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Posts by Sheena Crist

After her brother passed, Sheena made it her mission to raise awareness about substance use and substance use prevention. She obtained her degree in Behavioral Health Science with an emphasis in substance use disorders, and she has made it her passion to speak Josh’s name whenever she can. Addiction can impact anyone, and it doesn’t matter what your race, gender, or economic status is.

What Losing My Brother Taught Me About Addiction, Shame, and Love

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“Protest any labels that turn people into things. Words are important. If you want to care for something, you call it a ‘flower’; if you want to kill something, you call it a ‘weed.’” ~Don Coyhis

Losing my brother to a substance use disorder taught me things I never wanted to learn. Things nobody prepares you for. Things that will change you in ways you never thought possible.

It taught me that you can love someone so much it physically hurts—and still not be able to save them. It taught me that you can mourn someone you love long before …