Topic Tuesday // Breaking The Cycle: Addiction, Alcohol and Drugs // Tues 27th April, 7:00-8:30PM AEST

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Question 3:

For many people, addiction, substance use and mental health are interrelated, and so is recovery.

One question that is often asked is what comes first, mental health or addiction? How are they related?

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This is a common question that many people want to know the answer to and unfortunately its not as clear cut. Again everyone is different and so are their life experiences, circumstances and environement. Its almost a chicken vs egg question.

People who have a form of mental health issue for example can fall into addiction patterns as a form of coping with that struggle to optimise their mental health. Where as at the other end of the scale, I have spoken to people that describe themselves as having usually energetic and overall positive lifestyle, however after a period of time of using substances and increasing their dependence, they begin to notice feelings of immense depression, anxiety and other psychological effects that they hadn’t been exposed to prior.

Question for our community: What are your top tips for supporting a loved one who is living with addiction or substance use?

No worries @Time & @TAB, and again, thank you so much for being here and sharing your insights & experiences with us this evening. I know these discussions can sometimes be a little confronting and bring up some heavy emotions. You've done so well. I hope you're able to do something nice for yourselves this evening 😊

@Daisydreamer the cravings come and go. Like your brother when I am stressed they are more insistant. Thinking of my children and how disappointed they would be if I drank something is enough to stop me from placing an order. Still hard though. Funnily enough I gave up ciggies years ago with no troubles but alcohol has hung onto me longer.

Question 4: Substance use can be a coping mechanism. At what point does using substances become an addiction?

Substance use can be a coping mechanism. People use for many different reasons anywhere from; dealing with trauma, daily stresses, loss of job, relationship breakdown, boredom, homelessness, the list could go on. For people that would like to stop using substances, they first have to acknowledge why they drink and to bring those reasons to the surface, even though this could be a difficult task to do. In order to heal, we have to come to terms with the pain we experience. The most common phrase we here is “I need to use drugs to feel normal” or “I cannot function without it”. This is a clear sign that the substance use has developed into a dependence.

Substance use is a SYMPTOM to a variety of other issues an individual is facing. Some find themselves in the routine of using substances whenever they feel triggered to do so; and some people has described this experience as a form of 'autopiloting' where not much thought goes into their habit or action.

Creating a roadblock where you can by trying to seperate the thought, the feeling and the action is a first step towards gaining awareness of the problem and intitiating change in habit.

Thanks , it's been a reminder that I still need to do something if nothing else @Daisydreamer

Having that purpose and reason to not drink makes such a difference in those moments of cravings💜 Good on you @Bunniekins, giving up cigraettes too- both big steps 🙂

Yes same here @Bunniekins the craving comes and goes, a bad day etc or tonight losing one of our jobs --- you want to have a drink

And when the craving comes , buy a soft drink

True @TideisTurning and I already did, had steak and veg for dinner. Thanks.