Curious to know who you’ve told about your loved one’s substance use, and how the response has been? Or if you haven’t shared with anyone - why not?
It can be difficult to share our stories with others, especially people we know. There is so much stigma around addiction, and people tend to make judgments without fully understanding the situation. I hope you know this is a safe space to share.
I’ve only shared with friends that I know have had similar experiences with loved ones. I feel like many people still don’t understand addiction and can judge. There were immediate family members that even made me feel hopeless in a time when hope was the only thing I had left in helping my partner through active addiction and rehab.
Early on, when my husband was still in active addiction, no one knew. I eventually told his sister, more for support for myself. Once she found out, I was at least able to talk to someone about it, and she was there to help with my son when I ended up taking my husband to rehab. Then his immediate family inevitably found out, and some of his close friends, and my family. Everyone has been understanding and supportive for the most part, though we do have our differences in opinions, which became more evident as I started to heal and change.