Substance use is a regular part of modern society. Some substances are more culturally acceptable than others, some substances are legal while others are illegal. Using substances doesn’t make you a bad person, but it is important to think about how to use substances safely and with your health and wellbeing in mind.

People use substances for a variety of reasons including for fun, pleasure, and connection, to reach a different realm or to escape reality altogether.

There is a difference though between substance use and harmful substance use. The same way we can recognise that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol is different to drinking alcohol to excess, the same applies to all substances. There are ways to stay safer if you are going to use substances.

For more information about substances and their risks, you can visit TransHub’s substance use page here. We developed this with ACON’s Substance Support service and health promotion team.

Self-assessment

A self-assessment involves understanding the risks associated with using different substances, and how your current use might be impacting your health and safety. It’s not always easy to tell when substance use is harmful or dependent, or to recognise that you’ve reached that point.

Pivot Point's self-assessment tool is a good place to start if you’re not sure what may be a safe or harmful use of a substance. After completing the anonymous quiz, it will give each substance a risk rating to click through for more information about the substances, risks, and avenues for support, reduction and looking after yourself.

Accessing help

Seeking support is a great part of any plan for looking after yourself. This may mean reaching out to a friend, family member or colleague you trust, a counsellor trained in substance use can also be really helpful.

Having a trusted support person can help keep you on a path to feeling better about your substance use and to remind you of what your goals are. Goals are very individual and may include an aim to reduce, stop your use entirely, or develop a new relationship with substances and substance use.

Your GP is also a great person to talk to. They’ll have advice and tools to help link you to existing support services, health pathways and processes, and be someone you can touch base with regularly about how you’re doing.

If you’re in a moment of crisis or emergency, you can always go to a hospital emergency room. If you’re not sure if this is the right option for you, or you’re worried or scared, that’s okay - it’s better to go and make sure you’re taking care of yourself.

It’s especially important to remember that you cannot be charged for already having a substance in your system. If you’re not feeling good, you won’t be charged for going and seeking help. Call 000 immediately.

Substance Support Service

ACON provides free and confidential substance support counselling across NSW. You can get in touch here.