How Drugs Affect a Family

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Drug abuse is devastating to a family. When a parent uses drugs if affects the whole family. If a person uses drugs it affects their partner and children. Children using drugs also affect the whole family. Common characteristics of parents or children who abuse drugs are negativism, parental inconsistency miscarried expression of anger, self-medication, and unrealistic parental expectations. The effects depends on whether the drug abuser lives with a partner and with or without kids. Using drugs also can complicate pregnancy. Drugs can kill, but someone can get help before that happens. Parents affect the whole family with their drug problem. It has many negative effects on the family members. The person with the drug problem can be compared to someone stuck in a bog. Other family members, in their efforts to help, can be pulled down in the bog too (www.drugs.ie). To help the person you must first get them on solid ground. Once they do that then they can help themselves and their family. A person's drug can also affect their partner. Their relationship can be full of conflict and blame. They can find it hard to choose between their drugs or their partner. They could also think that they aren't good enough for their partner. The partner also has it difficult. They take on new responsibilities and have feelings of failure. This hurts the relationship and can potentially end it for them. A parent's drug problem affects their children in mainly negative ways. Then children take up new roles that make them neglect their own needs. An example of a role is becoming a parent model for a younger sibling. Their parent’s drug problem makes a child blame themselves and have low self-esteem. There is also an increased chance for a person t... ... middle of paper ... ... they could soon overdose and die. Their death would put a lot of sadness into their family. Overall, someone’s drug problem can have ravaging effects on the family. The parent's drug problem affects the whole family, as well as their children. If the child is the one using drugs also affects the whole family. The characteristics of parents or children who abuse drugs include but are not limited to negativism, parental inconsistency, miscarried expression of anger, self-medication, and unrealistic parental expectations. The effects the drug user has depends on whether they live alone or with a partner and with or without a kid. Most of the cases have very similar effects on the family. Drugs can complicate pregnancy, or even kill. People can get help through by going to treatment programs and getting help from professionals. Drugs can be helpful, but not if abused.

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