As a previous article of mine has stated: I have/still grow up around my brother’s drug abuse. No words could ever express the enormity of this situation, and I would never wish this upon anyone. Drug abuse is in no way a fun thing to grow up around. If anything, it’s clearly a detriment to your growing. I still experience it every day and it is a factor that will always affect me and my life.

But for those of you who do or have experienced drug abuse of a loved one, I understand. All those years I tried to grow up around his blossoming drug abuse I simply wanted my parents or siblings to say “I understand what you’re going through”. So for you all: I do understand what you’re going through and I commend you for growing as far as you have and coping through this.

One thing to keep in mind is always find a coping mechanism that is not detrimental to your/anyone else’s health. Another big thing to keep in mind is: take care of yourself. Always respect your body and yourself. Personally, when I was overcoming my brother’s drug abuse I would always hold my feelings to myself until I exploded into tears. I highly recommend not doing that, your friends or family will always listen if you just open yourself to them.

Never give up your positivity. More than once I have completely lost all hope that life will get better, but essentially it does. It seems far-fetched now but once you grow away from this person you realize how happy you can be without him/her in your life. Once I left for college I grew as a person and I found more positivity in my life. I still get sad when I think of how he ruined his life, but I always remember there’s nothing I could have done or said that would have changed him.

Lastly, this person’s drug addiction is not your fault. Do not ever tell yourself you did this to the person. He or she chose to be this way regardless of your actions. You can try to be there for them, but it’s up to them to listen to you. Never take anything out on yourself, and always respect yourself

Drug addiction is a mess, and it’s extremely sad that it still occurs today. Knowing that many kids are growing up around the same sadness that I did deeply upsets me. Growing up around it as an outsider is a very hard thing to do, but I did it. So can you. I am always open to listen to anyone who ever needs a friendly ear about drug addiction and the impact it made on them. Keep going and never give up. I promise you it will get better.