Jocella says that loving someone who uses substances can make a difference. She's speaking from her lived experience.
Jocella felt pressure to be perfect, so she hid her substance use disorder from the people in her life. It made it hard to ask for help. In time, she got the support she needed, and she graduated her treatment program. "I had a lot of people rooting for me, believing in me before I can believe in myself."
Her family played a major role. "We stop learning how to love ourselves out of the shame/embarrassment of doing what we were doing," she says. "It's important for family and friends to just love that person until they can love themselves." That's what made the difference.