Hi Friend,,
For those struggling with substance use, the decision to seek treatment can be filled with emotions — anxiety, fear, frustration, even uncertainty. For parents and family members, these emotional moments and conversations can be difficult to navigate, wondering what’s the best way to help a loved one.
In the next episode of our year-long YouTube video series, Tony and Pattie discuss how scary it was when their son’s substance use first started becoming a problem and the different approaches they took to find a treatment program for him.
“We didn’t know anybody who had gone through what we had gone through,” Pattie says. “Just trying to figure out what to do was really difficult…we were so terrified.”
There is no one-size-fits-all answer so it can take a fair amount of research to figure out what type of help your child or family member needs, how to get it, and how to motivate them to agree to treatment.
“What I wish we had for anyone with substance use disorder is a community of care that surrounds you,” Pattie says. “If my kid has cancer, you work through your primary care provider, then you work with community clinics. There’s help for you. When it’s substance use, it’s the wild, wild west.”
You can watch this episode and previous episodes here on drugfree.org. This new video series will feature a variety of topics, voices and stories all year long.
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