[Verity81]

Hi all,

I am soon to be starting a volunteer position as a substance misuse recovery worker. Its to gain experience for my masters degree.

I have personal experience of mental illness but not of addiction other than to cigarettes which I quit nearly a year ago.

I wondered if there were any advice you could give me on how best to support people dealing with addiction?

If you had or do have a support worker, how would they best help you?

thanks
x

[candid_spectrum]

Wow! That is admirable what your doing! What is the masters degree your perusing in? Having personal experience with friends and my significant other dealing with addiction, as well as dealing with addiction myself, patience is key. Just remembering that people with addictions who seek help want to get better, most of the time they want to desperately get better, drugs are just incredibly powerful entities.

[notz]

You'd learn a lot by going to AA or similar meetings. Google some in your area.

[Refuse2Sink]

I think the best thing that you could ever do, when trying to help those afflicted with addiction, is to be relatable a/o understandable. You could learn what addicts go through by attending some NA/AA meetings as well as SMART meetings. Also, visit a site called SoberNation...they have really good articles that are very in depth pertaining to the Psychology of addiction. Are you going for your Masters in Psychology? I am still an Undergraduate, also pursuing a degree in Psychology. I am also a recovering addict.