Alcohol & Drugs

Hi

It can be really scary if you have someone that you feel is in danger. It's important to say here that if you feel he is in immediate danger at any point you should contact a trusted adult or the police without hesitation. When someone is suicidal it is important to do this.

This type of situation can make you feel helpless, and the truth is that the best you can do is be a friend. Listen and support. Check in, and let him know you care and will support him to get help. It is unlikely that you can change his behavior or be someone that changes the way he feels. It sounds very much as he needs professional help, and maybe this is something you can suggest.

It's very important that you also do not take on responsibility for his problems. He is the one that needs to want help, and however hard you try, if he is not ready, then whatever you say or do will have little effect. There is some worth in standing back and being the one to support him to access that help.

There may be many reasons why he both uses drugs & alcohol and also why he feels so low he is talking about suicide. Getting professional support can help look at the some of the events or sfeelings that have led to this.

Have a look at our infozone on supporting a friend HERE

We hope this has helped, please come back if you need more support

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Hi

Having someone in the family with any kind of addiction is really hard, causing many problems and alot of pain. We can have so many expectations of what our parents should be for us, and something like alcoholism just blows all that away. It's a very distructive and terribly hard thing to deal with. It's not your fault, but it can leave you with feelings of wondering what you did or didn't do to prevent this happening and not unusually feelings of shame. It is often not talked about in families. It is a disease, and an addiction.

We wonder if this is something you have talked through with whover you live with. You might benifit from talking through your feelings about this situation, and how it is impacting on your life. You can't change the situation, but you can try and approach it by looking at your feelings and reactions and managing them. Maybe you could start this conversation at home? If not turning to someone like a guidance teacher or have a look at the service here - Mindspace - who offer counselling to young people.

You could also access our counsellor on the 121 service on a Mon, Wed & Thurs 8-9pm.

We hope this has offered you some support - it's a huge thing to deal with, but really good that you recognise that it is something affecting you.

Take care.

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Hi there,

It sounds like you're concerned about your drinking habits and would like to change them. As you probably are already working out, drinking alcohol might make you feel more confident or less anxious for a wee while but can make you feel worse in the long run. It's a positive that you recognise you'd like some help. This service (CLICK HERE) is a confidential service where you can work with someone to look at your alcohol use. They can support you to look at why you drink and to help you cut down if you want to. They will also give you space to talk about what happened to make you want to stop. 

Trying to learn other ways of managing your anxiety that don't involve drink would also be good. This link (CLICK HERE) tells you more about thing you can try. 

We're not sure what happened to you, but if someone did something to you that hurt, scared or worried you then this isn't your fault. It doesn't matter if it happened when you were drunk or sober. If you want to tell us more about this please feel free to ask another question or use our one to one counselling service (CLICK HERE) for support. 

 

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Hello

You must be over 18 to buy cigarettes in the UK. If you’re under 16 the police have the right to confiscate your cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes can be addictive and is really bad for your health. Quitting can be very difficult. But there's lots of help out there if you want to quit smoking or help someone else stop.

CLICK HERE to read more about smoking.

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Hi

Thank you for using cool2talk. We can hear that you are really struggling and that you have become dependant on alcohol due to other stresses and problems in your life. It sounds really tough, but positive you are asking for help.

We feel it is really important that you get some support professionally TCA work specifically with young people & alcohol & you can contact them HERE or you could go to the Corner and talk to someone there, and they can refer or support you. Both services are free and non judgemental. It may feel scary asking for help, but it is the right thing to do. You could also go through the school health nurse at school and she will be able to help you access the right service.

It is so important you do get support, alcohol is toxic and addictive, and you are young and have your whole life ahead of you.

take care

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