More on family support at
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Adfam has embraced the opportunity to talk
openly about stigma, says Robert Stebbings
Gaining
momentum
tigma has been a prominent theme for us at
Adfam and something that we frequently
encounter in our varied work supporting families
affected by alcohol or drug use.
One family member spoke to us about how stigma is
‘like being labelled with a big invisible sign that I can’t
see but others can’.
This isn't good enough. Families should feel able to talk
about their experiences openly and live their lives without
fear of judgement from others. Often stigma isn’t
malicious or deliberate; it’s due to people
misunderstanding the issue and what families are going
through. That’s why we have launched
#StigmaMakesMeFeel – a campaign that gets stigma out
in the open and tackles it face on.
We’re aiming for 1,000 photos of people with our
campaign boards writing their own personal messages of
how stigma makes them feel and how it’s impacted on
their lives.
S
‘affected others’ just as they can support people
tackling their own addiction. You can be with people
who are just like you, get identification and lose the
feelings of judgement and shame. It takes away the
isolation that can come with addiction and make
people unwell.
The result of this project to share experiences, the
DAWS Families and Friends Recovery Stories book, is
about these forgotten victims of addiction – people
who rarely have a voice and who are often supporting
loved ones to access treatment and find recovery from
substance misuse.
My clients who attend DAWS have loved ones who
might be in treatment or might not; they might be in
their lives or they might not. Whatever the
circumstance, if someone has been affected by
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
By talking about this issue openly and honestly, we
believe we can make a huge impact and change the way
people think about substance use and the families
affected.
Since our launch earlier this year the response has
been fantastic, with people across the country sending us
a range of powerful and inspiring photos and messages.
How does stigma make you feel? You can get involved
in our campaign to raise awareness of stigma
experienced by families affected by drugs and alcohol
through three simple steps:
1. Download and print off our campaign board (pdf)
2. Write your own message on how stigma makes you
feel
3. Take your photo and tweet it using the hashtag
#StigmaMakesMeFeel (or email it to us at
[email protected])
another’s substance misuse, they are welcome. In
some cases their loved one has passed away as a
result of addiction and they are left with the trauma.
More than ever, they need support to help them
process the loss that they are going through and they
often experience a debilitating sense of guilt.
At DAWS we help them to explore how they are
processing their thoughts and feelings. Our 12-week
rolling programme covers setting boundaries, self-
care, healthy relationships, looking at anger, building
up resilience and social networks. The first half of the
programme is a process group, where we work with
whatever is brought up by clients.
The strength and courage that the families and
friends show on a daily basis amazes me, and this
shines through the book. These are stories of how
‘By talking about
this issue openly
and honestly,
we believe we
can make a
huge impact
and change the
way people
think about
substance use
and the families
affected.’
people are watching their loved ones on a destructive
path and unfortunately often end up on the path
with them.
It’s so very important to remember how substance
misuse affects so many others around that one
person. Figures from Adfam state that for every
person in active addiction, eight people around them
are likely to be affected. This highlights the problem
we have and also shows how important it is for these
people to get support and have their voices heard.
John Taylor is DAWS family and carers lead. The Drug
and Alcohol Wellbeing Service (DAWS) is run by
Blenheim and Turning Point.
Read the Recovery Stories book at
https://bit.ly/2AUexFQ
December/January 2019 | drinkanddrugsnews | 7