Seeking Support

Sometimes we may be confronted with the fact that what was once fun and consequence-free partying has now become a daily habit, or worse, something that is dragging down our health and impacting our relationships,etc. It may be easy to judge ourselves harshly or hide away from others in an attempt to avoid the issue, but we owe it to ourselves to find some way to address when our drug use has gotten out of our hands and is causing us harm.

One thing to consider is changing the harmful behaviours that the drug use is causing without making changes to the drug use itself.

Issue: You are missing work because you party Friday -Sunday night and you are very fatigued on Monday. 

Solutions:

• Scale back your weekend partying to end late Saturday or early Sunday to sleep and recover.
• Set an alarm to remind you of your cut off time.
• Enlist a friend to pick you up at your cut off time.

Stigma sucks. For some people in your life, your partying might be hard to understand—or just something they don’t talk about. Maybe they’ve only learned one way to think about drugs: “Drugs are bad. If you use them, you need to stop.”

But we know there’s a wide spectrum of how people use chems, and whether it’s a problem depends on a lot of things. So how do you know if you’re doing okay—or if things might be getting out of hand?

Here are some signs it might be time to slow down and check in:

• You’re spending time with people you don’t know, like, or trust.

• Your body’s acting up—like seeing spots, changes in your skin or nails, or unusual smells when you sweat or use the bathroom.

• You’re struggling to keep up with work, friends, or family.

• You’re spending more money on drugs than you can afford.

• You feel like you’ve lost control over your use—or can’t stop even when you want to.

What to Do If You’re Concerned

If you’re feeling unsure or overwhelmed, take a moment to pause and reflect. You don’t have to figure it all out at once.

1. Take a deep breath. And another. You’re okay.
2. Check in with yourself—what emotions are coming up? Try to let go of judgment.
3. Name what’s worrying you, and what you’d like to change.
4. Talk to someone you trust. Ask them to listen without trying to fix it.
5. Instead of blaming yourself, ask: What else might be going on in my life? What small steps could help me feel more grounded?

Tools That Can Help

Here are five things that have helped many people meet their goals around substance use:

1. Keeping a journal
2. Meditation or mindfulness
3. Regular movement or exercise
4. Trying new social hobbies
5. Changing your environment (even temporarily)