Affected by Other’s Addiction

Support for affected others

Don't be on your own. Pick up the phone.

Supporting family, friends and carers affected by a loved one's harmful use of drugs, alcohol or gambling

At DrugFAM we understand the difficulties of living with or caring for someone who misuses drugs, alcohol or gambling and how easily family, friends and carers can find themselves in a position of disempowerment and crisis. We also know how physically and emotionally exhausting this can be, especially when someone seems intent on self-destruction. DrugFAM believes that the families, friends and carers of people who use drugs,  alcohol and gambling need support in their own right, both to cope with impact of their loved one’s behaviour and with how best to help someone who has lost control of their gambling, drinking or drug use.

Our aim is to help families, friends and carers find ways of coping better with their situations, so they can start to regain control of their lives and look after their own well-being.

This is achieved through focusing on the changes which can be made to help improve the situation with the person who misuses and most importantly for the family member’s well-being. During calls families, friends and carers learn how to look after themselves, how to put boundaries in place and follow through on the agreed consequences when these are broken; remain consistent; and consider how their own behaviours and actions may impact on the situation. There is also a focus on healthier ways to communicate, which may reduce confrontation with the person who misuses. Primarily, consideration is given to how someone can take better care of themselves at such a stressful, difficult and painful time.

Remember the Seven C's

I didn't CAUSE it.

I can't CURE it.

I can't CONTROL it.

I can help take CARE of myself by COMMUNICATING my feelings.

Making healthy CHOICES, and CONTINUING to live my own life.

You can access support in a number of ways:

Call our helpline – 0300 888 3853

The helpline is available between 9am and 9pm seven days a week. Our clients feel a huge sense of relief at being able to talk to our trained support team and realise that they no longer have to cope on their own.

For most of our callers, knowing they can pick up the phone on days when they are struggling and receive support in a non-judgmental way is all the support they require.

However, for some after having used the helpline for a period of time, they may require more intensive support than the helpline can provide. In such cases we offer an assessment with a Family Support Worker, where we can explore what further support may be of benefit. This could be through structured one-to-one support for a number of weeks or alternatively a place in a peer support group.

Support groups provide participants with a safe place to share experiences, offload emotions and find the strength to move forward with their lives, through the encouragement and support of others in similar situations. Peer Support Group places are prioritised to clients who have engaged on the helpline a few times. 

Send us an email

Sometimes picking up the phone can feel too difficult so sending an email can be an alternative way of getting in touch with us.  Please click here to send us a message.

 

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