Start a conversation
Choose a calmer moment. Describe what you have noticed, ask open questions and leave room for an answer. Listening is not the same as agreeing with everything.
For families, friends and supporters
Support without taking control
You can influence safety, communication and access to help. You cannot control another person's drug use — and you do not have to carry the situation alone.
TD ConsultancyPublished 5 August 2026Reviewed 5 August 2026NHS · national treatment guidance
Understand craving & repeated use
Repeated use can be reinforced by relief, cues, withdrawal, habit, relationships and access. Knowing this can reduce blame without removing responsibility.
Respond to overdose risk
Know the emergency signs, keep naloxone where opioid risk exists and call 999 for reduced consciousness, abnormal breathing, seizure or collapse.
Set boundaries
A boundary states what you will do to protect safety, finances or wellbeing. It is different from trying to force another person's recovery.
Support treatment engagement
Offer practical help if wanted — finding a service, travel, childcare or questions for an appointment — while respecting the person's ownership of treatment.
Relapse or recurrence
A return to use can increase overdose risk after lowered tolerance. Respond to immediate safety first, then review what changed without treating it as total failure.
Young people
Use clear, age-appropriate information and avoid interrogation. Safeguarding concerns, exploitation, severe intoxication or mental-health crisis may need professional action.
Neurodivergent family members
Communication, sensory needs and executive functioning can affect conversations and treatment access. Ask what adjustments actually help the individual.
Family stress & self-care
Sleep, finances, conflict and fear can take a toll on supporters. Getting help for yourself is legitimate even if the other person is not seeking treatment.
A simple conversation structure
Notice: “I’ve noticed you haven’t seemed yourself and I’m worried.”
Ask: “What has things been like for you lately?”
Listen: reflect back what you heard before moving to solutions.
Offer: ask whether practical help finding information, naloxone or treatment would be useful.
Keep safety visible: boundaries and emergency action can coexist with compassion.
Recognising an emergency
Call 999 if someone is unconscious or cannot be woken, is not breathing normally, has a seizure, collapses, has severe chest pain or is severely confused and at immediate risk. Give naloxone if an opioid overdose is suspected and naloxone is available.
Find professional support
The NHS has specific guidance for families affected by drug use as well as routes into local treatment.
Evidence and support boundaries
Families can support safety and engagement, but they cannot guarantee another person’s recovery or control their drug use. Safeguarding, domestic abuse, financial abuse and risks to children can require specialist help beyond a drug-information website.