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Families often struggle to express themselves regarding someone else’s drug use due to fear of stigma and concern that they won’t be properly understood. This section gives families the opportunity to discuss their feelings in a safe environment

Let Down

My son will be 30 in a couple of weeks. He was always hard work and at 11 was sent to a bording school for children with behavioural problems, it closed when he was 13 so he had to go to a local unit for kids with problems. he got in with a gang who drank and shop lifted and generally got in trouble and he started at 14 running away from home to be with them. he also started stealing from us about that time and one time even stole all our the mon

Posted by Suep on 3rd February 2012

what happened to my gorgeous husband

Ive been with my husband for 15 yrs we have 2 boys and 1daughter all through the years he's smoked cannabis and although we've had our ups and downs we always pulled through with the love and respect we have for each other but this year something happened out the blue and i dont think if you asked him he would know you see my husband discovered raves and started going there every weekend he's 34 yrs old that was back in may 2011 and then in jun

Posted by mary on 31st January 2012

WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?

My son who is 20 is a drug user, mostly cannabis and has stolen money and possessions from me.he also has mental health issues that we are awaiting an appointment for. Life is so stressful in our house.he is waiting for somewhere to live I cannot understand where we went wrong as we are good parents. sadly there seems little help or counselling for us who have to live with a drug user.

Posted by samuel on 25th January 2012

I want my mum

For as long as I can remember, our family was always a bit 'different' to those of my friends. My parents split up just before Christmas when I was 6, which at the time didn't seem to affect my older brother and myself. But things did change after my dad left, my mum always seemed to crave attention, she would take in people to our home and let them stay with us, often on the sofa, often with other 'hanger ons' in tow. Mum has always drank, reall

Posted by SH on 19th January 2012

Where is the old mum??

I sat today with my best friend decorating my christmas tree, feeling less than festive, The cracks appear in the mask I ware as the smile slips from my face, There is something missing this year, a huge hole in inside that my mum used to fill, We lost her along the way this year, she's become a shadow in my life, the face I knew still looks back at me but the person I don't recognise, A time for family and friends and cheer has been repl

Posted by on 17th December 2011

Where has my little boy gone

I'm so sad and depressed. My son is a heroin user and has been for the past 11 yrs. No matter what is dad and I do for him he keeps going back to using. We're not sure when he started dabbling in drugs although we believe it was from the age of around 11/12 but being naive and totally unaware of drugs we did'nt know the signs. He has always been hyperactive, never still always on the go, but he was loving and caring and just one of his smile

Posted by motherslove on 16th December 2011

Losing my mind

I always knew my husband liked a drink, but it wasn't until after we had our children that I realised that he was an alcoholic. Even though he drinks every day, he still has a good job - if we had real financial problems it would be far easier to confront things and say 'your behaviour is unacceptable'. As it is, the financial result is that we have a lower standard of living than you would expect from his salary, and I struggle to make ends meet

Posted by Verytired on 11th December 2011

I dont know what to do or where to turn to for help

Im the mother of five beautiful children. My second eldest Daughter has been addicted to Heroin and crack for some four years now. As a result of her and her parners drug use, they have lost their little girl. she was taken into foster care 3 years ago, aged five. she will be eight after Christmas and I am no longer able to see her as she is being placed for adoption. I am only able to have letter box contact onec a year. My Daughter continues

Posted by angel on 24th October 2011

Where do I go from here

My Nephew (Chris)who is 37 has alway been a cause of exacerbation to me, but he is such a lovely chap, very polite, loving etc. His parents divorced when he was about 8-10yrs old, sorry I am not very good with ages. His mother ran off with another man, and she took the children with her. She now lives in Australia, with this man and my other nephew. My brother died 3yrs ago now and since then Chris has taken it very hard, he confided in

Posted by Poppy on 11th October 2011

My son James

Hello all, I am a drinker but not an alcoholic. I and my family are troubled deeply by the effects of our sons (James) alcoholism. Many years ago James was a nice, normal young teenager, we can’t remember when he changed or started to change. Before James was old enough to drink alcohol he did, I think at about 16 years old, when he was a bit older he would go out with his mates to the local club on Friday and Saturday nights, he would d

Posted by John G on 5th October 2011

whats happened to my beautiful son ?

My 21 year old so is a alcoholic with cocaine habit,he first started using drugs at about 10 years old.When i found out i would ground him stop his pocket money,then he began stealing from the family home and even selling his own clothes at school.As the years have gone on he has become worse,he did hold down a job for 4 years and recently lost that due to stealing a car from work taking it on a joy ride,stealing petrol and crashing it.He was ar

Posted by witsend on 24th September 2011

I want my lovely son back!

I have 4 children, my second son has had some emotional problems from a very early age, to which although we have cried out for help were told it was our parenting skills and he was fine. He started secondary school and well it went downhill from there. He began to smoke cannibas, stoned everyday and doing 'bongs'. My son has stolen from me and his siblings, lied, got into trouble with the police but denies he has a problem. We were told he h

Posted by petal on 21st September 2011

I want my lovely son back!

Posted by petal on 21st September 2011

addiction

My lovley daughter, started to hang in the park as a teenager, but not with people she had just met at her big school, it was her friends she had grown up with we lived in a small market town, life was good. she started to drink, smoke canabis, then it turned into speed, and then by the time she was 17 years old she had became a heroin addict and crack cocaine, i just wanted to die my lovley daughter had became this evil person, it had stated to

Posted by on 7th August 2011

addiction

Posted by on 7th August 2011

My Alcoholic mum- my best friend

Thought I would share my experience with others, it might help. I've learned there is always hope and to never give up on the person who is suffering from addiction. For as long as I can remember my mum always drank. I was 7 when my parents separated , the arguments before that were constant and as far as I can remember they were mostly about money- my mum spent every penny my dad earned on alcohol and when that money ran out she sold family b

Posted by Mum2604 on 19th July 2011

Boyfriends addiction and stealing

I have been seeing my boyfriend for 2 years in september and he is 3 months younger than me (27). when i first met him back in 2008 i knew nothing of his addiction. once when i went to see him a friend had rung seeing if he wanted to go round. i later found out that it was to get high. we broke up and he ended up in hospital with mental health issues and a year later i got talking to him again to see how he was doing. then he was smoking q

Posted by Helen on 19th July 2011

The Loss of My Son

Hi to All , I am wanting to speak of my son who was an Addict .Today I am sad and grieving deeply for a young man who just seemed lost to his addictions My son was found dead in a house he was allocated 13 days before by the local council . He was so badly decomposed by the time he was found I could not identify him. The police used his finger prints and tattoos to identify him . he was found Wednesday third of July 10.30am 2009 he was 36 y

Posted by Mary on 12th July 2011

Brother at a lost end!!!

Ok, here it goes!!! I have an older brother who i have admired and respected from the day i was born. Obviously we had sqabbles as we grew up but just like all other brothers and sisters! However we didnt have the best starts in life as we had parents who enjoyed the social life and liked us to join in too. I can remember partying past midnight from a very early age (it actually disgusts me now) btu at the time it was normal and everyone excepted

Posted by on 13th June 2011

Secret drinking

My dad is a recovering alcoholic and has been dry for a year and a half, however I think he has started drinking again secretly and i'm not sure what to do. I don't live at home and I don't want my mum to think its her responsilbility to deal with it on her own also we're not 100% sure he is drinking again. I'm really struggling to find advice online or over the phone.

Posted by on 8th June 2011

My boyfriend smokes almost every day

My boyfriend since 2 years smokes weed almost every day. Even though he takes a drag every day he doesn't smoke much (i mean, he never smokes a whole, or even a half joint, and lots of tobacco mixed up with it). I am 25 (my boyfriend is 30) have never smoked in my entire life and feel uncomfortable about him smoking. I was brought up in a home with non-tolerance to drugs and smoking, and had never seen drugs up front before i met him. He know

Posted by milla on 23rd May 2011

My boyfriend fights me

I have been with my boyfriend for almost 7 years. I have a beautiful and very intelligent son . When we started our relationship I was on my own with my son in a new city, and he was one of the first people I met. He liked me very much and eventually we got together. He has been using recreational drugs for a long time since he was 17 and I met him when he is 32. I did not think this will cause a problem between us and I occasionally smoke

Posted by Glass on 22nd May 2011

when will it end

where do i start ,ime 30 ive been with my husband 13 yrs we have 3 great kids,i should be happy instead life,s one big struggle with his alcahol addiction,he started his 5th detox on the 7th of feb this year,he didnt touch a drop 4 8 wks now the last week he as been drinking again now i am crushed again i feel so angry,sad,confused i feel like he doesnt love me an the kids enough to stay off it,my eldest daughter who is ten hates her dads drinkin

Posted by hopexxx on 18th April 2011

Good news There IS HOPE!!!

My daughter went to addiction hell. (Familiar story, smoking at 11, cannabis, alcohol, other drugs..eventually crack and heroin IV. personality change, lies, stealing, alienation from the non addicts world and values, prison, (what a relief!) Attempts at rehab. Eventually I gave up hope. It took 15 years, but SHE turned it round and came back towards the light. Now it seems like a distant nightmare. Thank you ANA. Thank you Narcotics Anonymous

Posted by Rose on 29th March 2011

my alcoholic partner

my partner has been suffering from the disease for around 8 years. it started with him drinking more and more and then hiding it in his room (at this time he was around 20 and still living at home with his parents.) his dad and brother used to find loads of empty vodka bottles under his bed where he had been drinking in secret. when he told me about this it made me feel so sad as he feels so lonely with this and must have felt then too. he and

Posted by star on 23rd March 2011

my son ...

it's been nearly 3 yrs since i lost my son to heroin , he was just 24yrs old and had everything to live for ... in 2005 my son came to me and told me he was using heroin , i was mortified if only then i had known what a very long heart wrenching fight it was going to be,at first he was smoking it and i was pretty ignorant as to how addictive it really was , i thought this was a phase or maybe i just chose to be ignorant to it, later on that ye

Posted by belle on 17th March 2011

End of a relationship with a heroin addict - living in limbo

I've spent the last four and a half years of my life hiding my relationship with a heroin addict which ended over a year ago. I didn't know he had problems until a year into the relationship. When my parents found out they worried themselves sick, my brother suffers from mental iilness and I didn't want to add to their burden. I was naive and thought I could help my friend and that I was strong enough, so I kept everything a secret and carried o

Posted by Anne on 4th March 2011

My boyfriend is repeating history

I have been with my boyfriend since I was 14, we've been together for just over two years now. When we started dating I was aware he was regularly smoking cannabis but I was never really bothered about it. We had a healthy relationship and did keep his cannabis use under control, mainly smoking on weekends. About a year into our relationship he was chucked out his house. He began living with in a flat with a 25 year old alcoholic! My boyfriends

Posted by Hayley on 27th February 2011

me and my now ex girlfriend

We met 4 years ago and within days she told me of her addiction to prescription drugs. This wasnt an isue to me it didnt change my view of her at all. We spent every second of everyday together and fell inlove.Anyway a month or two later we moved in together .Everything was great between us but she slowly started getting worse and buying tablets over the counter ontop of her prescription. Eventually she asked me if i would help her to find

Posted by DAVE on 25th January 2011

My Husband the Heroin addict

We met when I was 18 and I am now 36 ... Never in a lifetime did I know what life would be like.... My husband who is 12 years older than me, was a drinker and I hated it - but like many I thought I could change him. Fortunately for me, he stopped! (Only after he lost his job) then he became addicted to smoking cannibis.... then growing it and then onto smoking Herion! I dont even know where to begin ... it is one very long nightmare.

Posted by mary on 24th January 2011

My son is smoking cannabis

My son was caught approx a year ago smoking cannabis, he said it was a one off. we then caught his approx 10 months later smoking again. He was grounded and some of his freedom reduced, however this was difficult as he is 15 and lives with his mum. She found it hard to ground him, he was only grounded for one night. Last week he was caught smoking at school as suspended. He is now back at school and has promisedf not to smoke any more at scho

Posted by Dolph on 18th January 2011

Trying to grieve.

I lost my eldest brother two months ago to Herion. He was 38 years old and had a daughter my age, twenty one. He had been clean from Herion for about 18 months. He then started dating an 18 year old who was a recovering herion addict. Or so we thought. On 25th oct 2010 I recieved a phone call at work from my mum telling me that my brother had been admitted into hospital following an overdose. I got there as soon as I could and knew by the look

Posted by helpformum on 4th January 2011

Why won't my sister take responsibility for her alcoholism?

My sister has always been fiery, recently we have seen this at its worst. She has been getting drunk then becomes violent towards her loved ones. She uses language and insults of the worst kind and appears 'possessed'. This is having a huge impact on my family, my parents are former shadows of themselves and we are all living hour to hour wondeing if she is going to turn up drunk and violent. this is made worse by the fact she has a 3 year ol

Posted by Sam A on 1st January 2011

my life as a heroin addict

hi, my name is Kate, I am 42 years old, I have been using herion for the last 15 years, I have tried everything from hospital detox's to home detox's to withdrawing off my own back with no support or medication and each time I have failed. My life is a mess, I have no family (both my parents are dead) on't have anything to do with my brother as he can not handle me when I am using neither can he handle me when I am trying to stay clean, my sister

Posted by kate on 5th November 2010

my brother and his alcohol and heroin addiction

My brother has been taking all kinds of drugs for 15 years of his life, he has been to two rehab centres, but unfortunately could not resist the temptation of drugs and alcohol. Five years ago, my son was born and it made him realise he needed to get clean to be involved in his life, and maybe gave him a reason to sort himself out. We managed to get him on the subutex program, which seemed to be working, and he was doing well, he started workin

Posted by angelica on 2nd November 2010

my sister spends approx £150 on canabis a week

My mentally ill sister has wasted the last 20 years of her life in and out of psychiatric units. She bullies my mother for money and to impose her will , my mother always gives in afraid of what "Barbie" will do but when I try to intervene my mother defends my sister by saying that she cannot help it because of her mental health problems. "Barbie's son was put on the at risk register the day he was born and subsequently taken into care. Tha

Posted by milledchilli on 30th October 2010

families and drug addiction

as a mum of a large family i have struggled with 8 of my children being addicts heroin,crack alcolhol,tablets u name it they have used it one son,is now off all drugs with help from g.p and agencies he is now working full time and is doing brilliant i am so proud of him he is in a good relationship with a lovely girl another son is 36 years old still lives with me got two lovely boys works 6 days a week but its to feed his habit i cant throw him

Posted by mum of addicts on 12th October 2010

My Brother

My brother is 24 years old and has been a Heroin addict for 8 years. As a family it is tearing us apart. My mum is on the verge of a breakdown and lives in fear of the dreaded knock on the door to say that he has overdosed. We thought that we had got through the worst when he had come very close to dying not long ago. He vowed that he would get better and never touch the drug again. Months of repairing his body and having family and friends '

Posted by Jayne on 2nd October 2010

alcohol is ruining my life.....

i had/ have the best family life ever my parnets are great and i have a steady job, i started drinking at a early age with friends at school, they all seemed to grow out of it and i contiuned drinking quiet alot, i was drinking about 3liters of cider every other night and this was just during the week, on a weekend it could be double that i could never remeber my nights.! in 2008 i got raped and i never told anybody about this for about a year a

Posted by chloe on 9th September 2010

boyfriend and cannabis

I've been with my boyfriend for two years, we're both in our 40's and i have two young children. we don't live together. He smokes cannabis every night to help him sleep. To him its not a problem, although sometimes he does take more and then it has an obvious effect on him. I am anti drugs, and hate this habit of his, it's getting harder and harder for me to cope with. He didn't tell me he used till we had been together 6 months and i have tri

Posted by polly on 9th September 2010

Reflecting on Paul’s life

Paul fought drug abuse for 17 years. Paul didn’t want to be on drugs and sought help never but never really found it. Paul was tormented by drugs and over the years they sapped his body of all goodness, health, energy and emotions. Finally numbing his soul. Feelings of love and happiness were hard to find. I found this note in Paul’s papers on stress and anxiety after his death. Paul was on subutex. He had been to hell and back and his thou

Posted by lynn on 16th August 2010

Stuck...

At the age of 14 (he is 5 years older than me) my older brother began taking anphetamines, acid and LSD with his friends. After a bad "trip" (as he calls it) he began suffering from anxiety and paranoia and has ever since. That was 15 years ago and its progressively got worse. things have happened in his life that definitely did't help him, our mum died when he was 18 and his fiance left him in 2005. I do feel he uses these as excuses, however

Posted by Anon on 2nd August 2010

cycle of change for a person whose parent is doing drugs

My life was great, friends, family, school, dog and more. We were normal family however relative that can be. I never went without anything that I needed. As I rolled on with my life, my parents’ life became quite different to mine. There were parties, music, dances and eventually drugs. First it was weed and then one day I woke up both from my defiance and sleep and found out that it was something much more serious. My parents were doing coke an

Posted by stop, play, pause on 24th July 2010

help with a job

Hi new to this but here goes.My son was aheroin addict.did stupid things and got arrested.did his probation and drug reabilitation.was clean and free for almost 2 years.met a new girl.last october although he is on methadone he shot up and was bought back to life in the back of an ambulance.6 monthes clean and his girlfrield took him back.two weeks ago hesmoked a joint with heroin in it.now his girlfriend has left him and he has told the truth an

Posted by peaceful on 10th May 2010

My Boyfriend and his Mephedrone Problem‏

My boyfriend and I have been together for 6 and a half years, we met when we were young and have had the strongest loving relationship anybody could every wish for.. all up until about 6 months ago. I noticed that he was acting different around me, he was secretive and sly about everything he did. I didn't say anything to him and let it carry on for a couple of months thinking nothing of it. It started to get worse, he wasn't sleeping, eatin

Posted by sheena123 on 30th April 2010

My boyfriend

I met my boyfriend 8 years ago it was a normal happy relationship and we were very happy, I got pregnant 3 years into our relationship and we both where very very happy. It was after our son was born when everything started to go wrong. About a year after money was going missing and I never knew where my boyfriend was or were his money was going he worked but never seemed to have any money. I never dreamed it was anything like a drug addiction. O

Posted by sarah on 12th March 2010

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