Your Stories
Our online story hub is a place for you to hear from different families across Scotland.
Stories are relatable and they humanise everything you are going through. They can support you if you don’t know where to start. They let you know you are not alone. They can help you take that step forward for support. And even reading stories can be a way to cope with what is going on.
We will always share family member’s stories and champion everything they do.
Thank you to the families who have shared their stories with us in our online story hub.
Guidelines:
We welcome you to read through the stories below that are published on our website, and we also welcome you to submit your own story to the hub.
Submitting your story and sharing it online can be a daunting experience, so we would always say to ask yourself first if you are feeling okay with this. If you’re not up to it yet, take some time to think it through. And if it’s not for you, then that’s absolutely okay.
You can submit your story to us using the link below or here. You can write your story out first on a word document and then send it over to us.
If your story is suitable for our website and follows our guidelines, we will post it here in the hub. We will usually edit your story only for clarity, using plain English, and web usability. We will make sure to confirm with you first if you are happy with any changes.
We can’t publish every story we receive, so please don’t feel disappointed if you don’t hear back from us.
You don’t have to use your real name if you don’t want to. You can remain anonymous or give yourself a pseudonym.
If you are wanting to share a story but don’t know where to start, our lovely communications team are here to chat with you. You can contact us at rebecca@sfad.org.uk or shana@sfad.org.uk.
Please Note: this is not our Helpline and you will not get a response from our support team. If you need support please contact 08080 10 10 11 / helpline@sfad.org.uk or use the webchat on our website.
Creative Writing
As the holiday season approaches, we share our heartfelt support and guidance to every family member across Scotland who is dealing with challenging circumstances this year. The constant stream of...
Creative Writing
Words and photos by Karen Macdonald Time for me. Time to sit and watch other people. Time to watch the world go by, as the old saying goes. If there’s an old saying about it, it would seem that...
Creative Writing
Words by Karen Macdonald The journey continues. Today is a much better day. That awful knot of anxiety in my stomach is there, as always, but not as tight. The lead weight pressing on my heart is...
Case Study
To Whom It May Concern, I am writing this in the hope of helping me understand why I lost my son James at just 29 years old. To others, he is just a statistic – another drug’s death. But he was my...
Creative Writing
Words and photo by Karen Macdonald This wonderful word describes today’s weather perfectly. My lovely niece used it in one of her Facebook posts on the subject of neurodiversity, and that’s a...
Creative Writing
Words and photo by Karen Macdonald Who would have thought that there is a whole science and skill to the art of crushing beer cans to fit in the orange recycling bin? It has to do with quantity,...
Case Study
By Allison Parenting a child with mental health problems, ASD/ADHD and addiction. I have decided to document the last week of our lives to outline the emotional, psychological, and physical...
Case Study
By P McG Please note this story mentions violence and mental health problems. If you are affected by someone else’s alcohol or drug use, you can contact us on 08080 10 10 11, helpline@sfad.org.uk...
Poetry
By Elspeth Watching the water flow over rock Still water and rapids Still water runs deep Deep and meaningless Out of our depth in addiction Out of our depth in the unrelenting flow of needs and...
Poetry
Poem by a family member from our Forth Valley Family Support Service Are you feeling lonely? If so, you’re not alone Loneliness can hit us Sometimes when we’re at home Sometimes when we’re...
Poetry
Written by a family member is being supported by our Forth Valley Support Service There’s aye som’bdy close at hand Tae listen or tae chat, Tae share a tale, tae share a joke, We a’ need some o’...
Poetry
Written by a family member is being supported by our Forth Valley Support Service Are you feeling lonely? If so, you’re not alone Loneliness can hit us Sometimes when we’re at home Sometimes when...
Case Study
By Nancy, 2021 How and when did the Caithness Family Support Group start? Well, I’ve got a son who has drug problems. He’s coming up for 40 and I’ve had problems with him since he was 15....
Case Study
By Rory, 2021 Tich has been a constant thread throughout my life. From Boys Brigade where I met him 34 years ago aged 11, through to most recently where he was my first stop in Scotland when...
Case Study
By Tich, 2021 Before I stopped drinking over 5 years ago, every relationship I had, every single one, was impacted by my substance use problem – my alcoholism. Employers had to have those...
Case Study
By Beverly, 2021 Even if you’ve never read any poetry, you might recognise these lines from Philip Larkin: “They f**k you up, your mum and dad. They don’t mean to, but they do” As kids,...
Case Study
By Catherine, 2021 It’s nearly five years now… five years in which so much in my life has happened. Milestones that my dad should have seen. My graduation from university, my first ‘adult’...
Case Study
By Caroline, 2021 Kevin was born on the 13th of December 1972 and he was just a lovely baby. There weren’t any problems to worry about and he continued to grow into a happy and contented...
Case Study
By Rosie, 2021 The 30th July 2021! A day of great significance for our family…our son’s first night in his own new home! But we are painfully aware of its significance too for so many...
Case Study
By Colin, 2021 Living with someone who has a substance use problem is stressful. And over time, it is likely to have an impact on your health and wellbeing. This is true for everyone, but how we...
Case Study
By Anonymous, for Commission on Alcohol Harm, 2020 Names in the story have been changed I grew up in a small village in the 80s and in those days, people didn’t really talk about alcoholism or...
Case Study
By Anonymous, for Commission on Alcohol Harm, 2020 Names in the story have been changed At the start of 2019, I knew I was in a crisis but I was doing what a lot of people do, putting on a brave...
Case Study
By Anonymous, for Commission on Alcohol Harm, 2020 Names in the story have been changed The SFAD service has been a life changer for me. Before I engaged with you, I thought the best way forward...
Case Study
By Anonymous, for Commission on Alcohol Harm, 2020 Names in the story have been changed The following is an attempt to explain the worry, anxiety, fear, sympathy etc. that I have been feeling for...
Case Study
By Anonymous, 2018 I was asked recently to make an attempt at explaining what it means to have a family member with a substance use problem, and what it is ‘really like.’ Despite knowing it...
Case Study
By Mhairi, 2017 So today (15/08/2017), numbers were released that stated the number of deaths that were recorded due to drugs in 2016. A bunch of numbers, the highest we’ve seen in a while...
Case Study
By Cathy, 2016 Hello, my name is Cathy and I’m a 65 year old mother to Paul who is 44. When I married at age 18 in 1970 I was happy. After a year and a half I had an ectopic pregnancy and was...
