Addiction needs to come out of the closet, says Inverness mum who has started support group to help families suffering in silence
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Diane’s son was 14 when he first became involved in drugs.
Bullied at school, he started smoking cannabis and later progressed to heroin and ended up in prison several times.
That was 20 years ago and the experience along with the stigma surrounding addiction has impacted on the entire family.
“Addiction needs to come out of the closet,” says Diane, of Inverness.
“Families are suffering in silence. People don’t look for help because they are embarrassed.
“You feel sometimes you are in a play – it isn’t your life. It is someone else’s life.”
She has started a peer-led group which meets at Merkinch Community Centre every Tuesday from 10.30am to noon when people can get together for a chat and share their experiences.
It comes as the Scottish Government recently launched a campaign calling for drug and alcohol problems to be treated as a health condition and encouraging people to see the personal story behind the stereotype.
It aims to highlight the damage caused by the stigma of problem drug and alcohol use and how it can stop those affected from being able to get help.
While Diane is keen to speak about her experiences, she acknowledges she is reluctant to be identified to protect her son and her family.
When she and her husband discovered their son had a drug problem, they tried to seek help.
“It was absolute hell,” recalls Diane.
“We tried everything to get help. But he never fitted into anything which was available. He was too young, or too old, or not bad enough.”
She felt school did not admit there was a problem.
Several times he was beaten up by drug dealers while the rest of the family felt a sense of threat.
“I know there have been times when dealers have knocked on the doors of parents who have given them money,” she said.
Her lowest point came when her son went to prison the first time.
He returned to prison several times for possession or not paying fines but she said it was not the answer to his problems.
She said many affected families often had to deal with it for many years.
“That is why family support groups are so important,” she said.
“I went to a group and found other mothers struggling like me and I found help – it was the fact there were other people like me.
“The help from the support group was invaluable and it is free.”
She wanted to see GPs direct people to family support groups rather than prescribing anti-depressants but acknowledged they were not for everyone.
Her son has finally turned his life around and is now going to university.
“There is hope,” she said.
“Until they decide it isn’t the way they want to live, there is very little you can do other than treat them as a human being.”
Anyone wanting to join the group should call 07983 001962.
Stigma associated with addiction can lead to dark and lonely place
