Let’s Talk About Alcohol And Substance Misuse By Systemic Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor Peggy Sweeney
Hello! My name is Peggy Sweeney, I am a Systemic Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor with experience of working in the NHS, Social Services and I also have a Private Practice. I have worked for a long time in the field of substance misuse and love the work that I do.
Most importantly to me, I am a single parent to one amazing little person, so when invited to contribute some of my thoughts to this wonderful social enterprise, I jumped at the chance to support, encourage and cheerlead all of you wonderful, amazing, hardworking Mums and Dads!
Have you become aware that you are using alcohol or substances more frequently than you used to? Or perhaps you have noticed that you are thinking about alcohol or substances a lot over recent weeks or months.
Are you aware that you are withdrawing from your family or aware that you are becoming less open and truthful about how much you are drinking or using.
It can be difficult to acknowledge that you are struggling particularly as a single parent, and even more difficult to reach out for help when you feel that things are becoming overwhelming and the idea of using a substance at the end of the day is the only thing we think is making this version of life bearable?
If any of the above ring a bell or resonate with you, now might be a good time to reach out and ask for some support. If you are terrified that your family may be judgmental or unsupportive then there are many other people that you can speak to or link in with to have a space to talk or to start opening up doors that lead to some solutions rather than you feeling more isolated or fearful or hopeless.
You have more choices than you think, and there is always a doorway that will lead to an improvement in your situation. Often people find themselves using substances to a dangerous level when they have some unresolved issues, these could be traumatic events, emotional or sexual abuse, fear of harm and sometimes a general feeling of not being able to cope with life, which can lead us to having thoughts of self-harm or even suicide. You may have had a recent diagnosis that you are struggling to understand and even might be worried about whether that will somehow impact your ability or wellness to be a single parent.
And that is terrifying to think about.
Your choices start right now, by reading this and feeling hopeful that there is an alternative. Below are a few resources that you can begin to explore if you are not quite sure that it’s a problem yet, you may be just managing to hold down your job and keep people reassured that you are managing ok.
If you are drinking to a level that you are withdrawing and experiencing shakes and palpitations in the mornings or feeling unable to get through the day without using, then it is REALLY important to have some support before stopping abruptly.
If you live in Wales, there are a number of organisations who can support you, offer community support, family support and even counselling so that change begins now. I have listed a few of these below;
https://www.kaleidoscopeproject.org.uk/
If you feel you need medical support then a good place to start is to contact your local Community Drug and Alcohol Team to make a self-referral (a search engine will bring these up in your area)
Alternatively, you could speak to a Counselling professional if you would prefer to seek support directly and have a good insight as to why you are using substances.
One website you can browse to identify a counsellor that may be suitable is the https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/ all of which have been vetting and trained to an appropriate and professional level of competency.
I’ve included a few podcasts that may be of interest to you if you are feeling that you may need support either now or in the near future. The podcasts below are themed around substance misuse (you may prefer the term addictions) and there are 10 good sobriety podcasts suggested on www.besober.co.uk
Two of them which seem like a good place to start are below
This naked mind – Annie Grace
Honestly – Clemmie Telford
There are a number on that site, at least one of which is likely to suit your personal taste!
Some books that I recommend on this topic are;
Woman of Substances - Jenny Valentish
The little book of recovery – Sofia A
These books look at dependency/addiction from two very differing positions, one is a lived experience and the second has contributions from people in recover.
I hope you find them useful.
There are lots of resources, books, podcasts, links and videos to watch over on the SPW resources page.
I hope this blog has been useful for you, please ALWAYS reach out and seek support!
Keep talking,
Peggy
You can find Peggy Sweeney on Linkedin or contact via email on info@thewalespractice.com