Inspirational TH!NKER: Vanisha Breault on Drug Abuse
Our SPARQ community was happy to hear from Vanisha Breault on the effects of drug abuse
on family and friends, as well as how to handle and help those that are struggling. In her talk,
Vanisha speaks about how her young daughter became badly addicted to very dangerous drugs
as a coping mechanism for her parents splitting up. She talks about how as a mother, her first
reaction was to be hard on her daughter, and give her what she calls “tough love”
The problem with this, was that Vanisha realized that this method of “tough love” was truly
only helping and protecting her feelings, rather than helping her daughter. She speaks about
“loving tough” instead, to love no matter what and to learn how to connect with someone’s
struggles, fears and darkness, to help them feel heard and understood.
Vanisha shares with our community the important notion that no matter how mad, upset, or
frustrated you may be with someone that you love struggling, the best thing that you can do for
them is to continue to love them, support them, and see them completely. Often, when people
are struggling outwardly, it is because they are trying to work through something difficult and
painful internally.
Thank you to Vanisha for sharing your incredible story. You can check out Vanisha’s speech
here
For more resources on how to help those dealing with substance abuse, check out these
websites:
https://www.aarc.ab.ca
https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/findhealth/Service.aspx?id=1008399&serviceAtFacilityID
=1047128
https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/addiction
Blog by: SIMI KASHYAP
