BUILDING a sense of self-worth and love in drug addicts could help reduce record figures of substance-related deaths, according to a local woman in recovery.

Becky Wood, a volunteer leader with Forth Valley Recovery Community which runs a weekly café in Sauchie, bravely opened up to speak about her own experiences after official statistics showed there were 1,187 drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2018.

In the Wee County, 10 drug-deaths were recorded last year, which is not the highest figure for a single year and such year-on-year comparisons give a fluctuating picture for a small area.

However, averages show there were around eight deaths each year between 2014 and 2018, compared to five from 2004 to 2008.

Becky, who has been living locally and used substances for around 15 years to escape reality which brought issues like an abusive relationship, has managed to get on the journey to recovery.

From decriminalisation to fix rooms, many ideas have been circulating nationally in a bid to drive the figures down.

For the local woman, the key thing for abstinence was making connections with the right people.

She explained: “I’m all about love and I know that’s maybe a bit twee-sounding, but it worked for me.

“You have to feel as though you are loved, you love yourself, you love the people around you and the people around you love you.

“And I think that gives a real sense of family.”

She argued there is a cultural problem in some communities where drug taking is accepted as norm.

Elsewhere, the stigma of being a user may stop people from seeking help, accelerating a downward spiral into misery and depression.

Becky said: “I just used to feel that [because] I shouldn’t be using drugs in the first place I am a failure and if you think of yourself as a failure, a loser in society, then it’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“So, I’d end up using drugs and then I’d feel worse and I’d feel down and guilty, depressed and suicidal and the answer to me was to use drugs because for a short period of time that would take that stuff away.

“But it’s a vicious cycle.”

For her the Forth Valley Recovery Community’s unique approach, which sees recovering addicts become volunteers who understand exactly what others are going through, was the right solution.

Whether it’s just sitting there for 10minutes with a cuppa, or taking part in the many activities on offer, meeting people who care about and support each other meant she could break that cycle.

If she did not, however, she might have added one more to the tally for the National Records of Scotland.

What was apparent in the statistical figures was that deaths locally and further afield were mostly linked to a number of substances in individual cases.

For the 10 local deaths heroin and morphine were a factor in four cases, methadone in six, and benzodiazepine in nine. Alcohol was only a factor in one case.

Becky said: “I think people who are using on a regular daily basis, they start taking more and more substances and they start piling other things into the mix, I did that as well.

“Most of the deaths [in the statistics] are poly-drug use because you take what’s available; when one thing stopped working for me I would look for another substance.

“Some people swap one thing for another, I just added things on top.”

She added: “It’s a really dangerous thing to do.

“I think if I hadn’t decided to detox at that point I probably would have killed myself eventually by just going over the edge of that cliff.

“And I think people do do that.”

Decriminalisation has been suggested as one way to help address the issue, but Becky admits that is a complex matter.

However, she agrees the problem should be treated as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice one.

She said: “Somebody who has suffered childhood trauma or in teenage years, people who are struggling to engage with society because of issues in their homes and in their local community and as a result of that end up with an addiction shouldn’t be treated as criminals.

“I fully agree with that view and I think that it’s counterproductive to be putting somebody with a major mental health issue into jail.”

Seeking help, finding people who do care is the first step on a long journey.

Anyone looking for a non-judgemental group should head along to Sauchie Hall on a Thursday between 11am and 4pm.

There are many other places were people can seek help, try the new Forth Valley Recovers mobile app on iOS.