A close friend of mine currently has a son who is having problems with substance abuse and mental illness and we met for lunch to talk about it. She knows about my difficult child and we talked about support groups. I told her that I didn't like the 12-step groups that I had been to but that I would be glad to go to a meeting with her.
She found a NAMI support group and asked if I would go with her. I really liked the meeting although the stories broke my heart. There are so many people struggling to get help for their loved ones. Several of the people had children in jail and their stories reminded me of the struggles that many of our CD members have faced. I liked that after each person shared their story (there was a 3-minute time limit), the meeting opened for questions and cross talk. It was very different than the Al-Anon meeting husband and I went to.
I wish I had gone to the group long ago when we were struggling to find help for difficult child. They knew all the ins and outs of getting help for people without insurance and were able to give advice for getting services. They suggested that we go through the 12-week Family-to-Family education program which I think I am going to do. I am hoping that husband will go too.
difficult child knew that I was going to the meeting and she asked me later how it went. I told her that there were heartbreaking stories about jail, suicide, schizophrenia, substance abuse, agoraphobia, and more. difficult child said, "Wow, that makes me sound like the least crazy of the bunch." My difficult child certainly has a unique way of looking at things.
~Kathy
She found a NAMI support group and asked if I would go with her. I really liked the meeting although the stories broke my heart. There are so many people struggling to get help for their loved ones. Several of the people had children in jail and their stories reminded me of the struggles that many of our CD members have faced. I liked that after each person shared their story (there was a 3-minute time limit), the meeting opened for questions and cross talk. It was very different than the Al-Anon meeting husband and I went to.
I wish I had gone to the group long ago when we were struggling to find help for difficult child. They knew all the ins and outs of getting help for people without insurance and were able to give advice for getting services. They suggested that we go through the 12-week Family-to-Family education program which I think I am going to do. I am hoping that husband will go too.
difficult child knew that I was going to the meeting and she asked me later how it went. I told her that there were heartbreaking stories about jail, suicide, schizophrenia, substance abuse, agoraphobia, and more. difficult child said, "Wow, that makes me sound like the least crazy of the bunch." My difficult child certainly has a unique way of looking at things.
~Kathy