The Abuse Of Drugs And Alcohol

Many participants engaged the group with stories of overcoming addiction or being sexually molested by family members as reasons behind their addiction. However all of their stories were compelling and empowering to the group of individuals who have seemed to endure some of the same sentiments as their fellow group mate. It appeared as if the individuals in the group even though that were court ordered appeared to be extremely engaged and very involved during the meetings. It seemed as though most who attended found peace and solice from the group during the NA meetings. As it stated by Krentzman, Robinson, Moore, et.al (2010), client’s state that their top two reasons for attending NA meetings were to promote recovery/ sobriety and to find support acceptance and friendships. One thing that I learned from the NA group that just as in AA, family support deems to be an important function on the perseverance of an addict and that the participation and involvement of family is detrimental in the treatment process for the addicts. In several of our readings many of the passages discussed the effects of family systems support as it pertains to substance abusers chemical addiction. The passages described the family system as being a detrimental part of the treatment process as well as for the treatment of the family as well. According to past studies, family involvement has aided clients in

Gruber, K.J., & Taylor M.F. (2006). A family perspective for substance abuse: Implications from the literature. Journal of Social

Drug and chemical abuse affect many families and that particular family that lives through a loved one who is an addict and the priority is to get help for the individual. In any intervention that involves drug addicts, a family's disposition is very important. Full recovery of any drug addict involves the restoration of the person's life as well as ensuring that those who are around the addict have the best ability when it comes to helping with abstinence which is a long-term goal. Abusers are often in denial or even believe that they are totally in control of their use of drugs

As a recovering addict I know firsthand how my addiction affected my family. Addiction to alcohol or drugs is a disease; it affects everyone in the family, not just the substance abuser.

Addiction is not an individual problem but something that affects the whole family. Stevens and Smith (2013) state that families will “readjust to redistributing responsibilities to accommodate the user” (pp. 247-248). Children learn to adapt to their dysfunctional family, including taking more responsibilities on when their parent cannot because of their addiction. Families need to be included in treatment so that they can learn positive ways to help their family member without enabling them. The Bible states in Ecclesiastes 4:9 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed” (New Living Translation). God designed humans to need each other that is why he created Eve as Adam’s helpmate. Having a support system

Substance abuse is an issue that continues to grow in America at an alarming rate. Families are an important factor for the onset of substance abuse as well as the sustainment of the addiction (Gruber & Taylor, 2006). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines substance abuse as “A chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences” (“Understanding Drug Use and Addiction,” 2016). In order to prevent relapse, success is found in the formation of familial and social relationships (Baharudin et al., 2014). Substance abuse is a major stressor in the family system and it not only impacts the family’s relationships with those outside of the family but

It was never my intention to work with addicted clients, but nearly every family therapy course I have taken has, either overtly or covertly, stressed the need to understand addictions. While I understand the concept on a cognitive level, I had judgements about the type of people that become addicted and did not feel compelled to work with them, until my niece died. Her drug addiction deeply affected all members of her immediate family. Her parents and her step-dad, my brother, each reacted to my niece’s addiction in different ways but none were successful and the family began to fail under the stress.

Substance abuse, the abuse of drugs or alcohol, is known to have a lasting impact on members of the abuser’s family (Crosson-Tower, 2013). Ultimately there are two ways in which a family can experience the detrimental effects of substance abuse within the family system itself, and those ways are through either substance abuse on the parent’s behalf or substance abuse by the adolescents or children in the family unit (Crosson-Tower, 2013). Substance abuse can have many negative impacts on a family unit; the negative impacts are known to be emotionally, physically, and mentally damaging (Gruber & Taylor, 2006).

Although all sorts of families can be devastated by addiction, but single parent units (the most common lower class structure) are the most obscured. Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches supports, “In every family unit, each person plays a role (or multiple roles) to help the family function better and to maintain a level of homeostasis, stability and balance. When substance abuse is added to this dynamic, the family roles naturally shift to adjust to the new behaviors associated with drug or alcohol use, and to continue maintaining order and balance.”4 In single parent units there is an inability of a second parent to fill the void role of the addicted parent. The National Center for Biotechnology Information states, “Frequently, children may act as surrogate spouses for the parent who abuses substances. For example, [young] children may develop elaborate systems of denial to protect themselves against that reality of the parent’s addiction. Because that option does not exist in a single‐parent household with a parent who abuses substances, children are likely to behave in a manner that is not age‐appropriate to compensate for the parental deficiency.”2 So a child growing up in a compromised family unit where addiction is present may develop altered norms and mature into an addict themselves.4

Addicts blame others when things go wrong, they make loved ones feel guilty or ashamed, and maintaining an addiction can take a financial toll on a family. Children, pets, and other family members are often neglected and left to fend for themselves when living with an addict. Addiction can also cause separation in a family. Eventually patience runs out and people end up walking away from the addict when they refuse to get help or take responsibility.

The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers,

Drug abuse is thought to be a multidetermined, maladaptive way of coping with life problems that often become habitual and leads to a progressive deterioration in life circumstances. Drug abuse is a disease in its own way. It’s damaging, mentally, physically and emotionally with each party involved. When it comes to each party involved that also means family members as well. Youth will find a way to but some sort of blame of the family for their drug addiction. Family members can be a crucial part or a great aspect of the therapy depending the situation or how important that family member plays a role in their life. Family plays an important role in our emotional development since each individual in the family system impacts and its impacted by the others. Its design to address issues that affect the health of family and the addict’s life transition or mental health conditions.

Addiction is a condition that can affect many people other than just the user. Families, friends, and relationships can be lost because of addiction taking control of a victim’s life. Family is one of the most impacted by addiction. They will blame themselves and start to believe they are why the addict is using drugs. Many families isolate themselves to stop the fear of embarrassment of the rumors circulating about them, they might stop going to social gatherings or doing things they used to love. They will stop their lives in order to take care of the addict and fear that everyday might be the victims last. If an addict constantly lies to their family, they will lose trust over time and attempt to see lies in every situation and expect the

Addiction is a plight on the world’s population that many know of but refuse to acknowledge. It’s a topic often ignored in society due to belief that addicts are the scum of humankind. Many organizations have popped up to fix these issues by creating rehab facilities and methods to assist addicts in abandoning their addictions and revitalizing their life. It’s a common thought that these organizations, and even everyday citizens of society, believe in focusing on the addict and on their path through rehabilitation. However, people tend to forget about the families behind these addicts, who go through the pains of drug use even though they are not the ones causing it. I personally believe that the families should be just as much a main

The abuse of drugs and alcohol as well as the prescriptions now in the day reach the amount of 700 thousand dollars a year, since the medical attention is increased due to the overdose that cannot be controlled that occurs when the health insurers deny patients treatments because they are very expensive.