Is your adult child or teenager abusing alcohol or drugs? Are you feeling helpless and devastated as your watch your child make poor choices? Finding support for yourself is important and essential for your health. The emotional exhaustion of having your child addicted to alcohol or drugs can be draining. Here are three sites for parents with addicted children.
It’s reassuring to know there are people out there making the world a better place, supporting recovery and supporting each other.
EONS is the Online Community for BOOMers. Even Barack Obama has a page, and well so do I. They offer several online groups to join, in a variety of categories such as Body & Health and Money & Careers. The one that immediately caught my attention was the Parents of Adult Drug Addicts. You can join Eons by setting up an account with an email address and a username. Set up your own profile page, similar to Face Book, where you can list as much or as little about yourself as you would like to share. Write a message or ask a question to be read and answered by the group. There is much support from the members of the Parents of Adult Drug Addicts as they help each other through the disease of addiction.
Intervene is a community of parents concerned about their teen’s alcohol and drug use. The website is part of The Partnership at Drugfree.org. This site is basically a blog loaded with information for parents.
“We are a community of experts, parents and caring adults concerned about our teens’ alcohol and drug use and have come together to share our insights, inspiration, guidance and help.”
Two ebooks are available for downloading. One is an Intervention e-book:
“What To Do If Your Child is Drinking or Using Drugs”
The second is a Treatment e-book:
“How to Find the Right Help for your Child with an Alcohol or Drug Problem”
Daily Strength is a free anonymous website that anyone can join. Daily Strength offers support for addiction issues as well as many other issues such as anxiety or cancer. You can join the site by signing up with an email address and a password. The account is free and you can post under a username to remain anonymous. Daily Strength offers a Families and Friends Support Group for support, information and guidance. The site is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for online chatting with other members.
Support for parents and family members is essential for our health and well begin. In person as well as online support can be extremely helpful.
What kinds of support do you feel is important for family and friends of an addict? I would love to know…
If you enjoyed this post, consider a free online subscription. You can opt-out at any time.
Be well.
Beyond Addiction:
Embrace the New Life
This FREE Ebook will show you how to create the LIFE you want after addiction.
- Accept and cope with your family's addiction.
- Create your own life rather than react to events around you
- Don't feel so alone on your addiction journey.
- Experience new meaning for your life.
- Find peace, serenity and joy
Thanks for this post, Cathy — finding this kind of list of online resources will be a huge help for parents — especially in the early stages of trying to understand what you are dealing with and what to do to help your child.
I hope so too. Information about addiction is so important, especially at the early stages. Knowing the facts and where to get help is the key. Thanks Lisa.
Cathy,
There’s a lot of online support for parents and families of addicts. Sometimes its easier for someone to be more open online when it comes to issues that carry such a stigma, like addiction. I personally refer all of our clients to The Addict’s Mom Facebook page. After they find the willingness to step out of their comfort zone I suggest they look for a Celebrate Recovery group (which isn’t for addicts only) or a Naranon group. On The Addicts Mom I share with many mothers. It’s so important for families to realize their loved one is not a bad person, they have a disease, and as long as they have breathe, they have hope.
I can validate a family’s feelings of fear and worry….knowing my own mother has been in their shoes. But I ask them to have faith and not act out in fear. I sympathize with the family. And I empathize and identify with the addict, so I know all these trials the family goes through, as a whole aren’t for nothing! In the end they can heal together.
But the family must come to a place where they say enough is enough and reach out. At first they may only vent or talk about their fears, but I hope they begin to look for solutions….Thank you, Cathy for being part of the solution! Take care and God Bless!
Sincerely,
Kelli Athas, C.N.D.A.I.
http://www.interceptinterventions.com
Thanks Kelli for your comment. Addiction does carry a stigma for many families. I like The Addict’s Mom Facebook Page as well. You realize quickly that you are not alone. I know many will appreciate your words of hope.
Cathy,
Great post! Online support encourages families to begin sharing & teaches them that being transparent can be very healing. Too many families want to hide the chaos addiction causes, in reality sharing it is the only way to begin to find a solution!
Thanks Again,
Kelli Athas
If you are looking for information on understanding the basics and causes of addiction and the means to cope and change, there are free online lessons available. They are simple and fast to read and full of references with areas to look deeper if you wish. Really they are a help to anyone facing addiction in themselves or a loved one. They can be found at:
http://www.usdrugrehabcenters.com/drug-rehab-info/
I am a parent of a nearly 19 year old heroin addict. She is currently in a 90 day program in another state facing a choice between halfway house and living and working on her own. Apparently halfway houses won’t let her work for another 60 days, I feel this process is counterproductive to an addict trying to pay her way. I am powerless, she is an adult and on her own now. I know any help from me would just be co-dependent. I sense her hopelessness and just know that within a few weeks of her getting out she will use again. Each time it is more intense, will this be the time I get a call from a morgue?
Hi Jane,
My heart goes out to you. It is so difficult to have an addicted child and it is especially at this point in her recovery. I’m surprised that the home won’t let her work. That was not my experience, but I know they are all different. I would check some other sources to see if there are some other options. I’ll send you an email with some resources.
I just your web-site on the internet and looked through some of your early posts.terrific site,keep up the good work. I just added up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from your page, thank you!
Hi Abercrombie,
Great – thanks for stopping by Treatment Talk. Be sure to let me know if I can help you in any way.
Yes!! It is a common problem in our society because due to easy availability of drugs and alcohol most youngsters are being addicted to drugs. According to me, It is our responsibly to aware youngster to avoid consuming alcohol and other drugs. Thanks for sharing these valuable information it is really useful for people who have drugs and alcohol addiction. Thanks…