Society ‘in denial’ on how families are affected

SOCIETY is in denial about the impact of addiction on families who regularly struggle to cope while the addict obtains professional help, an expert in addiction has warned.

Stephen Rowan, former director of the Rutland Centre, said the “neglected majority” of people impacted by addiction were the addict’s family, and that while the family might be “in bits,” the overwhelming support was for the person either still addicted, or sober or in treatment.

“One of my points is, we need to shift the balance. We still have a society-wide attitude that if the addict is “fixed”, the family will be grand. You hear people saying “He’s a great guy, he’s off the drink.” The perception is once the drinking stops, everything is fine, but the reality is the spouse or the small child is often more damaged than the addict,” Mr Rowan said.