Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist or visit scheduler.drugfree.org
Helpline
Helpline
Call 1.855.378.4373 to schedule a call time with a specialist

Personal Stories

Get advice and perspective from families who have also been impacted by substance use or addiction.

When it comes to a child using drugs or alcohol, collaboration with your co-parent is key.
What do I wish I had done differently?
After experiencing and acknowledging emotions brought about in parenting an addicted child, I believe that I will better cope with negative feelings that arise.
Detach from the actions, crimes, drug use, and lying. Love and support the person inside, not the addiction controlling his life.
Like many parents, I felt that my son's addiction was every bit of my problem as it was his. I didn't know what I was doing wrong.
From honor student to nearly failing his freshman year, my son was on the fast-track to the dark side. Though he hadn't developed an addiction, he was well on his way.
Dealing with our daughter’s addiction was by far the most difficult and the most painful thing we have had to navigate together as a couple.
I was wracked with worry and felt guilty for not knowing that she was drinking alcohol in the first place. “How could I have missed it?!”
When addiction hit my daughter, it was like a tornado hitting our home from the inside out. Learning to talk to her was like learning a different language.
Education about the dangers of drug and alcohol use is all about being relatable. By sharing his personal story, my son helped kids think differently.
Accepting that a loved one has a drug or alcohol problem doesn’t mean you condone it.
As parents of loved ones with a drug or alcohol addiction, how many times did we blow right through the warning signs as if they weren’t even there?
I have learned that there is a big difference between rules and boundaries. My misunderstanding of this before is a regret I live with every day.
How do you have fun or enjoy anything when someone you love is lost in their disease?
I understand that there is truly only so much that I can do to save my daughter from addiction. Ultimately her recovery is between her and her Higher Power.
Substance use turned this mother’s son from a normal 20-year-old to someone she no longer recognized.
Alcohol and drug use was an issue we never talked about in my family. It wasn’t too long before I found myself dealing with addiction.