Behind closed doors: The addictions you don’t see

SURREY (NEWS1130) – When you think of drug and alcohol addiction, the streets of the Downtown Eastside often come to mind. But it is also a problem spreading behind the doors of homes in your neighbourhood.

“Alcohol, cocaine, heroin, a lot more prescription addiction like OxyContin and even valium. With kids, we’re seeing things like over-the-counter medication and sniffing substances to get high,” says Candace Plattor, a therapist, author and former addict, who is speaking tonight as part of Surrey’s Substance Use Awareness Week.

“You have no idea how many families are dealing with this all over the place. Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Families keep it private and end up feeling ashamed of what’s going on in the home. They don’t talk to anybody,” she explains.

Addiction can quietly creep into a family, and the signs and symptoms are often not obvious.

“People have an intuition about this; a feeling that something is really wrong and that there may be drug or alcohol use or some other addiction. There are differences in how people are doing, socially, whether they are attending school or work or not [or] what time they’re coming home,” adds Plattor.

Consider professional help to address addiction with a loved one

“There are times when addicts can become very angry about being confronted and it can be better to talk to somebody who understands family addiction and get tips, tools and strategies to be able to talk to a loved one,” she tells us.

“People love their addicted family members so much. They’re really trying to help, they really want to stop seeing the people they love so much destroying themselves. They’re willing to do almost anything, but a lot of what they’re doing may not be helpful. Getting professional advice on how to confront them usually works better.”

Plattor doesn’t have hard stats on how many homes are dealing with addiction but says she is getting an increasing number of calls from family members asking for help.

“My guess is that it’s very prevalent and I will be speaking tonight to the loved ones of addicts, helping them understand what to do — and not do — to be helpful in the situation, rather than having enabling behaviours that perpetuate the addiction,” she says.

Plattor will be at White Rock Community Centre from 7 p.m. to 9pm and a counselling and addiction services team will be on-hand to present resources available in the community.

Substance Use Awareness Week runs until Saturday.