My journey with Ethan's addiction started when he was 18. Ethan was selling all his possessions and stealing to support his addiction. He would come home you could tell that he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t getting involved in family conversations or interactions. I was a nervous wreck and my family was falling apart, there were no answers and I was looking.
The first rehab experience was the end of August and cost $11,000. He was in for two weeks. The second rehab was the start of October in the same year. Until Ethan was ready, he wasn’t going to stay in rehab.
So after $26,000 - which many can’t afford - I still worry everyday what is happening.
Although he does say that he learnt some things: like routine is important, eating healthy, and that whatever you lose you have to replace, instead of addiction try meditation.
In November he started working again and got into a bit of a routine, then in December he reconnected with a drug user and by News Year Eve he had started using again.
We were all a mess. I had to come up with a new plan to manage Ethan now because I'd tried many different options but nothing seemed to be helping.
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I booked into a counsellor that Ethan had a connection with previously. He saw her couple of weeks but then stopped going for a few weeks so the counsellor gave me the number for the family drug support.
I went for a two-week seminar. They taught us some skills like tough love, boundaries and routine, look after ourselves and the rest of the family. It was nice to vent with people going through the same things. We sat Ethan down when we came home to make some rules. The plan was detox, try to stay in a routine, work or school.
I felt the psychologist has helped more than anyone because he had a good connection with her. I also think that having a job that makes him feel important and they know his situation is a really good thing for him and his self-esteem. When he was working he was starting to pay off some of his bills and I would complement him on this. It gave him some confidence as we were just trying to keep things positive.
We're proud of the way Ethan has put in the hard work to turn his life around and have a better future. This was achieved through skills we learnt at the family drug support.
I don’t feel as if the government is doing anything but talk about this. You see kids on the TV doing crimes and you wonder if it's your kids. It needs to start at a Primary level with educating on how dangerous and addictive this drug is. The rehabs need to be more accessible to everyone. Parents need more skills to deal with drug addicted children.
As a parent finding someone to vent to is important and also trying to keep my family together is tough but hard. I get very angry and think about how I can eliminate all the bad influences around him. I still worry and try to take it day by day. It is still a hidden problem in society and it's killing families.
