At the 2019 Annual Conference for the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) the Executive Director of Families for Addiction Recovery, Angie Hamilton, gave a presentation asking CSAM to support the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use. Since then, she became a member of CSAM’s Policy Committee and is pleased to be a co-author of their just published “Policy Brief: CSAM in Support of the Decriminalization of Drug Use and Possession for Personal Use“.
By: Carolann Introduction: In this post, we explore the complex issues in caregiving and the healthcare system. It’s a heartfelt look at the struggles faced by both healthcare workers dealing with system problems and caregivers supporting their loved ones. While we...
By: Carolann Introduction: Figuring out when a loved one is in crisis and whether they are competent to make medical decisions is a tough part of caregiving. Caregivers often face complex situations, trying to tell if someone is just being defiant or genuinely can't...
By: Carolann Introduction: Taking care of a loved one who struggles with substance use disorder (SUD) can be very hard and emotionally draining. It takes a lot of strength, patience, and the ability to handle a difficult healthcare system. Besides dealing with the...
By: Carolann Introduction In this episode, we turn our attention to common myths and misconceptions about mental health and substance use disorder treatment. These misconceptions shape policies and treatment methods, adding to the stigma and discrimination in...
By: Carolann Introduction: In our journey to understand the complexities of caregiving for those with mental illness, we will explore the personal impact of stigma. As caregivers, we often find ourselves balancing love, duty, and societal judgment. This post examines...
By: Carolanne Introduction: My name is Carolann, and I lost my beloved partner in December of 2023 to complications from mental illness and alcohol use disorder. This is the story of our journey. I have used my real name, but I am choosing a pseudonym to conceal my...
By: A sibling/caregiver/nurse My parents are retired. They worked their whole lives to provide for their children, including drives to Disney Worldat March break in a Ford caravan, summertime camps, and all of the day to day demands of looking after three children......
By: Kat E If you told me 3 years ago that I would be riding the wave of cannabis induced psychosis with my teenage son J, I would look at you with complete bewilderment. Even though I’ve worked in the mental health & addiction field for years, I wasn’t...
My son Nicholas My beautiful boy was perfect in every way but one. His brain was broken. I knew it from day one and I was ready to do anything to help him, anything I could. As it turned out, that was going to be nowhere near enough to save him. A mother’s heart...
By: Joanne Helm On a very cold day this year, I came home from work, sat on my bed with tears in my eyes, and asked God: why me? Believe it or not a voice in my head boomed out: why not you Joanne? Like many of you, I took my child’s mental illness,...