It so happened that trouble has not spared your family and there is no doubt that your child is taking drugs. Mental dependence forms within a very short time after starting to take drugs. A mentally dependent person needs drugs to feel good, and their absence causes depression. Irreversible changes occur in the addict's cerebral cortex. Mental dependence leads to constant drug use. Physical dependence is characterized by the fact that the lack of a drug causes interruptions in the body’s vital functions: severe fatigue, poor health, chills, pain, upset stomach, flu-like conditions and other ailments, expressed in an irresistible desire to use the drug. Withdrawal syndrome (or “withdrawal”) is an indicator of an established physical dependence on a drug. From the moment addiction occurs, whether you want it or not, the lifestyle of your family and loved ones will change. From now on, your life is largely regulated by your child's illness. Now you are participants in events that your child consciously or unconsciously directs. It becomes difficult for family members to live their own lives; all decisions are made taking into account the impact of their consequences on the drug addict. Codependency syndrome is most often characterized by several signs: Feelings of guilt. Perhaps you feel responsible for the child’s condition and are trying to find answers to questions about what your mistake was. The addict himself, as a rule, benefits from your condition, so perhaps he gets used to this thought and will try to aggravate your condition with accusations: “You always tried to suppress me” or “You didn’t care about me,” etc. Anger. Everyone in the family becomes irritable. You may begin to say words or do things that were previously unusual for you: reproach, threaten, scold, beg, even commit violent acts. But such actions, of course, do not help resolve the situation. The drug addict, feeling threatened and rejected by loved ones, is in an even more depressed state. The desire to protect the child, even when he commits the wrong things. In order to protect your child from unnecessary troubles, you may want to pay off the drug addict’s debts yourself, explain his absence from school or work, thus trying to correct his own actions. “With rewards for bad behavior.” By trying to save the addict and correct his mistakes, you may increase his tendency to continue the behavior that is the cause of his illness. Taking drugs in this situation is rewarded first with a “high”, and then with the relief of all the consequences that may arise at work, in relationships with drug dealers, etc. Thus, the child is not responsible for his actions and does not face the negative results of his behavior .Inattention to other family members. Disappearing feelings of love. You may feel a decrease in the feeling of mutual love between family members, especially love for a drug addict, since it is not supported by a reciprocal feeling and becomes bitterness. Disruption of the normal rhythm of family life, parents’ refusal to work, hobbies. Getting rid of drug addiction, if it has already arisen, will take a very long time, so it is important initially, without trying to get away from the problem and without hoping that “everything will go away on its own,” to set the right direction for successfully overcoming the crisis. At the first moment, when you can’t believe what’s happening, it is necessary to recognize the problem of the child and the whole family as a fait accompli. If drug use has already become systematic and drug addiction is beyond doubt, then, having admitted what happened, you need to turn to specialists and think through a system of targeted actions for the treatment and rehabilitation of the drug addict. Even if drug use is limited to one or a few samples, this is a good reason for concern. After.