Opportunity for Friends and Family Members to Learn About a Loved One’s Addiction

Crossroads for Women will be holding it’s last educational series of the year, “The Effects of Addiction on Friends & Family,” starting on November 4th in Portland, ME. The 4-week series is for those friends and family members with a loved one that has a drug or alcohol problem. It is also helpful for those who work with people affected by addiction. Whether the loved one is in recovery, treatment or in active addiction, this series helps people learn more about addiction, how to cope with the loved one and also take care of themselves. The response to the series has been phenomenal all year long. Here are just a few comments from those who attended the series in September:

“All aspects of the program were beneficial. It was just what I needed to understand the disease and its impact on the family and on children. Also, the information learned here will help me to go forward and make changes in my own behavior that will prove helpful, I’m sure, to my new family and to myself. Thank you for a quality, affordable program.”

“Everything was great.I came with two other family members and really saw how we were acting as a unit and our own denial, and how to move from it. I feel the furthest away from the situation compared to other family members, so I was amazed at how much I was able to get out of this class and feel that I will now be able to really contribute to helping get us all back on track! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I thoroughly enjoyed this series and looked forward to it every week, and I feel better equipped. I’m very thankful to you for starting this for we friends and family and loved ones of addicts.”

The holiday season can be an especially stressful time for those in recovery, in treatment or in active addiction. This stress can also be difficult for friends, family members and everyone around the addicted person. If you or someone you know if affected by drug or alcohol addiction and is in the Portland, ME area, you will find this series helpful. For more information, call Crossroads for Women at 207.773.9931, email or visit the Crossroads for Women website.

technorati tags: friends, family, addiction, Crossroads for Women, education

What Do Family Members Know About Addiction And Its Impact?

HBO’s Addiction website has tons of information on the topics of addiction, treatment and aftercare for adolescents and adults. There is also information and resources for family members and friends to help them understand addiction.

In May of 2006, HBO teamed up with USA Today and The Gallup Poll to survey American adults with an immediate family member who has had an alcohol or drug addiction on addiction in general and the impact of addiction on their own lives. Here are a few of the findings:

• Three-quarters of U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from the disease of drug or alcohol addiction think addiction is a disease.
• Only a third of U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from the disease of drug or alcohol addiction think that there are medications available to treat alcoholism.
• Emotional and Devastating/Horrible are the words that most often asked to describe the effects of a family member’s addition.
• Almost half of U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from the disease of drug or alcohol addiction say they have felt a sense of shame about that family member’s addiction.
• 7 out of 10 U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from the disease of drug or alcohol addiction say that a family member’s addiction has had a major or minor effect on their emotional or mental health.
• Almost 1 out 10 of those who say a family member’s addiction has had a major negative impact on their financial situation say they have had to take out a loan or run up credit card bills as a direct result of this addiction.
• One third of U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from the disease of drug or alcohol addiction say the addiction has caused estrangement among family members.
• Almost half of U.S. adults who have a family member suffering from the disease of drug or alcohol addiction say their family member has never sought treatment. Of those whose family member has sought treatment, three out of ten only sought treatment after intervention.
• Family support/ pressure was most often cited as the primary reason the family member was able to overcome addiction.
• Three quarters of the respondents say their family member is/was addicted to alcohol. The remaining quarter are/were addicted to a variety of drugs.
• Over half of the respondents say their addicted family member was never evaluated for psychological illness.
• 7 out of 10 of the respondents whose addicted family member does have insurance think their insurance will provide adequate treatment of drug or alcohol addiction.

View the complete results of the survey

If you are affected by addiction, you are not alone. Crossroads for Women will begin its next 4-week educational series, “The Effects of Addiction on Friends & Family,” starting on Tuesday, September 9th at Crossroads for Women’s outpatient office on 66 Pearl Street, Suite 202 in Portland, Maine. The series helps people learn about addiction, the effects it has on their lives and how to be supportive of an addicted loved one while also taking care of themselves. For more information or to register, call 207.773.9931, email or visit Crossroads for Women’s website.

technorati tags: HBO, addiction, family, survey, Crossroads for Women

Do’s and Don’ts When Dealing With a Loved One’s Substance Abuse Problem

Those who have a loved one with an addiction to drugs or alcohol often don’t know how to act around that person. They want to help but don’t know how. Are they enabling? How do you talk to them? Friends and family members who attend Crossroads for Women’s 4-week educational series, “The Effects of Addiction on Friends and Family,” come to us armed with questions like these. The following do’s and don’ts are from Nar-Anon Family Groups:

Do

• Note the effect the user has on each member of the family.
• Always encourage attempts to seek help.
• Remember to see the good in yourself and others.
• Allow other people to accept their own responsibilities.
• Involve yourself with Al-Anon / Nar-Anon support groups.
• Learn to be open and honest.
• Grow day by day.
• Remember to focus on your OWN reactions and attitudes.
• Manage your anxieties one day at a time.

Don’t

• Accept guilt for another person’s acts.
• Nag, argue, lecture or recall past mistakes.
• Overprotect, cover up or rescue from the consequences.
• Neglect yourself or be a doormat.
• Forget addiction is an illness.
• Manipulate or make idle threats.
• Yearn for perfection in yourself or others.
• Overlook the growth opportunities of a crisis.
• Underestimate the importance of release with love.

While it seems like a short list, these points are important for those around the addicted loved one to understand. So important that Crossroads for Women dedicates an entire session to the do’s and don’ts for friends and family members.

“The Effects of Addiction on Friends & Family” explores the basics of addiction, the recovery process and how to be supportive of an addicted loved one while also taking care of you. Those in the Portland, ME area can experience the next educational series starting on May 6th.

FMI
May 6th – Learn About a Loved One’s Addiction
View “The Effects of Addiction on Friends & Family” flyer with the entire 2008 schedule (PDF)
Crossroads for Women’s (Portland, ME) services for those affected by a loved one’s addiction

From this blog: Read more about how addiction affects friends and family members

Technorati Tags: loved one, addiction, effects, family, friends, substance abuse