My daughter recently got out of a psych hospital after a 2 month stay.

[chickieDo]

My daughter recently got out of a psych hospital after a 2 month stay. She has smoked dope for 2 years and then took LSD whereby she developed a psychosis. After leaving the hospital she has started again, in the house this time, buying it with money stolen from us. Last night i told her she couldn't live in our house anymore - sad i know but a necessary boundary. Anyway just putting it out there!

[Ngaio-RO]

Heu @chickieDo That's such a hard situation for you to be in. There are times when it feels like the only and best thing you can do is not have your young person in the house anymore, but it's never, ever an easy decision to arrive at. I hope you're doing ok.

It sounds like your daughter's area of concern is around substance addiction, does that sound right to you? Or is it the other way around, does she have a mental health illness first and the drug use is the way she medicates herself?

The main reason I ask is that psych hospitals aren't always ideal if addiction is the primary issue and so she may get better support at a drug treatment centre or rehab.

And of course, as I'm sure you know, if the issue is a mental health one then that needs addressing if she hopes to stop using substances.

What's your take on it? Do you know what's driving the behaviour?

[chickieDo]

I believe she has an anxiety issue, which she medicates with drugs. I'm sorry that she suffers so much.

[Ngaio-RO]

It sounds like you are all suffering @chickieDo Are you getting any support? Do you have someone you can talk to about what's happening? It's a huge weight to carry.

[chickieDo]

Aren't we all in some ways?! We see a counsellor regularly and have excellent support. thxxxx very sweet of you xxx

[Ngaio-RO]

That's wonderful @chickieDo I'm so glad to hear it.

Have you ever tried Family Drug Support? They are an organisation centred on supporting families with a loved one, usually a son or daughter, with substance abuse issues. They have a phone line that can be accessed 24 hours a day, across Australia, where you can speak to a trained volunteer who has lived experience in coping with a loved ones' addiction issues.  Their approach is very compassionate towards the person struggling with their substance abuse without asking the family to sacrifice their own needs or to enable in any way. In fact, a big part of wat they do is help people develop strategies to implement boundaries and to uphold them. They are also very handy for anything that happens outside of 'office hours'.  This is their number 1300 368 186, you can click here for their website or click here for their new online support.

Let me know what you think.