to do it. After all, I am not an alcoholic, I would have said. I have always had a stop button. Alcohol was not my problem. I stopped swallowing at one-and-a-half martinis. (Actually, that’s quite a lot.) I never fell down, got arrested, cracked up the car, lost my job, or made a spectacle of myself. Well, I did make a spectacle of myself once or twice in heated political discussions. But that may not have been just the alcohol.

Anyone who likes vodka more than food is going to get loud. I admit that once, after my kid was newly sober, I preferred to stay home and have a martini to taking the sober kid to dinner. After all, the sober kid had stood me up so many times and done so many bad things I couldn’t even begin to count.

Drinkers Do Know They Are Dependent On Alcohol

I knew the day of standing up the sober kid, that alcohol actually mattered to me. Surprise. The fact that the sober kid was still a whiner at the time, wasn’t loving life yet, and didn’t seem to care much for me, was not the point. See, if you’re a drinker you think about it all the time, even if you only drink in moderation. Alcohol and substances are powerful tools to alter your moods. Sugar and caffeine are intoxicants, too. Hundreds of millions of people are dependent on alcohol and other substances. No judgment. It’s just the truth. I’m having a coffee right now.

Quitting Alcohol Is Weird And Changes Your Life

I quit alcohol and substances (except for aspirin) because I wanted to honor my sober kid by not having a valium when I was terrified on a plane, and not having that one martini every day at 5PM. I wanted to know what being sober in a drinking world felt like. I did it for solidarity with “the sober community.” I found out that not drinking in a drinking world is weird. But wonderful and much less expensive. My sober kid actually cared. But the major benefits of sobriety were to me and only me.

11 Years After Quitting Alcohol My Life is Really Different

I like not thinking about alcohol.
Life is fun and funny all the time. I crack myself up.
There is a lot less turbulence and drama.
I don’t have to worry about driving home impaired.
I don’t need Xanax or Valium either to sleep or to fly.
I have grandchildren. And much Gratitude.
I am more tuned in to nature.
They say I’m nicer.
Relationships are awesome.
Whatever happens, I am not afraid.

Now my favorite drink is Lemonade. I have one and a half lemonades every single day.

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Top 10 recovery definitions you should know

Addiction and recovery definitions are constantly evolving with new recovery research and an ongoing effort to normalize a disease that has been stigmatized and punished worldwide instead of treated. In fact,  Substance Use Disorder (the new term for addiction) is the only chronic, progressive and relapsing disease that has been allowed to proliferate instead of being treated.

Addiction is a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease with genetic, psychosocial, & environmental factors influencing its development & manifestations. Recovery Research Institute

With the addiction crisis worsening and the urgency to find solutions increasing, lifting the stigma has become a priority. One way to normalize a disease that affects everyone is to modify the terms surrounding both the disease and recovery. Here are Recovery Answers top ten definitions for 2018.

ABUSER

(stigma alert) A person who exhibits impaired control over engaging in substance use (or other reward-seeking behavior, such as gambling) despite suffering often severe harms caused by such activity.

The word “abuser” was found in research to increase stigma, which can affect quality of care and act as a barrier to treatment seeking in individuals suffering from addiction. Instead, many have recommended the use of “person first” language; instead of describing someone as a “drug abuser” to describe them as “a person with, or suffering from, addiction or substance use disorder.”

(Kelly, Saitz, Wakeman, 2016; Kelly and Westerhoff, 2010; Kelly et al, 2010)

ACUTE CARE

Acute Care refers to immediate, short term medically managed, or monitored care. Acute care may last up to 31 days. Most addiction (SUD) treatment programs (e.g. rehab) follow an acute care model. Understanding SUD to be a chronic illness, recovery may require ongoing, continuing care for many years beyond acute treatment episodes.

CONTINUING CARE

Continuing care refers to the kind of ongoing care that patients suffering from chronic, incapacitating illness ,or disease, will need for successful recovery. Understanding SUD to be a chronic illness, continuing care and ongoing recovery management are required rather than acute care or treatment delivered in isolated episodes.

CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS

Co-occurring disorders describes patients with both mental illness and substance use disorder. Personality disorder may also co-exist with psychiatric illness and/or substance use disorders. Also known as comorbidity or dual diagnosis.

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (EBP)

Patient care informed through the integration of clinical expertise and best available clinical evidence from systematic research.

FENTANYL

A potent opioid used to treat chronic pain.  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fentanyl is 80 times more potent than morphine and hundreds of times more powerful than heroin. Fentanyl is now often used as an additive to heroin, cocaine, marijuana and fake prescription medicines.

RELAPSE

(stigma alert) Relapse often indicates a recurrence of substance use. More technically, it would indicate the recurrence and reinstatement of a substance use disorder and would require an individual to be in remission prior to the occurrence of a relapse.

The highest risk for recurrence of substance use disorder symptoms occurs during the first 90 days following the initial intervention. The risk for recurrence of symptoms decreases after 90 days. This indicates that individuals attempting to recover from substance use disorder need the most intensive support during this first 3-month period, as individuals are experiencing substantial physiological, psychological, and social changes during this early recovery phase. There is typically a greater sensitivity to stress that makes continued recovery challenging.

This term has a stigma alert, as it implies moral failure. Instead use morally neutral terms such as “resumed,” or experienced a “recurrence” of symptoms.

(Hubbard et al., 1997; Hunt et al., 1971; White, 2010)

REMISSION

An individual is in remission if they once met DSM-IV criteria for a substance use disorder, but no longer meet the criteria and or have not met this criteria within one year. Remission for substance use disorder occurs at 5 years, at which the likelihood of relapse is no greater than that of the general population.

RECOVERY CAPITAL

The resources (social, physical, human and cultural), which are necessary to begin and maintain recovery from substance use disorder.

(Best & Laudet, 2010; Cloud & Granfield, 2008)

RECOVERY COACH

Typically a non-clinical peer support specialist or “peer mentor” operating within a community organization (e.g., a Recovery Community Center) or a clinical organization (e.g., treatment program or hospital) and can therefore be a paid or volunteer position. Recovery coaches are most often in recovery themselves and therefore offer the lived experience of active addiction and successful recovery. They focus on helping individuals to set and achieve goals important to recovery. They do not offer primary treatment for addiction, do not diagnose, and generally, are not associated with any particular method or means of recovery.

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Children of Alcoholics and Addicts Have PTSD –

You may think that only soldiers at war experience Post Traumatic Stress symptoms, but that is far from the truth. Parents and children of alcoholics and substance users also experience recurring trauma that causes lasting damage.

It’s a buzz word for military veterans, but millions of us, especially those dealing with substance use disorder have it. The addiction specialist and author, Gabor Mate, believes trauma is the root cause of substance use. Trauma from living with someone else’s substance use also causes lasting emotional problems that need addressing.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be described as a mental health condition that’s triggered by a trauma. Whether experiencing it or seeing it. The symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, depression and confusion. 

Trauma comes in many forms.

Stressors Of Family Members In Homes With Substance Use Include:

Experiencing recurring anger and violence when a loved one is using
Dealing with injuries and overdoses that require medical assistance when a loved one is using
Dealing with law enforcement when incidents occur
Having to cover up when substance users can’t make it to school or work
Dealing with financial problems resulting from a parent or child’s substance use
Being overwhelmed by fear about what will happen next
Feeling helpless, yet responsible, to fix their loved one

Children Raised In Homes With Substance Use Disorder Experience Lasting Emotional Trauma

They do not know what a normal, loving, supportive family life is like
They do not know what life is like without drama and emotional pain
Manipulation of the truth makes them unable to exercise critical thinking to understand and deal with what’s happening
They are bound to secrecy about negative or dangerous events happening at home
They experience physical violence either against themselves or loved ones, like a mother or sibling
On a regular basis, they experience verbal or emotional abuse
They are expected to care for substance using parents
Their own needs are ignored

Millions of adults do not recognize the source of their anxiety, depression, confusion, as well as attachment and trust issues.  They stem from traumatic experiences they had from living with the substance use of loved ones. More than 26 million adult children and 6 million children under 18 affected are affected by parents’ substance use. They, as well as the tens of thousands of parents now coping with the substance use of their children, need help. With support and treatment, they can recover. Click here to find a local support group that helps to heal families that have been traumatized by addiction.

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