Do you want to help a loved one?
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Family
Helping an addict
As a family member, friend or colleague of a person with substance abuse problems, it can be tempting to try to solve the person's problem in different ways. Unfortunately, there are few addicts who wants to turn to CA just because a family member, friend or colleague suggests it.
Co-Anon is a fellowship for relatives and friends of drug and alcohol addicts. Through Co-Anon you can get in touch with others who understand what you are going through and who can show you what they have done to cope with everyday life with an addict – even one who still uses drugs or drinks. There are Co-Anon groups in several places in Sweden. Unfortunately, we cannot provide links to sites that are not CA related, but you can easily find Co-Anon by searching online.
Please email info@ca-sweden.se or call our Swedish Helpline +46(0)735-83 86 30 if you have any questions.
As a familiy member or a friend, you are also welcome to attend open CA meetings. By attending a meeting you get insight into how CA works and you get the opportunity to talk to sober addicts.
In CA, members often describe the problem as having difficulty controlling when we choose to use drugs or drink alcohol and when we use/drink we lose the ability to decide how much we use/drink.
CA is a non-professional, non-profit twelve-step fellowship of addicts that helps each other become and stay sober. CA offers a worldwide supportive fellowship and a lasting recovery program.
The first step towards solving any problem is admitting that there is a problem. We need to realize that we are powerless to drugs and alcohol and understand that we have lost control.
All forms of participation in CA are entirely voluntary. CA's third tradition reads: "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances".
One of CA's most important principles is anonymity. Members and visitors in meetings are asked not to disclose who we have seen at a meeting or what someone has shared.
In CA meetings, we meet with other recovering addicts that we can help and who can help us. Most CA meetings in Sweden have a given basic form.
It's important to have a sponsor in order to be able to work the twelve steps. A sponsor is a sober addict who has taken the twelve steps and is available to guide others through step work and support them in recovery.
An important part of recovery and belonging to the fellowship is being of service. For example, this might mean having an assignment (so-called service position) in a service group for a specific meeting.
There are no costs for being a CA member, attending meetings or having a sponsor. However, since CA is entirely self-supporting, we ask for voluntary contributions from members at meetings to cover expenses such as coffee and the rental of venues.
CA has only one requirement for membership: A desire to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances. That's the only thing, nothing else. Few come to CA to find God, we came to CA to find a solution to our problems.
As a family member, friend or colleague of a person with substance abuse problems, it can be tempting to try to solve the person's problem in different ways.
CA can function as an important complement to other forms of care and treatment. Together we can help more people.
CA welcomes all types of inquiries and is happy to cooperate with the media, provided that the requirement to preserve the anonymity of our members is met.
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1. We admitted we were powerless over cocaine and all other mind-altering substances — that our lives had become unmanageable.
The readings "To the Newcomer", "Preamble", "Who is a C.A. member", "We can recover" and "Reaching out" are usually read at CA meetings.