A father’s story: ‘Addiction is an illness which affects the whole family system’

Then there is the political fallout with demands for greater investment in drug treatment services and calls for the Public Health Minister to resign.

It’s understandable that the general reaction is one of dismay, frustration and anger – how can this be happening in Scotland? Why us?

The answers to these questions are unhelpfully complex and the ­solutions equally challenging.

Each one of these 1264 deaths is an avoidable tragedy which leaves a ­legacy of pain and misery for those that were close to them.

For some, it may have brought and end to years of struggling with ­addiction but there’s also the lingering thought that recovery might have been just round the corner.

The “noise” surrounding the drug deaths publication is of no great consolation or consequence to families who have lost a loved one or are ­living with the fear that this might be the day that their loved one dies.

I know what that feels like but, thankfully, my loved one is still alive and well – today.

Addiction is an illness which ­affects the whole family system and the ­evidence is clear that those ­living alongside active addiction ­become ill in a way which mirrors the ­devastation of their loved ones’ lives.

Family members gradually adapt to cope with the shame, pain and chaos, becoming enmeshed in the lives of their loved one to the exclusion of their own needs. They suffer from chronic anxiety, depression, ­isolation, fractured relationships, rifts within close family, physical health ­problems and financial problems.

They need, and deserve, support but are often reluctant to seek help because of the stigma associated with addiction. It can be hard to admit to other people what’s actually going on in your life and the temptation is to try to keep it secret.

No-one is really prepared for ­living alongside someone with a serious drug-use problem and all that entails. It just sort of develops and you find yourself reacting instinctively to a series of crises, always thinking it is temporary.

My wife and I, eventually, found our way to a support group which was a huge relief, to feel able to share experiences with other people who understood and you could trust.

We also discovered Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD), a national charity that ­provides excellent support and advice to families across Scotland.

By sharing your stories, listening to others and learning about the ­nature of addiction you become more empowered; better able to look after your own health and well-being, to cope better and support your loved one more effectively.

Of course, you also learn about ­recovery and that there is hope for your loved one. There are many ­people in recovery out there and ­families have become an important part of that growing community.

Families’ experience, knowledge and understanding of addiction is an under-used resource and, when ­services welcome them, they can play a valuable part in sustaining their loved one’s treatment and recovery. Looking at the details of the statistics it’s tempting to characterise ­addiction as a by-product of social deprivation and poverty mostly affecting men aged 35+.

Although there is a lot of evidence to support that view, the reality is that addiction is an illness suffered by people in virtually every ­community regardless of age or social status.

For that reason it is essential that there are adequate resources to provide appropriate treatment and care, including residential, wherever you live in Scotland.

That is one of the major challenges facing the Scottish Government, but one that can be achieved without waiting for the kinds of structural changes required to eliminate, or at least reduce, social deprivation, ­poverty and inequality.

THE Drug Deaths Taskforce is not a quick solution but I do believe that the issues prioritised offer some hope for the future. The new Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards for example will, when implemented, provide a much more immediate and person-centred response to people with urgent needs as will many of the Tests of Change focusing on people with Multiple Complex Needs.

Wider distribution and use of ­Naloxone has already saved lives and I sense a genuine determination by services to respond in a more ­integrated and innovative way to the considerable challenges they face.

I’m particularly pleased to see the new Stigma strategy which addresses a lot of fundamental issues affecting families and their loved ones and SFAD’s new initiative Families As Lifesavers, highlighting how effective support for families will ultimately help to save lives.

All of these developments and more will, I hope, help bring about cultural changes and, most importantly, save lives.

Colin Hutcheon is the chair of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and the drugs families lived experience representative on the Drug Deaths Taskforce