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Information for family and friendsHow do family and friends respond when alcohol or other drug use becomes a problem? How do they make sure their lives don’t slip and slide with the ups and downs of the person with substance dependence? Problems with alcohol or other drugs can be frustrating, confusing, frightening and stressful. Family and friends of the person with the problem can often feel like they are consumed with worry and shame. Being the partner, parent, child, sibling or close friend of a problem drinker or drug user can seem like living on a roller coaster. Personal relationships are put under pressure, family stress levels can rise and coping levels often decline. Holyoake’s “whole of family” approach focuses on providing support to family and friends of a person with a drug dependence that provides effective and practical responses to the issues they face. Partners, parents and other family members respond in the same ways as they would to any other serious problem that affected their loved one. They try to help, they try to adjust what they're doing, they try to figure out what's causing it, they try to fix it, they ignore it hoping it will go away, they question, advise, keep silent, keep the peace, walk on eggshells, counsel, get angry, threaten and plead. Sometimes this is at the expense of their mental and physical wellbeing. It is not uncommon for family and friends to feel that no matter what they say or do, it doesn’t change the situation and they are unable to control the person’s problem drinking or drug taking. If you can relate to any of this, you might be interested in finding out more. Find out more about: Common ways family and friends of someone with an alcohol and drug problem cope Common things families do to deal with someone’s drug or alcohol problem
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