Drug abuse is prevalent in all societies today. Finances are held back, families are made less happy and occasionally even torn asunder by serious injury, death or deeply negative consequences of drug abuse. Unfortunately, across the globe and throughout time, drug abuse has manifested itself in one form or another, so it appears that drug-abusing behaviour, and its effects, which this article will explore, are both here to stay.
The widespread availability of illicit substance has made our youths an easy target for abuse.
Drug abuse has the potential to tear families apart, and it can also cause a variety of economic, social, physical and legal problems. Drug abuse can impact individuals and families in different ways, and drug abuse is a progressive problem that has the ability to affect anyone regardless of gender, class or race.
Financial Enabling:
It is no secret that drug abuse can be financially costly. Some staffers’ inability to function at work well is a sign that intensified drug abuse could be occurring. Arriving late or not at all, the inability to positively interact with co-workers and poor performance are potential effects of intensified drug abuse that can ultimately affect employment status and financial income. If a person loses his job because of drug abuse, he may be forced to seek financial support from his parents, friends and siblings. While families ultimately want their members to succeed, bailing out a drug abusing family member financially can amount to enabling drug abuse. While intentions may be genuine, this can empower the drug abusing individual to continue using it.
Silence:
Some families may enable drug abuse by hiding a specific family member’s problem from other members of the family, friends, church, etc. A mother who knows her son is abusing marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, but neglects to tell the father, for instance, is enabling drug abuse. Hiding the problem from other family members prohibits the problem from coming to light initially, but it does not actually eradicate the problem.
Parental Drug Abuse:
Let me explain it this way. “Substance abuse is a family problem in both a biological and psychological sense.” Based on this view, abusing substances is in itself an enabler for other family members to abuse substances also. It is feared that not only do offspring of drug abusers have an increased biological tendency to follow in their parents’ footsteps, they also develop psychological coping mechanisms similar to the mechanisms they see their parents use. If the parents abuse it, it gives the children an excuse to also do.
Denial:
Most forms of enabling are complicity or even proactive and overt, but denial is also a characteristic of families that enable drug abuse. By denying that the drug abuse even occurs, a family ultimately perpetuates and exacerbates the problem. Denial is a mechanism or trick the drug abuser or co-dependents can use to avoid the problem and continue enabling the drug abuse.
Intervention:
If a family member has a drug addiction problem, but is unwilling to seek help on his own, the family should intervene and strongly recommend drug addiction treatment. The family needs to be strong and forthcoming in their intervention.
DRUG USE DISORDERS ARE PREVENTABLE AND TREATABLE.
Say No To Drug Abuse!