Topic Tuesday // Breaking The Cycle: Addiction, Alcohol and Drugs // Tues 27th April, 7:00-8:30PM AEST

[Shaz51]

@Daisydreamer 

We both said " is it Friday  yet " 😂🤣

[TideisTurning]

Hey @Merry, just a quick tip- if you'd like to try to get someone's attention, place an @ in front of their usernames and they'll get a notification about your post. 😊

[Calvin]

@Hydrangea That would've been a difficult process to go through. This does not mean that you love or care for him any less, it means that you have understood that there are limits to what you could realistically do for him at this point in time. 

[greenpea]

Good night everyone I am so tired. A big thank you to @Calvin @Hello3  (I hope I got the names right) and thank you to @Daisydreamer and everyone who has made this happen tonight. Love peaxx

[TideisTurning]

Thanks for joining us @greenpea and for all your contributions this evening. Take care tonight

[Shaz51]

Good night my @greenpea ❤❤

[Hello3]

Question 5: What are your top tips for supporting a loved one who is living with addiction or substance use? Where can families and loved ones seek help and what services are available at Turning Point? 

Here are some of my top tips when supporting a loved one living with addiction and substance use -

• Try to maintain a connection.
• It's important to have no expectations and that support is unconditional.
• Boundaries are important, it’s important for you to feel safe and not taken advantage of. In that situation, it doesn’t matter how much they love you, the addiction takes priority.
• Instead of giving money, take them out for a meal and a chat instead.

Where you and/or your loved one can get help through Turning Point- 

Counselling Online forum (Drug and Alcohol recovery support – peer to peer)

https://forums.counsellingonline.org.au

Gambling Help Online Forum (peer to peer support)

https://forums.gamblinghelponline.org.au

Both forums are for members 18+ across Australia

Specific to Victoria:

• 7-10 day detox and/or 28 day stabilisation at Ward 1 East in Box Hill Hospital and Wellington House
• Walk in intake & assessment clinic at Box Hill
• AOD counselling at Box Hill & Ringwood East
• Psychology
• Brief intervention Psychiatry (291 assessments)
• Care & Recovery coordination
• SPS clinic
• Kick start
• Ready 2 change
• Thursday morning Peer Support Group online
• SMART Recovery groups
• Counselling online
• Directline

For those living outside of Victoria, contact a 24 hour Alcohol and Drug Information Services (ADIS) on 1800 250 015.

[Shaz51]

Thank you @Hello3 , @Calvin , @Daisydreamer , @TideisTurning  for a interesting night 

[Daisydreamer]

Thank you so much for being here @greenpea 💙

[Daisydreamer]

Our discussion is quickly drawing to a close. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us tonight and asked questions, shared experiences and shared your knowledge and insights. I hope that you were all able to take something away from this discussion

@Hydrangea @Tarnia @greenpea @Shaz51 @Fhr @TAB @Time @Merry @Zelf 

To our amazing guests from Turning Point, @Calvin and @Hello3, we are so grateful for your time, knowledge and expertise tonight. Hearing the understanding and compassion in your posts, I can imagine just how beneficial it must be for the people contacting Turning Point to be met with warmth and validation after making that first step. A huge thank you from all of us here.

And of course, a big shout out to the amazing @TideisTurning- as always you bring so much compassion and understanding to these discussion and we are so happy to have you here tonight. 

For those who are keen to get involved in the next fortnight's Topic Tuesday, we will be chatting with our special guest @Former-Member on the topic of What peer support is and why it’s great