Concerned family members can unwittingly delay an addict’s recovery by covering up for them, according to singer and addiction counsellor, Frances Black.
Frances Black, who set up the Rise (Recovery in a Safe Environment) Foundation to support families who have been scarred by the addiction of a relative, says many people put their own lives on hold while trying to help an addict.
“Some people won’t go on holidays because they are afraid to leave maybe a mother or a child who is in addiction,” she explains.
“It affects every area of their lives, their career, relationships, their social life. They are always waiting for the dreaded phone call and this creates huge tension. It is soul destroying.”
Black believes that because of the stigma many relatives won’t seek help because they don’t want to “squeal” on the addict.
The performer set up the foundation in 2006 following a huge response from traumatised relatives after she spoke publicly about her own experience of alcoholism.
Rise runs an eight-week programme for family members, but Black plans to build a €1.5 million haven for relatives on Rathlin island, the birthplace of her father, Kevin, off the Antrim coast.
Source: Marese McDonagh, The Irish Times, 15/06/2010
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