[Persephone518]

I wish there were a sub-forum under Addictions for spouses/partners/family/friends of people with addictions. Right now, the alternatives are to post in either the main addictions forum or the caregivers forum in a completely different section of the message board, and it would really be nice to have a specific sub-forum where those of us coping with a loved one's addiction can come for support. Has this ever been considered?

nice idea

I see the logic

[Shazerac]

Yes great idea

[Patagonia]

I agree too!

[DocJohn]

Thank you for your suggestion.

The challenge with creating a caregivers sub-forum under addictions is that (a) we could do this for every single disorder, since every person with every disorder has caregivers and loved ones in their lives who could benefit from emotional support and information sharing and (b) we don't have enough of any one of those groups generally to support their own sub-forums in our community.

That's why we have a general Caregivers forum, because the percentage of folks who come here who are caregivers is much smaller than those who come here for mental health concerns.

Best,
DocJohn

[emgreen]

You might check the "Adult Children of Alcoholics" thread. There's a lot of good information there about co-dependency & other topics that might be of use to you.

[Persephone518]

Originally Posted by emgreen

You might check the "Adult Children of Alcoholics" thread. There's a lot of good information there about co-dependency & other topics that might be of use to you.

I appreciate the suggestion but am not sure that would be relevant to me since I'm the wife of an alcoholic.

I just figured that since Al-Anon (a support group for loved ones of alcoholics) is a pretty big thing IRL, there might be a similar demand here. I only mention Al-Anon for reference. Their ideology goes against my personal beliefs, so needless to say going to their actual meetings would not be beneficial. I'd much rather talk to others here on the forum.

Anyway, would I be off-topic starting a thread for spouses and partners in the main Addictions forum? Or is that just for people seeking support for their own addictions.

[emgreen]

You could start an Al-Anon thread in the Addictions section to see if there are others who are in a similar position, I guess. I'd call it "Al-Anon" since folks know what that means.

I'm in AA & don't agree with many of the steps (I have a big problem with the "god-concept"), but I get a lot out of meetings. You don't have to work the steps, pray, or do anything you don't want to do. It might just be a place where you can meet others in a similar situation. Good luck! I know what a pain in the arse I was when I was drinking!

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

You could try setting up a Social Group. I like the idea, but ultimately agree with John.