COMING OFF DRUGS: HOW THE FAMILY REACTS-CLEAN YOUR SIDE OF THE STREET

Most family members have been so busy worrying about the addict or the alcoholic that they haven't paid much attention to what else is going on around them. And sometimes there are other problems of chemical dependence which have stayed hidden.

After all, when the full drama of 'Rescuing the Junkie' is being played out by the family, more subtle forms of addiction go unnoticed. The family member who is dependent on prescribed drugs like tranquillisers and sleeping pills doesn't get up to the outrageous actions of the junkie, but she or he is just as sick. So is the alcoholic drinker, even if he or she 'scores' alcohol quite legally from the off-licence or pub. If you think you too might have a problem with your drinking or with prescribed drugs, the questionnaire in the next chapter may help you as well as your addict.

It is a fact that more than one in four drug addicts come from homes where there is already an addiction problem - usually to alcohol or prescribed drugs. Sometimes this problem skips a generation, having occurred further back with grandparents.

Addicts rather like this situation. It allows them to play the guilt game with their parents. 'Your drinking made me into a junkie', is their cry. If you clean up your own act, it takes the wind out of their sails.

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Anti-Smoking