Introduction and How Do You know if You’re at Risk
Welcome! We’re so excited to bring you a series to help you feel more in control surrounding drug, alcohol, or tobacco use. It’s important to learn more about your use, decide whether you want to make changes over your use, and making a plan to do so. For the purpose of this guide, we’ll be referring to alcohol, drug, or tobacco use as a “substance.”
If you think your substance use is putting you at risk of experiencing:
- Health
- Social
- Psychological
- Work
- Family problems
We will help you to weigh up your alcohol, drug or tobacco habits and give you some ideas about how to change them. This is designed for people who are at moderate risk of substance related problems and who do not have severe substance related problems. If you experience severe withdrawal symptoms when you stop using you should seek medical help from your doctor, health care worker, or someone from a specialist drug or alcohol service.
How Do I Know if I’m at Risk?
Different substances have different risks. For example:
- If you regularly smoke nicotine- cigars, e-cigs, or cigarettes- you may be at risk
- If you regularly exceed the guidelines for low risk drinking for alcoholic beverages, feel guilty about the amount of alcohol you’re drinking, or if loved ones have expressed concerns about your drinking.
- If you use substances- such as cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine type stimulants (including molly or other designer drugs), inhalants, non prescribed sedatives or sleeping pills, hallucinogens, or opioids- could put you at an increased risks.
Getting Started
You might already have noticed that your substance use is causing problems for you. Or maybe you want to feel more in control before you begin using too much. Either way, this series will help you take a look at where you are now and how you could make changes for you. Change is difficult and change is possible. Entertaining the idea of changing the way we behave with substances can seem scary or difficult. Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve been down this path before and you haven’t seen as much success as you would like. It takes people several times to make attempts at change before it actually sticks.
Getting Support
You can begin to make changes on your own without involving anyone in what you’re doing. However, it can be helpful to have a supporter. This person is ideally someone you trust and are comfortable with. You may consider asking a partner, friend, co-worker, clergy member, counselor or doctor to be part of your team. If you ask that person to support you and that person declines, try asking someone else. Many people in our lives want to know how they can help and support us- we just have to ask them.
You can establish supports online too. Connect with support groups or Facebook groups. Get started with some motivating podcasts about changing behavior and setting yourself up for success. Surround yourself with motivation and inspiration. It goes a long way to get you and keep you fired up.
Keep checking back and we’ll be adding more to this guide. If you’re ready to get started in making a change on your substance use, we can help guide you through those changes. Treatment works and recovery is possible!
